Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Trust Everton ? What's The Strategy?

The original thread on the subject of Trust Everton appears to have degenerated into a slanging match about stadium redevelopment and hotel occupancy rates and I?d like to bring things back to discussing the Trust itself and how we can make it work for the good of the club in the future.

First of all, let me say that I am a ?believer?. This is the best idea that I?ve heard to actually do something and break the mould of current football finance. Tony has done a great job in setting up this vehicle and I believe it is the duty of every Evertonian who cares about the future of the club to get on board and do whatever he can to drive it forward. My motivation for writing this piece, however, is that I can?t help feeling that, the way things are looking, the Trust is going to fall well short of what I believe it could achieve.

Last March, a couple of months after the Trust Everton idea was first suggested, I wrote an article on this site entitled ?How Many Are We?? which basically addressed the issue of how many Evertonians there are in the world and how many of that number would be willing to contribute financially to further the interests of the club. The point I was trying to make was that, until we had an idea of that number and how much they were willing to contribute, there was no point in discussing what Trust Everton would actually do. I called for the establishment of a database of people who were interested in the concept of Trust Everton in order to gain a rough idea of what the Trust could hope to achieve.

Now that the Trust has ?gone live? I was extremely disappointed to find that, not only are the organisers only now starting to find out how many people are interested but they have decided that the Trust should try to buy the training ground for £15 million! How preposterous is it to conduct a feasibility study into buying such an expensive asset when you actually don?t have any money! I would go so far as to say that, at the moment, the Trust appears to have no strategy beyond wishful thinking. Do they really think they can just sit back and wait for the money to roll in?

The idea of buying Finch Farm is a massive own goal for at least two other reasons. First, it alienates anyone who doesn?t agree with it, of which I am obviously one but there have been many posters so far who would prefer something else e.g. stadium redevelopment. People whose contributions will be greatly needed won?t even bother to join if they are not enthused by the Trust?s objectives. Secondly, what gives the organisers the right to decide what to do with the members? money? Surely the best approach is to build up capital in the Trust and have a proper debate and ultimately a vote on the best way to use the Trust?s money. This is simply the democracy that everyone was calling for last year as opposed to ideas being imposed from on high. If the result of such a process is that the members want to purchase Finch Farm, fair enough.

The most exciting thing that I have read since the Trust started was Tony saying that ?several thousand? questionnaires had been completed. Can we assume that this equates to the number of people who have actually registered? I?ve done the questionnaire twice as, at the moment, it appears to be the only way of communicating with the Trust so questionnaires do not necessarily translate into actual bodies on the ground. However, I?m going to assume that we have 3,000 people as interested as I am. Does anybody know what the next move is and what the criteria are for deciding when to take it?

I know that I?ll be criticised for my impatience but I believe that those 3,000 people should be able to become members immediately and pay their first annual subscription of £10. This would raise £30,000 and should be used to fund a PR campaign on behalf of the Trust with the sole aim of increasing membership. This money would have nothing to do with the main aim of furthering the interests of EFC but be kept for the Trust itself. Over time any surplus after accounting for the running costs of the Trust would be transferred to the main fund.

My belief is that the Trust should have at least 20,000 contributing members if it is to make a difference in the world of the Premier League. However, I also believe that getting to that figure is going to be a long battle against scepticism and apathy. I go to the match with four mates, none of whom is the slightest bit interested in Trust Everton. In fact, whenever I try to get a discussion going, they are amazed that I?m keen on the idea and the talk quickly turns back to the usual matchday conversation. I appreciate that this may not be representative but I don?t get the impression that Everton fans generally are buzzing with enthusiasm about Trust Everton.

The other subject that the Trust website is quiet about is how much each member is required to contribute. If the Trust is really going to make a difference, we cannot have some people only contributing £2 a month. I ticked the box for ?£20 a month or more? on the questionnaire and believe that £20 should be the minimum. It is a fact of life that the majority of people will pay the minimum they are required to and if too many people are contributing £24 a year, we simply won?t have enough money to do anything worthwhile. I come back again to the total folly of wanting to spend £15 million whilst acknowledging the possibility of Trust members only wanting to contribute £24 a year. Madness!

Maybe Tony has a clear idea of exactly how Trust Everton is going to raise £15 million and, if so, I?d like to hear it. Speaking for myself, I?m prepared to pay my £10 annual subscription whatever happens but (even though I still think the target should be at least 20,000) I?ll need to know that 10,000 other Evertonians are committed to the cause and that I?ll get some say in how it is spent before I start to make my regular £50 a month contribution.

How do other Toffeewebbers think things are going to pan out for Trust Everton?

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