Foxes Trust Reform - show your support!

[Out Foxed]

Serve the foxes trust

Protect the Rudkinnocent

Uphold the fanstore 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

I joined the trust recently to address all of the issues raised so far by others in this thread. I think I was an original trust member (can’t be sure…), and am I right in thinking that the trust leadership is the same, or has been in place for a considerable time? If that’s the case that’s fairly alarming, and organisations like the trust can become stale and all too familiar and cosy up to the organisation they were set up to hold to account.

Edited 13 May by Wasyls Pec Deck

[Foxes Trust Reform]

3 hours ago, CrazyKopCorner said:

Could I ask where you are in relation to UFS? Will there be an initial view to work together? 

So the two groups are distinct and the Foxes Trust should always have areas of priority/focus that might not be of such importance to UFS - and vice versa.

 

However, there are many areas where UFS have been pushing the club in recent years where the Foxes Trust has not taken a position. This has been largely, we think, due to the Trust believing that it’s primary objective is to represent its members and not the wider LCFC fanbase and therefore only campaigning on issues that are important to its member demographic (which has not been diverse in recent times).

 

That said, the Trust and UFS have worked well together on the general ticketing issue and the £25 loyalty tax issue (in one of our first meetings with the Foxes Trust board we encouraged them to work with UFS more in future and it’s been great to see that in action of late). We know that the club are cautious about the fan groups working together and as a Foxes Trust Reform group we have been clear that partnership with other fan groups and working collectively where possible is a big priority.

 

We have existing connections and friendships across the membership of both UFS and the Foxes Trust Reform group (as well as other supporter groups like Foxes Pride and the New York Foxes fan group) and we see this as a real positive moving forward. With a refreshed leadership and way of working at the Foxes Trust, the partnership between UFS and Foxes Trust can only go from strength to strength.

 

If supporter groups working together for the good of the entire LCFC fan base is important to you, please show your support for us and our campaign.

[Foxes Trust Reform]

Just now, Wasyls Pec Deck said:

I joined the trust recently to address all of the issues raised so far by others in this thread. I think I was an original trust member (can’t be sure…), and am I right in thinking that the trust leadership is the same, or has been in place for a considerable time? If that’s the case that’s fairly alarming, and organisations like the trust can become stale and all too familiar and cosy up instead of holding to account. 

The Trust had to receive special dispensation to increase the maximum term a board member can serve, which tells you everything you need to know about the tenure of many board members.

 

It’s important to state here that this was not done with any ill intent or malice, it’s simply that had those people not been able to continue then the Trust would have found itself even shorter on helping hands at board level. Those on the board currently have dedicated a tremendous amount of time voluntarily to their roles.

 

In our dialogue with the Trust we sense a real need for additional resource and support (particularly if the Trust is to do and be more). But it’s been disappointing that, despite some board members being receptive to the idea of fresh input and impetus, the board have failed to offer a clear and timely path forward to achieving this.
 

It also seems from the delays in communication and progress to date that some board members are maybe not so keen on fresh blood/change and this might be what’s causing a bit of decision paralysis on our proposals. Unfortunately we don’t have time to wait for the existing Trust board to reach a slow consensus given the criticality of some of the things we need to see momentum from the Trust on.

[Wymsey]

Hope the club doesn't make things awkward on this front.

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

22 minutes ago, Foxes Trust Reform said:

The Trust had to receive special dispensation to increase the maximum term a board member can serve, which tells you everything you need to know about the tenure of many board members.

Wowzer. Seems like they need to be thanked for their service and shaken up a bit. 
 

The more I think about this - stale leadership, accountability issues, drift… sounds like they’re doing a good job at mirroring the football club! 

[egg_fried_rice]

Can someone clue me in please:

• Is the club compelled to assign/work with an 'official' fan group, and is that group currently the Foxes Trust?
• Do UFS find it challenging to liaise with the club, because they are not that 'official' group?
• In what ways will the establishment of the FBA impact the existing arrangement(s)

I see where Foxes Trust Reform are coming from and am largely sympathetic to their aims - however the shouts of 'coup' are not without merit, so I'm just wondering if someone can articulate the intricacies of the situation.

 

[Foxes Trust Reform]

23 minutes ago, egg_fried_rice said:

Can someone clue me in please:

• Is the club compelled to assign/work with an 'official' fan group, and is that group currently the Foxes Trust?
• Do UFS find it challenging to liaise with the club, because they are not that 'official' group?
• In what ways will the establishment of the FBA impact the existing arrangement(s)

I see where Foxes Trust Reform are coming from and am largely sympathetic to their aims - however the shouts of 'coup' are not without merit, so I'm just wondering if someone can articulate the intricacies of the situation.

 

There is a helpful webpage that provides a detailed answer to a couple of your questions here.

 

Premier League and EFL clubs are mandated to meet with fans twice per season as a minimum and the Foxes Trust is the only supporter group with official Supporters Trust status amongst the various fan groups for LCFC. Naturally, that also makes it easier for the club not to engage with UFS.

 

 

[Daggers]

Is there a reason you’re posting here and not on the socials, FTR?

[Jon the Hat]

2 hours ago, Daggers said:

Is there a reason you’re posting here and not on the socials, FTR?

Clearly there is a much more informed higher class of fan on FT.  Also there is us, but you can't have everything.

[PAULCFC]

@Foxes Trust ReformJust put a couple of posts on another site that may get some more members.....If that's ok?

[Dames]

I’m glad this is happening because the direction the club is going in it will soon be way too late to pull them back. There really needs to be some accountability, this isn’t Thailand where you don’t question the monopoly. A lot of people, fans included seem to have forgotten that the club represents the city of Leicester and the county of Leicestershire and not King Power Ltd. 
 

So count me in. 

 

[PAULCFC]

@Foxes Trust Reform Is it possible you could make the connection with the Foxes Trust and the FSA more transparant?Lot's of people don't know that the FSA is really the only conduit to the club.

Should have worded that better! Foxestrustreform and UFS Are coming together on this......but as far as i know The foxes trust are the only group(at the moment) that are affiliated to the FSA.

Edited 14 May by PAULCFC

[winnie the blue]

Dont post on here very often as Im more of a Bentleys Roofer, but just saw a post on there about this campaign and have signed up to be a member of the Trust, and support your campaign.

[Motty]

On 12/05/2024 at 13:28, Foxes Trust Reform said:

It’s time to change the leadership of the Foxes Trust.

 

Since March, a group of new joiners to the Foxes Trust have been motivating for change. We want the Trust to become significant campaigning group representing the views of the entire fanbase and holding the club to account.  

 

We have met with several Foxes Trust board members but, despite the large number of new joiners (thanks to the ~200 new joiners in recent weeks) and warm words, they have failed to demonstrate a real openness to action change nor the ability to operate with the agility required to ensure we have an effective Trust come the start of the new season.

 

It is now clear that if the Trust is to be reformed then the leadership must be refreshed. We have therefore informed the Trust that we are to prepare a request for a General Meeting of all Trust members along with a resolution to change the leadership of the Trust.

 

We are appealing to you to show your support for a more effective Trust by simply emailing “count me in” to [email protected] - whether you are a current Trust member or otherwise. Doing so will allow us to further showcase the desire for change (both inside and outside of the Trust membership base today), keep you up to date on how things are progressing and ask for your input/feedback on what you want to see from the Trust.

 

Some of our top/most pressing priorities for the Trust are areas such as:

 

- Attract a significant membership to truly articulate supporters’ concerns/interests/aspirations and demonstrate strength/weight of numbers to the club. The Trust should not be beholden to the club and should be able to speak out where it believes necessary.

 

- Implement a fanbase-wide survey so that the focus of the Trust is driven by the views of the entire fanbase. There are so many issues where we wish to see a campaigning Foxes Trust press the club to do better: general sale ticketing,  shop pricing (especially for kids shirts), future of the singing section, introduction of safe standing; concourse pricing, matchday stewarding, banning policy, transparency over responsibilities of club executives/board members, creation of a Fan Advisory Board that is NOT under the control of the club, safeguarding for academy players and ladies teams, improved club media operations, charging kids to attend signing sessions… the list goes on!

 

- Fan Advisory Board: With promotion, the club now has to establish a Fans Advisory Board (FAB) yet the current proposal for the make-up of the FAB is unfit for purpose – this is a once in a generation opportunity to get things right. We asked the Trust to share full visibility on the current proposed plan and pause any agreement to proceed with the club so that we could work together to identify a more effective proposal. The Trust has not responded on this piece in particular.

 

Our assessment of the current Trust shows them to be lacking in their mindset on representation (they believe its first priority is to represent its members and the views of members rather than the wider supporter base), their relationship with LCFC (they are too cosy with the club, have just one person communicating with the club and fear being sidelined), their communication (they have little presence on social media and their statements are weak in tone) and their ability to change at pace (they have many manual processes and make every decision slowly and by committee).

 

To pressure-test the Trust board’s ability and appetite for change, we asked them to work with us on four simple requests and provide comment with a speed that would demonstrate their appreciation for the urgency of those requests. They replied late and did not directly action a single one of the four requests. This is why we are now taking action and asking you for your backing.

 

We would love for you to join the Trust here and secure your vote for the Special General Meeting (it’s only £10 for adults, £5 for OAPs, £5 for students, £3 for 18-21 year olds and free for under 18s) but, even if you are not quite ready to join but are supportive of what we are trying to achieve for all LCFC fans, we would still appeal to you to please at least email “count me in” to [email protected].

 

Share with fellow LCFC fans… it’s time to stand up for change in the Foxes Trust!

 

I Think you can only instigate an EGM as the AGM has happened.

I thought Union FS were trying to get FSA affiliate membership.

Do you see this a quicker route?

What were the four Questions and how long for the reply.

 

[foxinsocks]

1 hour ago, Motty said:

I Think you can only instigate an EGM as the AGM has happened.

I thought Union FS were trying to get FSA affiliate membership.

Do you see this a quicker route?

What were the four Questions and how long for the reply.

 

Correct... hence the preparation of a request for an egm ("a special general meeting") and a resolution. 

The foxes trust is a democratic FSA registered supporters trust...  so the problem has been its low membership.  The recent push continues to increase membership.  Yet most want to see changes in priorities and tone... 

The four tests were described in a post on the first page.

[foxinsocks]

On 12/05/2024 at 23:01, Foxes Trust Reform said:

 

We’ve already been in touch with a sizeable number of new joiners to the Trust, and we shared this information with those that had already been in contact but for transparency we’re happy to share it here and are also happy to field questions and receive feedback on our email account or via DM on here.

To date, we have had cordial discussions with the Trust. There are good people involved who are passionate about the club but, with many new joiners since March wanting change, we felt they needed to act upon the concerns we’d shared on behalf of a sizeable number of new members (that we are in direct contact with) with urgency.
 

We had not asked them to do so with urgency for any reasons other than a) there are some issues that are time critical and b) it will be important that the Trust can change quickly to be ready to take on challenges in the new season.

To comment specifically on our four requests: 

 

•    To start working together (rather than continuously corresponding) we asked for two people to be co-opted to the FT board - they said they need more helping hands but have been slow on taking up the offer of this.

•    What we know about the FAB proposal currently on the table leads us to suspect it is unfit for purpose. This is a once in a generation opportunity to get things right and it is likely it will be set in stone this summer given promotion so we asked the Trust to share full details but pause any agreement to proceed with the club so that we could all work together.

•    We asked the Trust to take up our offer of support on a new fan survey working group – to create something with the expertise of new joiners that would reach all LCFC fans and not just Trust members. This would include a satisfaction scorecard and identify fan priorities for the Trust to pursue. As you can imagine, this will not be a quick undertaking to get right but needs to happen in good time for the new season. For comparison, Swindon Town Trust managed 6000 responses to their survey - and without Foxes Trust doing similar, the club will ignore it.

•    Finally, we accepted that the club will not discuss the ongoing PSR case, however we simply asked the Trust to call on the club to nominate an executive responsible for ongoing PSR compliance. We are seeking to avoid the situation that if a further breach should occur we fans have no idea who is responsible…

The Trust sent initial holding emails and then a lengthy response that didn’t provide any assurances or address directly the four requests:

- The Trust said they were assessing skill audit returns for those interested in active involvement at working group/board level (a figure of 6 responses was mentioned - so this really shouldn’t take long in a well functioning Trust)

- The Trust either misunderstood or ignored our request in relation to the FAB. No full details have been shared with new members and there has been no confirmation of a pause to any agreement with the club

- The Trust asked us to detail out what we wanted the fan survey to look like but made no commitment to actually letting us have involvement with that or discussing further

- The Trust misunderstood our request in relation to PSR - our request was simply for the Trust to call on the club to nominate an executive responsible for future PSR compliance. They seem happy to let the club determine when the right time is to make any comment on anything PSR related.

 

So nothing playground like. We have met in person with board members almost four weeks ago and presented for 90 minutes to them three and a half weeks ago. Our approach has been considered and professional whilst challenging in a positive manner.

 

Our requests were in many ways an acid test of two things: would the Trust work with us and could the Trust move at the pace needed with the current leadership and ways of working? We do not take the decision to go public and prepare a request for an EGM lightly.

 

You are right that the Trust do not currently need to jump through hoops for anyone. But it’s a democratic organisation so if enough people want change then they will do. We believe it is time for change and we believe that there is significant support amongst the LCFC fan base for that change.

 

That’s why we’re asking for you to show your support by emailing “count me in” to [email protected].

 

 

@Motty here

[the draper]

Joined the trust 

 

4 of us 

 

We need change in that group 

[Motty]

19 minutes ago, foxinsocks said:

 

@Motty here

Ok thanks for your reply.

The PSR part is not that nobody

knew. It was factored in with different income revenue. They did start reeling in from the January 22 transfer window

Which is when Mr Rogers flung his dummy and started quivering his lips.

To late to comply as big wages on 3 or 4 year deals.

Brendans contract was more than any playing staffs @ £10 mill a year. Vards was about £7 mill.

The co-opting would need voting on as far as I am aware.

I have not seen the FAB proposals so cannot comment on these.

I think a survey is a good idea but what questions you put and how they are worded are absolutely key to productive survey. No more than 15 to 20 questions.

Aggressive take overs only split loyalties.

 

 

 

[Blackboots only]

Joined 🦊 

[Ginger_Filbert]

Keep joining people, power in numbers and all that. 

[Death by Football]

Just joined.  Didn't realise the Trust's focus was only on the interests of their members rather than the LCFC fan in general so it's good they've had a boost to the membership.

[foxinsocks]

5 minutes ago, Death by Football said:

Just joined.  Didn't realise the Trust's focus was only on the interests of their members rather than the LCFC fan in general so it's good they've had a boost to the membership.

don't forget to email  “count me in” to [email protected] 

[Foxes Trust Reform]

17 hours ago, Daggers said:

Is there a reason you’re posting here and not on the socials, FTR?

Watch this space…

 

Foxestalk is the biggest community of Leicester fans online though, and there are so many good posters on here that want change, so it makes sense to start here.

[The boy Linacre]

On 12/05/2024 at 13:28, Foxes Trust Reform said:

It’s time to change the leadership of the Foxes Trust.

 

Since March, a group of new joiners to the Foxes Trust have been motivating for change. We want the Trust to become significant campaigning group representing the views of the entire fanbase and holding the club to account.  

 

We have met with several Foxes Trust board members but, despite the large number of new joiners (thanks to the ~200 new joiners in recent weeks) and warm words, they have failed to demonstrate a real openness to action change nor the ability to operate with the agility required to ensure we have an effective Trust come the start of the new season.

 

It is now clear that if the Trust is to be reformed then the leadership must be refreshed. We have therefore informed the Trust that we are to prepare a request for a General Meeting of all Trust members along with a resolution to change the leadership of the Trust.

 

We are appealing to you to show your support for a more effective Trust by simply emailing “count me in” to [email protected] - whether you are a current Trust member or otherwise. Doing so will allow us to further showcase the desire for change (both inside and outside of the Trust membership base today), keep you up to date on how things are progressing and ask for your input/feedback on what you want to see from the Trust.

 

Some of our top/most pressing priorities for the Trust are areas such as:

 

- Attract a significant membership to truly articulate supporters’ concerns/interests/aspirations and demonstrate strength/weight of numbers to the club. The Trust should not be beholden to the club and should be able to speak out where it believes necessary.

 

- Implement a fanbase-wide survey so that the focus of the Trust is driven by the views of the entire fanbase. There are so many issues where we wish to see a campaigning Foxes Trust press the club to do better: general sale ticketing,  shop pricing (especially for kids shirts), future of the singing section, introduction of safe standing; concourse pricing, matchday stewarding, banning policy, transparency over responsibilities of club executives/board members, creation of a Fan Advisory Board that is NOT under the control of the club, safeguarding for academy players and ladies teams, improved club media operations, charging kids to attend signing sessions… the list goes on!

 

- Fan Advisory Board: With promotion, the club now has to establish a Fans Advisory Board (FAB) yet the current proposal for the make-up of the FAB is unfit for purpose – this is a once in a generation opportunity to get things right. We asked the Trust to share full visibility on the current proposed plan and pause any agreement to proceed with the club so that we could work together to identify a more effective proposal. The Trust has not responded on this piece in particular.

 

Our assessment of the current Trust shows them to be lacking in their mindset on representation (they believe its first priority is to represent its members and the views of members rather than the wider supporter base), their relationship with LCFC (they are too cosy with the club, have just one person communicating with the club and fear being sidelined), their communication (they have little presence on social media and their statements are weak in tone) and their ability to change at pace (they have many manual processes and make every decision slowly and by committee).

 

To pressure-test the Trust board’s ability and appetite for change, we asked them to work with us on four simple requests and provide comment with a speed that would demonstrate their appreciation for the urgency of those requests. They replied late and did not directly action a single one of the four requests. This is why we are now taking action and asking you for your backing.

 

We would love for you to join the Trust here and secure your vote for the Special General Meeting (it’s only £10 for adults, £5 for OAPs, £5 for students, £3 for 18-21 year olds and free for under 18s) but, even if you are not quite ready to join but are supportive of what we are trying to achieve for all LCFC fans, we would still appeal to you to please at least email “count me in” to [email protected].

 

Share with fellow LCFC fans… it’s time to stand up for change in the Foxes Trust!

 

Done