Updates on:
THST Members’ Meeting – 15 November
London Football Fan Forum – 6 October
Police Safety Forum – 3 October
Battle of the Somme: Centenary commemoration – 19 October
Catering Meeting with THFC and Levy Restaurants – 2 October
THST Members’ Meeting – 15 November
London Football Fan Forum – 6 October
Police Safety Forum – 3 October
Battle of the Somme: Centenary commemoration – 19 October
Catering Meeting with THFC and Levy Restaurants – 2 October
Other:
1. THST Members’ Meeting – 15 November
With ticketing always a keenly discussed issue, we’ve got THFC’s Head of Ticketing and Membership, Ian Murphy, speaking and taking questions as our guest at the next THST Members’ Meeting. The event takes place at 7pm on Tuesday 15 November 2016 at the William Blake Pub, 174-180 Old Street, London EC1V 9BP.
Ian will be talking about all things ticket and membership related, and is happy to answer questions and listen to your views. Members of the Trust Board will also be present and we look forward to a constructive discussion.
The venue and meeting format were selected based on preferences expressed by members, so we hope to see as many of you there as possible. We anticipate a good turn out so please make sure you book your place in advance by clicking here.
2. London Football Fan Forum – 6 October
Martin Cloake and Martin Buhagiar represented THST at a London-wide meeting of fan reps, the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police, co-ordinated by the Football Supporters’ Federation and held at the Met’s Lambeth HQ. It’s the second year the event has been held, and it’s intended to improve communication between fans and the authorities.
A wide range of topics were covered, and the FSF has published a report of the meeting here. THST raised the need to more regularly use follow-up meetings to take lessons learned on board after pre-game meetings were being adopted more successfully. We pointed out some examples of good practise where practical benefits for fans had been secured, along with examples of less successful approaches.
A number of the reps, including THST, asked for clarification of what constituted a ‘stadium footprint’ as this seems to be the area used to define whether stewards or police have jurisdiction. We were told stadium footprints are usually the area within the boundaries of the stadium itself, including entrance gates. Stewards have primary responsibility for what happens within stadium footprints, although the police would get involved if there was a threat to public order. A follow-up question asked if stewarding within the London (Olympic) Stadium was handled in the same way, and the answer was that all stewarding within stadium footprint was handled and paid for by stadium operator, E20, rather than West Ham United FC.
These meetings were thought to be valuable; with the police agreeing to examine some of the specific cases raised and improve contacts at a number of clubs. There was also general agreement to make all parties aware of the value of building constructive relationships at club level.
3. Police and Safety Forum – 3 October
Members of the THST Board met with representatives of THFC, Metropolitan Police and Haringey Council for the regular Police Safety Forum on 3 October. Discussions covered a review of the 2015/16 season from a police and stewarding standpoint, the approach for the current season, wider policing of matches in London, fan representation on Safety Advisory Groups and the issue of Safe Standing. A full report from the session is available to read here.
4. Battle of the Somme: Centenary commemoration – 19 October
As reported in previous newsletters, the Trust is working alongside THFC and the Foundation to participate in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Living Memory Project this autumn. The first event in the #SpurRemembers programme was a memorial service at Tottenham Cemetery on 19 October where pupils at Wilbury Primary School shared their research on the WW1 fatalities buried in the cemetery in the presence of Trust Board Member, Michael Green and several representatives from the Foundation. Mousa Dembele represented Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and laid a wreath on the day.
More information on this service, along with plans for the remainder of the #SpursRemembers project, can be read here in a comprehensive news story on the Spurs official website.
5. Catering Meeting with THFC and Levy Restaurants – 2 October
THST Board Members Rachel Martin, Martin Cloake and Katrina Law met with representatives of THFC and new stadium caterers, Levy Restaurants, ahead of the Manchester City match to discuss how they’re settling in and what the fans think of their efforts so far. A full report from this meeting can be read here.
Other:
Subsidised train to Liverpool – 25 October
Once the draw for the fourth round of the EFL Cup saw Spurs playing at Anfield on a Tuesday evening, it was clear fans would need some help with transport if we were to travel in any kind of numbers for this game. The last scheduled Virgin train back to London left Liverpool before the end of the match, for starters! THST quickly liaised with THFC, who secured a chartered train service for this fixture at a cost of £20 return for One Hotspur members. We are very pleased that the train sold out all seats and that ticket applications for this match trebled in 4 days after the possibility of a train was communicated.
We thank Jonathan Waite, Head of Supporter Services at THFC, for making the train possible and for allowing early communication on this occasion. And we are pleased to see the Club stay true to their words by providing subsidised travel when no public transport options are available this season.
Flags at Wembley for Bayer Leverkusen match – 2 November
As communicated in our previous newsletter, @TottenhamAMF have raised sufficient funds to purchase over 200 flags for use primarily in Blocks 132 – 136 at Wembley for the Leverkusen match. They have also taken delivery of the 20 metre long ‘We are Tottenham from the Lane’ fence flag.
The drum will also be returning in the ‘home atmosphere’ blocks so this should all help towards a memorable atmosphere on the night.
If you’d like to help the AMF lads distribute and collect flags on the night, please get in touch with them @TottenhamAMF on twitter.
Broadcast picks and kick off times sub group meeting – 2 November
Katrina Law will be representing THST alongside Tim Rolls of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, Anna Burgess from Spirit of Shankly (Liverpool) and Michael Brunskill of the Football Supporters’ Federation at a meeting with Sky executives on the morning of 2 November where the impact of rescheduled matches for broadcast purposes on fans will be discussed. This is a specialist sub group meeting following on from the Premier League structured dialogue meeting facilitated by the FSF back in July. A full report will follow in November’s newsletter.
Structured dialogue sub group meeting – 10 November
Martin Cloake will be representing THST alongside Duncan Drasdo of the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, John Fawell of Watford Supporters’ Trust and Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, plus representatives of Supporters Direct and the Football Supporters’ Federation, in a meeting with Premier League executives to discuss progress on the implementation of the process of structured dialogue between clubs, the football authorities and supporter groups called for by the government’s Expert Working Group on Supporter Representation. The meeting takes place on 10 November. At the last meeting, writing something into the Premier League rules requiring basic levels of consultation and financial reporting was discussed, and fan reps will be looking for progress on this point. A full report will follow in November’s newsletter.
Football to Amsterdam 2017
Registration has just opened for the 2017 ride, which will take place from June 9th to 11th, 2017. You can register by clicking here. You may also enjoy watching this.
To date, we have four Spurs cyclists signed up for next year’s ride, hopefully with many more to follow. Please note, Arsenal have seven signed up, and if that isn’t incentive enough, if you sign up you’ll be riding alongside Spurs legend Les Ferdinand.
Les, who is Director of Football at QPR and who met up with Spurs riders at Loftus Road during our recent ride around London’s football grounds, lost his grandfather to prostate cancer and is determined to do all he can to reduce the 1 in 8 men (and 1 in 4 black men) who are affected by the disease in the UK.
Contact THST’s Kevin Fitzgerald for more details.
Late return tickets and StubHub
We’re aware that the late release of more tickets for the home game against Leicester City revealed further issues with the Club’s StubHub deal. Some fans had already paid in excess of £100 for tickets on StubHub, only to find that tickets were available for face value from the Club. We can appreciate the anger and frustration, and for us this is further illustration of why the deal was ill advised.
We recognise that the Club’s decision to sign a deal with StubHub means this is the only method by which Season Ticket holders can get rid of tickets they genuinely can’t use. But our advice to fans and our position on this deal remains the same. Our view is that fans should sell on StubHub only at face value plus the transaction cost – don’t drive up the price for fellow fans. We have successfully lobbied for a £150 ceiling, the only such ceiling in StubHub’s global business, but in the end no one is forced to sell for more than face value plus cost.
Our advice for the rest of this season would be to wait before buying tickets via StubHub – check for late returns with the Club as this may mean you pay face value from the primary source.
Longer term our position remains that we would like to see a face-value exchange system and that the deal with StubHub should not be renewed.
Ongoing casework
We are pleased to report that the majority of cases of fans looking to relocate from the Park Lane Lower following displacement from Paxton Road at the start of the season have now been successfully concluded. We continue to assist with individual cases where a satisfactory resolution has yet to be found.
We’ve also helped secure refunds for fans overcharged for Leverkusen away and to clarify complex price bandings for a number of supporters for both Leverkusen and Liverpool away.
If you’re a THST member and need our help, advice or support, please do get in touch on info@THSTOfficial.com. We can’t answer questions properly on Twitter, so please do use our email address. And please remember all board members are volunteers, which is why we can’t always get back to you right away.
A reminder…
iSpurs information portal
The Club has also set up a new, dedicated information portal online which answers many of the questions we are frequently contacted with. We’d urge fans to read and familiarise themselves with the details available on the portal as we continue to receive a high volume of questions asking for this information.
For more exclusive and live updates follow us on our social media sites:
Twitter: @THSTOfficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/THSTOfficial
LinkedIn: Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
- Subsidised train for Liverpool EFL Cup match – 25 October
- Flags at Wembley for Bayer Leverkusen match – 2 November
- Broadcast picks and kick off times sub group meeting – 2 November
- Structured dialogue sub group meeting – 10 November
- Football to Amsterdam 2017
- Late return tickets and StubHub
- Ongoing casework
1. THST Members’ Meeting – 15 November
With ticketing always a keenly discussed issue, we’ve got THFC’s Head of Ticketing and Membership, Ian Murphy, speaking and taking questions as our guest at the next THST Members’ Meeting. The event takes place at 7pm on Tuesday 15 November 2016 at the William Blake Pub, 174-180 Old Street, London EC1V 9BP.
Ian will be talking about all things ticket and membership related, and is happy to answer questions and listen to your views. Members of the Trust Board will also be present and we look forward to a constructive discussion.
The venue and meeting format were selected based on preferences expressed by members, so we hope to see as many of you there as possible. We anticipate a good turn out so please make sure you book your place in advance by clicking here.
2. London Football Fan Forum – 6 October
Martin Cloake and Martin Buhagiar represented THST at a London-wide meeting of fan reps, the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police, co-ordinated by the Football Supporters’ Federation and held at the Met’s Lambeth HQ. It’s the second year the event has been held, and it’s intended to improve communication between fans and the authorities.
A wide range of topics were covered, and the FSF has published a report of the meeting here. THST raised the need to more regularly use follow-up meetings to take lessons learned on board after pre-game meetings were being adopted more successfully. We pointed out some examples of good practise where practical benefits for fans had been secured, along with examples of less successful approaches.
A number of the reps, including THST, asked for clarification of what constituted a ‘stadium footprint’ as this seems to be the area used to define whether stewards or police have jurisdiction. We were told stadium footprints are usually the area within the boundaries of the stadium itself, including entrance gates. Stewards have primary responsibility for what happens within stadium footprints, although the police would get involved if there was a threat to public order. A follow-up question asked if stewarding within the London (Olympic) Stadium was handled in the same way, and the answer was that all stewarding within stadium footprint was handled and paid for by stadium operator, E20, rather than West Ham United FC.
These meetings were thought to be valuable; with the police agreeing to examine some of the specific cases raised and improve contacts at a number of clubs. There was also general agreement to make all parties aware of the value of building constructive relationships at club level.
3. Police and Safety Forum – 3 October
Members of the THST Board met with representatives of THFC, Metropolitan Police and Haringey Council for the regular Police Safety Forum on 3 October. Discussions covered a review of the 2015/16 season from a police and stewarding standpoint, the approach for the current season, wider policing of matches in London, fan representation on Safety Advisory Groups and the issue of Safe Standing. A full report from the session is available to read here.
4. Battle of the Somme: Centenary commemoration – 19 October
As reported in previous newsletters, the Trust is working alongside THFC and the Foundation to participate in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Living Memory Project this autumn. The first event in the #SpurRemembers programme was a memorial service at Tottenham Cemetery on 19 October where pupils at Wilbury Primary School shared their research on the WW1 fatalities buried in the cemetery in the presence of Trust Board Member, Michael Green and several representatives from the Foundation. Mousa Dembele represented Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and laid a wreath on the day.
More information on this service, along with plans for the remainder of the #SpursRemembers project, can be read here in a comprehensive news story on the Spurs official website.
5. Catering Meeting with THFC and Levy Restaurants – 2 October
THST Board Members Rachel Martin, Martin Cloake and Katrina Law met with representatives of THFC and new stadium caterers, Levy Restaurants, ahead of the Manchester City match to discuss how they’re settling in and what the fans think of their efforts so far. A full report from this meeting can be read here.
Other:
Subsidised train to Liverpool – 25 October
Once the draw for the fourth round of the EFL Cup saw Spurs playing at Anfield on a Tuesday evening, it was clear fans would need some help with transport if we were to travel in any kind of numbers for this game. The last scheduled Virgin train back to London left Liverpool before the end of the match, for starters! THST quickly liaised with THFC, who secured a chartered train service for this fixture at a cost of £20 return for One Hotspur members. We are very pleased that the train sold out all seats and that ticket applications for this match trebled in 4 days after the possibility of a train was communicated.
We thank Jonathan Waite, Head of Supporter Services at THFC, for making the train possible and for allowing early communication on this occasion. And we are pleased to see the Club stay true to their words by providing subsidised travel when no public transport options are available this season.
Flags at Wembley for Bayer Leverkusen match – 2 November
As communicated in our previous newsletter, @TottenhamAMF have raised sufficient funds to purchase over 200 flags for use primarily in Blocks 132 – 136 at Wembley for the Leverkusen match. They have also taken delivery of the 20 metre long ‘We are Tottenham from the Lane’ fence flag.
The drum will also be returning in the ‘home atmosphere’ blocks so this should all help towards a memorable atmosphere on the night.
If you’d like to help the AMF lads distribute and collect flags on the night, please get in touch with them @TottenhamAMF on twitter.
Broadcast picks and kick off times sub group meeting – 2 November
Katrina Law will be representing THST alongside Tim Rolls of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, Anna Burgess from Spirit of Shankly (Liverpool) and Michael Brunskill of the Football Supporters’ Federation at a meeting with Sky executives on the morning of 2 November where the impact of rescheduled matches for broadcast purposes on fans will be discussed. This is a specialist sub group meeting following on from the Premier League structured dialogue meeting facilitated by the FSF back in July. A full report will follow in November’s newsletter.
Structured dialogue sub group meeting – 10 November
Martin Cloake will be representing THST alongside Duncan Drasdo of the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, John Fawell of Watford Supporters’ Trust and Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, plus representatives of Supporters Direct and the Football Supporters’ Federation, in a meeting with Premier League executives to discuss progress on the implementation of the process of structured dialogue between clubs, the football authorities and supporter groups called for by the government’s Expert Working Group on Supporter Representation. The meeting takes place on 10 November. At the last meeting, writing something into the Premier League rules requiring basic levels of consultation and financial reporting was discussed, and fan reps will be looking for progress on this point. A full report will follow in November’s newsletter.
Football to Amsterdam 2017
Registration has just opened for the 2017 ride, which will take place from June 9th to 11th, 2017. You can register by clicking here. You may also enjoy watching this.
To date, we have four Spurs cyclists signed up for next year’s ride, hopefully with many more to follow. Please note, Arsenal have seven signed up, and if that isn’t incentive enough, if you sign up you’ll be riding alongside Spurs legend Les Ferdinand.
Les, who is Director of Football at QPR and who met up with Spurs riders at Loftus Road during our recent ride around London’s football grounds, lost his grandfather to prostate cancer and is determined to do all he can to reduce the 1 in 8 men (and 1 in 4 black men) who are affected by the disease in the UK.
Contact THST’s Kevin Fitzgerald for more details.
Late return tickets and StubHub
We’re aware that the late release of more tickets for the home game against Leicester City revealed further issues with the Club’s StubHub deal. Some fans had already paid in excess of £100 for tickets on StubHub, only to find that tickets were available for face value from the Club. We can appreciate the anger and frustration, and for us this is further illustration of why the deal was ill advised.
We recognise that the Club’s decision to sign a deal with StubHub means this is the only method by which Season Ticket holders can get rid of tickets they genuinely can’t use. But our advice to fans and our position on this deal remains the same. Our view is that fans should sell on StubHub only at face value plus the transaction cost – don’t drive up the price for fellow fans. We have successfully lobbied for a £150 ceiling, the only such ceiling in StubHub’s global business, but in the end no one is forced to sell for more than face value plus cost.
Our advice for the rest of this season would be to wait before buying tickets via StubHub – check for late returns with the Club as this may mean you pay face value from the primary source.
Longer term our position remains that we would like to see a face-value exchange system and that the deal with StubHub should not be renewed.
Ongoing casework
We are pleased to report that the majority of cases of fans looking to relocate from the Park Lane Lower following displacement from Paxton Road at the start of the season have now been successfully concluded. We continue to assist with individual cases where a satisfactory resolution has yet to be found.
We’ve also helped secure refunds for fans overcharged for Leverkusen away and to clarify complex price bandings for a number of supporters for both Leverkusen and Liverpool away.
If you’re a THST member and need our help, advice or support, please do get in touch on info@THSTOfficial.com. We can’t answer questions properly on Twitter, so please do use our email address. And please remember all board members are volunteers, which is why we can’t always get back to you right away.
A reminder…
iSpurs information portal
The Club has also set up a new, dedicated information portal online which answers many of the questions we are frequently contacted with. We’d urge fans to read and familiarise themselves with the details available on the portal as we continue to receive a high volume of questions asking for this information.
For more exclusive and live updates follow us on our social media sites:
Twitter: @THSTOfficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/THSTOfficial
LinkedIn: Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
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