Spurs Supporters’ Trust fire back at club after decision on fan representation
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) have fired back at the club hierarchy after they expressed their disappointment at the Trust’s unwillingness to meet with them. Tottenham and THST have been at loggerheads since the European Super League debacle, with the Trust calling for all members of the club’s executive board to resign. The Trust […]
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The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) have fired back at the club hierarchy after they expressed their disappointment at the Trust’s unwillingness to meet with them.
Tottenham and THST have been at loggerheads since the European Super League debacle, with the Trust calling for all members of the club’s executive board to resign.
The Trust have also made it clear that they will not be meeting with the club unless six of their demands are met, one of them being a meaningful voice from supporters at the board level.
In response, Spurs put out an official statement yesterday unreservedly apologising for signing on to the Super League and for making the decision without proper consultation with the fans.
The club also announced that they shall be liaising with key stakeholders and establishing a club advisory panel, comprised of elected representatives from the different constituencies of the fanbase, with the chair of the panel being appointed as a non-executive member of the club’s board.
However, this announcement has been met with scepticism from THST, who have questioned whether the move would give fans any real power.
They said: “At last though, three weeks after the collapse of the ESL, and over a fortnight after everyone else, the Club has apologised ‘unreservedly’, although only after detailing its reservations. An apology is better late, however, than never.
“More important is the acceptance by the Club’s Board of measures we have been calling for over some years, and which we put forward in our six-point plan.
“The dogged stance of the Trust and the wider supporter base has forced the Club to concede the principle that fans must be represented at Board level, and to adopt some of our specific suggestions.
“But announcing this without consultation on detail is not a promising start. And the measures set out in the Club’s statement do not give fan representatives any real power.”
The Trust also shot back at the club for their criticism of the demands of the supporters’ group and their refusal to meet.
THST added:” What cannot go unquestioned is the Club’s decision to publish a statement that misrepresents the position and attacks a volunteer fan organisation at a time when the Club is facing sustained criticism over its relationship with the fanbase and for its decision making.
“It is simply destructive. To do so while we were pursuing a mediation process via the Football Supporters’ Association in good faith is regrettable in the extreme.
“We also note the description of the Club’s Board as ‘individuals who have lived and breathed this Club for the best part of two decades’. The obvious implication is that the Trust and the fans we represent are somehow not.
“Let us state now, for the record, that the supporters of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club have lived and breathed this great Club for far longer than two decades. And we will continue to do so far beyond the tenure of our current custodians.”
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