This is the second article in the series where Trust Board members respond to fans message board posters questions
LCFC Online poster – Beaumont Fox
How much input did the FT and the Fans Forum have into the design of the naff shirt* we are getting? (*that's my opinion and not the opinion of the site as a whole!).
Trust Board Member, Matt Davis responds
I represented the Trust on a sub committee of the Fans Consultative Committee that was specifically set up to discuss the kit design. We never actually saw the final design, but there are elements discussed that have been incorporated, such as the re-introduction of the shield, although the way this has been done in the end wasn’t as I originally envisaged as I preferred to go back to the old style shield in totality and I also preferred a very retro traditional blue and white kit.
In a democracy though you are never going to please everyone in the sub committee and so the one thing we all stressed was the need to ensure it was a design that the players and manager were happy with. We all suggested that they had the final say as it is them that have to perform in the chosen style/block of colour/style.
The question you posted on the message board was a few weeks ago was when the prototype kit was featured on the clubs website. A prototype was used as part of the announcing of the Topps Tiles deal and in many ways in my personal opinion it was a mistake as it was hastily put together, and resulted in a lot of negativity as the shirt had the wrong blue shade.
However in hindsight this has proved beneficial, as the negative comments about the original yellow block for the sponsors logo, caused a re-think and all credit to Topps Tiles for agreeing to modifications based on the fans criticisms, as many sponsors would not have been so flexible.
Hope this clarifies matters, if it doesn't feel free to email me directly at [email protected] …………
LCFC Online poster – Preacher
I can’t get away from my thoughts that there is personal gain being made here by your leaders, if not in monetary terms then in social ones and now you are on a back peddling crusade to try and regain what little reputation you had. Fair play in some ways I guess but maybe it would be better to concede that your role could have been handled better and you wish to learn from it.
Trust Board Chairman Ian Bason responds:
Any team that run an organisation that claims they don’t make mistakes are just fooling themselves and in hindsight most people would handle certain situations differently.
In terms of personal gain, from a monetary viewpoint each board member is more likely to have contributed money than gained some, numerous items have been obtained for the Trust and the costs not reclaimed by board members. As an example in the 4 years of existance only 2 claims for mobile phone calls have been made, and in both instances these have been following a high number of long conversations having been necessary relating to the situation at the time.
In terms of social gains, to obtain influence with people in key positions at the club, it is absolutely vital for Trust Board members to build good relationships, gain mutual trust and establish a rapport where all parties can be open and have a frank exchange of views without having a detrimental affect on those relationships. The challenge for the Trust now is to build that kind of relationship with Mr Mandaric and we really hope to achieve this.
Official Site poster – Beaumont Fox
And I've see how you look at people from the SC when you walk past them to lock yourselves in that little cubbyhole you call an office.
Trust Board Member, Alan Digby responds:
The Foxes Trust liaises with the other Leicester City Fans Groups:-
- Official Supporters Club
- Independent Supporters Association
- Foxes Against Racism
- Disabled Supporters Association
On a regular basis, both at Fans Consultative Committee meetings, and on a one-to-one basis, as and when issues arise. The Foxes Trust actively supports these organisations aims and right to exist and in no way would we ever treat any of them with “contempt”.
All have vital role to play in helping support and take this wonderful club of ours forward. We look forward to working even more closely in future with the other supporters groups as we look to tackle the big issues affecting the game today:
-
Ticket Prices
- Standing
- Policing/Stewarding
- Players Wages
- Club Debts/Ownership/Governance
- Sky TV Influence·
-
Academies/Grass Roots Football
Also on a personal note, I have known Cliff Ginetta, for many years and have discussed/sought his opinions on many Leicester City issues with him over the last 4 years, since the Foxes Trust was formed.
MarkPetresu from the Fox Fanzine site raised various issues relating to the Equal Opportunities Statement on our website.
Board member Nigel Ritchie explains the background to the statement
Predominately the statement is to affirm Foxes Trust policy in terms of equal opportunities i.e that the Foxes Trust shall not discriminate based race, sex, colour, ethnic background, disability or other similar such criteria. In addition the Foxes Trust shall seek to challenge any such discrimination it encounters outside of our own organisation & encourage those we work with to adopt similar polices.
The main purpose of the statement is to ensure that people who work for the Trust both in an official capacity, or on our behalf adhere to these principles.
For instance all Trust Board members are bound by our Equal Opportunities Policy & any member who stands for election to the Trust Board is given a copy of our Equal Opportunities Policy & would be expected to comply with it should they be elected to the Trust Board.Similarly any person/s Co-opted on to the Trust Board agrees to be bound by our Equal Opportunities Policy.
Furthermore our Equal Opportunities Statement is our commitment to our members that the Foxes Trust is free from any such discrimination & any violation by a member or anyone acting on our behalf would be dealt with in the strongest terms possible.
Likewise our Equal Opportunities Statement is our commitment to people outside of our organisation that they shall not suffer any such discrimination by the Foxes Trust or anyone associated with our organisation.
If anyone has any views on how we can improve our Equal Opportunities Statement then please contact us at [email protected]
If you have a question for the Trust for future articles you can post your questions via a number of fans message boards, however you need to clearly mark the thread for our attention to ensure we pick it up, although two message boards www.talkingballs.co.uk and www.lcfconline.co.uk have specific “sticky” threads for ease of use.
If you have a question for us that requires an answer within 2 or 3 days then please email us directly at [email protected] or contact a specific Trust Board member, contact details can be found by clicking on the "Foxes Trust Board" link on the left of this article.
Questions raised on message boards this week will feature in future articles.