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The Trust - first engagement with AL


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Personally, I’m buoyed by the apparent opportunity for the Trust to watch, ask & learn about how Mr. Lemsagam intends to run the club. As is fairly well documented on here, I want the Trust to understand - and where possible influence - the medium-long term Plan for our precious club. I’m less interested in tub-thumping populist emotive statements & more interested in considered tangible changes, which we can patiently unite behind. It would be great if the Trust could find the time to regularly update us on such initiatives.

 

Finally, I’d like to give my sincere thanks to everyone of you on the Trust board who give up your time voluntarily to help us attempt to secure our club’s long term existence, hopefully with some success to boot.

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8 minutes ago, singe said:

I'm pleased there are some lines of communication established, and welcome the hope they put on a more formal footing. 

For me, as with the statement, there are more questions than answers at the moment. 

Well, hopefully there should now be a reliable conduit to ask those questions.

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10 minutes ago, Wardie said:

Well, hopefully there should now be a reliable conduit to ask those questions.

Hopefully so. 

For me, it's a little too soon to be making statements that all seems OK. 

Edited by singe
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1 hour ago, Wardie said:

The meeting with the Trust was held before the club statement, so how could you already have known Lemsagam was questioned about the HMRC debt?

There is very little diffence in the 2 statements thus nothing I didn’t already know ?

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Thanks all for your comments.

 

Bottom line is the Trust has an open line of communication to the new owner and we are reassured by his commitment and dedication to the cause. He has a lot to work through to get the club working again. Give him the chance to prove he can do that. 

 

One reoccurring question that seems to be raised is what is AL's plan? At this point his focus is on putting OAFC on a stable and sustainable footing. I don't see that being about reducing budgets but rather providing the means to maximise the budget. 

 

The aim is to get out of league 2 but in a sustainable manner. Maximising income to provide the means to achieve this is central. So getting people through the door, improving the commercial operations of the club etc are key. To say these areas have been neglected over the last ten years is an understatement.

 

Fans do need to be realistic about what the club will achieve over the very short term however. The legacy of the previous regime is still being felt and will take time to clean up. AL is trying to rebuild the club from a very low base on all fronts. As fans we should keep the bigger picture issues in focus and judge progress against these

over a reasonable timeframe. 

 

Fans also need to be realistic about the release of info on specific club matters. It

simply isn't possible or appropriate to be providing a running commentary on confidential items.

 

AL has made it clear he wants to

improve the relationship between fans and the club. The onus is on the club to make the key moves in this regard. Please give AL the chance (and time) to do that. Again, it won't happen over night. 

 

Returning to the Trust, we are in a position to support AL whilst challenging him (constructively) where we feel that is necessary. This did not exist under the previous regime, seriously undermining the Trust's objectives, effectiveness and its relationship with supporters.

 

The Trust had been operating under very challenging conditions for some time but we now have an expanded Trust Board to work with longstanding Trust Directors to realise the opportunities, brought by the new ownership, to effect positive change and build a new relationship with fans based on openness and trust.

 

Plenty more to come from the Trust. Please watch this space 

 

Lastly, please do keep asking questions of the Trust. Support it as a body which acts in the best interests of the club and which ultimately is doing what it can to ensure OAFC flourishes..

 

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27 minutes ago, Andy b said:

Thanks all for your comments.

 

Bottom line is the Trust has an open line of communication to the new owner and we are reassured by his commitment and dedication to the cause. He has a lot to work through to get the club working again. Give him the chance to prove he can do that. 

 

One reoccurring question that seems to be raised is what is AL's plan? At this point his focus is on putting OAFC on a stable and sustainable footing. I don't see that being about reducing budgets but rather providing the means to maximise the budget. 

 

The aim is to get out of league 2 but in a sustainable manner. Maximising income to provide the means to achieve this is central. So getting people through the door, improving the commercial operations of the club etc are key. To say these areas have been neglected over the last ten years is an understatement.

 

Fans do need to be realistic about what the club will achieve over the very short term however. The legacy of the previous regime is still being felt and will take time to clean up. AL is trying to rebuild the club from a very low base on all fronts. As fans we should keep the bigger picture issues in focus and judge progress against these

over a reasonable timeframe. 

 

Fans also need to be realistic about the release of info on specific club matters. It

simply isn't possible or appropriate to be providing a running commentary on confidential items.

 

AL has made it clear he wants to

improve the relationship between fans and the club. The onus is on the club to make the key moves in this regard. Please give AL the chance (and time) to do that. Again, it won't happen over night. 

 

Returning to the Trust, we are in a position to support AL whilst challenging him (constructively) where we feel that is necessary. This did not exist under the previous regime, seriously undermining the Trust's objectives, effectiveness and its relationship with supporters.

 

The Trust had been operating under very challenging conditions for some time but we now have an expanded Trust Board to work with longstanding Trust Directors to realise the opportunities, brought by the new ownership, to effect positive change and build a new relationship with fans based on openness and trust.

 

Plenty more to come from the Trust. Please watch this space 

 

Lastly, please do keep asking questions of the Trust. Support it as a body which acts in the best interests of the club and which ultimately is doing what it can to ensure OAFC flourishes..

 

What about the way AL treats members of staff? Treats players? Can’t afford to pay wages and picks and chooses whom he pays? 

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Thanks Andy. I’d like to provide you with some feedback on your comms if I may. Please understand I mean this constructively.

 

We (the supporters/fans) expect you (the Trust) to be looking after our collective interests by raising reasoned topics highlighted on here or otherwise, exploring them with Mr. Lemsagam - sometimes firmly if necessary - & then reporting back to us, how those discusions went. 

 

We do not expect you simply to provide a list of things we won’t be hearing. It will do the Trust’s own PR no good with the wider fanbase if you appear through comms to be an apologist or school masterly.

 

 If this is how your comms are received you will lose many supporters & the Trust will not be a respected organisation, much like when Barry was in the hot seat. Please consider this when framing how to communicate with us.

 

Now, there are many facets/initiatives that make up a plan. There are threads on here discussing them to infinitum. Not everything surrounding them will be confidential.

 

Let’s take for instance the top floor of the Joe Royle stand. He either is or isn’t exploring possible uses for it. He either has or hasn’t asked someone to scope out a business plan for its use. He either has or hasn’t come to a conclusion about whether it is or is not a viable space from which to buy/lease/rent. I’m not asking him to share with me his £forecast, I’d simply like to know whether this is something he intends to do and to tell us the conclusion he comes to. It’s not an unreasonable request, esp when he’s asking for my patience and continued support.

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9 hours ago, oldhamoafc said:

What about the way AL treats members of staff? Treats players? Can’t afford to pay wages and picks and chooses whom he pays? 

The initial meeting with Diane Mellor was brief and i understand didnt get on to such operational matters unfortunatley. We hope to see claims of late payments disappearing as we go forward. Once regular club board meetings are put in place we should be able to get closer to issues such as this. Sorry, can't provide anything further on this at this particular point.

 

As to whether AL can / cannot afford to pay wages. I don't know his personal wealth however he does have the means to clean up the club, clear debts etc and that is the process he is currently going through to get us back on an even keel.

 

We all want the club to be run responsibly and sustainably, not to rely on hand outs from a wealthy owner. Whether he has the personal means to keep the club going over the long term is not really the issue therefore. What is important is that he has skill set, contacts and business knowledge to ensure OAFC is a successful business, which should translate onto the pitch in time.

 

He is bringing experienced people into the club who can help and guide him and he certainly has the passion and enthusiasm. We believe he is putting the success of OAFC first. Compare that to the previous owner if you will.

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11 minutes ago, lookersstandandy said:

Thanks Andy. I’d like to provide you with some feedback on your comms if I may. Please understand I mean this constructively.

 

We (the supporters/fans) expect you (the Trust) to be looking after our collective interests by raising reasoned topics highlighted on here or otherwise, exploring them with Mr. Lemsagam - sometimes firmly if necessary - & then reporting back to us, how those discusions went. 

 

We do not expect you simply to provide a list of things we won’t be hearing. It will do the Trust’s own PR no good with the wider fanbase if you appear through comms to be an apologist or school masterly.

 

 If this is how your comms are received you will lose many supporters & the Trust will not be a respected organisation, much like when Barry was in the hot seat. Please consider this when framing how to communicate with us.

 

Now, there are many facets/initiatives that make up a plan. There are threads on here discussing them to infinitum. Not everything surrounding them will be confidential.

 

Let’s take for instance the top floor of the Joe Royle stand. He either is or isn’t exploring possible uses for it. He either has or hasn’t asked someone to scope out a business plan for its use. He either has or hasn’t come to a conclusion about whether it is or is not a viable space from which to buy/lease/rent. I’m not asking him to share with me his £forecast, I’d simply like to know whether this is something he intends to do and to tell us the conclusion he comes to. It’s not an unreasonable request, esp when he’s asking for my patience and continued support.

Thanks LSA. Very constructive feedback which is appreciated. We want to serve the fans and get everyone on board with the Trust. This will give the Trust so much more credibility with the club and opens other doors I believe. 

 

We want comms to improve and to hit the right notes with fans. Rest assured your comments are fully understood and I will take this back to the Trust. We are working on a strategy for future comms so your feedback is timely. Thank you.

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6 minutes ago, archiecat said:

You have this Trust thing down to a tee already, thank you for the reply Andy.

A confidential employee-employer issue which no one beyond the parties concerned can reasonably expect to have knowledge of. I would hope that it will come out via appropriate channels at the appropriate time. 

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