COMMITTEE STATEMENT TO FANS

After receiving many questions, the Trust in Luton interim Committee would like to make the following statements to the Trust members and other Luton fans.

What is a Trust? Who is the Trust? Who are the Committee?

A Supporters' Trust is a democratic organisation of supporters. Over 90 clubs have one. Our aims are to secure the future of the club, keeping the club with the fans where it belongs. Although Trust in Luton was formed in the aftermath of a takeover, it is not a protest group. Rather, it is the long term solution for supporters to have a say in the future of their club. It is not another Supporters' Club, but an umbrella organisation; both the LTSC and the LLSC are represented on the Interim Committee.

The Trust is its membership; that is, every single person who has signed a Trust membership form. The Committee is just the vehicle by which the Trust will establish itself. Once the Trust is up and running, democratic elections will be held in which any member will be eligible to stand for office.

The Trust working party were those in yellow bibs at the Public Meeting at Kenilworth Road, and their pictures can be seen on www.trustinluton.com. We are working on providing profiles of each of the interim Committee officers for the site. In the meantime, all the officers can be contacted via e-mail as follows:

Chair - Tony Murray - chair@trustinluton.com Vice-Chair - Reg Harper - vicechair@trustinluton.com Secretary - Brian Mugridge - secretary@trustinluton.com Treasurer - Les Miller - treasurer@trustinluton.com Membership Secretary - Kelvin Dunn - membership@trustinluton.com

Aims and Objectives

The Trust wants to work alongside the owners of Luton Town FC, whoever they are or may be in the future. The Trust is not in a position to own the Club outright, but from the outset one of the intentions has been to gain a shareholding, which could be increased over time.

The main aims and objectives of the Trust are and always have been as follows:

To strengthen the bonds between the Club and the local community.

 
To work for the football and financial success of the club.

 
To uphold and preserve the tradition and heritage of Luton Town, and to secure the club's long term future in Luton.

 
To encourage and promote supporter representation on the club's board acting as communication to the supporters.

 
To acquire shares in the club, formally creating a supporters' shareholding.

 

To promote coaching schemes to develop the football skills of local young people and promote local interest in football.

 
To raise money in such a way as to promote the aims and objectives of Trust in Luton and to the benefit of the local community, Luton Town Football Club and its supporters.

 
To ensure that all profit is reinvested back into the club.

What is the Pledge Scheme about?

The Trust in Luton interim Committee has asked all fans to withhold funds from the Club until several issues are resolved regarding its ownership and its long term plans. The Football League appear to share our reservations about the current situation. We welcome the news that the Club has agreed to extend the deadline for discounted season tickets to the 12th July.

Thus in the meantime the Committee asks every supporter to pledge the money they would usually give to the Club. This does not mean donating to the Trust, nor does it mean paying out any money at all. The Committee asks that each supporter total up the amount they would give to the Club over the course of the season, for season tickets, match tickets, kit sponsorship, commercial sponsorship, programme sales, Golden Gamble, shop merchandise and so on. This total should be written on one of the Pledge Forms, downloadable from the Trust in Luton website or available in hard copy from any of the Luton Borough Libraries or the Arndale Centre Information Desk, and sent back to the Independent Scrutineer via fax or post. (Note: we are currently looking at the possibility of having an e-mailable Pledge Form.) Once all the issues at the Club are resolved, the Trust Committee will issue a statement asking fans to honour the pledge that they have made.

We ask all supporters to back this scheme by continuing to withhold their money from the Club and send their pledges in to the Independent Scrutineer as soon as possible.

How can I sign up to the Trust?

The Membership Form can be downloaded from www.trustinluton.com, or it can be picked up from any of the Luton Borough Libraries or the Arndale Centre Information Desk.

We are currently looking at other outlets for Membership Forms and Pledge Forms; if you would be able to help, please contact us at info@trustinluton.com

What is the Committee's stance on the current wage crisis at the Club?

Like all Luton fans, we were looking forward to hearing the Club's plans for paying staff and players this month, and were disappointed to learn that Club Secretary Cherry Newbery was unable to comment on this matter live on BBC Three Counties Radio this morning.

I have more questions. Who should I contact?

You can contact any of the Committee officers directly on their trustinluton.com e-mail addresses. Other queries can be directed to questions@trustinluton.com and we will endeavour to come back to you directly. Alternatively, specific Trust-related questions can be posted on our messageboard via our website, and one of the Committee will do their best to provide a satisfactory reply.

Marc Vivien Foe

The Trust in Luton interim Committee would like to express its sadness on learning of the sudden death of Marc Vivien Foe yesterday, and passes on its sympathy to his family, friends and the fans of the clubs with whom he was involved.