York City Supporters’ Trust is looking to a ‘brighter future’ after coming to an agreement with the club board.
Six months after its members delivered an overwhelming vote of no confidence in that board, the trust and the club have forged a ‘genuine partnership’.
In recent years the relations between the trust, which owns 25% of the club, and majority shareholder JMP Packaging, owned by city chairman Jason McGill, have veered from frosty to hostile.
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But a new, positive era has begun. It is all tied in with the sale of what the trust called “our beloved Bootham Crescent”.
Over the last six weeks, the supporters’ trust “have been working closely with the club and our legal teams to complete the historic sale of the ground and various other matters,” the trust said in a statement.
Importantly, this work has included “establishing a process for the smooth transition to new ownership” as the club and trust look to the future following the sale.
The trust has also been allowed to scrutinise where the money is going from the £7m sale of the old ground, as well as discussing:
- the working relationship between the trust and club
- funding for the remainder of this season.
In addition, “exciting discussions” are underway regarding “the future ownership and management of the Bootham Crescent Memorial Garden” – which will incorporate a section of terracing from the old Popular Stand.
The supporters’ trust said:
The transparency, positivity and respect shown by the football club board, JMP, Jason McGill and their advisors throughout this process has been refreshing.
Whilst we haven’t always agreed on every point, through genuine partnership working and compromise, we have reached a mutually agreeable conclusion to many historic issues and paved the way for a brighter future for the club.
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It is an amazing turnaround. After last September’s vote of no confidence in the board, carried with a 91% majority, the trust said directors “have chosen to divorce themselves from the wealth of goodwill of the fans”.
It added: “These choices have only served to amplify a negative and toxic atmosphere at the football club and fuel growing mistrust amongst the fans.”
Today the trust was hailing “a new dawn” in its relationship with the club and its board.
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The club issued its own statement today saying it has “entered into a written protocol with the supporters’ trust to ensure that they work more closely together in the future”.
It also said that from next season “funding will be dependent on agreement with York City Supporters’ Trust”.
Having buried its own hatchet, the trust urged others to do the same. There have been protests at games this season, with chants of “Jason out”.
That should now change, the trust says.
The trust is confident that the football club has all the necessary ingredients to flourish both on and off the pitch, but ultimately this is dependent on the fans coming together and putting our historic differences behind us.
We call on every York City fan to encourage friends and family to come to games and for local businesses to support the club through sponsorship and hospitality packages. Your club needs you now more than ever.
There is now a huge opportunity for a fresh start with the fans placed at the heart of a vibrant, sustainable, and successful community football club. It is the job of every single fan to help turn that potential into reality.
Let’s all work together to make city more and more massive.
The statement ends on a personal note. “Finally, in the spirit of this new dawn, the trust would like to thank Jason McGill for his enduring commitment to the football club,” it says.
“We feel that discussions over recent weeks have gone a long way to resolve misunderstandings on both sides and we look forward to working with Jason to create a lasting legacy and positive future for the club.”