| Supporters Trust Update 19:14 - Jun 28 with 9359 views | KeithHaynes |
June 2022.
Earlier this week our Supporter Director Terry Sinnett provided an update to our members on recent Trust work, his meetings with the club board and Chief Executive Julian Winter and our upcoming Trust elections.
Extracts of that release are now available for all supporters below.
Note: If you’d like to receive future articles and member updates as well as all the other benefits of being a Trust member it takes just a few minutes to join us.
It’s just over 6 weeks since the Swans last game in the Championship and the squad are back into work. The summer breaks certainly aren’t the same as they were in years gone by, not that we are complaining!
I am sure the Jack Army have reflected on last season and the what if’s have been thought through and discussed in detail. We finished the season just below mid table and at one time we threatened to break into the playoff places. Unfortunately, a string of four drawn games, and losses in the last two games, put paid to those hopes.
What is certain is that we saw glimpses of the return to the ‘Swansea Way’ of playing, with some very high-quality football played. That augers well for the coming season and every fan is waiting at their phone or device to hear of transfer activity that will shape our future squad.
We know there will be turnover of players, which will help us further evolve into a squad of Russell Martin’s making. This transition will give us all hope that we can mount a serious challenge for the playoffs as a minimum, with promotion to the promised land of the Premier League the ultimate prize.
The next few weeks will be very interesting as the transfer activity unfolds, and we have already seen a few players through the door to strengthen the squad. We welcome Nathan Wood, Wasiri Williams and Harry Darling to our club and city. We look forward to seeing them in action in the coming season.
Last week saw the launch of next season’s kits and as always there was much interest and comment on the colours and styles. The fixture list has also now been published and I’m sure you have had your red pens ready to circle the key dates in the calendar.
As far as the Trust is concerned, work carries on through the summer in the lead up to the new season.
We recently announced details of the annual elections for Trust members wishing to join the Trust Board next season. If you are a current Trust member more details including the procedure and application forms can be found here:
Trust Board Elections 2022 — Swansea City Supporters Trust (swanstrust.co.uk)
We have already received expressions of interest and further questions so we thought it would be useful to share them in a short Elections Q&A we have prepared for members.
I would urge any Trust member who feels they can contribute to the running and work of the Trust to apply, bearing in mind that the deadline for returning the Nomination Forms needs to be received by mail at our Registered Office, or by email to the Trust Secretary, on or before Friday 1st July.
We welcome fresh ideas and perspectives and look forward to seeing the applications come in.
Club Board Meeting
Sian Davies, our Associate Director, and I attended our second Club Board meeting on the 31st May and here are some notes from that meeting that I thought I’d share with you.
Present were Julian Winter, Gareth Davies and ourselves at the stadium, with Jason Levien, Jake Silverstein, Martin Morgan, Sam Porter and Bobby Hernreich joining via Teams.
Gareth Davies presented the club’s latest financial information and confirmed the imminent formal issue of new share certificates to reflect the recent settlement agreement.
Julian Winter gave brief details of the club’s strategy and planning review which is still work in progress. Details of the Summer 2022 transfer window plans were provided.
He confirmed that Josh Marsh had been appointed as the new Head of Football Operations, and that the club continues to support and is in regular dialogue with Swansea City Ladies FC.
I had been requested in advance to provide the board with an update on the Trust’s activities, and here you can see a copy of my Swans Trust Report to Club Board — May 2022
Throughout last season I have regularly given a resume of the monthly meetings that Sian and I have with club CEO, Julian Winter. The following summary covers our recent meetings.
Before our last meeting on 1st June, we met Josh Marsh, the new Head of Football Operations. We had a brief chat, welcoming him to the club and the area, and wishing him the best of luck.
Transfer Window — Julian confirmed plans are in place to continue the development of the squad for the coming season and gave us some insight into the strategies and plans.
Safe Standing/Fan Behaviour — lots of work to be done here.
The football authorities are looking to licence more safe standing areas at football grounds, and we continue to be involved in discussions with the club on how best to deal with this sensitive issue.
The costs for providing ‘safe standing’ are significant for a very small increase in perceived spectator safety. Is our money better spent in the transfer market?
Julian is engaged with the EFL and is endeavouring to get an agreed and workable policy agreed throughout the leagues.
Digital Archive — work is ongoing. The plan is to migrate the existing ‘Swans 100’ site to the club’s website. The prospective supplier of the archive has been put in touch with the curator of the Swans100 site, and cost estimates for moving the project along will be provided soon.
Vetch Gates — These are located at the Swansea.com stadium and I have asked what can be done to integrate them into the Stadium.
Naming Rights — discussions are ongoing to recognise former legends on stands/bars etc within the stadium.
Fan Forums — it is intended to have regular club forums across the fanbase area and attended by RM and his coaching team, wherever possible.
Update: The latest of these took place last week and was a collaborative event between the club and the Trust. It was designed to improve the match day experience of fans and attended by Julian Winter, Rebecca Edwards-Symmons, Gareth Davies, Russell Martin from the club, members of the Trust board and a good number of fans, who had applied to attend.
A number of ideas were discussed, and the club and the Trust will continue working on ideas that were brought up, in the coming weeks and months.
Trust Address — we are looking to use the Stadium for our postal address from next season and a safe and secure system is being investigated. This would provide easier access to collect incoming mail to the Trust.
Trust POD — We are intending to have our POD overhauled during the close season, including new signage.
Ladies Team — Julian confirmed the club continues to support the ladies’ team in many ways and has regular dialogue with its management. With the continued growth in ladies’ football, might we see the 2 Welsh clubs (Swansea and Cardiff) joining the English League in the future?
Swiss Rambler Report — Julian suggested it was a good and fair review of the last set of club accounts.
Trust Membership — Sian requested the clubs help in promoting our new season’s membership campaign, by providing links etc from our own SM campaigns etc. and sending an email to all ST holders encouraging them to join the Trust.
£20 Away Tickets — Sian brought up this issue. Reading, for example, will only offer away fans £20 tickets if the away club reciprocates and Sian asked if the club would reciprocate. Julian stated that this was on the agenda for the next SMT meeting.
Programmes — we have discussed the possibility of reintroducing printed match day programmes. Given the poor uptake of orders for the full season printed programmes, the return of match day programmes is very unlikely. The club will continue printing the smaller fold up match sheets for the foreseeable future. The digital version of a full programme continues to be developed and is available free to fans online.
We meet at least monthly and if you have any questions that you would like us to discuss with Julian, please email us at info@swanstrust.co.uk and we will endeavour to revert to you as soon as possible
I mentioned above some of the projects and initiatives the Trust are involved in and developing. One of those is the Supporter Group Project.
The Trust forms part of a working group made up of local and worldwide Swans supporters, and representatives of the club. The group meet up every month and have recently prepared a short survey for completion by our fans and supporters, particularly those living further afield from the Swansea area.
If you’d like to take part in the survey, which only takes a few moments to complete, please do so here:
The above represents some of the work undertaken by your Trust Board which I hope you find interesting. The Board is made up of volunteers who give up their own time to help promote the aims of The Trust, in the interests of its members the wider fan base, and the club, that we all love and support through thick and thin.
Our new membership season starts on the 1st August, and I hope you will continue your fantastic support of the organisation run by the fans, for the fans.
Enjoy your summer and keep the faith!
Terry Sinnett
Swansea City Supporters’ Trust
24th June 2022 |  |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 22:42 - Jun 28 with 4751 views | KeithHaynes |
Your thoughts on the current trust ? | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 06:31 - Jun 29 with 4690 views | guthrieintherain |
| Supporters Trust Update on 22:42 - Jun 28 by KeithHaynes |
Your thoughts on the current trust ? |
A non entity now.
Had just about given up on them prior to their deal with the owners.
But that was the final nail for me.
Cancelled my membership won't be going back. |  |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 08:26 - Jun 29 with 4655 views | Algorfajack |
Their decision to sell out to the owners makes them no better than the original sell outs in my mind, gives me an extra £5 in my pocket now. |  |
| Prediction league winner 2016-2017 aka llanedeyrnjack |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 09:48 - Jun 29 with 4623 views | Goldminer |
Lost all relevance and credibility for me. The apathy in response to this thread sums them up. [Post edited 29 Jun 2022 9:48]
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| Supporters Trust Update on 10:42 - Jun 29 with 4586 views | pencoedjack |
| Supporters Trust Update on 22:42 - Jun 28 by KeithHaynes |
Your thoughts on the current trust ? |
If that is all the information they have to share after their meeting a complete an utter waste of time.
Get more information on here. |  | | |
| Supporters Trust Update on 11:22 - Jun 29 with 4566 views | Chief |
| Supporters Trust Update on 22:42 - Jun 28 by KeithHaynes |
Your thoughts on the current trust ? |
The current trust board - nothing but a shackled, media outlet for the owners.
I have zero faith this lot will provide its member's and fans with any critical insight as to the inner workings of the club. Which is a very poor state for a shareholding supporters trust to be in.
This thread is going to be catnip to the farmer from 7 sisters. |  |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 13:02 - Jun 29 with 4519 views | onehunglow |
| Supporters Trust Update on 11:22 - Jun 29 by Chief |
The current trust board - nothing but a shackled, media outlet for the owners.
I have zero faith this lot will provide its member's and fans with any critical insight as to the inner workings of the club. Which is a very poor state for a shareholding supporters trust to be in.
This thread is going to be catnip to the farmer from 7 sisters. |
It was sad that it was seen to be needed to protect the club.
The back stabbing seems endemic but it’s a great country innit.
If we had been United ,we d still be in Premier League
The court action was imminent I was told and slagged off for suggesting it was madness
It was and it is . | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 13:24 - Jun 29 with 4500 views | pete |
| Supporters Trust Update on 22:42 - Jun 28 by KeithHaynes |
Your thoughts on the current trust ? |
very dissapointed will not be renewing | | | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 13:48 - Jun 29 with 4470 views | Landore_Jack |
The Trust are a disorganised dysfunctional organisation that betrayed the supporters. They cannot be trusted. |  |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 14:53 - Jun 29 with 4327 views | vetchonian |
| Supporters Trust Update on 13:48 - Jun 29 by Landore_Jack |
The Trust are a disorganised dysfunctional organisation that betrayed the supporters. They cannot be trusted. |
who can we trust if we cannot trust the Trust | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 14:56 - Jun 29 with 4320 views | KeithHaynes |
Is it possible for the trust to reconcile itself with the fans ?
Any ideas on how that could be done ? | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 14:56 - Jun 29 with 4319 views | onehunglow |
| Supporters Trust Update on 14:53 - Jun 29 by vetchonian |
who can we trust if we cannot trust the Trust |
Trust nobody 100% unless there is incontrovertable evidence that one can. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 15:23 - Jun 29 with 4285 views | Whiterockin |
| Supporters Trust Update on 14:56 - Jun 29 by KeithHaynes |
Is it possible for the trust to reconcile itself with the fans ?
Any ideas on how that could be done ? |
Put a couple of pints behind the bar for everyone next home game. Even then I would have to check it was drinkable. |  | | |
| Supporters Trust Update on 15:36 - Jun 29 with 4260 views | Chief |
| Supporters Trust Update on 14:56 - Jun 29 by KeithHaynes |
Is it possible for the trust to reconcile itself with the fans ?
Any ideas on how that could be done ? |
Difficult now because the current board has locked in the trust to this deal against the wishes of its member's and signed NDA's etc so possibly nothing.
A start would be the current board members who defied the members and allowed the press release stating the 'trust had come to terms with the club' to be released going. They cannot be trusted. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 15:59 - Jun 29 with 4235 views | Whiterockin |
| Supporters Trust Update on 15:36 - Jun 29 by Chief |
Difficult now because the current board has locked in the trust to this deal against the wishes of its member's and signed NDA's etc so possibly nothing.
A start would be the current board members who defied the members and allowed the press release stating the 'trust had come to terms with the club' to be released going. They cannot be trusted. |
I was a member of the trust for many years but stopped paying about 3 years ago because I lost any confidence in them doing what the members wanted. For me there is nothing they can do to get me to join again or regain my trust. I believe there are many like me, they have had their day and need to just look for an exit strategy. | | | |
| Supporters Trust Update on 16:07 - Jun 29 with 4222 views | Chief |
| Supporters Trust Update on 15:59 - Jun 29 by Whiterockin |
I was a member of the trust for many years but stopped paying about 3 years ago because I lost any confidence in them doing what the members wanted. For me there is nothing they can do to get me to join again or regain my trust. I believe there are many like me, they have had their day and need to just look for an exit strategy. |
Yea what they've done could well be irreparable. The membership details are going to plummet. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 16:27 - Jun 29 with 4200 views | guthrieintherain |
| Supporters Trust Update on 08:26 - Jun 29 by Algorfajack |
Their decision to sell out to the owners makes them no better than the original sell outs in my mind, gives me an extra £5 in my pocket now. |
Can't agree with that.
They are volunteers but yes were elected to represent their membership.
Maybe they thought what they were doing was in the interest of its members.
But the way it was done has left a very sour taste and to then come on here trying to increase it's dwindling membership sums them up.
It"s a shame they lacked communication when they were skulking around behind the members backs. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 16:33 - Jun 29 with 4180 views | guthrieintherain |
| Supporters Trust Update on 08:26 - Jun 29 by Algorfajack |
Their decision to sell out to the owners makes them no better than the original sell outs in my mind, gives me an extra £5 in my pocket now. |
Can't agree with that.
They are volunteers but yes were elected to represent their membership.
Maybe they thought what they were doing was in the interest of its members.
But the way it was done has left a very sour taste and to then come on here trying to increase it's dwindling membership sums them up.
It"s a shame they lacked communication when they were skulking around behind the members backs. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 16:36 - Jun 29 with 4175 views | Chief |
| Supporters Trust Update on 16:33 - Jun 29 by guthrieintherain |
Can't agree with that.
They are volunteers but yes were elected to represent their membership.
Maybe they thought what they were doing was in the interest of its members.
But the way it was done has left a very sour taste and to then come on here trying to increase it's dwindling membership sums them up.
It"s a shame they lacked communication when they were skulking around behind the members backs. |
Agree with the sentiment but I believe the current chairman has actually failed to be elected both time's he tried to. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 19:35 - Jun 29 with 4072 views | KeithHaynes |
| Supporters Trust Update on 16:36 - Jun 29 by Chief |
Agree with the sentiment but I believe the current chairman has actually failed to be elected both time's he tried to. |
How is he chairman then ? | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 20:48 - Jun 29 with 4015 views | Chief |
| Supporters Trust Update on 19:35 - Jun 29 by KeithHaynes |
How is he chairman then ? |
Co-opted somehow | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 20:58 - Jun 29 with 4002 views | KeithHaynes |
| Supporters Trust Update on 20:48 - Jun 29 by Chief |
Co-opted somehow |
It’s a poison chalice for sure. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 21:08 - Jun 29 with 3997 views | Chief |
| Supporters Trust Update on 20:58 - Jun 29 by KeithHaynes |
It’s a poison chalice for sure. |
It is if you defy what the members voted for. | |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 07:46 - Jun 30 with 3880 views | Dr_Parnassus |
| Supporters Trust Update on 06:31 - Jun 29 by guthrieintherain |
A non entity now.
Had just about given up on them prior to their deal with the owners.
But that was the final nail for me.
Cancelled my membership won't be going back. |
This.
A complete non entity that now exists purely just for those involved to feel important.
It was an organisation with great potential that was wrecked from the inside through a decade of mismanagement and inept people at the helm. I understand it’s voluntary so certain allowances are made for that, but when the same people are putting themselves forward year after year knowing they aren’t good enough it becomes a bit of a shambles.
To take on the role and then complain about “time” irks me, which is what I’ve seen plenty of times. You take that role on only if you have that time to give. You don’t take on the role then use your lack of time as an excuse for your output.
It had the potential to protect the club for a very long time, certainly for a few generations. Yet it gave it all up for an amount of money that can’t be used for anything of any note.
They pretty much don’t exist to me now, if this thread wasn’t created they wouldn’t have even been a passing thought on my radar since the “deal”. |  |
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| Supporters Trust Update on 18:10 - Jun 30 with 3724 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
This thread in my opinion just demonstrates why Swansea city fans are simply not up to the job of being owners of Swansea city. The legal case was a non starter from day one. In 2016 SCST could easily have sold part of its holding had it made preparations an representations. They chose to go down a fruitless legal route instead with no fighting fund.
No one it seems recognises this was a bad strategic choice or want to criticise past decision makers. Those that did not deliver a nonsense strategy are held to account. For this reason a win in court however unlikely would have been bad for the club not good.
For starters without an investment strategy (to combat inflation) the SCST is intrinsically committed to shrinkage and asset denudation. (I have recommended taking business advice to look at this) This may mean conversion of some sort.
It is not worth joining if it cannot invest. A waste of space. The 5% golden share is no good either. It ensures the SCST now have no incentive to invest in the club. They can watch their holding dwindle to 5% without investing any money and can watch their cash dwindle through inflation. They have a little money but no idea what to do with it.
Recently we heard a so called "sellout" was helping the ladies team. SCST? You could not make it up. If they do not invest in the club or even the hard pressed women's team what are they for?
"Protection" is used without any one really knowing what it means. It means having a holding with no responsibility for investment in anything relating to the club. |  |
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