The Latest Wheeze from the ST

Remember the ST, that fine upstanding body that only had one aim, to represent the fans of the club - well they are doing just that!

Did you like many others think that the bit about representing the fans meant to the club?  Well you would be wrong about that it would seem!

Our hero's have just launched a ST 'app' which from what I can tell based on the screen shots below is just a glorified marketing tool to part the weak minded from their money - not that anyone would ever be considered weak minded if they had paid their tenner to join the ST in the first place!

It seems that all this gathering of name, addresses, email addresses and other personal data by the ST has not been a waste of the time and effort on their part in the slightest and indeed you will no doubt now be amongst the first punters to receive the latest money off offers, or the two for ones, at countless local businesses keen for a substantial return on their monies for paying to advertise on the new ST app!

It's a times like this that I curse how stupid I was to question the actions of the gallant officers of the ST and keep hold of my ten pounds, now only to be looking in on all you wise and astute investors in the Trust who now can no doubt get a discount on a premium cup of coffee in Buckshaw Village or a special price offer to be hypnotised to pack in smoking, stop eating all of those pies, or to never leave the ST ever!

And there was me thinking that their reason for being was about a football club and not to exploit in any way those that follow it!

What a fool I am!

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Up the ST!

(in the nicest possible way of course).

Seriously.....too much.

The ST was obviously a sham from the off - A few of us (including you) sussed it straight away and said so at the time.

They're now desperately languishing  on the rocks and are doing anything they can to try and remain relevant in order to keep the money rolling in - As would be expected from such a spurious bunch of self-serving idiots.

But we all know what they're about now.

And I don't care what you post on here, Mike Smith is well and truly under your skin.

(That's the second time I've posted that.)

He's a prick whose determination to be "a big man" in the parochial world of BWFC fandom has driven him to this pathetic end - Can we buy the club please, Phil? Trevor said we could......? Awe come on....pleeeease? It's always been my dream to be the Big Man and now I've got my chance!"

Don't indulge him by starting threads like this one.

You're better than that.

We both know he scours the other Bolton sites because that's his life (apart from kitchens), so don't make it easy for him.

And LET IT GO, FFS - The ST is clearly now a joke.

As the more switched on amongst us have known from day one.

Well you can think what you please mate, I've stated several times that I laugh at people like Smith, he means nothing to me.

He is though clearly one of a bunch of like minded people who obviously thought they were very smart in what they were doing and ended up pissing a great many people and huge amount of goodwill off, including it seems several people from their own little clique on the Steering Group!

I'm a different generation to many and perhaps creating 'apps' and other such 'trendy' stuff is possibly what is automatically done these days but how and why is that being in keeping to have the fans voice heard within the club?

It seems from what I understand it to be basically a marketing tool to get the user of the 'app' to spend money at the businesses that advertise on there - nothing at all really about getting the fans voice heard at the club - surely?

Indeed there is even a quote on there which says "...support the businesses supporting the club", so aren't the ST simply competing for the same advertising revenue that the club itself is???

Why would someone pay to advertise at the ground when they can target the fans directly from the app - at no doubt a considerably less amount?

Aren't they in fact (once again) competing directly against the new owners - but this time not to buy the club but to win the business advertising revenue it probably these days is so reliant upon?

If so exactly what are they up to as this isn't helping the club at all - in fact it seems to me that they are aiming to hurt it financially.

All sorts of questions come to my mind - who commissioned this app?  Why did the ST agree to it?  What money have they invested in making the app or earning from it by officially putting its name to it?  Are they using name and contact details given in confidence for one thing (to join the ST) for an unrelated marketing purpose?  If so is that legal to do so?  Does it conflict with Data Protection legislation?  Do the ST members even want a marketing app in the first place?  Why have the ST spent time on a marketing app and yet have not updated their own website for months?  Why have the ST been busy with an 'app' and not been at all bothered with developments at the club including regular payment of the wages, the signing of players, the sale of young Holding (not even a well done and best of luck for the future tweet from them) and a complete silence on all the pre-season football leading up to the big kick off next week? In fact why the need at all for this marketing app at all?  Are they looking for conflict (financially or otherwise) with the clubs owners?

In fact it all looks very murky and tawdry to me and not at all what I would have thought a ST should be doing.

Hope however you ST boys and girls will be very happy with your little app the ST has had created on your behalf.

Please do enjoy your Bogof's!!!

For fuck's sake........

Seriously....?

Yes....they're a bunch of cunts - That's pretty much a matter of fact now.

I was initially one of the noisiest anti-ST complainants on here (and on other sites) when it looked like they had serious backing and could become a serious force but even I've now realised (because of their stupid actions) that they're nothing more than a pointless joke organisation.

Their support's dwindled to almost fuck all and they're reduced to pulling shit like this to try and stay relevant.

You run this site and you need to retain a certain amount of cred to do so.

Don't let your thing with Mike Smith colour your judgement when you're posting.

Because for the twentieth time, whether or not you will admit it, he's got inside your head and the evidence is clear for all to see.

The ST is now a minor triviality in the BWFC world - Stop giving them the oxygen they so desperately crave by starting threads about them on your own website.

NUTS is not MY website it is OUR website.

I sincerely doubt that people flock to Nuts on the off chance that I (or anyone else) has said something about the ST.

Factually the ST has more members (who have provided their own personal details and contact numbers) and a much larger twitter following than us at Nuts, so their voice is well out there and in advance of anything I may say.

For what it is worth though all I do is to question in my own mind (then sometimes post it on here) about what they are up to?

I've no doubts what so ever that a great many people would already been aware of the 'app' and probably thought 'so what' - I can't imagine people will be flocking to it - can you?

My point is more to do with what lies underneath their action - why have they put more time and effort into some marketing gizmo than show any kind of support to the club - in any way at all - for months now?

It seems to me the only logic that makes any sense is that they are targeting advertisers and sponsors of the club to spend money with them (and I assume) less with the club.

Why do that though?

The ST is not about marketing other businesses, it is already sitting on all the money raised with the £10 memberships plus whatever windfall they got from the legends game - so they aren't doing the app for money for themselves - so why do it at all.

Well if there is bad blood between the ST board and the new club owners then where better to fight your battle than to take money off them by having advertisers and sponsors spend their budgets on you instead of them!

Certainly all very unhealthy if your prime intent is to get the fans voice heard at the club but bang on the money if you are seriously attempting to hurt them in the pocket - knowing they are already stretched financially!

It seems to me the hidden agenda they have had all along is still there and all I'm doing is to continue to point it out for those who still might not be seeing it yet.

We are all not as clever as you are Bread and some need to hear things a little bit more until the penny finally drops with them.

Just got up to find myself described as 'weak minded'.

I may come back after my shredded wheat.

boltonbonce wrote:Just got up to find myself described as 'weak minded'.

I may come back after my shredded wheat.

I'm not weak minded, I just procrastinate a lot and never got round to sending my £10 in.

He does more for the club than some .

scottjames30 wrote:He does more for the club than some .

Who does?

Barb Dwyer wrote:

scottjames30 wrote:He does more for the club than some .

Who does?

Smith.
He had a Season ticket for over 40 years, and someone who has never been to a game in his life is slagging him off, couldn't make it up.

I'm not weak minded. I spent my £10 on Pepsi and Twirls.

Just downloaded the app, just a list of businesses on Middlebrook as far as I could tell. Sure they wouldn't have spent all (or any) of there advertising budget to appear on that app, so if they wanted to advertise at the Macron I'm sure they could still afford to.

They're trying to save what looks a failed project by opening new revenue streams. A pretty useless app by the looks of it, not sure it's deserving of a celebratory thread. Again talk of a hidden agenda and feud with the club lacks any evidence.

I've no real problem with Sluffy slagging off the ST,in fact I agree with much of what he's said about them.
I've never put forward any counter argument.My little bit of leg pulling at his expense was always about the vehemence of his argument,not the content. It's still making me laugh.
The ST are fast becoming a rather shabby version of the BWSA,and unless they get their act together I can't see many members stumping up another tenner when the time comes.
But I'm certainly going to give them a chance,and see if they can morph into something that can benefit the club and supporters alike.
As for being 'weak minded'.
I'm simply a supporter of 50+ years,who,given the opportunity to join the 'Bolton Wanderers Jam Jar Appreciation Society' would stump up the money in shot.
It's the way we are. A five quid T-shirt suddenly sells for thirty quid with the addition of a Wanderers logo.
I'm being had. I know it. They know it. That's football.
But keep going Sluffy. As I've said,I agree with a lot of your points,but describing us as weak minded was a bit much.
Just banked my £500 Goldline cheque. I might buy a boat.
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I signed up in the hope it may help my club.  It was only £10.

Sluffy wrote:not that anyone would ever be considered weak minded if they had paid their tenner to join the ST in the first place!

I genuinely think you owe Bolton fans an apology for that comment.

When has football ever been about rational thinking? If it was we'd have ditched BWFC years ago and done something more productive with our lives.

People paid £10 because BWFC is their club, because they want to do something to help, because they care about their club and will do anything, no matter how stupid, to keep it in business.

Yes, the ST is a waste of time thanks to the bellends running it, but don't call people weak minded for trying to help their club.

The prize on the alternative Fantasy football is membership to the ST for every manager of the month.

Barb Dwyer wrote:The prize on the alternative Fantasy football is membership to the ST for every manager of the month.

thats me not becoming a member

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Sluffy wrote:not that anyone would ever be considered weak minded if they had paid their tenner to join the ST in the first place!

I genuinely think you owe Bolton fans an apology for that comment.

When has football ever been about rational thinking? If it was we'd have ditched BWFC years ago and done something more productive with our lives.

People paid £10 because BWFC is their club, because they want to do something to help, because they care about their club and will do anything, no matter how stupid, to keep it in business.

Yes, the ST is a waste of time thanks to the bellends running it, but don't call people weak minded for trying to help their club.

But they were not helping the club though.

It was clear from the inaugural get together with Crispy Cock as the main speaker (funny how he's disappeared from the ST scene!) that the founders of the ST's had a quite open agenda (at the time!) to OWN the club.

The Chair of Portsmouth's ST clearly stated that an ST ownership of the club created a glass ceiling for expectations because they are obligated not to run at a loss and therefore could not compete with the vast majority of other clubs with owners not having no such constraints.

Also it was scaremongering of the extreme to suggest the club would be liquidated whilst it still had millions of pounds in assets - and this scaremongering played a major part in people seeing the ST as the only alternative to keeping the club alive - it was not.

People simply panicked into joining something for the wrong reason, which had an active agenda at the time to own the club, which in turn meant potentially the club underselling its future achievability for years to come.

How would that have been helping the club?

The ST, any ST, only comes into its own when the club has nothing left of value, its assets gone and it really is facing a bleak future. It is the owner of the last resort.

That was not the case with BWFC (even though many people wanted to believe it was) as subsequent events have proved with a new ownership pumping millions into it - how else are the wages still being paid?

There is an old saying 'marry in haste, repent at leisure'.  I do think many paid their £10 membership simply not knowing or understanding both the financial position of the club (it was never going to go in to liquidation whilst it had millions in assets) nor the clear aim of those that set it up (ownership of BWFC).

Do any of you even know what your £10 has been spent on yet?  

Their £10's, their choice - doesn't mean it was a wise one though.

The next time people don't know what to do with their spare ten pounds then just let us know and we will collect them from you all and donate them to Derian House, at least then you know it won't have been wasted.

While I am in complete agreement with sluffy that the people running the ST are self serving ego-maniacal idiots I think he needs to understand something. It no longer matters what the 'committee' does, even their own membership (myself included) think they're a joke. I joined the ST in the hope that it could be 'saved' from them and turned into something that would benefit the club and fans alike. I never, ever saw it as a serious prospect to own BWFC nor would I want it to.

A Supporters Trust can be a lot more than an owner of last resort. Properly run ST's can form a valuable bridge between the terrace and the boardroom, respected by both and able to speak to both with equal facility. It's there to represent the fans and get their concerns across but that does not mean it has to be combative or hostile to the board. In fact it could and should be able to maintain a good relationship with the owners which is why I am so deeply disappointed in what has happened here. From the beginning the Steering Group acted way outside its remit and even after the club was bought by Ken and Dean it continued to act like a group of petulant children. The unopposed committee continued down this hostile road and burnt whatever bridges it could have formed and actually managed to alienate not just the club but the very people it claims to represent.

This 'app' is not something to get worked up about though sluffy, it really isn't because it's just as irrelevant in the grand scheme of things as the ST itself. Unless something radically changes before next year I (and I suspect a great many others) won't be renewing my membership and the ST will become nothing more than a footnote, a small group of 'flat-earth' types who's only audience is themselves. It's truly a shame that what was a genuine opportunity to make something good has been wasted but it has and now it's time to let it go and move forward without worrying about it.