Present : David Burgess MD Accrington Stanley, Peter Leatham Chairman OASST & Peter Warburton Secretary OASST
There were no matters outstanding from the last meeting on 15th May 2023
[Nota bene: minutes from the MoU on 15th May 2023 were not recorded]
Suggestions / Issues raised by supporters.
Suggestion put forward about a club anthem – This is a difficult one as the club have never really been associated with a particular song and there would be many varied and conflicting views around any particular tune. DB responded that the club have no plans to introduce an anthem as such unless there is overwhelming support from a majority of the fanbase.
Anti-social behaviour patterns from youngsters at the rear of the Clayton End – Concerns have again been expressed and DB reported that the club are aware of the issues and are working alongside the police to resolve the issues with a very small number of attendees who appear to have little interest on the activities on the pitch. Appropriate steps will be taken at an opportune moment.
Goal celebrations whereby individual players incite the away support and thus issues for our matchday stewards. This has now been addressed with the club and playing staff.
Loss of the traditional matchday programme- It’s not financially viable to produce a programme based on our historical sales and rising production costs. The online version is being viewed and the policy won’t be reversed in the foreseeable future.
Half time challenges for U12’s on the pitch – The club already has junior players playing on the pitch as part of the Community Trust activities and this, allied with substitute players warming up and the need for the sprinklers to be on, makes additional activities very difficult. However, the club will discuss with the Community Trust and see if anything could be done perhaps for some mid-week fixtures.
International Day – Could be implemented with the flags etc however there is the cost of the 18 or so individual country flags to be considered. The option of offering any discounts for international visitors at any one game was discounted as it was thought that 10% here of there would not entice anyone to travel thousands of miles to Accrington and it’s also unfair on fans who turn up week after week and pay full prices.
Forthcoming stewarding at Morecambe – Morecambe employ their own matchday stewards, some of which are the same personnel as work at Stanley. However, when at Morecambe they work to the standards and protocols laid down by the home club within the EFL guidelines, the home club may choose to implement a more rigorous campaign than that which works at the Wham Stadium. Hence the issues from last season, what we may tolerate at the Wham may be different to what Morecambe choose to accept at their stadium and that is their right and fans should act accordingly and within their ground regulations.
Other initiatives
The Baby changing unit supplied by the Trust will be installed within The Venue within the next 10 days or so.
Council Gateway signage – Despite our initial request for inclusion and subsequent follow up we have not received the curtesy of a reply from the leader of HBC.
The ST staffing has been organised for the forthcoming shirt giveaway day.
The club were briefed on the August AGM, the need for the step change and the outcomes.
ST advised the club of the forthcoming sponsored walk and that our funding is generally tight this year compared to previous years. However, the GPS vest sponsorship has been paid and DB to arrange some PR.
Request to stock canned wine in the CE kiosks were thought to be financially unviable.
Agreed to purchase a Haggis Top goalscorer trophy, names on the plinth, with the seasons winner to receive a replica of the original trophy.
Agreed to jointly run a Player awards event at the end of April with the proceeds going to the ST. The ST to advise preferred day and date after the board meeting on 14th September, with Sunday 28th pm, being an option.The two testimonials were discussed, and the club updated.