Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST)

[Guest reefatoon]

So tiring when anyone that tries do something no matter how big or small is instantly slated and put down for it. Some people man.

[Guest]

Great stuff.

[Greg]

We don't demand a team that wins, we demand a team that tries!

 

We don't demand a Supporters Trust that wins, we demand a Supporters Trust that tries!

 

If NUST doesn't put in a reasonable amount of effort to represent the anger of fans to all who may be able to impact things (the club, the buyers, the Premier League, the Government, the Parliament, etc) then what is the point of the NUST?  Just as there is little enthusiasm for supporting a team full of players who don't try, why would there be any support for a Supporters Trust that doesn't try?  This is the point at which the NUST needs to stand up and show their members why they exist - this is an existential test for NUST!

 

You think this isn't trying?

 

https://nufctrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NUST-Letters-with-PL.pdf?mc_cid=a4a1831fbc&mc_eid=fa029130f5

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Don’t bite Gregg, fuck the haters! Top stuff by NUST btw and Chi

[UncleBingo]

As much use as a chocolate fireguard

 

What are you up to fella, show us the way?

[Numbers]

Seems since the takeover fell through, anyone is fair game for haters.

 

Caulkin/NUST everyones in the firing line, sad as fuck tbh.

[TheInfiniteOdyssey]

Very impressed by the letter sent to Masters, the contempt in his generic response is shocking

[Guest]

Where’s Masters’ response??

[Numbers]

Where’s Masters’ response??

 

It was the same shit he sent to everyone else.

[Joe_F]

Seems since the takeover fell through, anyone is fair game for haters.

 

Caulkin/NUST everyones in the firing line, sad as fuck tbh.

 

Aye fucking unfathomable who some people turn their venom on.

[Bimpy474]

Seems since the takeover fell through, anyone is fair game for haters.

 

Caulkin/NUST everyones in the firing line, sad as fuck tbh.

 

Aye fucking unfathomable who some people turn their venom on.

 

Sitting back as I have over the last few days, there are some real twisted minds attacking the wrong side.

 

It's fucking mental the thinking of some.

[Greg]

Where’s Masters’ response??

 

At the bottom: https://nufctrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NUST-Letters-with-PL.pdf?mc_cid=a4a1831fbc&mc_eid=fa029130f5

 

Generic, standard fuck off.

[Joey Linton]

  tbf "Acknowledging our correspondence" could literally be anything from a detailed response to issues and points within it to getting a read receipt in outlook. The question really is do they give a toss about the contents.

 

Turns out it was "sit down and shut up" then. No wonder they didn't want to release the response at the time.

[Greg]

  tbf "Acknowledging our correspondence" could literally be anything from a detailed response to issues and points within it to getting a read receipt in outlook. The question really is do they give a toss about the contents.

 

Turns out it was "sit down and shut up" then. No wonder they didn't want to release the response at the time.

 

Releasing it had nothing to do with the content of the response as we've explained countless times. We never hid the fact is was a basic acknowledgment.

[Montey]

We don't demand a team that wins, we demand a team that tries!

 

We don't demand a Supporters Trust that wins, we demand a Supporters Trust that tries!

 

If NUST doesn't put in a reasonable amount of effort to represent the anger of fans to all who may be able to impact things (the club, the buyers, the Premier League, the Government, the Parliament, etc) then what is the point of the NUST?  Just as there is little enthusiasm for supporting a team full of players who don't try, why would there be any support for a Supporters Trust that doesn't try?  This is the point at which the NUST needs to stand up and show their members why they exist - this is an existential test for NUST!

 

You think this isn't trying?

 

https://nufctrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NUST-Letters-with-PL.pdf?mc_cid=a4a1831fbc&mc_eid=fa029130f5

 

OK, Greg-ol-boy, you asked, and here it is....

 

Sort of.  Congratulations to the NUST, (in relation to the takeover attempt by PIF/PCP/Reubens) they've had a letter, quite a good letter I will agree, sent by a lawyer to the Premier League, knowing full well that the Premier League would give them the same response they've given everybody else.  To assume that the Premier League would have given any different response is incredibly naive.  Additionally, the NUST has announced (only 7 hours prior to this forum reply, which is being typed as soon as I wake up - in Australia), that they've also requested communication with the Football Supporters Association, and spoken on a few media outlets.  As Mrs Brown would say, "that's nice".

 

I put to you the question, has the NUST taken any steps to elicit communication, support, and action from any of the following:

• Former Newcastle United players with a high profile and likely contacts within the Premier League hierarchy (e.g. Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley, Les Ferdinand, Steve Harper, Malcolm Macdonald, etc)?  A letter, all co-signed by NUFC legends, supporting the takeover, sent to the Premier League and published as an open letter would show strong support from the club's historic figures.  Calls directly from them to the Premier League to approve the takeover would apply pressure from within the broader Premier League community.
   
  
• Current Premier League & Championship clubs?  Letters, signed by senior figures from within other Premier League and Championship clubs, supporting the takeover, sent to the Premier League and/or published as an open letter would show strong support from other clubs within the Premier League.
   
  
• Prominent business and community figures within the Newcastle area?  Letter's, signed by prominent business and community figures would show strong support from the broader Newcastle community.
   
  
• Major sponsors of the Premier League?  Letter's requesting support from major sponsors of the Premier League, and referencing support from those mentioned above, may elicit communication from those sponsors to the Premier League expressing concerns about brand damage.  One of the things we should all have observed in 2019/2020 is how sensitive sponsors are of criticism towards them from popular causes - we need to make the NUFC Takover a prominent concern of the sponsors.
   
  
• Members of Parliament?  Letters to MP's, with reference to support from famous NUFC legends, senior figures of other Premier League and Championship, and support from the Newcastle community (including a physical petition gathered from within Newcastle) would show those MP's just how much support there is, just how much angst there is at its failing, and also provide political cover and pressure for those MP's to start asking questions.  MP's are motivated by an active constituency and are pressured by an angry constituency.
   
  
• Members of the Government?  Letter's to members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, along the lines of the letter sent to the Premier League, and referencing support obtained from those mentioned above could motivate the Cabinet to start making inquiries.
   
  
• Members of the Royal Family?  The UK Royal Family has a a very active role in the country's trade relationships and as such could be implored to intervene, to highlight all of the benefits to the United Kingdom and the North East of passing this takeover.
   
  

 

In a situation, such as this, it is necessary to build and apply pressure against the Premier League.  It is necessary to convince the Premier League that to take the decision or actions that we don't want flies in the face of what their customers, sponsors, and supporters want, and that to do so will cause them trouble.  Organisations, like the Premier League (like most large organisations and government bodies) are not motivated to do what is right, they are motivated by what might result in criticism.  The Premier League is acting the way it is because it is scared of the backlash it might receive if it approves the takeover - we need to construct a picture for them that the backlash will be worse if they don't approve the takeover.

 

This is not the time to be sitting back and saying, "well, we wrote a letter and got a reply.  We've done our bit."  Now is the time for the NUST to be standing up strong; showing leadership, energy, and determination; and attempting to focus the distress and anger within the NUFC community towards an ends that helps move Mike Ashley out of NUFC and new (substantially better) owners in to the club.  I would have hoped to hear that the NUST had, in fact, done most of the above already - but it is not too late, the NUST just needs to get cracking and play some catch-up.

 

 

 

(And, before anyone asks, I would love to help out with this - my excuse is that I am on the other side of the world; that I am not a citizen of the United Kingdom; and have no claim to communicate with any of the above, except maybe the Queen as my Head of State - but even that would have to be via Australia's Governor General, not directly to Buckingham Palace.)

[James]

Some great suggestions there but why didn’t you attempt to engage with NUST and make these suggestions while they had a chance to do something?

[Decky]

We have to stand by the Trust like. Fans need to stick together and in fairness to the Trust what more could they do beyond what they tried? The PL were always going to give a generic response, they don't give a flying fuck about us and this whole farce proves that. The Trust is one of the only organisations out there that genuinely cares about the club's future and will be here backing us long as Ashley has finally fucked off.

[Montey]

Some great suggestions there but why didn’t you attempt to engage with NUST and make these suggestions while they had a chance to do something?

 

Simple - I didn't think of it.

 

I was under the (now obviously incorrect) assumption that there was a strong probability of the takeover being completed (hence I didn't expend any effort thinking about it), and that NUST had people much closer to the club (metaphorically and literally, given I am in Australia) who would have thought of and actioned such obvious options.  I only gave it some more thought when Greg responded with (using my own words/interperation here), "we sent a letter, what more could we do?"  So, I decided to suggest some more things that could be done with little effort and little thought.

 

I am not assuming, at this point, that the NUST hasn't done more; the NUST may very well have done more and are just very bad at communicating (a bit like the club, in that respect).  But, if it turns out that NUST has only sent a letter to the Premier League that was only ever going to get a boilerplate response then I'll be fairly disappointed in the NUST and it will cause me to question its suitability as representation of the NUFC supporter community (in my own mind - others may disagree).

 

I'd hate to think that the NUST only did the equivalent of the players running around on the pitch for 90 minutes and then when criticised responded with, "well, we had one shot on goal, you think that isn't trying?"

[Montey]

We have to stand by the Trust like. Fans need to stick together and in fairness to the Trust what more could they do beyond what they tried? The PL were always going to give a generic response, they don't give a flying fuck about us and this whole farce proves that. The Trust is one of the only organisations out there that genuinely cares about the club's future and will be here backing us long as Ashley has finally fucked off.

 

I agree, the fans need to stick together - but this does not mean that the fans should be shouted down for criticising their representatives.  Organisations get better for listening too, taking on board, and evolving based on the criticism they receive.

 

In reference to your question, "what more could they do beyond what they tried?"  I refer you to my previous post, about 2 up from your post, where I listed 7 other things they could have done.

[mrmojorisin75]

Yeah NUST why didn't you just get a member of the Royal Family to help out ffs. Could have all been so different.

[James]

Well I for one will be writing to my MP who also happens to be Shadow Business and Consumer Secretary asking her to support the letter Chi sent Masters but also to encourage an investigation of anti-competitive cartel behaviour via the CMA.

 

I think as fans we should be writing letters to our MPs, with a particular need to target the MPs of Doncaster North, Reading West and Manchester Central as these are the three who are in a real position to push an investigation.

[morpeth mag]

Yeah NUST why didn't you just get a member of the Royal Family to help out ffs. Could have all been so different.

I believe Prince Andrew likes to take an interest in u18

[mrmojorisin75]

Yeah NUST why didn't you just get a member of the Royal Family to help out ffs. Could have all been so different.

I believe Prince Andrew like to take an interest in u18

 

Don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. Would have been sorted, no sweat.

[Decky]

We have to stand by the Trust like. Fans need to stick together and in fairness to the Trust what more could they do beyond what they tried? The PL were always going to give a generic response, they don't give a flying fuck about us and this whole farce proves that. The Trust is one of the only organisations out there that genuinely cares about the club's future and will be here backing us long as Ashley has finally fucked off.

 

I agree, the fans need to stick together - but this does not mean that the fans should be shouted down for criticising their representatives.  Organisations get better for listening too, taking on board, and evolving based on the criticism they receive.

 

In reference to your question, "what more could they do beyond what they tried?"  I refer you to my previous post, about 2 up from your post, where I listed 7 other things they could have done.

 

But your list is essentially get the backing of the likes of famous footballers, politicians, even the Royal Family. That is far from easy and in some circumstance (the Royal Family), nearly impossible. It's unrealistic.

 

Some of the footballers you've listed, the likes of Harper and MacDonald would have as much influence to the PL as the man in the street, the others like Shearer are known to do work for the PL and might be cautious about actively backing a takeover which could have serious hiccups behind closed doors that we (and him) aren't aware of and it might be damaging for him to be putting the PL under pressure to approve it and perhaps its just easier to not do it.

 

Other clubs in the league don't want the takeover to go through, I think I seen somewhere yesterday that about 10 clubs actually wrote to the PL saying they didn't support the deal? Why would PL clubs write to support us when we're going to improve and push them out of European spots and extend the big 6 to a big 7? Championship clubs couldn't give a toss either, again, why would they? If they get promoted there's another huge club costing them 6 points each year, it benefits them to have another shit team in the PL.

 

Big businesses in the north east. I agree with you there, but again, how much influence will that have to the close minded PL executives in London? Is it worth the time and effort putting it together?

 

Major sponsors won't want to touch it either. Their allegiance is with the PL and certainly not us so they won't be putting them under pressure. The sponsors will still be there reaping the benefits in 12 months if we're relegated. They simply don't care.

 

Members of Parliament and the Government. Well apparently a lot of the Gov mps were against the deal if reports a couple of weeks ago were true, roughly around 100 of them. A lot of MPs in Parliament don't support the Saudi regime either. Again it might just be a case of it not being worth it for most of them to put their name out there and back the Saudis buying a PL club. I'm sure there is some support there and maybe there have been MPs being vocal about it.

 

The Royal Family. That's just not going to happen.

 

There's also the fact that the NUST is run by volunteers. How many people there would they have to chase up for a statement backing the takeover and how many of the successful signatures would carry any weight? How many hours would be spent chasing someone who just rejects the idea for arbitrary reasons? You're asking volunteers to put countless hours into something that for all we know will be pointless. The PL are arrogant bastards and I doubt there's anyone out there who could influence them to push this through. The amount of the investment into the league this takeover would have produced still wasn't enough so I think in the end letters and statements from whoever are meaningless.

[Montey]

We have to stand by the Trust like. Fans need to stick together and in fairness to the Trust what more could they do beyond what they tried? The PL were always going to give a generic response, they don't give a flying fuck about us and this whole farce proves that. The Trust is one of the only organisations out there that genuinely cares about the club's future and will be here backing us long as Ashley has finally fucked off.

 

I agree, the fans need to stick together - but this does not mean that the fans should be shouted down for criticising their representatives.  Organisations get better for listening too, taking on board, and evolving based on the criticism they receive.

 

In reference to your question, "what more could they do beyond what they tried?"  I refer you to my previous post, about 2 up from your post, where I listed 7 other things they could have done.

 

But your list is essentially get the backing of the likes of famous footballers, politicians, even the Royal Family. That is far from easy and in some circumstance (the Royal Family), nearly impossible. It's unrealistic.

 

Sorry, but I think you are not thinking this through enough...

 

Some of the footballers you've listed, the likes of Harper and MacDonald would have as much influence to the PL as the man in the street, the others like Shearer are known to do work for the PL and might be cautious about actively backing a takeover which could have serious hiccups behind closed doors that we (and him) aren't aware of and it might be damaging for him to be putting the PL under pressure to approve it and perhaps its just easier to not do it.

 

The players I nominated were purely examples.  Some will have contacts and access that permit them (should they be so motivated) to engage with the Premier League directly, others can use their ability to get their head on television and ask public questions of the Premier League, whilst others may only be able to add their name to a list of ex-players who support the takeover.  The idea is about building and applying pressure to the Premier League and to convince the Premier League that they will upset more people by denying the takeover, than they would by permitting the takeover.

 

Other clubs in the league don't want the takeover to go through, I think I seen somewhere yesterday that about 10 clubs actually wrote to the PL saying they didn't support the deal? Why would PL clubs write to support us when we're going to improve and push them out of European spots and extend the big 6 to a big 7? Championship clubs couldn't give a toss either, again, why would they? If they get promoted there's another huge club costing them 6 points each year, it benefits them to have another shit team in the PL.

 

I think this is a great example of where you're not thinking things through enough, indeed it may also be necessary to help other clubs see things differently.  The way the Premier League has handled this has massively negative implications for all other clubs at all levels of English football, and if 10 Premier League clubs are against the takeover then that means up to 10 may be in favour of the takeover.

 

The way the Premier League has handled this takeover has directly devalued every other club in English football.  Imagine for a moment you are the owner of Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool, or some other clubs and you decide it's time to sell your football club.  You've invested heavily in the club over the years and would like a profit on that investment when you sell it.  How many individuals or groups, from anywhere in the world, could raise the funds to buy your club?  Consider that the Premier League has effectively ruled out any of those buyers or buying groups that may have a similarly dubious history as Saudi Arabia (e.g. anyone with links to Putin, or the Chinese Communist Party, or Qatar, or Abu Dhabi, etc), now how many potential buyers are there for your club?  By the Premier Leagues actions, in relation to this NUFC takeover, those top level clubs may find there are very few potential buyers when they decide it's time to sell.

 

Now, also consider the ambitions or desires of other, smaller, clubs.  Those clubs have effectively been told by the Premier Leagues actions that they will never be permitted to have a large money buyer come in and indeed should they find one that would pass the O&D Test, in it's newly moralised form, there is a good chance that the preferred clubs within the Premier League would effectively veto any sale.  Indeed, the first club that would be protesting any future big-money sales would be Newcastle United and its fans, on the basis of what-goes-around-comes-around.

 

I think other clubs in the Premier League, the Championship, and even League 1 could be convinced to show their support for the NUFC takeover.

 

Big businesses in the north east. I agree with you there, but again, how much influence will that have to the close minded PL executives in London? Is it worth the time and effort putting it together?

 

Businesses in the area can present an argument to the Premier League that they may, in the future, limit their dealings with or willingness to support the Premier League.  The Premier League has very much demonstrated that they are motivated by money, so businesses sympathetic to NUFC might be willing to communicate their displeasure to the Premier League who may become concerned at the loss of potential future sources of revenues.

 

Major sponsors won't want to touch it either. Their allegiance is with the PL and certainly not us so they won't be putting them under pressure. The sponsors will still be there reaping the benefits in 12 months if we're relegated. They simply don't care.

 

I disagree with this too.  One of the lessons of the past few years is just how reactive major corporations are to sensitive issues, where those corporations perceive a threat to their brand.  We've seen companies shut down or name whole product lines because of a name or some tenuous link to some cause.  Think of the Gillette advertisements and campaigns in support of equality that have resulted in them losing billions in sales, or the Nike campaigns triggered by equity campaigners that resulted in them losing billions in revenues.  There is ample evidence to show that small numbers of highly active social media and media campaigners can quickly cause major international corporations to change their behavior, even when that behavior costs them billions.

 

Some communication with Premier League sponsors telling them that their brands will be impacted in specific markets (e.g. in the North East of England, in Saudi Arabia) may cause them to, at least, express some concern to the Premier League.

 

Members of Parliament and the Government. Well apparently a lot of the Gov mps were against the deal if reports a couple of weeks ago were true, roughly around 100 of them. A lot of MPs in Parliament don't support the Saudi regime either. Again it might just be a case of it not being worth it for most of them to put their name out there and back the Saudis buying a PL club. I'm sure there is some support there and maybe there have been MPs being vocal about it.

 

I just flat reject this line of thinking.  Yes, some noisy MP's were getting their 5 minutes of profile by going against the takeover (some were possibly even getting their bag of money from Qatar too, but we'll never have more than suspicions on this), and yes some MP's are against the Saudi Regime.  But enough MP's obviously don't have sufficient concern about trading with Saudi Arabia otherwise why would the UK be permitted to sell Saudi Arabia weapons?  To suggest that more MP's are against the Saudi regime than are for it is just to deny simple facts (i.e. if it were true, there would be no weapons sales from the UK to Saudi Arabia).

 

The Royal Family. That's just not going to happen.

 

Again, I disagree.  Members of the Royal Family are active ambassadors for UK foreign relations and trade.  They are frequently used by the government as part of international trade missions and used by the government to create and maintain trade relationships. - for example, Prince Andrew (until 2011) served as Britain's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.  Given that Saudi Arabia is considered a major trading partner of the United Kingdom (did I mention weapons sales earlier?), it may well be that someone within the broader family might be predisposed to communicate their support for the NUFC takeover to the Premier League (as being an excellent trade outcome for the United Kingdom).

 

There's also the fact that the NUST is run by volunteers. How many people there would they have to chase up for a statement backing the takeover and how many of the successful signatures would carry any weight? How many hours would be spent chasing someone who just rejects the idea for arbitrary reasons? You're asking volunteers to put countless hours into something that for all we know will be pointless. The PL are arrogant bastards and I doubt there's anyone out there who could influence them to push this through. The amount of the investment into the league this takeover would have produced still wasn't enough so I think in the end letters and statements from whoever are meaningless.

 

Yes, this final point, is the biggest issue in achieving any of this - volunteers only have so many spare hours in the week.  But, I think in special circumstances volunteers can be asked to put in a special effort; additionally extra volunteers can be asked for to help with some of the leg work (e.g. drafting letters, sending emails, telephoning people and organisations, identifying targets of interest).

 

The key thing is, this is about building and applying pressure to the Premier League.  The Premier League is behaving the way it is because it is afraid of the consequences of approving the takeover.  What they need to be shown is that the potential consequences for not approving the takeover is worse.  But, they won't listen to a letter from a supporters organisation - the supporters organisation is of no consequence to them and they know the supports organisation can not directly impact them.  This is why, if anything is going to be achieved by the NUST on this matter, it needs to be done by building a massive level of support that then collectively applies pressure to the Premier League.  It's about getting a large collection of people and organisations working in unison to contact the Premier League at the same time to make the Premier League believe they may be making the wrong choice.

 

Take a look at how interest groups work in politics.  They don't get governments to enact or change legislation by sending a well worded letter.  They do that, but they also get their members to call MPs and demand change, they get their members to get friends to write letters, they draft pro-forma letters and get volunteers to send in their own signed copy of those pro-forma letters, they stand on street corners and collect signatures on petitions they can give to MPs, they call radio stations and rant, they get their friends to call radio stations to rant, they go on SkyNews and rant, etc.  In short, the interest group shows the parliament that there is huge support for what they want - and only then does the parliament take action.  The Premier League needs to be treated the same.

 

If NUFC supporters, through the NUST, is not willing to do this (and think it's enough to just send a well worded letter) then they may as well do nothing and not exist - they are not supporters, they are just watchers and the Premier League may as well just be a well produced version of Big Brother televised for their weekly entertainment.

 

To achieve any of this requires an organisation, like the NUST, to be a leader and an organiser.  NUFC needs the NUST to be its interest group and to aggressively advocate for the desires of NUFC supporters.  NUFC supporters do not need a passive, or semi-passive pussy-cat; NUFC supporters need a pissed off lion who is protecting its cubs!

 

(Sorry for the length of this post, I suspect it is challenging some previous record holders for length.  But I think it needs to be said).