The TUST Purpose – by Michel Thomas

What is our Purpose?

1 – Our main reason for existing is to support and ensure appropriate governance is in place to secure the sustainability of our club, TUFC.

2 – Towards this end, we have established, in the background, a strong professional team with a variety of skill sets to offer in the event that they are ever needed.

3 – Our funds, raised by you as members are currently being used sparingly. This is to ensure we are always in a position to have a core financial footing to provide support if ever the need should arise in the event that the survival of our club as we know was under threat.

4 – We have been successfully involved in preventing the ‘premature’ sale of the freehold of Plainmoor three times in the last few years.

5 – During the most recent and successful campaign, together with supporters’ petitions and national media coverage, we had meetings and exchanged much correspondence with our MP and all of the other local candidates in the general election including lobbying our councillors and the mayor. We have maintained contact with our MP (Kevin Foster), as we await for any new proposals to be presented.

6 – We are now having regular minuted meetings with representatives of the club owners in order to develop a more positive and constructive (including critical) dialogue between supporters and the club. The recently advertised Supporters’ Liaison Officer is part of this initiative, and is aimed towards involving all supporters’ groups.

7 – Being full members of the two largest national supporters’ organisations, The Football Supporters Federation (FSF) and Supporters Direct (SD), who both have an elected FA council member, we can call upon their significant support and resources at any time as we have done in the past. The TUST board recently sent a delegate to the jointly organised National Supporters’ Summit at the FA’s St. George’s training centre. Concerns over an increase in poor governance by club owners was one of the leading issues on the agenda, as was the view that the FA should take up a more forceful monitoring role. Through attending the summit, we have added significantly to our direct contact with other helpful supporter organisations who have had involvement in, or are having similar concerns regarding the long-term sustainability of their clubs and grounds to the ones we may have such as Fulham, Tottenham, Blackburn, Portsmouth, Blackpool, Leyton Orient, Hartlepool and Wrexham.

8 – We are there as ‘The Last Fans Standing’ if ever that becomes necessary. However, we would hope and much prefer to be supporting a developing, happy and sustainable TUFC, as our loyal supporters deserve.

EVENT NOTIFICATION

TUST AGM @ NO.10s, Plainmoor – 7pm Wednesday 6th December 17

Gary Owers will be in attendance to answer questions on football related matters from supporters. We will also be updating members and encouraging them to be involved in any decisions on the direction we take, in our future ongoing support of the club.