Supporters Club Statement
Forums, social media channels, and podcasts are a huge part of football; supporters of all clubs use them.
Naturally, our focus is on the club we all support. In the last few weeks, there have been some critical comments about team performance, players, and our club’s ownership.
Of course, everyone has their opinion on how to put things right: some say it’s the manager’s fault, some blame the players, while others would like a change of ownership.
The Supporters Club has also received criticism, with some committee members subjected to deeply offensive comments.
In a recent podcast, one of our committee members said he thought things were improving under the current ownership. He was speaking about his own personal findings on the day to day running of the club off the field. Our committee echoes his personal opinion.
All support groups are made welcome by the staff appointed by the owners, and there is a willingness, from all involved, to work together for the good of the club.
The support from Ricky Martin, Darrell Clarke and Ritchie Bates for our players’ CAP programme has led to a massive shift in supporting and acknowledging past players, embracing our history and heritage, while also marking the debuts of new players embarking on their Rovers journey and leading to the Supporters Club working closely with the Former Players Association, which, with the club’s support, can only be a good thing.
During the summer, we worked with the Football Club, Community Trust, and Presidents’ Club to provide funding for our young supporters’ ‘Pirate Deck’, which has been an outstanding success. We are planning to work with the President Club in the new year with further projects, all supported by the club and owners.
The staff appointed by the owners are always willing to meet, listen, take on board opinions from all support groups, and involve the personnel of those groups in discussions on how best to move forward on ongoing projects. Whilst we haven’t been able to publicise them at this moment in time, they will happen.
During our AGM earlier this month, we held a Q&A open to all, with Ritchie Bates fielding questions on owner communication. He conveyed that Hussain Al Saeed will update supporters before Christmas on a range of topics, which was witnessed by attendees and published in our newsletter the following day.
Jon Stead gave a detailed analysis of the team, an insight into the vision and journey we are on. We urge you to attend future forums and Q&A sessions so you can hear directly from the staff who run the club on a daily basis.
We will continue to champion our members’ voices and those of all supporters, with clear avenues of communication and mutual respect.