Red Imps Community Trust: On the road to redemption

For the last seven or eight years, the subject of the Red Imps Trust has been a prickly and contentious one, often muttered in hushed tones. In their brief history they’ve gone from being darlings of the club to a virtual laughing-stock.

I’m not here to dissect the comings and goings over the past decade or two. All I’ll say is once upon a time the Supporters Trust were heavily involved in saving the football club and adequately represented the fans who paid to join them. By the time we sank to the depth of non-league they had become a political pawn, riddled with alleged self-serving individuals completely separated from the fan base. Archaic, aged and past their sell by date, the Trust struggled to survive. Controversy followed controversy and the reputation of the organisation plunged. They were nowhere to be seen on a match day, they alienated those they were supposed to represent and no amount of ‘new blood’ seemed able to change their direction.

This week I attended a Sportman’s Dinner organised by the Trust, the first such event of theirs I’ve been to in a decade. It was the fading embers of the reputable Trust that organised the GMVC Dinner back in 2008, and it was ironic that 10 years later the same premise brought us back around a table. Now, before I go on I ought to proclaim my so-called ‘vested interest’. I have joined the Trust, only as a paid up member not on the board or anything like that. A large part of me believes a Supporter’s Trust is a positive thing to have around the club and I secretly yearn for it to once again be relevant and accessible.

That isn’t why I went to the dinner, I went because it was a birthday present to my Dad and a few of the ‘faces’ that usually join us were up for it to. It transpired it was a bit more ‘2017’ than ‘1988’ but it was a super night nonetheless. My old man had a few drinks and got to meet Harry Anderson, something he’s been talking about doing for weeks. I was driving so it wasn’t a time for me to drink and slur my way through a couple of selfies. What it did do though was convince me that there is lots of life left in the Trust and it might just have the driving force it requires to make it a success again.

Before I continue, vested interest alert. I’m about to speak about Peter Doyle, currently a member of the Trust board. I know Peter through my work with A City United, he’s advertised with me before. I value my integrity though and my opinions here are not influenced by that.

I think Peter’s inclusion on the Trust board gives them an accessibility that perhaps they haven’t previously had. He’s a proper ‘character’, quick-witted on the microphone and well-connected in the city. Whilst the Trust have often been criticised for being a collection of suits you never truly see, Peter isn’t like that. He likes a beer, judging by his performance during the auction I’d say he likes several. He has personality, endearing and outgoing. The Trust needs that, it needs a larger than life character to pull it away from the ghosts of the past. Whilst it is good to have the sensible and withdrawn elements on the board, I feel Peter is the more vocal and possibly even forceful personality amongst them.

The night was a fund-raiser, as they so often are, but unlike Trust events in the past, this one donated all of the money directly to the club. It wasn’t for the Trust directly, it was for the training ground. I’d bet several thousand pounds were raised and it all went straight into the club coffers. More importantly, it was partly my idea. I don’t mean that as a trumpet blowing exercise, I mean a non-Trust member was able to approach them with an idea to develop and turn into folding money.

I contacted Peter ahead of the season and said I thought a GMVC Dinner would be a great idea. My suggestion planted the seeds in his mind and he rolled with it, developed it into the Champions Dinner and put his own stamp on it. For the first time in a long while a non-Trust member threw an idea into the pot and it quickly became a reality. Another criticism in the past has been of the Trust being a closed shop, a body that creaked under the weight of its stringent bureaucracy and couldn’t ever react quick enough to put thoughts into actions.

There’s a long way to go before they ever get back to 2003 relevance in most fans eyes, but I can’t help but feel they’re on the way back. They need to continue this evolution they’re experiencing, the likes of Peter and Tom Robinson (a young, fresh face) need to be at the forefront of what they do. The Trust’s early success was based on accessibility, people such as Rob Bradley and Rick Keracher were individuals we could all identify with. For the first time in years I can identify with Trust Board members again. Peter and Tom are down to earth, people who want to get things done. Of course, a presence around the SLO’s on a match day would be a big step, but don’t forget the much-heralded Former Players Association is a Trust initiative also. These guys need to be visible and approachable on match day, they need to represent the fans again and I believe with a little bit of work, they can do just that.

As another night wound down and people began filtering away I spotted Peter doing the rounds, pint in hand, thanking everyone for coming. It was a little thing, a personal touch but one that resonates with those who pay £45 per head to attend these events. He’d made reference in his closing speech to the spread of people in the room, the diversity the Trust had attracted again. He was right, I spotted young fans and old, those you’ll find in the Shakey before a game, L.I.S.A ladies and those fans like me that you’ll find in the fan zone. There were members of the club board there, players from the current squad as ell as sponsors. It felt more inclusive, it felt as though perhaps, just perhaps, people were willing to give the Trust another chance.

I certainly hope so because for the first time in many years, I believe they deserve the support.