Archive for May, 2007

Resolution K

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Resolution K: Members of the society call upon the board of the WST to appoint a negotiating team of professionals to handle all negotiations with the owners of the football club relating to the purchase of the club.

When companies buy and sell parts of their business they generally appoint a team of people to handle the detail. Lawyers, Accountants business experts and so on.

These people then report back to the board with a set of recommendations.

We see no reason why the WST should be any different in this regard.

There are people within the membership who are willing to help if called upon and the Board of the WST should use them.

At the moment the WST approach to meetings with the Club is not businesslike. Meetings are called at very short notice and without an agenda. As a result Board members attend, in contravention of their own Board Members Policy, without a mandate to agree anything with the club.

The attendees will be whoever is available to go on the day and as a result there is a lack of continuity and progress.

In the past this has lead to problems for the Board in its relationship with the club and we believe this has hampered progress.

We would like to see a small group of people working with the club on behalf of, and reporting to, the board of the Trust on set agendas and with a clear mandate.

Buying a football club is a complex business and it is vital that the Trust is represented by the best people possible.

Read Resolution K at A fresh approach

Resolution J

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Resolution J:Members of the society believe that retaining the Racecourse as a 15,000 capacity International Standard Stadium is a priority for the club and the town of Wrexham and call on the Wrexham Maelor Borough Council to ensure that this becomes a reality by ensuring that funding is in place to build the new Kop stand prior to granting detailed planning permission for the development behind the Kop.

Outline planning consent was granted for the development last May and the clauses relating to the granting of detailed consent were made at that time.

At the WST members meeting on August 14th 2006 Mr Dickens stated that the new Kop would have a capacity of 15500.

Vision 2012 was launched on December 1rst 2006 and that gave indicative drawings of the new Kop.

The then, Culture Minister, Alun Pugh, made encouraging noises about the new stand and in meetings with the WST board made clear his support for the project.

At the WST members meeting on April 30th Chairman Bruce Clapton stated.
The proposed 5,000 seat stand would only be built if funding from The Football Foundation and The Welsh Assembly was forthcoming, the projected cost of build would be £3m to 4m. If the grant money was not provided, a smaller 2,000 seat stand would be built. Bruce said that he did not wish to see the capacity of The Racecourse reduced, but we had to be realistic here and keep pushing for grant assistance.
We think it worrying that there is already a proposal to downsize the new Kop BEFORE any grant funding has even been applied for.
There has been no progress with obtaining funding for the new Kop since the Vision 2012 document was launched in 2006.
No plans have been revealed, no funding applications have been made and the message that is now being forwarded is that we have to be “practical” and lower our expectations. This is astonishing given that the funding process has yet to start.

When detailed planning consent is granted for the development the developers will pay the club £3.6m.The club will then pay off the loans secured on the ground and in effect become debt free.

The value of the land that the club retains would be in excess of £9m and unless the council ensure that funding is in place before granting planning permission then the owners of the football club would be under no obligation to provide a new stand on the Kop.

In fact it may not be in their financial interest to build a new stand because of the various strings that can be attached to grants of public money.

The WST needs to be pro active in supporting the clubs future prospects. Work needs to be done on raising funding for the new Kop so that we are not left with a three sided ground for years.

The Council are handling the business plan for assembly funding on behalf of the club and have offered the WST a role in this. This offer has not yet been taken up but we feel it is crucial that the WST is involved in all aspects of this project.

Obviously the WST cannot force this issue with either the club or the council but collectively we do have a voice and we need to state publicly what we expect.

The council is in a unique position to influence the future of the club and should use that influence to ensure that their, and our, publicly stated aspirations are met in full.

Read Resolution J at A fresh approach

Resolution I

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Resolution I: In line with our constitutional obligation to protect the heritage of our club, Members of the Society are concerned that the owners of our club have changed its name from Wrexham AFC to Wrexham FC and respectfully request them to hold a public consultation on this matter to let the supporters decide whether such a change is necessary or desirable.

We are not saying the change of name is necessarily wrong.

We are saying that the fans should have been included in the process. After all it is our club.

We are disappointed that Mr Moss has stated to the Board of the WST that he will not enter into any correspondence on this issue.

We are disappointed that he has not explained the reasoning behind the change of badge and name.

By implication we are suggesting that in any future issues of this nature the supporters of the club are consulted before any changes are made.

We feel that by backing this measure we will be sending out a clear message to the clubs owners that the fans voice should be heard in the decision making process.

After all, that is what supporters organisations are supposed to do.

Read Resolution I at A fresh approach

Resolution H:

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Resolution H: Members of the Society believe that a large measure fans ownership of the club is its only effective long-term safeguard. As such we do not wish to place an upper limit on money raised by the WST. In support of this we call upon the board of the WST to set up a sub committee, drawn from the membership, to co-ordinate and increase the revenues of the society.

Again we are grateful to the board of WST for backing this measure.

At some point in the future the current owners will be looking to exit the club.

WST needs to be a part of the regime that takes it over and for that we will need more money than we currently have at this point. How much? Who can say, there is no indicative price, however the more money we raise the more say we can have in the consortium.

Read Resolution H: at A fresh approach

Resolution G

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Resolution G: Members of the Society believe that the Turf Hotel is an important part of our cultural heritage and are opposed to plans to demolish this building. We call upon the Board of the WST to set up a sub-committee, drawn from the membership, to campaign for the preservation of this iconic building.

The Racecourse is the oldest existing International FootballStadium. At the first ever International game (Scotland 1877) the players actually changed in the Turf.

We are grateful to the Board of the WST for their support of this resolution and to everybody who signed the petition. We would hope to present this petition to the Marstons brewery at some time in the near future.

Demolition of the Turf was not in the initial planning application and we see no compelling reason why the building should be demolished.

Although the development plans have been withdrawn this does not necessarily mean that the Turf is safe and we would anticipate the sub committee trying to secure some form of listed status for the building.

See more about the Turf here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turf_Hotel

Sign the petition here

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savetheturf/signatures.html

Read Resolution G at A fresh approach

Wrexham Supporters Trust Annual General Meeting

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The following candidates are standing for election to the board of the WST on a joint platform.

Colin Bithell
Lindsay Jones
Wayne Price
Len Willett
Phil Wynne

We have proposed the following six resolutions. We are grateful for the support of members who have seconded these measures and feel sure that, if passed, they will provide the WST with a clear platform for the next twelve months.

Over the next two weeks we will expand on our reasons for proposing these measures in a lot more detail.

It is absolutely vital for the future of our club that the WST takes the necessary measures to protect its future and long term interests.

We feel that the present strategy of the board of the WST is too narrowly focussed to be effective and that the WST needs to take further measures to achieve its aims.

Resolutions

Resolution G: Members of the Society believe that the Turf Hotel is an important part of our cultural heritage and are opposed to plans to demolish this building. We call upon the Board of the WST to set up a sub-committee, drawn from the membership, to campaign for the preservation of this iconic building.

Resolution K: Members of the society call upon the board of the WST to appoint a negotiating team of professionals to handle all negotiations with the owners of the football club relating to the purchase of the club.

Resolution H: Members of the Society believe that a large measure fans ownership of the club is its only effective long-term safeguard. As such we do not wish to place an upper limit on money raised by the WST. In support of this we call upon the board of the WST to set up a sub committee, drawn from the membership, to co-ordinate and increase the revenues of the society.

Resolution J: Members of the society believe that retaining the Racecourse as a 15,000 capacity International Standard Stadium is a priority for the club and the town of Wrexham and call on the Wrexham Maelor Borough Council to ensure that this becomes a reality by ensuring that funding is in place to build the new Kop stand prior to granting detailed planning permission for the development behind the Kop.

Resolution F: Members of the society cannot support any proposal to separate our club from its ownership of the Racecourse Ground and the Colliers Park training facility and call upon the Board of the Society to set up a sub-committee, drawn from the membership, to explore alternatives to this scenario.

Resolution I: In line with our constitutional obligation to protect the heritage of our club ,Members of the Society are concerned that the owners of our club have changed its name from Wrexham AFC to Wrexham FC and respectfully request them to hold a public consultation on this matter to let the supporters decide whether such a change is necessary or desirable.

Read Wrexham Supporters Trust Annual General Meeting at A fresh approach

Wayne Price – Election Address and CV

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My name is Wayne Price, 35, based in Manchester and have been a fan since my dad took me to my first game, when we lost to Mansfield in May1977. If you need to put a face to a name, I was one of the guys who did the sponsored walk from The Racecourse to Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium for the LDV trophy final and won the first WST’s Fans’ extra mile award.

All those who have put themselves up for election have been invited to state what potential we think we would add to the WST board. I like to think I’d bring my business pragmatism to the board, as was suggested/inferred in the last joint statement by the Club & WST board. This is because I run my own web design and web marketing business in Manchester. As well as bringing business experience to the board, I’d liketo think I’d be bringing webmaster skills, marketing and communication experience as these are connected with what I do everyday. These skills could be used to help the WST in a number of ways, some of those I have suggested below:

Marketing experience
- To attract new members.
- To retain current members or memberships that have lapsed.
- To attract local businesses for the suggested WST consortium to takeover the club when Nev Dickens & Geoff Moss exit.

Communication experience
- To increase the feedback on the WST from members, fans and those who live in and around Wrexham.
- To simplify and increase the clarity of the WST message & aims.
- To increase the communication with local business for the suggested WST takeover consortium.

Webmaster Skills
- Increase the effectiveness of the web site.
- Increase the effectiveness of the internet communication between the Trust, its members, fans, local businesses and those who live in and around Wrexham.
- Increase the effectiveness of online fundraising.

I along with the other nominees Phil Wynne, Len Willett, Colin Bithell and Lindsay Jones support the current WST strategy of building a local consortium to bid for and run our club. However we feel that this strategy needs to be widened to include other stakeholders such as the local authority and other organisations. We believe that the key to the clubs future prosperity is the provision of a new stand on the Kop and that the WST must work in partnership with all stakeholders to bring this about. We believe we can bring new energy and ideas to assist the existing WST board members in their negotiations with the club owners and other parties, to ensure the club and the Racecourse is protected for the benefit of current and future generations of Wrexham AFC fans.

Read Wayne Price – Election Address and CV at A fresh approach

Lindsay Jones – Election Address and CV

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Lindsay Jones

I am a 44 year old father of 3 .I live near Oswestry and work as retail manager. I saw my first Wrexham game during the 1969/70 promotion season.

During the ’struggle’ I helped with the original fanzine that exposed the corrupt actions taking place at the club.

For my pains I was sued , along with my schoolmate Ken, by Guterman who wished to suppress certain material. Because of the information passed to me in the case I was able to pass important information to the Administrators which helped to bring about the Summary Judgement last year.

I was a board member of the WST from June 2004 till March this year when I resigned because of my increasing frustration with the direction the WST was taking. During my time on the Trust board I attended many meetings on behalf of the WST and worked on more projects than I care to remember although I am particularly proud of the Yearbook we produced, a real team effort by members of the WST.

I feel that the members of WST have received a very poor return for their unequivocal support of Mr Moss & Mr Dickens and nearly 12 months after their takeover we still have no idea what their vision for the club entails.

Of particular worry to me is their proposal, or suggestion, that the club would benefit by the splitting of the business into two separate companies, one to own the club and the other to own the ground. Over the past three years we have all seen the ‘benefits’ that such a move can bring to the club and, like all of you, I have no wish to return to that situation.

This idea was floated at a meeting between the WST board and the club but I have yet to see any comment on this from the board of the WST. I feel that they should be actively condemning it.

It is vital that the club retains its assets.

I along with the other nominees Wayne Price, Len Willett, Colin Bithell and Phil Wynne support the current WST strategy of building a local consortium to bid for and run our club.

However we feel that this strategy needs to be widened to include other stakeholders such as the local authority and other organisations. We believe that the key to the clubs future prosperity is the provision of a new stand on the Kop and that the WST must work in partnership with all stakeholders to bring this about.

We believe we can bring new energy and ideas to assist the existing WST board members in their negotiations with the club owners and other parties, to ensure the club and the Racecourse is protected for the benefit of current and future generations of Wrexham AFC fans.

Read Lindsay Jones – Election Address and CV at A fresh approach

Len Willett – Election Address and CV

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Len Willett

Born in Ruabon 1940. First saw Wrexham AFC play at the age of seven.
I have played football at Junior School level in Wrexham. I captained Denbighshire Tech and Wrexham School Boys and joined Wolverhampton Wanders FC at the age of fifteen during which time I won a Welsh School Boy cap.

I returned to Wrexham to play for Rhosddu before signing professional for Wrexham AFC. I had the pleasure of pulling on a red shirt to play league football for our club for three seasons before playing for Winsford Utd and Ellesmere Port Town in the Cheshire County League.

During the 1960’s I travelled to Australia to play for USC Lions Melbourne, followed by Merton Rovers and Germania Brisbane. Whilst down-under I captained the Queensland’s state team and also won the Australian Premiership.

On my return to the UK in 1970 I was made manager of Newtown in the Mid Wales League before retiring from football.

As a qualified electrician I have been employed by Thornton’s of Wrexham, Wrexham Borough Council, Woolworth’s and Chester City Council.

I have also been a part-time youth leader, Chairman of the Wrexham Area Youth Council, Board member of Clwyd Alyn Housing Association and Chairman of the Yale Park Tenants Group.

I have been a regular Season Ticket holder at the Racecourse and a life-long supporter of the club. I consider myself to have a great deal of experience of football from the “inside” and hope to be able to offer my life experiences to the WST.

I along with the other nominees Cllr Colin Bithell, Lindsay Jones, Wayne Price and Cllr Phillip Wynn support the current WST strategy of building a local consortium to bid for and run our club.However we feel that this strategy needs to be widened to include other stakeholders such as the local authority and other organisations. We believe that the key to the clubs future prosperity is the provision of a new stand on the Kop and that the WST must work in partnership with all stakeholders to bring this about. We believe we can bring new energy and ideas to assist the existing WST board members in their negotiations with the club owners and other parties, to ensure the club and the Racecourse is protected for the benefit of current and future generations of Wrexham AFC fans.

Read Len Willett – Election Address and CV at A fresh approach

Cllr Colin Bithell – Election Address and CV

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Cllr Colin Bithell

I have been a Wrexham supporter for forty years.

I have been elected a local councillor for thirty-seven years with experience of Community, District and currently County level with Flintshire County Council. I am vice chairman of the County Audit Committee.

I am also a governor of the Welsh College of Horticulture at Northop.

During my working like at Vauxhall Motors I was a Production Controller and also the Union Staff Convenor. I have also previously served as a member of the Independent Tribunal Service.

I along with the other nominees Lindsay Jones, Wayne Price, Len Willett and Phillip Wynn support the current WST strategy of building a local consortium to bid for and run our club.However we feel that this strategy needs to be widened to include other stakeholders such as the local authority and other organisations. We believe that the key to the clubs future prosperity is the provision of a new stand on the Kop and that the WST must work in partnership with all stakeholders to bring this about. We believe we can bring new energy and ideas to assist the existing WST board members in their negotiations with the club owners and other parties, to ensure the club and the Racecourse is protected for the benefit of current and future generations of Wrexham AFC fans.

Read Cllr Colin Bithell – Election Address and CV at A fresh approach

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