Crystal Palace Supporters' Trust

Trust Annual General Meeting

Posted by Alan Palmer

The Trust's Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday 17th September, at 6.00 pm in the Glaziers' Lounge at Selhurst Park, after the home game against Middlesbrough.

Trust members should have received a formal notification by post - if you haven't received yours, please email members@palacetrust.org.uk.

Further details will appear here shortly.

Board Changes

Posted by Chris Waters

There have been some recent changes to the Board. Mervyn Pierce has resigned after many years service. He joined the Board in 2001 and has been a great asset over the years, attending many meetings on behalf of the Trust in spite of living a distance away from SE25. We wish him all the best and hope he continues to enjoy his retirement.

John Finn has stepped down from his role as Treasurer but will remain on the Board. Given the increasing hours demanded of the Board and the Treasurer in particular over the coming months, John felt it was right to stand aside due to work demands and his home/work life being split between Ireland and the UK. The Board would like to thank John for his commitment to the role over the past 11 years and look forward to him continuing to contribute at this crucial stage. Board member Furhad Zaidi has become Treasurer with immediate effect, where he will be able to draw on his experience as a City accountant.

Finally Ray Wright has been co-opted on to the Board. Ray is an independent planning consultant, who has 30 years experience of working for local authorities, including being Head of Development at Horsham District Council. Ray has supported Palace since the 1960s. He is currently advising the Trust on planning matters, in particular the Training Ground project, and is working closely with Raj Chandarana and Croydon Council on this.

DCMS Football Governance Review

Posted by Chris Waters

As many of you know there has been a long-term review into football governance; you can read Supporters Direct's view below:

After a lengthy process into domestic football governance which began back in December 2010 to establish the seriousness of the problems facing football, the Select Committee on Friday announced its recommendations.

John Whittingdale MP, Chair of the committee, said:

"No one doubts the success of the Premier League in revitalising English football.  But it has been accompanied by serious financial problems throughout the football league pyramid. Significant changes need to be made to the way the game is run to secure the future of England's unique football heritage, and the economic and community benefits it provides.

The FA is the organisation for the job, but it has some way to go getting its own house in order before it can tackle the problems in the English game, and address the future. We need a reformed FA to oversee and underpin a rigorous and consistent club licensing system and robust rules on club ownership, which should be transparent to supporters.

Almost all our recommendations could be achieved without legislation, through co-operation and agreement between the football authorities, and we urge them to respond positively with an agreed strategy and timetable for change. Legislation should considered only as a last resort in the absence of substantive progress."

A summary of the recommendations and the full report can be seen from the Parliament website. The recommendations include;

• Trusts, or consortia involving Trusts, to be given an opportunity to make a successful matching bid for a Club that has gone into administration
• Protection for minority supporter stakes that would otherwise be the subject of a compulsory purchase order 
• The reform of the F.A. Board and Council concentrating in particular on the representatives and make up of the main Board and the distribution of surplus revenue
• The introduction of a formal licensing model, with the F.A. taking on a strong scrutiny and oversight role and making the final decision on contentious licence applications
• Licensing to help protect the sale of a Club's ground, unless it is in the best interests of the Club 
• The abolishment of the Football Creditors rule
• Complete transparency around ownership and the loans provided by Directors to clubs

Supporters Direct has welcomed the report and issued a statement on the SD website

It should be reiterated once more the strides that have been made working co-operatively as a movement, from the lobbying of MPs to attend the Westminster Hall debate in September 2010 to the individual and Trust led written evidence that has helped shaped the findings. Thanks once again to all those who have played an active part in bringing the debate forward to where we are following the release of the report last week.

European Football - Financial Fair Play Survey

Posted by Chris Waters

Financial Fair Play Survey

Some of you may already have heard of UEFA’s ‘Financial Fair Play’ initiative aimed at stabilising European club football and preserving / enhancing its appeal.

‘Financial Fair Play’ has a range of objectives, including: to stop clubs paying excessive salaries and transfer fees; to promote investment in youth development and playing infrastructure; and to prevent clubs from financial collapse.

To complement this initiative the plan now is to run a research project looking into football fans’ opinions on ‘Financial Fair Play’. The intention is that the results of this survey will contribute to making the UEFA ‘Financial Fair Play’ initiative potentially even better.

We would be delighted if as many of you as possible would like to take part in this survey and thus play a part in improving European club football.

In order to be able take into account the views and interests of football fans from the whole of Europe, the survey is being conducted on a pan-European basis.

Completing the questionnaire only takes about 12 minutes. You can access it at http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/hsw/sportwissenschaft/financialfairplay/

Interview with Training Ground Project Manager on HOL Radio

Posted by Chris Waters

Training Ground Project Manager Raj Chandarana was interviewed last night on HOL Radio - you can listen to the interview by cliking on this link:

http://www.holmesdale.net/page.php?id=264

A Night with Jim Cannon

Posted by Chris Waters

The Trust is delighted  to announce a 10% discount for members for tickets for the “Night with Jim Cannon”  on Friday 5 August, 2011 at Kent County Cricket Club, Worsley Bridge Road, Beckenham.

Legend is a word overly used for footballers, but it is entirely appropriate for Jim Cannon. Arrive from 7.30 for an 8.00pm start to hear the great defender reminisce about his time at the Palace, and of course give you the opportunity to ask your questions! There will also be exclusive sporting memorabilia available on the night as well as a raffle.

Tickets are £10 each but organisers are offering Trust members 10% off, reducing the price to just £9.

All money raised goes to a great cause – the Demelza Hospice Care for Children. You can read more about this charity here: http://www.demelza.org.uk

For further details and to purchase tickets, please call or text David 07866 151 151 or contact him on davidhreid@sky.com

Back to the News.

Public meeting to be rescheduled

Posted by Chris Waters

The proposed public meeting for residents living near to Ashburton Playing Fields, scheduled for 13th July at the Oasis Academy, has had to be rescheduled. We will announce a new date with plenty of notice as soon as we can.

Appointment of Project Manager for Training Ground Initiative

Posted by Chris Waters

Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust (CPST) is pleased to announce the appointment of Raj Chandarana Consulting as Project Manager for the Training Ground initiative for CPFC.

A shortlist of three candidates was drawn up from the many applications made for the June 3^rd deadline, and these candidates were interviewed the following week, being assessed on the three key criteria of the role: experience of the planning process with Council and local residents, fundraising experience and initiatives, and the ability and experience to work with a wide variety of people ranging from politicians to football fans to football club owners.

All the interviewees were of a high standard and the final decision was a very difficult one. The Trust would particularly like to acknowledge the high standard of the application from Paul Stevens Consultancy Ltd. Raj was selected for the role based on his fulfillment of the three key criteria: his previous experience as a Croydon Councillor on the Planning Committee, his extensive experience of fundraising both through local government and voluntary work, and the fact that he has worked over the years with many local politicians, dealt with local residents on planning issues, and liaised with the owners of CPFC and its staff on the training ground project as a previous Board member.

Chairman of CPST Alan Palmer said, “We are delighted to be able to appoint someone of the calibre of Raj to the role. His previous experience in planning ,fundraising, and working with a wide range of people will be a huge asset to the project going forward, and his previous involvement in the project through the Trust means he will be able hit the ground running on the numerous complicated issues which we need to address in the next few months.”

Co-owner and Chairman of CPFC, Steve Parish, stated, “I am delighted that Raj has been appointed by the Trust to this critical role. Phil Alexander [CEO], Dougie Freedman, and myself have already dealt with him on a number of issues regarding this hugely important project for the future of the club, and I am sure that he will be able to engage strongly the club, local community, politicians, and most importantly of all the fans in backing the building of the new training ground. The success of this project will be a massive boost to the club and in particular the Academy, and will be a vital part of how we all wish to see the club strive forward: as a self-sustaining club, embedded in the local community, watching a team awash with local talent trained and educated in a superb facility built and owned by the fans.”

Raj Chandarana commented, “I am delighted to be appointed as Project Manager for this very exciting project, the first of its kind in English football. I will draw on all of my experience in local planning and fundraising to progress the initiative as quickly as possible, and continue to build on my relationships with the club, local community, the Trust membership, and of course the wider CPFC fanbase to make this project a success.”

Raj will report directly to the CPST Board Training Ground sub-committee. The Trust Board will soon be making a general appeal for volunteers to assist the Project Manager on a wide variety of tasks as well as welcome prospective candidates who wish to join the Board as at this exciting time in the Trust and club’s history.

Let's Buy A Season Ticket!

Posted by Chris Waters

"Let's Buy A Seaon Ticket" is an idea started on the BBS forum by Richard Wilsher (current Trust Board Member) as an idea to give something back to the club. It has been specifically targetted at those current long-term season ticket holders who wish to donate a little sum towards a season ticket that will then be given away to a fan who cannot afford to buy one, or a local school or charity.

Richard said,

Once again Palace fans are showing their community spirit and generosity. The idea is really simple; to club together and say thanks to the new owners for honouring the season tickets of those of us that had long term deals. In doing so we’re engaging local schools, charities and even those that are passionate Palace fans already but, for whatever reason, can’t make it along as often as they’d like. But as the idea’s grown it’s become clear that there are many supporters who don’t have long-term tickets that want to make donations, just because they love the idea. The account’s only been open a few days but the total is already over £1,300- enough to buy several season tickets. At any other football club I’d say this was unbelievable.

This is a great initiative and we would urge that you click on the link below to learn more about the project and how you can help:

http://www.cpfc.org/forums/showthread.php?t=220586

Palace Legend Night with Jim Cannon

Posted by Chris Waters

The Trust is delighted  to announce a 10% discount for members for tickets for the “Night with Jim Cannon”  on Friday 5 August, 2011 at Kent County Cricket Club, Worsley Bridge Road, Beckenham.

Legend is a word overly used for footballers, but it is entirely appropriate for Jim Cannon. Arrive from 7.30 for an 8.00pm start to hear the great defender reminisce about his time at the Palace, and of course give you the opportunity to ask your questions! There will also be exclusive sporting memorabilia available on the night as well as a raffle.

Tickets are £10 each but organisers are offering Trust members 10% off, reducing the price to just £9.

All money raised goes to a great cause – the Demelza Hospice Care for Children. You can read more about this charity here: http://www.demelza.org.uk

For further details and to purchase tickets, please call or text David 07866 151 151 or contact him on davidhreid@sky.com