City Fans United can today announce that four new Directors have been co-opted onto the CFU Board.
The Board are delighted to announce that Jeff Banks, Mark Howell, Calvin Hughes and Simon Olorenshaw have been co-opted – all subject to FA Clearance.
Richard Lynes will also take on the role of non-executive Director.
Also following last night’s board meeting at the Swansway Chester Stadium, David O’Toole has resigned from his position as Director with immediate effect.
Following Thursday’s CFU meeting at the Swansway Chester Stadium, three directors have decided to resign from the CFU Board with immediate effect.
They are Jonny Hughes, Neil Bellis and Anne Salmon.
The scheduled board meeting for Monday will go ahead as planned with the remaining CFU directors. Updates from that meeting will follow in due course.
Below follows statements from Jonny, Neil and Anne.
Jonny Hughes, Chair of City Fans United
Firstly, let me express my gratitude and respect to all the concerned CFU members who gathered at the Swansway Chester Stadium last Thursday night at our Formal CFU Meeting.
It was never going to be easy to give such news to you all and I have to admit that for quite a while I felt under tremendous pressure and some of my replies probably reflected that.
I understand, however, that for all the pressure I felt, you were all hearing this news for the first time and were understandably hurt, angry and upset: For that I am truly sorry and I apologise for my part as a member of your board that didn’t let you know sooner and I also accept that I let you down.
Since then I have been reflecting heavily on how we can all move forward together as one team to ensure there will always be a Chester FC. For that to happen I strongly believe we all need to come together, like we did at the Guild Hall, galvanised by purpose and passion and with nothing but fire in our hearts as we continue to realise our dreams of a sustainable fan owned football club playing at the highest level possible in the city of Chester.
For that to happen, I also believe there needs to be changes. So, with the best interests of the club at heart, I have taken the decision to resign my position of Chair of City Fans United and as a member of your board of directors with immediate effect.
That in no way means I am giving up the fight for our club however … no chance. I intend to continue to be the fully-committed and active fan and volunteer I always have been and to continue to offer my skill-sets, verve and energy in support of the club so I can do my part to help put things right.
I have been humbled by the messages of support that I have received in the last 24 hours, but for all of that I recognise that as a board we got some important things wrong: Again, I am truly sorry. I love this club. I love the people. I love our volunteers: There is and only ever will be one Chester FC, so my support for the team on the pitch and the team off it will always be unwavering.
Together we will get through this and prosper under the banner of Fan Ownership and City Fans United. Together, we are Chester FC.
Thank you for the privilege and see you on the Harry Mac (greatest terrace in the land), Jonny Hughes
CTID
Neil Bellis, Vice-Chair of City Fans United
After a period of reflection over the past few days, I have decided to resign from the board of City Fans United.
It is clear that the board needs to regain the confidence of the fan base in order to move forward as a club. As a member of the board which has failed so badly over the past year, I feel it is necessary that I stand down. I also wish to take this opportunity to apologise to the fans for that failure.
I am still committed to the future of Chester FC as a fan-owned club, and will continue to offer any support to the club that I can.
Thank you, Neil Bellis
Anne Salmon, Director of City Fans United
I have done a lot of thinking since the meeting on Thursday and I believe that as one of the longer-standing board members, I should apologise for my part in our joint failure to act quickly or decisively enough to prevent the situation we find ourselves in today and therefore resign from the CFU Board with immediate effect.
I will continue to be committed to the survival of Chester FC, supporting fundraising initiatives as a CFU member and a fan and I sincerely hope that those who have been calling for more immediate and decisive action will now step up and volunteer – especially with regards to Health and Safety.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who believed in me and voted me onto the Board in 2015, it was an honour and a privilege and I am sorry if you feel I have let you down. I also wish all those remaining on the CFU Board and in the working groups, every success over the next few weeks.
Thank you, Anne Salmon.
The CFU Board wish to provide the following statement to all members, volunteers, supporters, stakeholders and friends of Chester FC.
The Board of City Fans United is aware of the concerns currently being expressed across the CFU Membership and the wider fan-base regarding the direction of the Club both on and off the field of play. We want to assure everybody that we are listening and that we intend to act to address these concerns and that your club needs your passion, support and help in assisting us to do this.
We also understand that when the prolonged period of results on the pitch are not going as we either hoped or planned, this has led to a decline of the ‘feel-good’ factor we enjoyed in the early days after our reformation. We have also seen our attendances drop considerably.
We know we need to recapture this and concentrate our efforts and ethos back onto community and fan engagement. Improved communication from us as a Board will be key to this.
On Monday night, we organised an informal consultation meeting with ex-board members, previous key volunteers, Community Trust colleagues and our CEO to assess and address the current issues surrounding the club and to work with us to produce and deliver a strategy to help improve the club’s fortunes.
As an outcome of this honest, frank but positive meeting, we will be setting-up a number of working groups and asking for fan involvement in these to take our plans forward. You, the volunteers and fans of this club are its greatest asset and our club needs your support now more than ever.
The main message is, however: The fight is on to avoid relegation and address the impact of reduced gates on our finances and budget projections. We have 18 league games left, 10 of which are at home and we all need to be behind the team as we grind our way out of relegation: The club needs its 12th man.
As we launch new initiatives, we ask you support them with vigour and as the lads battle on the pitch, we urge you all to get to each and every home game and to bring a friend or two (or ten) to boost our support and cheer them to victory.
This club is precious. This club is ours. Together WE are Chester FC and WE can do this!!
Our City, Our Community, Our Club (Always)
Jonny Hughes
Neil Bellis
Laurence Kirby
Anne Salmon
Mike Day
David Harrington-Wright
David O’Toole
David Williams
Mark Jones
Andrew Morris
The board of City Fans United (CFU) is pleased to announce a change in how they will work to help drive the club forward as well as improve transparency, accountability and foster closer and more focused working relations with members, fans and stakeholders.
Instead of each director having a portfolio, members of the board will instead be responsible for individual items (e.g. Squad Builder, CFU Membership, Health and Safety) and with each item falling under one of three broader headings.
The three headings are: Membership and Engagement, Governance and Income Generation.
The Portfolio document (PDF) can be downloaded here…
The board have split the items based on the skill-sets and talents of board members but agreed that as income generation is of paramount importance, all directors should ultimately be responsible for at least one project under that heading.
The hope with this restructuring of board member responsibilities is also that both members and fans will have a clear line of communication should they wish to suggest an idea for a certain item or volunteer for one.
CFU chair Jonny Hughes said: “As you can see from the attached document, we have looked at the way we work and agreed a path that will see improved transparency and accountability for our members as well as promoting a more focused and targeted workflow throughout the business.
“The next step for the board on this is to provide a detailed action plan for each item, taking in current and past data, to project realistic targets for growth and to outline a plan for our members on how these targets will be achieved and, most importantly, who will help us achieve them. Items will be monitored and progress reported on regularly.
“One thing which I think is important to say is that this is a working document. Items will be added and taken away as the needs of the football club change over time but that doesn’t mean that if you think there is something missing you can’t tell us. Part of ensuring that the club is successful as a fan owned club is the continued engagement of members, fans and stakeholders.
“In fact, how well we all work as a team is what will ultimately define how successful we are. Whether you are a board member or not, the responsibility of this football club rests with all of us. “In line with this, we will be asking for members and fans to engage with us more than they ever have before and will be releasing details soon of the many ways people can help. If you would like to pre-empt this and get in touch in touch with us directly, then please do.
“The team is you.”
The CFU Board would like to take the opportunity to thank fans for their exemplary behaviour at the Cross-Border Derby game on Saturday against Wrexham.
We hope it is another step towards the removal of the bubble restrictions we currently have.
The Board have also been made aware of some concerns among supporters who attended the Wrexham game with regards to the ban on the sale of alcohol.
At last year’s fixture there was damage caused to Wrexham’s stadium by some Chester fans which cost our club a significant amount of money. At a subsequent CFU meeting members felt that the sale of alcohol at the ground was a contributory factor.
This was discussed and agreed with Safety Advisory Group as it was felt that the non-sale of alcohol would represent a reciprocal arrangement between the clubs.
Once again, we would like to thank supporters for their terrific following and behaviour at the weekend.