Meet Under the Clock – December 2023

Meet Under the Clock – December 2023

Chair’s Message
Welcome from Our Chair, Heather Hoggatt

Hi fellow Cherries fans and Cherries Trust members. Sorry it’s been so long, but I am pleased that we have finally published our latest edition of ‘Meet Under the Clock’, something which the current Board are committed to doing every three months or so as we move forward.

This newsletter is going out to far more paid-up members than we could have imagined just 12 months ago, the number having risen from 58 in October 2022 to 158 in November 2023. It’s great to see our membership rise, it is only by demonstrating that we are an important voice of the fans that we can expect serious and worthwhile dialogue with the club. Thanks to all those that have joined recently, also to those that have shown their faith in what we are doing by renewing.

I didn’t really expect to be sat here as Chair as we were contemplating another season in the Premier League back in the heady days of summer. But various events have brought about this scenario, and rest assured that I will do my very best to represent you, the fans, with integrity, respect and hard work during my time in the Chair. I couldn’t do this role without the support of a great set of colleagues who sit on the Trust Board with me. Thanks to those that have carried on their roles to provide me with that support, also to the new joiners who have stepped up to add new levels of enthusiasm to what we are doing. I would also like to place on record my thanks to those that have departed the Board over recent months. Without their hard work and dedication we wouldn’t be where we are today, with an increased membership and a couple of significant ‘wins’ under our belt.

I was excited that our Secretary heard from the club immediately after the announcement of our new Board members, requesting an informal meeting with us to meet the new team. It’s fantastic that the club see what we are doing and want to engage.

I hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter – if anyone has any comments or suggestions for future editions, please drop one of the Board a line, use our enquiries@cherriestrust.co.uk (mailto:enquiries@cherriestrust.co.uk) e-mail address or contact us via our X (formerly known as Twitter) account @CherriesTrust (https://twitter.com/CherriesTrust) . And don’t forget to spread the word to your friends about the Trust and get them to join!

UTCIAD, Heather

Meet the Board

Our Board is currently made up of 8 Cherries fans. They are aligned to roles as follows:

• Chair: Heather Hoggatt – chair@cherriestrust.co.uk
  Secretary: Gayle Hope – secretary@cherriestrust.co.uk
  Football Trusts and FSA Officer: Matt Jackson – trusts@cherriestrust.co.uk
  Membership Secretary: Gareth Case – gareth.cherriestrust@outlook.com
  Overseas Member Champion: Travis Gibson – global@cherriestrust.co.uk
  Community Officer: Neil Weedon – community@cherriestrust.co.uk
  Marketing & Identity: Barry Smith – web@cherriestrust.co.uk
  Treasurer: Robbie Sargent – treasurer@cherriestrust.co.uk

There are still positions available (ideally we would like to have 12 on our Board) so if anyone is interested, please contact one of the above!

During these newsletters we’d like to highlight the role of one Board member, noting a bit about them, also what their responsibilities are within the Trust. We’ll start with a new member of the Board, Robbie Sargent. Robbie is our Treasurer.

Robbie Sargent – Treasurer

Hello there, Robbie here. I’m 51, originally from Wimborne but now exiled in Milton Keynes (it’s actually a great place once you get beyond the roundabouts and grid roads!), work in London within the financial sector as a Risk Manager and have supported the Cherries since the mid-1980’s. My favourite player remains Ian Bishop (swoon), and as much as I wish I had Bish’s footballing skill and eye for a defence splitting pass, I am more jealous of his flowing locks nowadays. Although the Bolton home game and Charlton away fixtures are high up on my favourite game list (for obvious reasons), I will put two games from the 80’s above them. Standing in the New Stand for Middlesbrough at home in the promotion season of 1986/87 and you may think a bit bizarrely, the 5-2 home win against Hartlepool that guaranteed a home FA Cup tie against Manchester United (by which time my mum had let me migrate to the South End!). I hope some of you reading this may even remember those games, or if not, speak to your parents or friends about them. They were both electric atmospheres under the lights.

Nowadays, I very rarely attend games at Dean Court (that’s what I will always call it), but attend the significant majority of away fixtures with my 22 year old son and fellow exiles now living in places such as Leighton Buzzard, Manchester and Oxford.

As Treasurer, I have varying responsibilities: maintaining accurate and up to date financial records for the Trust, producing and monitoring the annual budget, paying the bills and preparing the end of year financial report for the AGM. People may not be aware that AFC Bournemouth Community Mutual Ltd (aka Cherries Trust) is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a mutual society and as such has to abide by mutuals legislation. This legislation includes the requirement for completion of annual accounts. I am the gatekeeper for this requirement.

As mentioned above, I attend most away fixtures, so if you ever see me and want to raise a question of the Trust, or even just say ‘hi’ then feel free to wander over and introduce yourself.

Recent work and wins

Hopefully, you will all have seen our press releases around increases in ticket prices and the changes to hospitality offerings at the club.

Of course, we can’t always change the mind of the club, but with both issues, we engaged with them and let them know of the concerns raised by fans we were talking with. The club are very aware of our feelings on this and we will continue to fight for ticket prices and ticketing strategies that are fair and reasonable for all. It’s really interesting to see the Fulham fans, supported by their own Trust, arrange a protest for their home game against Manchester United against what they consider to be unfair ticket pricing. This protest has garnered some considerable media attention and let’s hope sense prevails and some of the quite frankly, outrageous ticket prices are scaled back. We highlight this as it really goes to show the power of a unified and strong supporters Trust.

There was also the inclusion of mandatory cost addition to season tickets for attendance at AFCB Women’s games. Whilst we unequivocally support the women’s team and would love more people to see them, we really didn’t feel this was the right way of going about it and let the club know. The club reversed its decision and came up with another, far more appropriate solution. Thankfully, it hasn’t affected the ladies team, which is enjoying some large attendances and has had a fantastic start to the season!

Many of you will have seen the Fan Engagement Plan, published by the club a couple of months back. Hopefully, you will all have seen our press releases around increases in ticket prices and the changes to hospitality offerings at the club. Of course, we can’t always change the mind of the club, but with both issues, we engaged with them and let them know of the concerns raised by fans we were talking with. The club are very aware of our feelings on this and we will continue to fight for ticket prices and ticketing strategies that are fair and reasonable for all. It’s really interesting to see the Fulham fans, supported by their own Trust, arrange a protest for their home game against Manchester United against what they consider to be unfair ticket pricing. This protest has garnered some considerable media attention and let’s hope sense prevails and some of the quite frankly, outrageous ticket prices are scaled back.

We highlight this as it really goes to show the power of a unified and strong supporters Trust. There was also the inclusion of mandatory cost addition to season tickets for attendance at AFCB Women’s games. Whilst we unequivocally support the women’s team and would love more people to see them, we really didn’t feel this was the right way of going about it and let the club know. The club reversed its decision and came up with another, far more appropriate solution. Thankfully, it hasn’t affected the ladies team, which is enjoying some large attendances and has had a fantastic start to the season!

We are delighted to say that the club consulted the Cherries Trust before publication and took on board changes that we suggested. It was pleasing to know the club were interested in our views and we hope that will continue!

As a Trust, we are acutely aware of the challenges facing the football club, driven in the main by such a small capacity when compared to our peers in the Premier League. We also can’t fail to recognise the investment that Bill Foley and his team put into the playing squad during the summer and continue to plough into what looks like being a ‘best in class’ training facility at Canford. It’s also great news to hear Mr Foley talk about a new stadium on the horizon – at the Cherries Trust we will be keen to engage with the club about design and facilities. We will always remain balanced in our viewpoint and recognise the good work that the club and its owners are doing. But, our main objective is to stand up for and reflect our fanbase’ opinion to the club and fight for what we think is fair for our supporters.) ). We are delighted to say that the club consulted the Cherries Trust before publication and took on board changes that we suggested. It was pleasing to know the club were interested in our
views and we hope that will continue!

As a Trust, we are acutely aware of the challenges facing the football club, driven in the main by such a small capacity when compared to our peers in the Premier League. We also can’t fail to recognise the investment that Bill Foley and his team put into the playing squad during the summer and continue to plough into what looks like being a ‘best in class’ training facility at Canford. It’s also great news to hear Mr Foley talk about a new stadium on the horizon – at the Cherries Trust we will be keen to engage with the club about design and facilities. We will always remain balanced in our viewpoint and recognise the good work that the club and its owners are doing. But, our main objective is to stand up for and reflect our fanbase’ opinion to the club and fight for what we think is fair for our supporters.

Cherries Trust in the Community

Working with our local community in and around Bournemouth is important to us here at the Trust. Through this newsletter, we’ll keep you up to date with our work in this area.

• We recently assisted Talking Cherries with a fund-raising drive to help them pay for Mental Health First Aider training course updates. We were able to donate £250 and helped raise another £230. Two MHFA’s have now completed their refresher courses.
• The Trust has also put aside the sum of £250 for the AFC Bournemouth Disabled Supporters Association. Although not allocated to anything yet, when needed, it will be put to good use. We’ll keep you updated on this.
• We have also donated 10 football shirts to young carers as part of the community fund scheme. Below is a photo of Gayle, our Secretary, handing over the shirts to Tim Sills from MYTIME Young Carers.

Upcoming Key Dates

Trust Financial Year End: 31 December 2023
Board Meeting: 31 January 2024
AGM (can be attended by paid up members): 23 May 2024 (tentative)

Until the next time…

We hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter and remember, if you have any suggestions for items to include in the future, please drop one of the Board members a line. We hope to see you at forthcoming fixtures.

UTCIAD!