Some people will have read posts published on social media about club owner Simon Sadler attempting to “censor” fans, including some members of the BST Committee. We thought it would be helpful to set the record straight.
Andy Higgins, Christine Seddon, Tim Fielding and Tony Hodgson from the BST Committee, plus Secretary Robbie Whittaker met with Simon Sadler, Ben Mansford , Harry Lyons and Steve Rowland on 3 May.
There is nothing unusual in some or all of the Committee having discussions with senior figures at the club ; it happens fairly regularly. The club do use us as a sounding board when they are making some business decisions, and sometimes share information with us on a confidential basis.
If we want to work with them as independents, and be influential, working in this way is a fact of life. Being willing and able to do so helps us to win trust, and have an influence on these decisions for the benefit of our Members and the wider fanbase. The meeting was an open and honest one, as they always are.
One of the topics discussed related to concerns about the nature of some of the criticism that the club has been receiving in recent months - and the role of some supporters in this, especially where it had been directed personally at members of the Club’s staff. Concerns were expressed about various remarks made on social media, especially on the Seasiders Podcast, which we agreed to pass on to them directly. This also included separate threats to attend the training ground.
Finally, we agreed that other aspects of supporter behaviour were unacceptable, especially throwing things on the pitch and making personal verbal attacks on members of the club’s staff.
We finished the meeting by discussing the way forward, including for example planning for our extended sponsorship of mascots for next season.
We hope this clarifies the position. You can always talk to us directly by mailing us at:
listening@blackpoolsupporterstrust.com
and if you want to become a BST Member, you can join here :
https://www.blackpoolsupporterstrust.com/join-us
‘for Blackpool Fans, our Club and our Community”
BST Committee
