No amount of euphoria surrounding the team's fightback against Southampton last Saturday, the forthcoming replay against the Saints, and the mouth-watering potential of a Quarter Final tie against Manchester United can compensate for the justifiable anger and dismay felt by many supporters about the ticketing arrangements for the initial fifth round cup tie.
Bees United (BU) has loaned the Club more than £400,000. These funds come through the generosity, hardwork and dedication of ordinary supporters who fervently believe that the Club has a future in the heart of its community. They deserve first class customer service and were badly let down.
There can be no excuses for the mistakes made by the Club with the ticketing arrangements for the game at Southampton and whilst we welcome the further apology from the Club, the Trust is resolved to ensure that lessons are learnt and real changes are made at the club in response to this episode, as we believe our members would wish.
We therefore welcome the decision to restructure the executive management of the Club, including the appointment of a Chief Executive, which was in line with recommendations from the BU board.
BU, as a supporters’ trust, is committed to promoting the interests of its members and of Brentford supporters generally. The BU board is determined to pursue positive actions to prevent such mistakes from happening again. Restructuring and professionalising the Club‘s executive management team is an important first step to restoring confidence. In the interim it is essential that ownership and accountability for the management of customer service and public relations is identified within the Club. Following its meeting yesterday evening the BU board has made further recommendations to the Club board.
The Trust board is committed to transparency and accountability to its members. It has therefore resolved to review the lessons to be learnt for BU as a democratic organisation and to consider the way that the Trust’s board relates to the Club board and to its nominated directors on the Club board.
The review will be carried out by Jon Gosling, Joe Bourke and John Anderson who will report to the BU board meeting on 31 March. The BU board will then consider calling a Special General Meeting to address the concerns of BU members and any recommendations the BU board decides to make as a result of the review.
Brian Burgess
Chair, Bees United