Just over 3 months ago Terry Sinnett was appointed as our new Swans Trust Supporter Director after taking over from retiring SD Stuart McDonald.
Here Terry has prepared the first of new series of articles where he will periodically update our members and supporters on the work he has been doing in his role as our Supporter Director.
I’m now three months into my new role as Supporter Director of the Swans and would like to offer an insight to our members and supporters about what this important job entails. It was a surprise to be elected to the position it has to be said and not one that I had envisaged. I am grateful to Stuart McDonald for his help and guidance in giving me a rundown on the various aspects and responsibilities of the role.
My first few weeks were slow, for a variety of reasons. A personal accident, then having to self isolate due to Covid-19, meant there was a delay in getting up and running. However, the delay did allow me to research the many aspects of the job and to speak to fellow board officers and members to affirm how they saw the role develop.
As I see it, my job is to be the link between our members, the wider fan base and the club. The role carries with it Directorship of the football club and this involves accepting legal responsibilities, obligations and receiving confidential information that could on rare occasions be seen as conflicting with the Trust. This I see will be the most difficult aspect – finding the right balance. Absolutely I am there to represent our members and the fans, but there is the legal responsibility of protecting the interests of the club. In effect they should be the same, and hopefully as my relationship with the ownership of the club and local management grows, this will be the case.
My first meeting at the club was at the start October. This was between Julian Winter and myself, and I was accompanied by Associate Director, Sian Davies. For those members who may not be aware, the Trust has two positions on the club’s board. Myself as Supporter Director and Sian as Associate Director. In my role, I have the same rights as any other club Director. The Associate
Director role does not carry these rights. It’s an important position though, enabling another voice of the Trust and the fans to be heard within the club.
These meetings have been scheduled on at least a monthly basis and give us the opportunity to discuss every aspect of club matters. Beyond these regular meetings there is also regular contact between the club and the Trust not just with myself but with new Trust Chair Dave Dalton. The discussions are varied and include team matters, performances, financial reports and any plans the club have that affect the fans. Julian has agreed that excerpts from our discussions can be published for members, and the first set from our November meeting can be seen below. As you will see in my highlights, the discussion was detailed and covered a broad range of topics.
I see this as a positive step forward. Not only does it increase the level of communication between the club, the Trust, our members and the wider fanbase, but provides transparency and context for decisions taken by the club. Having the opportunity to discuss matters that have been raised by our members, finding the answers and reporting them is one of the most important aspects of our work.
At home matches, myself and Trust Chair Dave Dalton are invited to attend club hospitality at the Centenary Suite. This offers us the opportunity to interact with club and opposition officials, VIPs, sponsors and other guests. In these environments, we are able to ensure others get to learn about the Trust and the work it is doing as well as the part it has played, and will continue to play, in the club’s history. Usually only one of us will attend as we alternate between this and being available to our members at the Trust POD.
In each of the games I have attended in this way, I have met a wide cross section of guests and had the opportunity of talking about what the Trust does and the role it has at our football club. Not many realise that we own a significant share of the club, nor of our history. This interaction can only be good for us, building up knowledge and support.
As of yet I have not attended a club board meeting, but it is my understanding that the majority shareholders will be visiting Swansea before Christmas. I look forward to the opportunity of meeting and talking to them and the other directors, and reviewing all of the club’s activities.
As Supporter Director, I also sit on the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG). The group is co ordinated by Swansea Council and is made up of representatives from the council, emergency services, other relevant bodies and the club. Its responsibility is to provide a forum for discussing and advising on public safety at the stadium. The safety of everyone who visits the stadium is of paramount importance and this group ensures that any necessary controls are in place.
So this is a flavour of what my SD role entails. I am looking forward to developing it whilst continuing with my other Trust work. At all times having the best interests of both the club and fans at heart.
The below topics were discussed based on feedback we have heard from our members and fans via social media and on match days. If you have a question you would like us to ask, please submit it via social media @SwansTrust, via email info@swanstrust.co.uk or come and see our Board Members at the POD on home match days.
These are the key headlines from my meeting with Julian Winter on the 9th November 2021
|
Topic |
Key points |
|
Team reflections |
Very happy with progress on and off the field. Russell Martin and his coaching team are making a great impression, as shown in the performances and recent results. |
|
Player contracts |
Discussions on new contracts are very much in hand, and hopeful of announcements soon (Matt Grimes has since signed an extension with the club) – https://www.swanseacity.com/news/matt-grimes-i-am-loving life-swansea-and-pitch . January and summer transfer preparations are continually discussed as the club seeks to strengthen the squad, and ensure players are getting development opportunities (on the field or via the loan market). |
|
COVID-19 situation |
Club have the situation under control, and there are no major issues within the squad. The match day protocols are working well and the systems implemented are based on best practice by our counterparts. Club appreciates the effort fans have gone to in order to meet the requirements implemented. |
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Catering at the Stadium |
Club has taken catering offer in-house, and so far the feedback has been positive. The staff are working very hard to deliver the service and identify ways to continually improve it. |
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Trust POD |
Club is supporting the Trust with some repairs and accessibility improvements for the Trust POD, including access to Wi-Fi – this will allow us to take card payments for membership renewals on match days. This effort is very much appreciated by the entire Trust Board. |
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Topic |
Key points |
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Travel Club |
The club is currently in conversation with the Travel Club about restarting the service. |
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National Express services |
We discussed the recent issues around the National Express services and pressed for a solution – club has been working hard to remedy the issues and recently announced an update for fans (available below): https://www.swanseacity.com/news/travel-information middlesbrough-away-fixture |
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Match day programmes |
We raised the recent concerns from fans around the decision to move away from a physical match day programme – this is something that fans have continuously raised with us at the POD. We discussed this in detail during the meeting and the club has decided to continue with the current course – reading habits have changed and the club is responding. The new “lite” version has been introduced for fans who enjoy having something from the game. Printed versions of each programme are available to order: https://www.swanseacity.com/news/match-day-programme-go digital-2021-22-season |
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Swansea Heritage Project |
Club and Trust will work together to create a new digital archive for the collective history. Discussions and arrangements on this will continue over the next few months. |
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Visibility of U23 & Ladies teams games |
At times, notice of upcoming U23 & Ladies games has been lacking, and members have reached out to us regarding this. Club will seek to provide better visibility of fixtures and access arrangements for these games. |
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Midweek games |
We discussed the congestion of the Championship schedule, and whether the club has any choice/input into midweek game dates. Julian confirmed that the club has no influence on the fixture list, but can make representation before the season starts about particular events that would affect potential fixture plans. |
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Fan Forums |
We discussed the recent Fan Forum and the benefit of these for fans on an ongoing basis – Julian agreed and the club is looking to schedule these more regularly. This will include options for the younger fan base to attend and engage, including with the option for players to attend as well. |
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Kit supplier |
Club have agreed the kit for next season. The tender for the next contract has been issued to suppliers to start in 2023/2024. |
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Ongoing collaboration |
The Trust has a number of ongoing initiatives and projects that we would like to work with the club more closely over the coming months. This broad collaboration was agreed with Julian Winter and we will continue to work together on these including the Swans Foundation, Schools Initiative (Welsh Baccalaureate), Supporter Groups, Former Player Association etc. etc. |
I hope you have found this new feature helpful? I will endeavour to put something together for our members and supporters on a more regular basis going forward.
Please be assured that this is just a very small part of what the Swans Trust board are working on behind the scenes on a daily basis. We are a small but enthusiastic group of Swans fans who want to do all we can to influence the club on behalf of our members and supporters.
We are always looking to expand our membership so that we can improve our infrastructure, our influence within the club and also have resources to support local charities and organisations.
We have recently had a wonderful response from members who have stepped forward to volunteer their time to aid the Trust in a number of initiatives over the coming months.
If you too would like to learn more about us and the work we are doing, just drop us an email to info@swanstrust.co.uk. Or maybe you know someone that would like to join up and make the Trust even stronger? If so, just go to our Join the Trust page.
Finally, can I just thank you all for the messages of support I’ve received since taking on the Supporter Director role. I think I can speak on behalf of all our Trust Board members and elected officials that it is always a privilege to be able to represent our amazing supporters from all over the world and we will continue to do that at every possible opportunity.
Terry Sinnett
Supporter Director
Swansea City Supporters’ Trust
November 2021
