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Fans 'Parliament Launch


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Fill yer boots....

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/article.php?page_id=11517

 

Football fans are never short of an opinion or two but now Saints supporters are being given the chance to have their views heard…

 

Southampton Football Club have agreed to help set up an independent Fans Parliament which aims to give supporters more of a voice in the way the club is run.

 

Southampton FC Chairman Michael Wilde says that decisions on the way the Parliament will be established and run have already taken place and the plans are now ready to be put into action.

"Our proposals for the new Fans Parliament will work in a similar way to the system that already operates very successfully at Wolverhampton Wanderers," he explained.

 

"Last week I met with the Club's Commercial Director, John O'Sullivan and our Head of Supporter Services, David Luker and we have formulated an initial plan for how the Parliament will be established.

"From the very outset, we are very keen to highlight that whilst the Club will provide help and assistance at every opportunity, the Parliament, when formed, will be an independent body working outside of the Club's remit.

"The aim of this independent body will be to give all fans a voice that may otherwise be lost amidst the clamour and somewhat ad-hoc nature of many current supporters initiatives."

Wilde also revealed the details of how the Parliament will be formed, and its make up once established.

"Initially, we will look to help set up a Selection Committee whose role will be to eventually run the nomination process for supporters' representatives to sit on the Parliament," he continued.

"The committee will be made up of a maximum of 6 people, with no more than two coming from the Club itself. We would therefore invite fans to nominate fellow supporters who they feel have the best interests of the Club at heart, and who would be able to work within a small democratically run committee."

The deadline for nominations to the Selection Committee will be 31st March and the Club will evaluate all such applicants, with this being the only role the Club will have in the incorporation process.

"Once the Committee has been chosen, they will then look to invite nominations for supporters to sit within the Parliament. We hope that this process would begin in about a month from now, with the inaugural meeting of the new Parliament aiming to take place immediately prior to the start of the 2009/10 season.

"It is anticipated that the Parliament will initially comprise between 20 and 25 supporters representing a diverse range of supporter interests. A full list of categories will be published following the first meeting of the new Selection Committee and nominations invited shortly thereafter. The aim of the Selection Committee will be to ensure that every category of supporter is represented within the Parliament. "

"Any supporter with issues or questions to raise with the Club through the Parliament will be able to contact the relevant representative to raise the issue on their behalf. Contact details of all representatives will be permanently published on the Club's website as will the minutes of every meeting which will also be made available to the media."

It is intended that the Parliament will meet at least four times a year with an independent "speaker" being appointed to take charge of the meetings.

The Club will provide administrative support on an ongoing basis and will ensure that both the Club's board members and senior management are available as necessary to address and respond to the many and varied issues that will be discussed.

"We are fully confident that once set up, the Parliament will be a great conduit for our supporters to discuss issues with the Club, and make suggestions where they deem appropriate, on a whole range of issues such as ticket pricing, merchandise ranges etc. I also believe that the feedback the Club receives from the Parliament will be very important in assisting the formulation of ongoing policies.

"I encourage all supporters to embrace, support and contribute to this important initiative. This is a fantastic opportunity for supporters of all types to make their voices heard within an organised, constructive and proactive environment."

 

Fans wishing to nominate someone for the Fans Parliament Selection Committee should send there nominations to the following address:

FANS PARLIAMENT, FREEPOST, ST. MARY'S, BRITANNIA ROAD, SOUTHAMPTON. SO14 5FP.

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Fill yer boots....

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/article.php?page_id=11517

 

 

Fans wishing to nominate someone for the Fans Parliament Selection Committee should send there nominations to the following address:

FANS PARLIAMENT, FREEPOST, ST. MARY'S, BRITANNIA ROAD, SOUTHAMPTON. SO14 5FP.

 

Oh dear, oh dear :D

 

They need a self-confessed pedant in their parliament, I suggest.

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So they want people to be nominated to a panel who in turn will then ask for people to be nominated for the actual "parliament"?

 

Sounds a bit long-winded to me.

 

I'm not sure why they're so keen to listen to fan views now all of a sudden, given that they've hung the Trust out to dry in the last 3 years (although the Trust itself should take its fair share of the blame for that situation as well).

 

Realistically, I would imagine many of those nominated will be the "usual suspects", so they're going to end up with the same old problems of the cynics whinging that those involved are only doing it for their own egos etc etc

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Realistically, I would imagine many of those nominated will be the "usual suspects", so they're going to end up with the same old problems of the cynics whinging that those involved are only doing it for their own egos etc etc

 

No doubt Illingsworth has already nominated himself.......

 

I nominate Rich Chorley.

 

I can really see Lowe allowing that.

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No doubt Illingsworth has already nominated himself.......

 

I nominate Rich Chorley.

 

I can really see Lowe allowing that.

 

There is no point in having a fans Parliament if reps are not democratically elected. There doesn't seem to be a process for doing this, as far as I can tell, and the fans are variously split into all the various Forums, The Saints Trust, Season Ticket holders, and the club Members who pay for matches on the day, some not belonging to any group.

 

If the selection is to be done by Wild and Lowe it will not be representatitive, and the project will be doomed to fail.

 

So how best to elect the 'Parliamentariums'?

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So they want people to be nominated to a panel who in turn will then ask for people to be nominated for the actual "parliament"?

 

Sounds a bit long-winded to me.

 

I'm not sure why they're so keen to listen to fan views now all of a sudden, given that they've hung the Trust out to dry in the last 3 years (although the Trust itself should take its fair share of the blame for that situation as well).

 

Realistically, I would imagine many of those nominated will be the "usual suspects", so they're going to end up with the same old problems of the cynics whinging that those involved are only doing it for their own egos etc etc

 

It's going to be like a Vichy Government installed by the occupying forces.

 

Anyone taking part should automatically become a "usual suspect".

 

I'm not currently a Trust member but surely it was set up to do precisely what this latest cynical PR scheme of Wilde's is supposed to achieve.

 

Shouldn't be too harsh on him I suppose, after all he did give us our club back. :mad:

 

BTW does anyone know which user name he's using this week?

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It would be seriously f**king hillarious if they got only 4 or 5 nominations made up of Rich Chorley, Duncan, Daren W, Stanley and me...

 

Perry Macmillan or Clive Foley or Chris Newman

 

suspect we will end up with Sundance Scooby and Nineteen

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Perry Macmillan or Clive Foley or Chris Newman

 

suspect we will end up with Sundance Scooby and Nineteen

Ultimately, it will all boil down to whether people can be bothered nominating someone of their choosing.

 

If nobody from one side of the "divide" can be bothered to nominate someone representing their own opinions, then the whole thing will be comprised of people from the other side.

 

If people genuinely believe that this "Parliament" has a chance to actually do something constructive and want somebody to represent your views, make sure you nominate somebody. If you don't, and like-minded fans do the same, you won't be represented. It's clear that the club, having formed this, will be taking opinions from this group ahead of other supporters organisations.

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I gues who you want to nominate depends on what you believe such a thing should do or set out to achive, _ If you think it should be a thorn in the clubs side with a constant call for a new board, then go ahead and nominate some of the more vocal and prominent supporters - but I suggestthat as soon as it gets antagonistic with teh single agenda of Lowe out, teh whole thing will be wasted and down the toilet.

 

These things firstly need to establish some credibilty = that does not mean they should be sychophantic to teh club, far from it afterall its abouts representing fans interests which can be at odds with the clubs or boards - thats perfectly reasonable, but what is important is that those selected understand that the ONLY things can be improved is by working CONSTRUCTIVELY with the club to acheive a positive outcome - that often means compromise on both sides to reach an agreement everyobne can live with.

 

Whatever cynical stuff we might suspect, it cant be a bad thing for teh club to reach out in this way - The success or failure of it will largely depend on teh attitude of those selected, hot heads and firebrands may be popular with some fans, but will unlikely ever get sufficient respect (rightly or wrongly) to be taken seriously ss we know from Lowe's attitude to the 'lunatic fringe'.

 

Seriously, if you wnat this to have ANY positive impact for fans of this club, think longand hard before nominating those who already have clashed swords with club officials - it might be 'funny' from the outside, but achieve feck all and make a mockery of it.

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I agree with Steve G it shouldnt be the usual suspects but how are the lesser known fans going to get on there. If it is going to be voted on then the usual suspects will probably get the votes.

I f we want a clean sweep on the board then the same has to apply to all of the fans spokespersons.

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I gues who you want to nominate depends on what you believe such a thing should do or set out to achive, _ If you think it should be a thorn in the clubs side with a constant call for a new board, then go ahead and nominate some of the more vocal and prominent supporters - but I suggestthat as soon as it gets antagonistic with teh single agenda of Lowe out, teh whole thing will be wasted and down the toilet.

 

These things firstly need to establish some credibilty = that does not mean they should be sychophantic to teh club, far from it afterall its abouts representing fans interests which can be at odds with the clubs or boards - thats perfectly reasonable, but what is important is that those selected understand that the ONLY things can be improved is by working CONSTRUCTIVELY with the club to acheive a positive outcome - that often means compromise on both sides to reach an agreement everyobne can live with.

 

Whatever cynical stuff we might suspect, it cant be a bad thing for teh club to reach out in this way - The success or failure of it will largely depend on teh attitude of those selected, hot heads and firebrands may be popular with some fans, but will unlikely ever get sufficient respect (rightly or wrongly) to be taken seriously ss we know from Lowe's attitude to the 'lunatic fringe'.

 

Seriously, if you wnat this to have ANY positive impact for fans of this club, think longand hard before nominating those who already have clashed swords with club officials - it might be 'funny' from the outside, but achieve feck all and make a mockery of it.

 

I could not agree more. There is a long list of supporters with the right attitude to make an attempt at getting this to work. Please lets not let the loud mouthed vocal few sabotage this.

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I gues who you want to nominate depends on what you believe such a thing should do or set out to achive, _ If you think it should be a thorn in the clubs side with a constant call for a new board, then go ahead and nominate some of the more vocal and prominent supporters - but I suggestthat as soon as it gets antagonistic with teh single agenda of Lowe out, teh whole thing will be wasted and down the toilet.

 

And here is the crux of the whole thing. Had a fans' Parliament existed a year ago, what effect would it have had on matters that arose since that time? Would the united voice of the fans (almost unanimous at the time) in favour of keeping Nigel Pearson have been listened to? Or would we still have embarked on the mad experiment by appointing the double Dutch and playing the youngsters? Although I do not expect that we should be appointing the manager, on the other hand we ought to be able to have some input as to whether the candidate/s have the broad support of the fans. In this particular instance, I supect that the fans would have been united in their condemnation of the path chosen by the board of dismissing Pearson and appointing JP & Wotte and certain that it was bound to end in tears.

 

These things firstly need to establish some credibilty = that does not mean they should be sychophantic to teh club, far from it afterall its abouts representing fans interests which can be at odds with the clubs or boards - thats perfectly reasonable, but what is important is that those selected understand that the ONLY things can be improved is by working CONSTRUCTIVELY with the club to acheive a positive outcome - that often means compromise on both sides to reach an agreement everyobne can live with.

 

Whatever cynical stuff we might suspect, it cant be a bad thing for teh club to reach out in this way - The success or failure of it will largely depend on teh attitude of those selected, hot heads and firebrands may be popular with some fans, but will unlikely ever get sufficient respect (rightly or wrongly) to be taken seriously ss we know from Lowe's attitude to the 'lunatic fringe'.

 

And the other side of the coin is the fans' attitude towards the person who is apparently the driving force behind this initiative. This is the same person who ousted the unpopular former chairman and produced a fans' charter, proclaiming in this manifesto that he had given the club back to the fans, only to do a complete about face and enable the return of Lowe who has the highest animosity level amongst the fans of any individual ever associated with the club. In that respect, it is pertinent to question whether Wilde has the respect of the fans.

 

Seriously, if you wnat this to have ANY positive impact for fans of this club, think longand hard before nominating those who already have clashed swords with club officials - it might be 'funny' from the outside, but achieve feck all and make a mockery of it.

 

The idea would be a good one for any normal club; but this is not a normal scenario here. As you have stated yourself, the most powerful person associated with the club (through his power base, not his own shareholding) has labelled those fans who have dared to be critical of him as a lunatic fringe. Lowe doesn't take criticism very well, so we are better off organising our own independent group with the ability to speak freely against the board, rather than having an outfit which will end up as the board's poodle.

 

It is plain to most that until Lowe leaves or is forced out, there cannot be unity amongst the fan base. Because this should be the prime motion to come out of such a body as a fan' Parliament, if it is something that the board will not countenance, then the whole exercise is totally futile.

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But I see the club will decide who is on the panel......therefore it is not independent.

 

It seems to quite clearly say the club will help decide the selection panel (comprising a maximum 2 people from the club) who will then be free to chose whomever they please for the remaining members.

 

It's saddening, if not suprising, that most people's reaction to this seems to be "How can we use this to **** off Lowe and Wilde?", perhaps that's a reflection of the cynicism of fans after the last few years but it's also pretty petty.

 

There's contant moaning that the club doesn't listen and doesn't communicate, then when there's a chance to make things better people are too cynical to give it a try. There's an apathy here that's totally depressing.

 

If people want change, they have to work for change. It won't just happen. Why can we not assume this is an honest and well-meaning move from the club and go from that angle. Perhaps then, with a little patience, we can - as fans - help move this club forward.

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It seems to quite clearly say the club will help decide the selection panel (comprising a maximum 2 people from the club) who will then be free to chose whomever they please for the remaining members.

 

It's saddening, if not suprising, that most people's reaction to this seems to be "How can we use this to **** off Lowe and Wilde?", perhaps that's a reflection of the cynicism of fans after the last few years but it's also pretty petty.

 

There's contant moaning that the club doesn't listen and doesn't communicate, then when there's a chance to make things better people are too cynical to give it a try. There's an apathy here that's totally depressing.

 

If people want change, they have to work for change. It won't just happen. Why can we not assume this is an honest and well-meaning move from the club and go from that angle. Perhaps then, with a little patience, we can - as fans - help move this club forward.

 

If the club wish to know what the average fan is thinking about any number of subjects, all they have to do is to look on forums like this, read their letters in the Echo, or those addressed to them.

 

If there is apathy amongst the fan base, then it is because the club is run by people who have ruined it and we feel helpless to rid ourselves of them. If you believe that this Parliament is anything other than a sop to the fans and will be taken seriously by the board, then you are being naive.

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'The best interests of the club at heart'. This phrase is the one on which the success of this proposed project rests. What will happen if the first action of the parliament, representing a broad range of supporter interests, is to declare that they have no faith in those running the club? What if they think that the club is run not in the best interests of the thousands of supporters (who are effectively the heart and soul of Southampton FC) but the small number of major shareholders at the moment? Will the parliament be able to provoke a reaction from the club to this or will it simply be ignored? If this type of discussion is ruled out of bounds from the off or is rejected as being divisive, even if a majority of the parliament want it, then it will become an elephant in the room and the parliament will be derided as a talking shop where people show up to debate about the price of club pencil sharpeners.

 

It is perhaps a good sign, however, that the club is planning for something a few seasons down the line, obviously thinking that SFC will still be in existence then. The flip side to that is that it may mean that Mr Wilde et al are still expecting to be in charge then, perhaps even more so, and that this is a token bone tossed to those want them out of the club in the hope that the promise of a fans' say will appease them in the event of a post-admin Lowe/Wilde takeover. Actually, in the event of admin, Lowe et al may not even need Wilde anymore...

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If the club wish to know what the average fan is thinking about any number of subjects, all they have to do is to look on forums like this, read their letters in the Echo, or those addressed to them.

 

If there is apathy amongst the fan base, then it is because the club is run by people who have ruined it and we feel helpless to rid ourselves of them. If you believe that this Parliament is anything other than a sop to the fans and will be taken seriously by the board, then you are being naive.

 

Personally I think you are being naive in thinking the opinions of fans on internet forums and those who write letters to the echo\club are those that the club should take notice of. There is a silent majority here and they deserve their chance to stand up and be listened to.

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The idea would be a good one for any normal club; but this is not a normal scenario here. As you have stated yourself, the most powerful person associated with the club (through his power base, not his own shareholding) has labelled those fans who have dared to be critical of him as a lunatic fringe. Lowe doesn't take criticism very well, so we are better off organising our own independent group with the ability to speak freely against the board, rather than having an outfit which will end up as the board's poodle.

 

It is plain to most that until Lowe leaves or is forced out, there cannot be unity amongst the fan base. Because this should be the prime motion to come out of such a body as a fan' Parliament, if it is something that the board will not countenance, then the whole exercise is totally futile.

 

Thing is though Wes, should we really not take the initiative and moral high ground? - The Ghandi' approach of passive resistance that gains a momentum of respect by not letting hot heads get get the better of us and slowly grinding down resistance top accepting fans DO HAVE a credible voice and the intelligence to understand the complexities of running the club? To be taken seriously by flexing the financial clout we do hold?

 

I suspect that one of the reasons we have never had unity and thus a voice that scares the crap out of Lowe, is because the 'hot head' approach puts so many off. Sure they might appeal to the 'radical kids' but unlikely to those with a more rational bent - even those that might agree with the underlying sentiment. The way I see it, the more rational folk keep getting up, dusting yourself off and offering not only constructive criticism but credibale SOLUTIONS the more will join the fold, even if that ultimately is leading to Lowe's departure, or by being successful, makes the departure or not irrelevant?

 

Wilde may well currently be the champion of this, and because its him who some see as the villian for letting Lowe back in, we can see from this thread that those with teh most to gain from something like this wont even take it seriously, which I find a little sad.

 

The best way of uniting fans is by adopting a common sense and rational approach - constructive dialogue will and between all parties. We do that and the club has no choice but to listen and change, because if they dont it will just attract more fans in support and the voice becomes even stronger - and ouside the prem, teh financila muscle we hold as fans if united will be taken very seriously. If we go in with a single agenda of Low/Wilde out, the door will just be shut in our faces and it will be stupid waste of on opportunity to build bridges and heal wounds. Its our choice, Just hope enough fans have the commen sense to make the most of it.

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So can someone start naming them ?

 

 

Andrew Mintram

Matt Hemsley

Martyn Gorse

Andrew Grace

Michelle Moore

Steve Grant

Davis Ford

Paul Radley

Ric Paul

 

Some of these have had some involvement with other "initiatives" that have, for one reason or another, fallen thorugh.

 

All of these are capable and eloquent people who would postitively contribute to this type of intiative. Not that I believe any of them would wish to take up such a role.

 

I'm sure there are many more who could do a great job with this too, but this is a first pass at answering your question.

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Personally I think you are being naive in thinking the opinions of fans on internet forums and those who write letters to the echo\club are those that the club should take notice of. There is a silent majority here and they deserve their chance to stand up and be listened to.

But if they're silent, isn't trying to listen to them a bit of a waste of time? ;)

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Personally I think you are being naive in thinking the opinions of fans on internet forums and those who write letters to the echo\club are those that the club should take notice of. There is a silent majority here and they deserve their chance to stand up and be listened to.

 

Look, Lowe, Wilde and the other board members are supposed to be intelligent and sensible business people. Are you suggesting that they are incapable of reading comments from various ends of the spectrum of opinion on a fans' forum and not gain some idea of a concensus?

 

As for your assertion that there is a silent majority on here, what proof do you have of that? How do you know what their opinions are? Anybody who has some opinion on any matter related to the club is free on here to express it. If they fail to do that on here, a discussion forum, how do you propose that their views are reflected in a fans' Parliament?

 

We don't need a fans' Parliament; what we need is a totally independent fan's association, able to speak independently on behalf of the fans. If the board wish to hear our views on matters related to our club, then they can listen to that association, not some trumped up body that they wish to set up to pay lip service to our grouches. We need to reinvent and reinvigorate SISA

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Ru**rt to the Quisling, about a month ago: " Go and create a 'parliament' for fans. Make sure that it is populated only with people who support me, so that we can then show all dissidents to be the lunatic fringe."

Quisling replies: "Yes master, I'll make sure that the members of this fan's parliament are nominated in a process that looks open, but actually selected by us. Also, I'll make sure that no powers of any kind will be assigned to this parliament."

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