The Q3 Meeting of the Board of Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust took place on the evening of 2 September. A record of the meeting is published here.
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
Board Meeting
Wednesday 2 September 2015
7.00pm – 9.30pm
Nabarro LLP London, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AL
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
Board Meeting
Wednesday 2 September 2015
7.00pm – 9.30pm
Nabarro LLP London, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AL
Present:
Martin Cloake, Co-chair
Katrina Law, Co-chair
Suraj Sharma, Secretary
Adam Bailey, Treasurer
Paul Head
Keith Sharp
Kevin Fitzgerald
Adam Nathan
Apologies:
Adam Manson
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MINUTES
MC chaired the Q3 meeting of the THST Board and opened up with a brief recap of the Q2 minutes. All key topics were covered on the Q3 agenda, also.
1. Financial summary
- AB summarised Trust finances at year end (31 August). THST had made a profit of c £2,000 over the past year, leaving healthy cash reserves
- It was acknowledged that this represented a very positive turnaround following the previous 2 years of losses
- The key is now to retain what we have and the spike in renewals in November will be crucial for this to be sustained
- There was a brief discussion around optimum levels of resource and our running costs, which were confirmed as c £3,000 per annum
- As a not for profit organisation, the aim is not to accrue large amounts of money, rather to be in a healthy position which enables us to invest to grow further
- Various initiatives around boosting membership were floated with an agreement to follow up outside of this meeting
2. Membership
- MC asked whether the financials tallied up with the membership numbers
- There was broad agreement this was the case with AB and SS undertaking to consolidate asap
- SS ran through the latest membership numbers. We now represent 11,000 fans across all strands of membership, including 29 Official Supporters Clubs
- Renewal take up was going well, also
- SS talked through the improvements to the database that had taken place over the past quarter
- An app had been developed to automate all welcome and renewal prompts along with other back end upgrade work, which has now been completed
- Membership payment methods were discussed with Direct Debits being raised as an option. AB felt Standing Orders were less complicated for organisations such as ours. It was agreed to move a discussion around payment methods to a separate session outside of the main Board meeting in order to properly examine options.
- Whilst most aspects of the database function were now fully automated, there was still the need for manual checks across a couple of areas. AB agreed to work with SS over the next month to ascertain how labour-intensive this was before potentially moving a third board member across to help with some database maintenance
- Various initiatives for recruiting new members were discussed including programme advertising and boosting our digital presence
- Incentivising membership by maximizing member benefits was also raised
- It was agreed to organise a separate sub-committee meeting of KL, SS and AN to address conversion from Associate Member to Full Member, Recruitment and Retention, with the sub-committee to report back within a month
3. THST Communications
- One of the key ways in which THST communicates with its members is via the monthly newsletter. Historically, this has been collated and written by KL and MC before KS stepped up to edit the previous 3 editions
- Having worked with THST during his time as editor of the Haringey Independent Group of newspapers, full Trust member Martin Buhagiar,has offered to assist with the newsletter moving forwards
- KL explained the new process for producing the newsletter, with each Board member submitting updates on their workstreams to MB throughout the month, MB collating and chasing for further information before producing a draft of the newsletter. This is then circulated to the Board for sign off before publication
- KL also explained MB will be looking to improve the format of the newsletter, using his extensive editorial experience
- KL then updated on the THST rebrand discussed at the AGM in February 2015
- MC and KL had met with Trust volunteer, Graphic Designer Brinley Clark, on 24 August and it had been agreed to undertake a gradual roll out of the new ‘look and feel’ before moving over to the new branding completely in the close season. BC was considering imagery, bearing in mind copyright limitations, and was working on several themes at present
- The recent work produced by BC, notably the Fan Survey 2015 results and the Ground share Survey results were thought to have been of a very high standard indeed
- KL suggested arranging a follow up session for BC to meet with SS to discuss redesigning the THST website
4. New stadium and ground share
- Following a series of meetings with THFC over the summer around the new stadium plans and the fact those plans are currently in a consultation period prior to being lodged with Haringey Council, the Board felt there was a limit to what more could be discussed at this point
- This would feature heavily on the agenda for the next meeting with the Board of THFC on 29 September, post planning applications being submitted
- Regarding the ground share for season 2017/18, there was concern at the lack of movement following the Trust’s campaign to lobby Greg Dyke, Chairman of the FA, back in July to allow Spurs to play at Wembley. THST had received no formal response from Mr Dyke with other fans receiving an impersonal, templated response from FA customer service via email
- Wembley had yet to make a decision as to whether it would allow Tottenham Hotspur to play home games at the stadium for the 2017/18 season and had given no indication as to when any such decision might be made
- The uncertainty worried all of the THST Board, who agreed to step up the ‘London ground for a London club’ campaign
- Keeping Spurs in the capital for the duration of any period away remains a key priority for the Trust and it was felt this needed to be pushed in the coming weeks
5. Olympic stadium petition
- THST was one of 14 fan groups who came together to form an unprecedented coalition calling for more transparency into the deal for the rental of the Olympic Stadium between West Ham United and the London Legacy Development Committee
- This took the form of a petition on the No.10 site initially, which currently stands at over 24,000 signatures
- MC and KL reiterated the reasoning for THST’s involvement with the campaign was three fold: the anti-competitive nature of the deal which seriously threatened Spurs’ ability to compete with West Ham moving forwards, the use of taxpayers’ money, and solidarity with the 8 other London fan groups and 5 national organisations also affected by this deal in different ways
- MC and KL explained how the campaign was now being taken up by various politicians and the GLA and next steps would be communicated shortly
6. FSF Weekend of Action – 4 October
- THST has agreed to participate in the Football Supporters’ Federation’s ticket pricing weekend of action across 3 and 4 October
- Protests are planned at every Premier League fixture across that weekend
- THFC play at Swansea on 4 October in the Sunday 4pm televised game and THST will be arranging a demonstration before the match
- MC and KL suggested producing a banner and purchasing some inflatables to make the demonstration more ‘fun’ and visually interesting
- MC suggested purchasing inflatable Octopuses to urge Clubs to help us ‘save a few squid’. Most congratulated him on a truly terrible pun before agreeing it might not be such a bad idea after all
- KL and MC to work with Brinley Clark to produce the banner
- AB agreed to a budget of £300 for protest materials
- Other fans would be encouraged to participate in the demonstration, too, via FSF and THST channels in the run up to the match
- MC and KL confirmed they had made contact with counterparts at Swansea and were awaiting a response. Jonathan Waite, Head of Supporter Services at THFC, has also been consulted and is obtaining platform sizes at the Liberty stadium for the banner
7. Next THST Members’ Meeting
- The next member’s meeting is being arranged for mid to late October
- KF volunteered to assist KL with the organisation of this meeting
- Two venues are being considered – Nabarro, London Wall and White Hart Lane, N17
- Construction work at the latter made that option complicated
- KL and KF will confirm the venue as soon as is possible
- The date is also tbc with the 14 and 21 October originally being floated before the UEL draw, which now sees members of the THST Board (and no doubt numerous THST members) away at Anderlecht for the later date option
- There was a brief discussion around the format for the members’ meetings with the previous two having featured a guest speaker from THFC during the first half of the meeting before opening up the floor for a member Q&A with the Trust board in part two
- It was felt there was merit in holding a straight members’ meeting as an open forum this time to give members maximum time for debate and discussion on a lot of important topics facing supporters
- It was also agreed to offer an on the spot sign up so non-members could come along and join on the evening
- KL and KF to report back with logistics asap
8. Upcoming Board to Board Meeting with THFC
- The next meeting with the Board of THFC has been arranged for 29 September at 6pm at Lilywhite House
- Initial points to include on the agenda for this meeting were agreed as: follow up on the transfer window statement by THST and wrap by THFC; the ground share situation; the new stadium (including planning update and more granular detail around ticketing pricing following the recent THFC research piece); next season’s proposed price rise and the problems with concourse food and drink so far this season at WHL
- There was some discussion around exactly what it was practical for the Trust board to press for in the discussion around the transfer window, and whether communicating fan discontent with the outcome of the window was as much as could or should be done. It was also recognised that there was a wide range of views among the fan base on what was ultimately a matter of footballing judgement
- The pre meet for the Board to Board Meeting has been scheduled for 24 September when THST will drill down into more detail the topics to be raised and finalise the full agenda
- In the meantime, THST members will be asked to submit questions to be put in front of Daniel Levy, as usual. KL to action
9. AOB:
Collective responsibility
- There was a brief discussion around collective responsibility of board members of an organisation such as THST
- All board members were strongly advised to have disclaimers on all personal social media accounts
- All board members were advised to apply common sense before posting or commenting on Spurs related topics, especially if the issues were being covered by the Trust
Relations with THFC
- There was a brief discussion around the relationship between the Trust and the Club with KL explaining our central position was always as an independent organisation representing Spurs fans
- Depending on the issue, we would work more or less closely with the Club – always keeping the views of our members and the best interests of fans at the forefront
- It was agreed to pick up on this later if necessary
Living Wage
- PH and KF are attending a session arranged by Frank Field MP on 18 September on the Living Wage
- KF agreed to provide a written report back after the meeting
Norway Spurs AGM – 19 September
- KL, SS and KF are attending the AGM of Tottenhams Venner (Spurs Norway) on 19 September in Liverpool Street
- KL prepared a draft of the talk for the night and circulated to others attending for comment and review
Actions:
- Membership sub-committee meeting of KL, AN, SS to be scheduled
- Meeting around payment methods with SS and AB to be arranged
- Website branding meeting with SS and BC to be scheduled
- MC and KL to finalise arrangements for FSF protest at Swansea
- KL and KF to firm up arrangements for next members’ meeting asap
- KL to issue call for questions for THFC Board ahead of meeting on 29 September
- KF to report back on Living Wage session
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Board Meeting concluded at 9.30pm
Martin Cloake, Co-chair
Katrina Law, Co-chair
Suraj Sharma, Secretary
Adam Bailey, Treasurer
Paul Head
Keith Sharp
Kevin Fitzgerald
Adam Nathan
Apologies:
Adam Manson
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MINUTES
MC chaired the Q3 meeting of the THST Board and opened up with a brief recap of the Q2 minutes. All key topics were covered on the Q3 agenda, also.
1. Financial summary
- AB summarised Trust finances at year end (31 August). THST had made a profit of c £2,000 over the past year, leaving healthy cash reserves
- It was acknowledged that this represented a very positive turnaround following the previous 2 years of losses
- The key is now to retain what we have and the spike in renewals in November will be crucial for this to be sustained
- There was a brief discussion around optimum levels of resource and our running costs, which were confirmed as c £3,000 per annum
- As a not for profit organisation, the aim is not to accrue large amounts of money, rather to be in a healthy position which enables us to invest to grow further
- Various initiatives around boosting membership were floated with an agreement to follow up outside of this meeting
2. Membership
- MC asked whether the financials tallied up with the membership numbers
- There was broad agreement this was the case with AB and SS undertaking to consolidate asap
- SS ran through the latest membership numbers. We now represent 11,000 fans across all strands of membership, including 29 Official Supporters Clubs
- Renewal take up was going well, also
- SS talked through the improvements to the database that had taken place over the past quarter
- An app had been developed to automate all welcome and renewal prompts along with other back end upgrade work, which has now been completed
- Membership payment methods were discussed with Direct Debits being raised as an option. AB felt Standing Orders were less complicated for organisations such as ours. It was agreed to move a discussion around payment methods to a separate session outside of the main Board meeting in order to properly examine options.
- Whilst most aspects of the database function were now fully automated, there was still the need for manual checks across a couple of areas. AB agreed to work with SS over the next month to ascertain how labour-intensive this was before potentially moving a third board member across to help with some database maintenance
- Various initiatives for recruiting new members were discussed including programme advertising and boosting our digital presence
- Incentivising membership by maximizing member benefits was also raised
- It was agreed to organise a separate sub-committee meeting of KL, SS and AN to address conversion from Associate Member to Full Member, Recruitment and Retention, with the sub-committee to report back within a month
3. THST Communications
- One of the key ways in which THST communicates with its members is via the monthly newsletter. Historically, this has been collated and written by KL and MC before KS stepped up to edit the previous 3 editions
- Having worked with THST during his time as editor of the Haringey Independent Group of newspapers, full Trust member Martin Buhagiar,has offered to assist with the newsletter moving forwards
- KL explained the new process for producing the newsletter, with each Board member submitting updates on their workstreams to MB throughout the month, MB collating and chasing for further information before producing a draft of the newsletter. This is then circulated to the Board for sign off before publication
- KL also explained MB will be looking to improve the format of the newsletter, using his extensive editorial experience
- KL then updated on the THST rebrand discussed at the AGM in February 2015
- MC and KL had met with Trust volunteer, Graphic Designer Brinley Clark, on 24 August and it had been agreed to undertake a gradual roll out of the new ‘look and feel’ before moving over to the new branding completely in the close season. BC was considering imagery, bearing in mind copyright limitations, and was working on several themes at present
- The recent work produced by BC, notably the Fan Survey 2015 results and the Ground share Survey results were thought to have been of a very high standard indeed
- KL suggested arranging a follow up session for BC to meet with SS to discuss redesigning the THST website
4. New stadium and ground share
- Following a series of meetings with THFC over the summer around the new stadium plans and the fact those plans are currently in a consultation period prior to being lodged with Haringey Council, the Board felt there was a limit to what more could be discussed at this point
- This would feature heavily on the agenda for the next meeting with the Board of THFC on 29 September, post planning applications being submitted
- Regarding the ground share for season 2017/18, there was concern at the lack of movement following the Trust’s campaign to lobby Greg Dyke, Chairman of the FA, back in July to allow Spurs to play at Wembley. THST had received no formal response from Mr Dyke with other fans receiving an impersonal, templated response from FA customer service via email
- Wembley had yet to make a decision as to whether it would allow Tottenham Hotspur to play home games at the stadium for the 2017/18 season and had given no indication as to when any such decision might be made
- The uncertainty worried all of the THST Board, who agreed to step up the ‘London ground for a London club’ campaign
- Keeping Spurs in the capital for the duration of any period away remains a key priority for the Trust and it was felt this needed to be pushed in the coming weeks
5. Olympic stadium petition
- THST was one of 14 fan groups who came together to form an unprecedented coalition calling for more transparency into the deal for the rental of the Olympic Stadium between West Ham United and the London Legacy Development Committee
- This took the form of a petition on the No.10 site initially, which currently stands at over 24,000 signatures
- MC and KL reiterated the reasoning for THST’s involvement with the campaign was three fold: the anti-competitive nature of the deal which seriously threatened Spurs’ ability to compete with West Ham moving forwards, the use of taxpayers’ money, and solidarity with the 8 other London fan groups and 5 national organisations also affected by this deal in different ways
- MC and KL explained how the campaign was now being taken up by various politicians and the GLA and next steps would be communicated shortly
6. FSF Weekend of Action – 4 October
- THST has agreed to participate in the Football Supporters’ Federation’s ticket pricing weekend of action across 3 and 4 October
- Protests are planned at every Premier League fixture across that weekend
- THFC play at Swansea on 4 October in the Sunday 4pm televised game and THST will be arranging a demonstration before the match
- MC and KL suggested producing a banner and purchasing some inflatables to make the demonstration more ‘fun’ and visually interesting
- MC suggested purchasing inflatable Octopuses to urge Clubs to help us ‘save a few squid’. Most congratulated him on a truly terrible pun before agreeing it might not be such a bad idea after all
- KL and MC to work with Brinley Clark to produce the banner
- AB agreed to a budget of £300 for protest materials
- Other fans would be encouraged to participate in the demonstration, too, via FSF and THST channels in the run up to the match
- MC and KL confirmed they had made contact with counterparts at Swansea and were awaiting a response. Jonathan Waite, Head of Supporter Services at THFC, has also been consulted and is obtaining platform sizes at the Liberty stadium for the banner
7. Next THST Members’ Meeting
- The next member’s meeting is being arranged for mid to late October
- KF volunteered to assist KL with the organisation of this meeting
- Two venues are being considered – Nabarro, London Wall and White Hart Lane, N17
- Construction work at the latter made that option complicated
- KL and KF will confirm the venue as soon as is possible
- The date is also tbc with the 14 and 21 October originally being floated before the UEL draw, which now sees members of the THST Board (and no doubt numerous THST members) away at Anderlecht for the later date option
- There was a brief discussion around the format for the members’ meetings with the previous two having featured a guest speaker from THFC during the first half of the meeting before opening up the floor for a member Q&A with the Trust board in part two
- It was felt there was merit in holding a straight members’ meeting as an open forum this time to give members maximum time for debate and discussion on a lot of important topics facing supporters
- It was also agreed to offer an on the spot sign up so non-members could come along and join on the evening
- KL and KF to report back with logistics asap
8. Upcoming Board to Board Meeting with THFC
- The next meeting with the Board of THFC has been arranged for 29 September at 6pm at Lilywhite House
- Initial points to include on the agenda for this meeting were agreed as: follow up on the transfer window statement by THST and wrap by THFC; the ground share situation; the new stadium (including planning update and more granular detail around ticketing pricing following the recent THFC research piece); next season’s proposed price rise and the problems with concourse food and drink so far this season at WHL
- There was some discussion around exactly what it was practical for the Trust board to press for in the discussion around the transfer window, and whether communicating fan discontent with the outcome of the window was as much as could or should be done. It was also recognised that there was a wide range of views among the fan base on what was ultimately a matter of footballing judgement
- The pre meet for the Board to Board Meeting has been scheduled for 24 September when THST will drill down into more detail the topics to be raised and finalise the full agenda
- In the meantime, THST members will be asked to submit questions to be put in front of Daniel Levy, as usual. KL to action
9. AOB:
Collective responsibility
- There was a brief discussion around collective responsibility of board members of an organisation such as THST
- All board members were strongly advised to have disclaimers on all personal social media accounts
- All board members were advised to apply common sense before posting or commenting on Spurs related topics, especially if the issues were being covered by the Trust
Relations with THFC
- There was a brief discussion around the relationship between the Trust and the Club with KL explaining our central position was always as an independent organisation representing Spurs fans
- Depending on the issue, we would work more or less closely with the Club – always keeping the views of our members and the best interests of fans at the forefront
- It was agreed to pick up on this later if necessary
Living Wage
- PH and KF are attending a session arranged by Frank Field MP on 18 September on the Living Wage
- KF agreed to provide a written report back after the meeting
Norway Spurs AGM – 19 September
- KL, SS and KF are attending the AGM of Tottenhams Venner (Spurs Norway) on 19 September in Liverpool Street
- KL prepared a draft of the talk for the night and circulated to others attending for comment and review
Actions:
- Membership sub-committee meeting of KL, AN, SS to be scheduled
- Meeting around payment methods with SS and AB to be arranged
- Website branding meeting with SS and BC to be scheduled
- MC and KL to finalise arrangements for FSF protest at Swansea
- KL and KF to firm up arrangements for next members’ meeting asap
- KL to issue call for questions for THFC Board ahead of meeting on 29 September
- KF to report back on Living Wage session
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Board Meeting concluded at 9.30pm
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