Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST)

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Feels like the board should maybe be bigger too, was it more people in the past? 
 

Guess it’s a moot point if you can’t get the people, but might dilute the influence of the TF crew. 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by AyeDubbleYoo

[OCOCOL]

3 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I’ll bore on about this a little longer - feel free to scroll past!

 

The crux of the issue to me is a representative vs delegate one - an old internal Labour party debate.

 

To me, a supporters trust’s board should view itself as a group of delegates, not representatives.  They should simply be there as tribunes to deliver the majority views of the membership, not to give their personal views without the express support of the majority - i.e. act as a representative.  I cannot picture Martin, Hurst or Robson keeping their personal views to themselves, nor in viewing themselves as simply delegates to take the trust’s views to the NUFC board - they want to be heard, want to feel special, want to schmooze.  The fact that they’d clearly never thought that their position on the board might raise eyebrows is testament to their egos - I mean, we really shouldn’t give too much of a shite who is on the board, as I’d expect it to be filled with otherwise anonymous supporters. 
 

That’s my two penneth worth

 I don’t particularly like Michael Martin but he’s been an ambassador for fan issues for decades and clearly cares. I still find it odd that a dyed in the wool socialist has jumped into bed with the public school cabal of Hurst and Robson. 
 

TF used to clearly have a left / liberal anti establishment ethos. I’ve never seen a media organisation pivot its value system so comprehensively. 

[TheBrownBottle]

1 hour ago, OCOCOL said:

 I don’t particularly like Michael Martin but he’s been an ambassador for fan issues for decades and clearly cares. I still find it odd that a dyed in the wool socialist has jumped into bed with the public school cabal of Hurst and Robson. 
 

TF used to clearly have a left / liberal anti establishment ethos. I’ve never seen a media organisation pivot its value system so comprehensively. 

Yeah, agreed.  I think Martin likes to call himself a social Democrat - like you said, left-leaning.  As was the fanzine - I used to like the political, music and subculture stuff as much as the football stuff.

 

But then they started accepting adverts - against the traditional fanzine ethos.  From Hurst’s dad’s taxi company.  And instead of a polyglot collective of writers, Hurst used it as a vehicle to promote himself and his tiresome cadre of middle class mates, with their vanilla politics and cultural views.  The whole TF thing is just an irritant to me now 

[Numbers]

Would be interesting to know how many people actually give a shit about NUST any more, most people joined when they thought it was a way of getting rid of Ashley.

[Likelylad]

4 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Yeah, agreed.  I think Martin likes to call himself a social Democrat - like you said, left-leaning.  As was the fanzine - I used to like the political, music and subculture stuff as much as the football stuff.

 

But then they started accepting adverts - against the traditional fanzine ethos.  From Hurst’s dad’s taxi company.  And instead of a polyglot collective of writers, Hurst used it as a vehicle to promote himself and his tiresome cadre of middle class mates, with their vanilla politics and cultural views.  The whole TF thing is just an irritant to me now 

The fact he thinks he's a viable person to speak to for the fans of Newcastle United man. 

I was speaking to my pal about it and he said they have a mutual friend in common and he met this friend in in the Forth whilst Hurst was there and the "fat chode" his words not mine couldn't have been any more dismissive & arrogant. 

On another note. Has anyone got the Cameron article to hand? 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

14 minutes ago, Numbers said:

Would be interesting to know how many people actually give a shit about NUST any more, most people joined when they thought it was a way of getting rid of Ashley.

Ironically given they refused to do any protesting. 

[LFEE]

5 hours ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Feels like the board should maybe be bigger too, was it more people in the past? 
 

Guess it’s a moot point if you can’t get the people, but might dilute the influence of the TF crew. 

 

 

 

I basically told them that when I found out on the night about the 4th nominee who didn’t get anyone to propose him (Needed only two people to vote for him). Their version of events was he was advised to do a couple of things to garner the two votes (assuming put it out in the SM sphere) but he never bothered. Seemed all a bit strange and very under publicised. 
 

Which reminds me for anyone on here who’ve hinted they wouldn’t of got on the board without a massive social media presence etc that clearly wouldn’t of been the case. You just needed two members to propose you on this occasion and that would’ve been enough to secure your place at the top table.

 

My vote as I’ve said before is there for anyone who wants it and I’m sure on here we could find a secondary one.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I’d potentially be interested in getting involved with the trust but I don’t really know what they actually ‘do’. 
 

The fact they used Mike Ashley to generate members while not doing anything to remove him put me off a bit. I assume similar to Heron, I’d definitely prefer a bit more of an anti-establishment and activist type organisation (while engaging with the club of course, which should be a lot easier now). 
 

Might have gone last night if I hadn’t done my calf the night before. 

[LFEE]

1 minute ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I’d potentially be interested in getting involved with the trust but I don’t really know what they actually ‘do’. 
 

The fact they used Mike Ashley to generate members while not doing anything to remove him put me off a bit. I assume similar to Heron, I’d definitely prefer a bit more of an anti-establishment and activist type organisation (while engaging with the club of course, which should be a lot easier now). 
 

Might have gone last night if I hadn’t done my calf the night before. 

Again another thing I highlighted last night to them was the messaging of what they really are and what they do as I pointed out although they may think it’s obvious other people don’t.

 

They are basically like a trade union. Hence the strength in numbers important. They will court opinion of its members via surveys based on requests etc made to them via its members. At that stage if there is a strong enough response on particular issues they will then take them to the club and try and implement whatever.

 

Ultimately like a trade union it only looks effective if you have a government (or club in this case) that is prepared to listen and engage and ultimately implement the changes requested and likewise on the flip side the chance of that happening is greater if the Union (NUST) can give evidence of strength of feeling on whatever the topic is.

 

Where I think they confused people (and I nearly brought it up but it can wait until next meeting as I didn’t want to prolong the night for ever as it ended up nearly 2hrs long (7-9pm) and they had to have their board meeting straight afterwards.) in my opinion was the whole idea of the Pledge scheme as that to me clearly came from within the board itself rather than a large demand from its members. This is also where I feel rightly people think there are decisions made for themselves rather than their members.

 

You’ve got to have balance with some things so that is where the naysayers go too far criticising small things like selling Jigsaws or whatever because ultimately to survive the NUST needs funds in the bank. If only for their annual audit fee (£1400 which I thought was slightly on the high side as I’m sure my Freeman’s companies books only cost around £1000 so maybe a mute point). In reality they aren’t get any more income from the likes of me who took the £10 lifetime membership offer so that would leave any future income solely from £1 per annum members. So as someone has just asked about how many people care about the NUST it will be interesting in a year how the books look as that should give some indication along with the longevity of the NUST itself.

 

 

 

 

[TheBrownBottle]

47 minutes ago, LFEE said:

I basically told them that when I found out on the night about the 4th nominee who didn’t get anyone to propose him (Needed only two people to vote for him). Their version of events was he was advised to do a couple of things to garner the two votes (assuming put it out in the SM sphere) but he never bothered. Seemed all a bit strange and very under publicised. 
 

Which reminds me for anyone on here who’ve hinted they wouldn’t of got on the board without a massive social media presence etc that clearly wouldn’t of been the case. You just needed two members to propose you on this occasion and that would’ve been enough to secure your place at the top table.

 

My vote as I’ve said before is there for anyone who wants it and I’m sure on here we could find a secondary one.

Again, why wouldn’t one of the nominees or board members just second the 4th candidate, or even get a fellow trust member to second them - it would at least be a piecemeal attempt to make it not look like ‘jobs for your mates’.  

[OCOCOL]

1 minute ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Again, why wouldn’t one of the nominees or board members just second the 4th candidate, or even get a fellow trust member to second them - it would at least be a piecemeal attempt to make it not look like ‘jobs for your mates’.  

I’d guess like our current government Transparency, fairness, democracy and accountability are dirty words in the cabal.

[TheBrownBottle]

Just now, OCOCOL said:

I’d guess like our current government Transparency, fairness, democracy and accountability are dirty words in the cabal.

That’s why Hurst votes them in  

[LFEE]

11 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Again, why wouldn’t one of the nominees or board members just second the 4th candidate, or even get a fellow trust member to second them - it would at least be a piecemeal attempt to make it not look like ‘jobs for your mates’.  

I’m guessing they might not be allowed to as it would suggest like your follow up comment has that they could vote their mates on rather than what they have by the looks of it stayed impartial. They claimed to offer a few suggestions to this person as they would’ve appreciated another person to help with the workload.
 

 

[NUFC91]

10 hours ago, TheGuv said:

Quick update from last night. There was a decent turn out, perhaps 50 or 60, so no doubt higher than previous years. However, for a Trust of 12,000+ people, this needs to change. An over-riding sentiment from people there and the Board, was how this can be improved. I spoke with @Greg afterwards and I have to agree that communication needs to be improved. Social Media is king, as Wor Flags have shown, with tens of thousands getting the message to bring a scarf against Leicester, so it can be done, and the message can get out there. 

 

To answer your question @NUFC91 no it wasn't. As I asked a question in AOB about ticketing issues, and how it seems to be the number 1 issue amongst fans at this moment in time. I also directed a question in regards to issues surrounding corporate away tickets, using the examples from this week of both Bournemouth and Crystal Palace. The response was effectively, the Trust are now working closely with the club and will be raising these matters. But they'll only have more clout if more people get involved, answer the surveys etc. Which is a fair comment. If people want to have a say in how future season tickets, Cup Final tickets etc are distributed, moaning about it on tiwtter and fighting on forums won't change anything. Like it or not, the Trust, clearly has the largest body to represent the fans on such matters. The reason why I didn't bring up the singing section, is it effectively was answered by the above question. Sarah Medcalf, newly inaugurated Supports Liaison officer was there, and I purposefully directed the question towards her as well, in regards to the ticketing issues. 

 

Thomas, spoke about how each PL club and the supporters trusts, alongside the FSA, will need to create a Fan Engagement Plan. Sarah Medcalf and the Trust will be working on this and it will come out in February. Independent Regulation may come in, in future and a big thing is supporter involvement will increase at club level. For the engagement plan, no doubt ticketing, singing sections, safe standing, Castore issues is something that will be discussed and hopefully implemented by the club. Again, tell the trust your thoughts (as others won't!), and your desire has more chance of fruition if the Trust can take it forward. 

 

@LFEE posed questions on a few matters. He spoke about how people volunteer and give up their time, however did ask a few questions surrounding lack of engagement with fans (there were only 4 nominations for 3 board spaces, and the 4th nominee didn't have a proposer/seconder  - so no vote was required) and if the Board members are aware of the look of it becoming a True Faith club. This certainly did not sit well with Alex Hurst and Charlotte Robson. I'm not sure who piped up at the back as well? Was it Michael Martin? i don't know what he looks like. Alex's retort was sitting on the board had nothing to do wirh profile as TF has a wider audience. Make of that what you will. 

 

I'm glad I went, and I'll certainly look at going to more Trust initiatives, but they MUST MUST MUST increase fan engagement and empower the supporters to get invovled. For me that means reaching out and empowering fans through matters such as ticketing, safe standing, supporter experience and anything else you can think of. If they don't, and don't do it quickly, there will be very little point in them moving forward. Yes, people are volunteers, but you need to have to drive to change things. I hope they heed the advice! 

 

Good luck to them and I'll reserve judgement until the next AGM.

 

 

I did speak to trust on safe standing, they said they'll speak to their members on it...needs addressing as lots of times implenting it and we will get let behind...not sure how us fans push it any more?

[LFEE]

 

[Chicken Dancer]

I didn't realise the Trust was just the opinion of 3 board members?

 

They have - and will always - put their own interests ahead of their members. I think we can all come to an agreement that the trust is an extension of True Faith and if you're in that click, you're sorted for life.

 

There's become a bit of a cult online since the takeover - (some of) those with ST & especially with lots of points talking down to other fans not in the fortunate position they are. Obviously they don't represent everyone, but it really is tiresome and frankly some of stuff you see is shocking. I'm also well aware that social media opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt, but I've had plenty of interaction with people in person who act the same way.

 

I sympathise with the club in this instance as they were never going to please everybody, but I do wish they would understand that the trust isn't representative of the fanbase and they would be wise to survey season ticket holders and members in the future for any potential changes they are considering.

[KetsbaiaIsBald]

2 hours ago, Chicken Dancer said:

I didn't realise the Trust was just the opinion of 3 board members?

 

They have - and will always - put their own interests ahead of their members. I think we can all come to an agreement that the trust is an extension of True Faith and if you're in that click, you're sorted for life.

 

There's become a bit of a cult online since the takeover - (some of) those with ST & especially with lots of points talking down to other fans not in the fortunate position they are. Obviously they don't represent everyone, but it really is tiresome and frankly some of stuff you see is shocking. I'm also well aware that social media opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt, but I've had plenty of interaction with people in person who act the same way.

 

I sympathise with the club in this instance as they were never going to please everybody, but I do wish they would understand that the trust isn't representative of the fanbase and they would be wise to survey season ticket holders and members in the future for any potential changes they are considering.

absolutely. 100% 

[OCOCOL]

3 hours ago, Chicken Dancer said:

I didn't realise the Trust was just the opinion of 3 board members?

 

They have - and will always - put their own interests ahead of their members. I think we can all come to an agreement that the trust is an extension of True Faith and if you're in that click, you're sorted for life.

 

There's become a bit of a cult online since the takeover - (some of) those with ST & especially with lots of points talking down to other fans not in the fortunate position they are. Obviously they don't represent everyone, but it really is tiresome and frankly some of stuff you see is shocking. I'm also well aware that social media opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt, but I've had plenty of interaction with people in person who act the same way.

 

I sympathise with the club in this instance as they were never going to please everybody, but I do wish they would understand that the trust isn't representative of the fanbase and they would be wise to survey season ticket holders and members in the future for any potential changes they are considering.

 

You are 100% right I think @TheBrownBottle said it best a few posts up:

 

"To me, a supporters trust’s board should view itself as a group of delegates, not representatives.  They should simply be there as tribunes to deliver the majority views of the membership, not to give their personal views without the express support of the majority - i.e. act as a representative.  I cannot picture Martin, Hurst or Robson keeping their personal views to themselves, nor in viewing themselves as simply delegates to take the trust’s views to the NUFC board - they want to be heard, want to feel special, want to schmooze.  The fact that they’d clearly never thought that their position on the board might raise eyebrows is testament to their egos - I mean, we really shouldn’t give too much of a shite who is on the board, as I’d expect it to be filled with otherwise anonymous supporters. "

 

I hope it won't take the club too long to clock on to their standing among the wider fanbase and not the RGS / Church High old boy / girl network

[Chicken Dancer]

Just now, OCOCOL said:

 

I hope it won't take the club too long to clock on to their standing among the wider fanbase and not the RGS / Church High old boy / girl network

Sadly I don’t think they ever got will. Wembley tickets was probably the first instance where they need to gauge opinion and the first thing they done was go to them 3 - they obviously think they represent the feelings of the fan base as a whole when it couldn’t be further from the truth. 
 

They obviously look at them as the mouthpiece of the fans. They should use True Faith instead… oh shit. It’s the same thing. 

[OCOCOL]

11 minutes ago, Chicken Dancer said:

Sadly I don’t think they ever got will. Wembley tickets was probably the first instance where they need to gauge opinion and the first thing they done was go to them 3 - they obviously think they represent the feelings of the fan base as a whole when it couldn’t be further from the truth. 
 

They obviously look at them as the mouthpiece of the fans. They should use True Faith instead… oh shit. It’s the same thing. 

 

They might have incorrectly assumed that once the NUST board were asked they would have canvassed their members opinions or had some insight.

 

In reality they prob sent them an outline of what they were considering and Brian Blessed and his pals looked to see which pot they fell in and then said "fkin class" and give the club the thumbs up.

[Chicken Dancer]

17 minutes ago, OCOCOL said:

Brian Blessed

 

[Chicken Dancer]

Would anybody be kind enough to share the email update they received? Still not got mine, but I'm in the mood to be pissed off about something so this could work.

[LFEE]

21 minutes ago, Chicken Dancer said:

Would anybody be kind enough to share the email update they received? Still not got mine, but I'm in the mood to be pissed off about something so this could work.

Strawberry Place leasehold returns to NUFC

Over many years NUST have been consistent in our suggestion that the land at Strawberry Place should not be sold for private development ,and should be developed for the benefit of the football club and local community. When an application was made for planning permission NUST objected to the application and made representations before the Council’s planning committee opposing the proposed development. We are pleased to see that the land is to be transferred back to NUFC and look forward to learning about their plans in the coming months.

­

Ticketing Questions Put to Club - Wembley and away tickets

Newcastle United have reached their first final in 24 years. What is clear to the Board of the Trust is that ticketing issues and queries are the most important matters to many Trust members. Periods 1 to 3 of Wembley ticket sales have now taken place and the club have clarified a number of matters, but during the last few days the Trust has been still been seeking answers to the questions asked by our Members.

 

With this in mind the Board has spoken to Newcastle United and we are pleased to report that the club have provided answers to questions raised by members on ticketing.
 

Member Question: For Wembley, is there any chance tickets will actually go down to periods 4,5 and 6? Or are they only periods that will take place if tickets don’t sell out in each previous tier?
 

Answer from NUFC: Each period is guaranteed to take place.

 

Trust analysis: The club is seeking to ensuring some members and non-members (with purchase history) will receive tickets in their attempt to ensure a range of fans have access to Wembley. The vast majority of tickets will go to season ticket holders. Periods 4-6 seem to be ballots so not every qualifying applicant will receive tickets, unlike in periods 1-3 where tickets are guaranteed if you qualify and purchase through the cub site in your allocated period time slot.

 

Member Question: Why are less and less tickets for away games going on sale to season ticket holders? Are they holding back more tickets for corporate than they used to?

 

Answer from NUFC: As you can appreciate, demand for away ticket allocations during this season is significantly higher from fans. We can confirm that there have been no changes in the allocation of 10% made available to staff, players, and corporate ticket holders for away matches.

 

For specific matches this season, like Crystal Palace vs Newcastle United, the away fan capacity at Selhurst Park was reduced by roughly a couple of hundred seats. This was a local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) issue rather than a decision made by Crystal Palace in isolation, and therefore it wasn’t something we were able to influence. This now applies to all clubs visiting the ground moving forward.

There have been instances during this season where there has been an increased uptake from players wanting their families to attend a game. In addition, and in the interests of being transparent, permanent full-time staff are now able to apply to purchase a ticket on a balloted basis from a very small allocation of tickets. 

 

As you might expect, lots of our staff work home matches but are not able to watch the match itself. This scheme gives our hard-working people the chance to enjoy watching the team they work so hard to support behind the scenes, and I hope you would agree this is a worthy addition. Rest assured, this takes only a small number of tickets.

 

Please be assured that our fans are at the heart of the club and we will always look to ensure our loyal supporters are rewarded with access to as many away match tickets as possible whilst supporting our other matchday commitments.

 

We hope the above clarifications help NUST members with the queries they have raised with us, many thanks to Newcastle United for their prompt engagement on these matters and their transparency on these issues.

­

Trust stands up for fans caught up in Sheffield Wednesday issues

Trust Board member Cliff Culley and Thomas Concannon ex Trust Board member and now working with the FSA met with Bob Eastwood, Head of Safety and Security and two of his colleagues Steve Dowson and Andy Pomfret from the English Football League (EFC) on Tuesday 31st January.

 

Bob advised that the EFL and Sheffield Wednesday are taking those concerns very seriously and Sheffield Wednesday have already implemented some changes to ensure similar incidents do not happen again.

.

There was a good discussion and the Trust provided the EFL with all the reports received by our Members and the EFL will now will consider and discuss the evidence in detail with Sheffield Wednesday. The EFL committed to keeping the Trust updated.  

The Trust would like to thank again, those who provided input of their experiences on the day and it will hopefully make future visits by away fans to Hillsborough a safer and more pleasant experience.

­

AGM Update

NUST held it's Annual General Meeting at Heroes Lounge, St James' Park on Thursday 12th January 2023. 

 

The Board would like to thank all Members that attended the AGM, the minutes of which can be found by clicking on the link below. 

 

To begin the evening, Trust Chair Thomas Concannon welcomed Members and provided a summary of work undertaken by the Trust over the past 12 months - whilst not an exhaustive list, this included: · 

 

Bringing to a close the NUST 1892 Pledge Scheme, which directly resulted in £200,000 being distributed to the following North East based charities: o 

The Alan Shearer Foundation (£83,500)  

The Newcastle West End Foodbank (£27,500) 

The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation (£59,000)  

The Newcastle United Foundation (£30,000) · 
 

Our work with the relevant authorities in relation to the review of the ‘crushing’ incident at the Leeds Utd v Newcastle United fixture in January 2022. Forming and developing a working relationship with the newly created Supporter Services Department at Newcastle United, headed up by Sarah Medcalf.
 

Working to provide recommendations to Newcastle United's Supporter Services Department following the fan-led review into football governance, led by Tracy Crouch MP. 

 

Thomas also confirmed that he had recently taken up a new role with the Football Supporters Association as its Premier League Network Manager, and that in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest he would be resigning from his position on the Board of NUST*, although he would continue to play a role as a NUST member. 

 

We then moved to the formal business of the evening and received the Trust accounts for year ending August 2022 (available here). The accounts were approved and Stephenson Coates Audit Limited were re-appointed as Trust auditors. 

 

An update was then provided on the recent NUST Annual Election and it was confirmed that following this, Alex Hurst, Paul Karter and Michael Martin* were elected to the Board. 

 

NUST Board Member Cliff Culley then explained to those in attendance that since the rules adopted by NUST were the model rules and no longer fit for modern time, they required to be updated. Cliff explained that Trust has worked with the Co-Op, given that their model rules had been subject to minor updates, the new Trust rules now reflect those updates, and as a result member approval was required to confirm acceptance of the updated model.

 

Cliff proceeded to explain the changes that were proposed to those in attendance, and members were then requested to approve the update to the rules - these changes were unanimously agreed. An copy of the updated rules, that will now be submitted to the FCA, can be found here.

 

A Q&A was then held with the Board, with a number of members asking questions and raising points - these included: 

Ticketing

Relationship with NUFC

NUW Team

1892 Pledge Scheme 

Diversity and inclusion  

The fan-led review

Member surveys

Ground capacity

Kit supplier · 

Wi-Fi / additional giant screens in St James' Park

 

The Board would like to thank Newcastle United for allowing NUST to host the meeting, in particular Sarah Medcalf (Head of Supporter Services) and Dominica O'Neill (Director of People and Talent) for their help in facilitating the event. Thank you once again to all that attended and to those that provided apologies. Thank you for your continued support.

A copy of the AGM minutes can be found here.

[OCOCOL]

46 minutes ago, LFEE said:

Strawberry Place leasehold returns to NUFC

Over many years NUST have been consistent in our suggestion that the land at Strawberry Place should not be sold for private development ,and should be developed for the benefit of the football club and local community. When an application was made for planning permission NUST objected to the application and made representations before the Council’s planning committee opposing the proposed development. We are pleased to see that the land is to be transferred back to NUFC and look forward to learning about their plans in the coming months.

­

Ticketing Questions Put to Club - Wembley and away tickets

Newcastle United have reached their first final in 24 years. What is clear to the Board of the Trust is that ticketing issues and queries are the most important matters to many Trust members. Periods 1 to 3 of Wembley ticket sales have now taken place and the club have clarified a number of matters, but during the last few days the Trust has been still been seeking answers to the questions asked by our Members.

 

With this in mind the Board has spoken to Newcastle United and we are pleased to report that the club have provided answers to questions raised by members on ticketing.
 

Member Question: For Wembley, is there any chance tickets will actually go down to periods 4,5 and 6? Or are they only periods that will take place if tickets don’t sell out in each previous tier?
 

Answer from NUFC: Each period is guaranteed to take place.

 

Trust analysis: The club is seeking to ensuring some members and non-members (with purchase history) will receive tickets in their attempt to ensure a range of fans have access to Wembley. The vast majority of tickets will go to season ticket holders. Periods 4-6 seem to be ballots so not every qualifying applicant will receive tickets, unlike in periods 1-3 where tickets are guaranteed if you qualify and purchase through the cub site in your allocated period time slot.

 

Member Question: Why are less and less tickets for away games going on sale to season ticket holders? Are they holding back more tickets for corporate than they used to?

 

Answer from NUFC: As you can appreciate, demand for away ticket allocations during this season is significantly higher from fans. We can confirm that there have been no changes in the allocation of 10% made available to staff, players, and corporate ticket holders for away matches.

 

For specific matches this season, like Crystal Palace vs Newcastle United, the away fan capacity at Selhurst Park was reduced by roughly a couple of hundred seats. This was a local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) issue rather than a decision made by Crystal Palace in isolation, and therefore it wasn’t something we were able to influence. This now applies to all clubs visiting the ground moving forward.

There have been instances during this season where there has been an increased uptake from players wanting their families to attend a game. In addition, and in the interests of being transparent, permanent full-time staff are now able to apply to purchase a ticket on a balloted basis from a very small allocation of tickets. 

 

As you might expect, lots of our staff work home matches but are not able to watch the match itself. This scheme gives our hard-working people the chance to enjoy watching the team they work so hard to support behind the scenes, and I hope you would agree this is a worthy addition. Rest assured, this takes only a small number of tickets.

 

Please be assured that our fans are at the heart of the club and we will always look to ensure our loyal supporters are rewarded with access to as many away match tickets as possible whilst supporting our other matchday commitments.

 

We hope the above clarifications help NUST members with the queries they have raised with us, many thanks to Newcastle United for their prompt engagement on these matters and their transparency on these issues.

­

Trust stands up for fans caught up in Sheffield Wednesday issues

Trust Board member Cliff Culley and Thomas Concannon ex Trust Board member and now working with the FSA met with Bob Eastwood, Head of Safety and Security and two of his colleagues Steve Dowson and Andy Pomfret from the English Football League (EFC) on Tuesday 31st January.

 

Bob advised that the EFL and Sheffield Wednesday are taking those concerns very seriously and Sheffield Wednesday have already implemented some changes to ensure similar incidents do not happen again.

.

There was a good discussion and the Trust provided the EFL with all the reports received by our Members and the EFL will now will consider and discuss the evidence in detail with Sheffield Wednesday. The EFL committed to keeping the Trust updated.  

The Trust would like to thank again, those who provided input of their experiences on the day and it will hopefully make future visits by away fans to Hillsborough a safer and more pleasant experience.

­

AGM Update

NUST held it's Annual General Meeting at Heroes Lounge, St James' Park on Thursday 12th January 2023. 

 

The Board would like to thank all Members that attended the AGM, the minutes of which can be found by clicking on the link below. 

 

To begin the evening, Trust Chair Thomas Concannon welcomed Members and provided a summary of work undertaken by the Trust over the past 12 months - whilst not an exhaustive list, this included: · 

 

Bringing to a close the NUST 1892 Pledge Scheme, which directly resulted in £200,000 being distributed to the following North East based charities: o 

The Alan Shearer Foundation (£83,500)  

The Newcastle West End Foodbank (£27,500) 

The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation (£59,000)  

The Newcastle United Foundation (£30,000) · 
 

Our work with the relevant authorities in relation to the review of the ‘crushing’ incident at the Leeds Utd v Newcastle United fixture in January 2022. Forming and developing a working relationship with the newly created Supporter Services Department at Newcastle United, headed up by Sarah Medcalf.
 

Working to provide recommendations to Newcastle United's Supporter Services Department following the fan-led review into football governance, led by Tracy Crouch MP. 

 

Thomas also confirmed that he had recently taken up a new role with the Football Supporters Association as its Premier League Network Manager, and that in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest he would be resigning from his position on the Board of NUST*, although he would continue to play a role as a NUST member. 

 

We then moved to the formal business of the evening and received the Trust accounts for year ending August 2022 (available here). The accounts were approved and Stephenson Coates Audit Limited were re-appointed as Trust auditors. 

 

An update was then provided on the recent NUST Annual Election and it was confirmed that following this, Alex Hurst, Paul Karter and Michael Martin* were elected to the Board. 

 

NUST Board Member Cliff Culley then explained to those in attendance that since the rules adopted by NUST were the model rules and no longer fit for modern time, they required to be updated. Cliff explained that Trust has worked with the Co-Op, given that their model rules had been subject to minor updates, the new Trust rules now reflect those updates, and as a result member approval was required to confirm acceptance of the updated model.

 

Cliff proceeded to explain the changes that were proposed to those in attendance, and members were then requested to approve the update to the rules - these changes were unanimously agreed. An copy of the updated rules, that will now be submitted to the FCA, can be found here.

 

A Q&A was then held with the Board, with a number of members asking questions and raising points - these included: 

Ticketing

Relationship with NUFC

NUW Team

1892 Pledge Scheme 

Diversity and inclusion  

The fan-led review

Member surveys

Ground capacity

Kit supplier · 

Wi-Fi / additional giant screens in St James' Park

 

The Board would like to thank Newcastle United for allowing NUST to host the meeting, in particular Sarah Medcalf (Head of Supporter Services) and Dominica O'Neill (Director of People and Talent) for their help in facilitating the event. Thank you once again to all that attended and to those that provided apologies. Thank you for your continued support.

A copy of the AGM minutes can be found here.

Not sure why they haven’t minuted the Q&A in terms of member engagement it’s possibly the most important agenda item to the wider supporter base. 

[Likelylad]

Definitely seeing more comments on Twitter seemingly disgruntled with the trust. Likely due to the frustration with tickets etc. Really hope the club going forward realise they’re not a mouthpiece/representative for the whole Nufc fanbase. Unlikely with Caulkin/Hope being engaged with that crew.