| Trust Chairman’s Update 19:13 - Sep 5 with 12802 views | Darran |
‘It has been almost three weeks since the last update I provided to our members about events at Swans Trust, at what is a critical time for both the Trust and the Club.
I have some key updates for you around the mediation process that we announced in May and the questions we have asked the football club around the decisions taken over the last few months.
Let me start with an update about the mediation process. In May, we informed our members that we had attempted to engage with the majority owners of Swansea City and other parties (including Huw Jenkins and Martin Morgan) through a formal mediation process, beginning with a claim letter that set out the Trust’s legal case in detail and proposed a mediation. Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process in which relevant parties seek to resolve disputes with the assistance of a trained independent and impartial mediator.
Our aim was, and remains, to seek an agreement to settle past differences, subject to members’ approval, with a view to moving ahead together with the task of rebuilding the club and returning it to top level football.
The Trust entered this process in good faith, attempting to resolve all issues without the need for formal court proceedings. Unfortunately, the legal representatives of the majority owners initially refused our offer to mediate, questioning whether it was genuine, and bizarrely accused the Trust of trying to harm the Club.
An initial ’Without Prejudice’ meeting was held with Huw Jenkins and Martin Morgan in early June, however there has been no follow up meeting with them or their lawyers, although the Trust was open to the possibility.
The courts have a ‘Practice Direction’, which sets out the guidelines which parties in dispute should follow before they start court proceedings. This includes trying to reach agreement by means such as mediation. The Practice Direction outlines a maximum timeline within which the relevant parties should provide a full written response to the Trust’s claim. The Trust and its legal representatives have provided every opportunity for this to be met, even allowing the maximum possible timeline which is usually reserved for more complex cases than this. Unfortunately, this deadline passed on 20thAugust without a response being received, either from the majority owners or the others.
Since the deadline passed, things have progressed a little. Our legal team were contacted by the legal representatives of the majority owners and, as a result, we are currently in discussions to arrange a meeting between the Trust, the majority owners and other parties within the next few weeks.
As a Trust, we must continue to protect our legal position. As part of the mediation process, the Trust requested access to various pieces of documentation relating to the 2016 sale.These documents have not yet been received. On the advice of our legal team, the Trust board has instructed our lawyers to initiate legal action to obtain access to these documents, unless they are provided within a further 7 days. This is a limited legal action specifically to obtain access to these documents. It is not the same as undertaking legal action relating to the sale itself and its impact on the Trust’s shareholding. We hope those issues can still be resolved as part of the discussions that are scheduled to take place in the next few weeks. However, these documents are important so that the Trust can best advise its members on the next course of action to take, which could mean undertaking legal action relating to the 2016 sale and its impact on the Trust’s position.
I can assure you that we will investigate every option available to us to ensure that we get the right result for the Trust, whichwill only be concluded following a full consultation and ballot of our members. We will, of course, continue to keep you updated as things progress.
As representatives of the fans, it is key that we understand the reasons for decisions made by the Club and gain assurances on the financial management of the Club. In my last update, I said that the Trust had sent a comprehensive list of questions to the majority owners of the Club, to obtain some clarity on the club’s financial position after this summer, understand the reasons for why decisions were made as well as seeking to ensure that the decisions taken are in the best interests of the Club. Many of these questions related to our transfer dealings this summer, but we also sought clarity on our financial obligations in the future, such as the salaries of senior employees. We know that relegation to the Championship means that we will receive considerably less revenue than previously, and we need to cut our cloth accordingly, but without visibility on the current situation we cannot say if the decisions taken were in the Club’s best interests.
The majority owners have responded to our requests and offered to meet with Stuart MacDonald, our Supporter Director, to answer our questions and provide those assurances. That was a positive step. However, the club havealso insisted that before any meeting takes place that an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) was signed by Stuart. This NDA would have prevented Stuart releasing key information into the public domain but, crucially, also stopped him from providing any information to the Trust board. This is unacceptable as it would mean that the Trust board could not gain the reassurances that we needed, plus puts our Supporter Director in an impossible position.
We have advised the majority owners that our Supporter Director will not be signing this document and we are deeply disappointed and angry that it was suggested he should sign in the first place given both Stuart’s position as a Director of the Club (which already brings with it fiduciary duties regarding confidential information being made public) but also our position as a 21% shareholder and representative of the fans. We will continue to push for these answers but not being able to provide them at this time is very disappointing.
Furthermore, the request to sign an NDA arrived just 48 hours after some key commercial information relating to the club was released via a private message exchange on Twitter by a current employee (and former shareholder) with a young supporter, which later entered the public domain. Whilst we welcome all levels of fan engagement by members of the Club’s hierarchy, it is completely inappropriate that the Supporter Director is asked to withhold information from the Trust board whilst others release this information to anyone who asks. Not for the first time, we have expressed our strong opinion that Leigh Dineen’s continued employment at the football club is inappropriate, not least due to his unprofessionalism in this matter.
On a separate note we were pleased to play a part in the competitive pricing for the Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace and we commend the club for listening to our viewpoints on this matter. While the result did not go our way, there were some promising debuts for some of our younger players which was pleasing to see.
I would also like to applaud the excellent efforts of Graham Potter, the coaching staff and the playing squad in performing so well at the start of this season. There has also been an obvious change in footballing philosophy on the pitch and this has made watching the Swans a much more enjoyable experience than in recent times.
This is a critical time for this organisation, and the Club as a whole. The Trust is only as strong as its membership and, in the coming weeks, we will be seeking to increase our membership base to provide as strong a voice for the fans as possible. We would welcome your help in getting the message out to fans about the importance of joining and the need for a strong Supporters Trust, especially at this time.
I would like to thank everyone who has joined us this evening and for all members who have already joined for this year. We will now open for any questions’ [Post edited 5 Sep 2018 19:17]
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:10 - Sep 5 with 1432 views | LeonWasGod |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 19:59 - Sep 5 by Darran |
Any Swans fans that continue to trust Kaplan and Levien need to either pack in being a Swans fan or seek medical help. This isn’t the fault of the Trust. |
Absolutely this.
But the Trust’s naivety here is staggering. They’ve been repeatedly lied to, repeatedly fobbed off with promises, yet are still acting on the basis of more promises (which won’t be kept).
If they believe they have a good case they have to go to court, for the good of the trust, the fans and ultimately the club. I appreciate they have to be answerable to their members, so maybe a stronger, more appropriate case can be made next time they go out to a vote.
As others have said, it very much looks like the Trust are being played for fools. |  | | |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:11 - Sep 5 with 1419 views | Darran |
Any lies. They tell the truth,about everything,always,they are only interested in what’s good for the club. They want to sit down and have a chat without lawyers in the room too. lol | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:13 - Sep 5 with 1398 views | E20Jack |
Let me make this clear for the 100th time, with the hope it may sink in.
1) As soon as the takeover happened the Trust has to cash in. The lack of foresight there, or even before, was terrifying.
2) This was ALWAYS going to happen. People don’t take over clubs like Swansea just for the goodness of their own hearts - that’s not to say it cannot be good for the club in the medium to short term.
3) Having said that, it’s certainly the better the devil you know and unless we can be shown otherwise when it comes to owners, we could be doing so much worse. They are thankfully looking to run the club on an even keel.
4) Again I repeat, THE ONLY realistic way we can protect our club in the future is majority fan ownership. THE ONLY way to get meaningful majority fan ownership is to gather sufficient funds to make that offer in the future.
5) The above (specifically 4) is the exact reason that the notion of the Trust pushing a deal to accept 5m for essentially all its stake was frighteningly Ill judged, the way it was ensured it would go through was even worse and the exact underhand tactics that off applied by the owners would have them in uproar.
6) So in summary, legal action has to be taken. The Trust must get the maximum it can for it’s shareholding. Any focus on anything else (Jenkins, Americans, Dineen) is just a waste of time and pointless energy wasted. It’s irrelevant. [Post edited 5 Sep 2018 20:18]
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:13 - Sep 5 with 1408 views | Darran |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:10 - Sep 5 by LeonWasGod |
Absolutely this.
But the Trust’s naivety here is staggering. They’ve been repeatedly lied to, repeatedly fobbed off with promises, yet are still acting on the basis of more promises (which won’t be kept).
If they believe they have a good case they have to go to court, for the good of the trust, the fans and ultimately the club. I appreciate they have to be answerable to their members, so maybe a stronger, more appropriate case can be made next time they go out to a vote.
As others have said, it very much looks like the Trust are being played for fools. |
The Trust are going through a process. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:14 - Sep 5 with 1390 views | TheResurrection |
Seriously though, WTF....
We had to wait until this shit fans forum to be told, well fack all really.
This should be so simple yet they make it so difficult. I'm now convinced Phil misses the limelight and the chance to step up and speak in front of 20 or 30 older people.
Let's start a new type of communication, hey this may work you know.... Jason, Steve, WTF is going on, call them, text them, email them, get a f#cking answer....
Like this one.... OK you wanted an NDA after agreeing to open up about sensitive information, can you tell us your reasons.....?
Get the answer....
And facking report that.....
Not this pile of nothing bollocks. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:15 - Sep 5 with 1376 views | JACKMANANDBOY |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:10 - Sep 5 by LeonWasGod |
Absolutely this.
But the Trust’s naivety here is staggering. They’ve been repeatedly lied to, repeatedly fobbed off with promises, yet are still acting on the basis of more promises (which won’t be kept).
If they believe they have a good case they have to go to court, for the good of the trust, the fans and ultimately the club. I appreciate they have to be answerable to their members, so maybe a stronger, more appropriate case can be made next time they go out to a vote.
As others have said, it very much looks like the Trust are being played for fools. |
The issue is that the legal process has many hurdles and protocols, you can be lied to 100 times but you have to give the opportunity for others to tell the truth on each and every issue.
From a case perspective have to go legal to obtain documents relating to the 2016 sale is one in favour of the Trust, but it has taken months of going through the proper process to get there.
It's frustrating but necessary. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:16 - Sep 5 with 1368 views | Wingstandwood |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:07 - Sep 5 by Shaky |
i have some sympathy with them not wanting the player salaries in the public domain.
If that is known it becomes easy for other clubs to know what to offer if when they want to tap somebody up.
Sure the trust Trust board would be bound by confidentiality, but in practice that almost certainly leaks like a sieve. |
IMO the Yanks and sell-outs?... Their major fear/concern is not players salaries being put into the public domain but the fear lies with?....THEIR salary disclosure i.e. Jenkins, Pearlman, Dineen or any other zero-value for money parasite whom is still undeservedly riding the gravy train earning Premier League wages for relegation, failure and stark raving incompetence. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:18 - Sep 5 with 1336 views | Darran |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:14 - Sep 5 by TheResurrection |
Seriously though, WTF....
We had to wait until this shit fans forum to be told, well fack all really.
This should be so simple yet they make it so difficult. I'm now convinced Phil misses the limelight and the chance to step up and speak in front of 20 or 30 older people.
Let's start a new type of communication, hey this may work you know.... Jason, Steve, WTF is going on, call them, text them, email them, get a f#cking answer....
Like this one.... OK you wanted an NDA after agreeing to open up about sensitive information, can you tell us your reasons.....?
Get the answer....
And facking report that.....
Not this pile of nothing bollocks. |
I know you don’t understand but by going through the correct process the Trust will have a stronger case Silly. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:18 - Sep 5 with 1329 views | Shaky |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:10 - Sep 5 by 34dfgdf54 |
The Trust own 21% of the club. They need to know, there’s no argument. |
On the contrary, there is absolutely no legal obligation to make any management information available to the Trust, even though they have 21.1%.
Strange but true. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:19 - Sep 5 with 1307 views | TheResurrection |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:11 - Sep 5 by Darran |
Any lies. They tell the truth,about everything,always,they are only interested in what’s good for the club. They want to sit down and have a chat without lawyers in the room too. lol |
You been drinking or just a bit thick? | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:20 - Sep 5 with 1303 views | Cooperman |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:07 - Sep 5 by Shaky |
i have some sympathy with them not wanting the player salaries in the public domain.
If that is known it becomes easy for other clubs to know what to offer if when they want to tap somebody up.
Sure the trust Trust board would be bound by confidentiality, but in practice that almost certainly leaks like a sieve. |
A secret is something you only tell one person. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:22 - Sep 5 with 1276 views | TheResurrection |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:13 - Sep 5 by Darran |
The Trust are going through a process. |
The Trust are bust. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:23 - Sep 5 with 1264 views | Darran |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:22 - Sep 5 by TheResurrection |
The Trust are bust. |
And our football club will be soon. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:24 - Sep 5 with 1239 views | JACKMANANDBOY |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:14 - Sep 5 by TheResurrection |
Seriously though, WTF....
We had to wait until this shit fans forum to be told, well fack all really.
This should be so simple yet they make it so difficult. I'm now convinced Phil misses the limelight and the chance to step up and speak in front of 20 or 30 older people.
Let's start a new type of communication, hey this may work you know.... Jason, Steve, WTF is going on, call them, text them, email them, get a f#cking answer....
Like this one.... OK you wanted an NDA after agreeing to open up about sensitive information, can you tell us your reasons.....?
Get the answer....
And facking report that.....
Not this pile of nothing bollocks. |
Understand your frustration, the legal process is particular and you have to follow protocols.
I've worked on a number of cases in my time and it requires patience and resilience to remain in good order in preparation for any hearing. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:26 - Sep 5 with 1210 views | IAN05 |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:07 - Sep 5 by Shaky |
i have some sympathy with them not wanting the player salaries in the public domain.
If that is known it becomes easy for other clubs to know what to offer if when they want to tap somebody up.
Sure the trust Trust board would be bound by confidentiality, but in practice that almost certainly leaks like a sieve. |
I agree on salaries but the concern is they are not willing to share financial projections etc either. |  | | |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:28 - Sep 5 with 1185 views | TheResurrection |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:23 - Sep 5 by Darran |
And our football club will be soon. |
This fool is a prime example why the Americans may not want to disclose sensitive information. Phil uses Darren as his mouthpiece whenever he wants something shutting down or, not so discretely, getting out there. This site bans and censors people.
There's no wonder they don't want club information in the hands of this Dick. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:28 - Sep 5 with 1190 views | Gowerjack |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 19:59 - Sep 5 by Darran |
Any Swans fans that continue to trust Kaplan and Levien need to either pack in being a Swans fan or seek medical help. This isn’t the fault of the Trust. |
Yep.
And that goes for that big nosed lying cûnt as well. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:29 - Sep 5 with 1175 views | Darran |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:28 - Sep 5 by TheResurrection |
This fool is a prime example why the Americans may not want to disclose sensitive information. Phil uses Darren as his mouthpiece whenever he wants something shutting down or, not so discretely, getting out there. This site bans and censors people.
There's no wonder they don't want club information in the hands of this Dick. |
What have I shut down? | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:29 - Sep 5 with 1169 views | TheResurrection |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:24 - Sep 5 by JACKMANANDBOY |
Understand your frustration, the legal process is particular and you have to follow protocols.
I've worked on a number of cases in my time and it requires patience and resilience to remain in good order in preparation for any hearing. |
They can mediate all they like but they can communicate at the same time.
The Trust and bloody useless. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:29 - Sep 5 with 1165 views | Shaky |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:26 - Sep 5 by IAN05 |
I agree on salaries but the concern is they are not willing to share financial projections etc either. |
Agreed, and that is seemingly a new development.
Likely they are starting to play hardball, giving the Trust a dose of what it feels like to be out of the loop. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:31 - Sep 5 with 1124 views | ItchySphincter |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:14 - Sep 5 by TheResurrection |
Seriously though, WTF....
We had to wait until this shit fans forum to be told, well fack all really.
This should be so simple yet they make it so difficult. I'm now convinced Phil misses the limelight and the chance to step up and speak in front of 20 or 30 older people.
Let's start a new type of communication, hey this may work you know.... Jason, Steve, WTF is going on, call them, text them, email them, get a f#cking answer....
Like this one.... OK you wanted an NDA after agreeing to open up about sensitive information, can you tell us your reasons.....?
Get the answer....
And facking report that.....
Not this pile of nothing bollocks. |
The NDA itself could be interpreted as all the answer you need. A bizarre request given the position of Stuart Macdonald. |  |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:31 - Sep 5 with 1120 views | TheResurrection |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:29 - Sep 5 by Darran |
What have I shut down? |
What about this
What about that
Fack off you Dick | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:33 - Sep 5 with 1094 views | TheResurrection |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:31 - Sep 5 by ItchySphincter |
The NDA itself could be interpreted as all the answer you need. A bizarre request given the position of Stuart Macdonald. |
They offered information. That's the most important aspect.
Why only Silent Stu? Well that's a good question, so why? The Trust didn't mention that. Just said they were angry FFS. | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:34 - Sep 5 with 1091 views | Darran |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:31 - Sep 5 by TheResurrection |
What about this
What about that
Fack off you Dick |
What about what? | |
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| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:34 - Sep 5 with 1084 views | E20Jack |
| Trust Chairman’s Update on 20:23 - Sep 5 by Darran |
And our football club will be soon. |
... and yet we have people on here, including Trust reps, criticising the decision not to fork out £7m on a Championship defensive midfielder??
Even more odd considering it’s clear they have no idea of the financials.
A very dangerous game. | |
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