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Away From The Numbers

All good things come to an end. Or so they say. AFTN has been around since 1989, first as a fanzine and then making the jump to a website and forum in 2003. We've been through the many ups and down at East Fife in those 12 years but policing the forum has become a giant pain in the ass in recent years. As such, we made the decision not to renew it when it expired.

The forum is no more and will remain as a locked archive until it is eventually deleted by the host. We're looking in to try to save some of the content as an archive.

This is not the end of AFTN though. The site will continue and will be revamped and return in its full glory for the start of the 2016/17 season. Maybe even sooner. There will be a comment sections and possibly even a new, registered forum. Check our Twitter (@aftnwebsite) for all the latest info and we'll also post in on the EFFC memories Facebook page.

Until then, have a last browse here, thanks for all your support over the years, and 'Mon the Fife.

GoF

 

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Trust AGM

Below is a brief summary of items discussed at the recent Trust AGM. The current share purchase and land sale transactions were discussed under AOCB. A summary of that discussion will be posted seperately and will incorporate the following :
1) The recommendations of the EFSS working group based on all the information available at that time.
2) A new development regarding an opportunity to raise capital to assist with share purchase.


NOTE OF TRUST AGM 8 JANUARY 2015
Please find below a brief summary of what was discussed at the recent Trust AGM

1 Minutes of the previous AGM were approved.
2 Eugene Clarke did not seek re-election to the Trust Board. Allan Duthie, Liam Anderson and Colin McInnes were all re-elected. Stephen Mill was elected to join the board and will be proposed to the EFFC board as the Trust representative replacement for Eugene.
Eugene was one of the founder members of the Trust which has been in existence for over ten years and his efforts over that period have played a major part in keeping the Trust going.
3 The Chairman reported very little activity in the year to May 2014 but that events from the beginning of the new season could be discussed in AOCB.
4 The accounts were approved with the major items being programme sales/costs, sponsorship of EFTV, and Youth Development contributions.
During the year the Trust bought an additional 1000 shares at a discounted price of £4.00 per share.
Purchases increased significantly due to some programme costs being carried over from 2012/13.
There was also a greater quantity of programmes printed due to games against Rangers and Dunfermline with a commensurate increase in revenue.
A contribution of £1000 was made to Youth Development and the Trust continued to pay for EFTV.
5 Membership at May 2014 was 140 with 15 new members joining during the recent EFSS meetings which is outwith the reporting period. No active recruitment had taken place during the year to May 2014.
6 Eugene was still the Trust representative on the EFFC board during the reporting period. He reported that his main objective during that period had been to continue his requests for better financial information and for business planning to be a part of the board's regular meetings. In addition he pushed for more openness relating to board decisions and improved communication with supporters.
Eugene felt he had made good progress in all of these areas but as the new management settled in there were more and more decisions being made either without board approval or contrary to what the board had approved. It was an escalation of this type of autocratic decision making which eventually led to his resignation.
Eugene acknowledged that, along with the current directors, he had failed to put adequate pressure on the then Chairman to make all decisions affecting the club more transparent.
7 A decision had been made not to run a fund raising raffle during the year 2013-14 but instead in conjunction with the club to create a Hall of Fame. A great deal of work went into this and Steve Archibald and Willie Finlay were among the first small group of players due to be installed.
Unfortunately a couple of factors caused the cancellation of this event. Firstly ticket sales were slow and in hindsight that was partly due to the pricing. This had been set high because the event was to be held a marquee at the ground and thus had a lot of cost to recover. Secondly the Supporters' Club had held their POTY event in the same location and had suffered significant loss.
At that point the Trust Board decided the risk was too great and cancelled the event within a timescale which meant no costs had been incurred. The Trust are keen to ensure this event is resurrected and will be looking at new options.
8 The programme continued to make a profit during the season with sales boosted by home matches V Rangers and Dunfermline.

The only items raised in AOCB were the ongoing share purchase and land sale transactions and these are covered separately.

Re: Trust AGM

The EFSS is pleased to say we have been approached by a financial institution which is interested in providing the capital which might allow fans to buy the majority shareholding. Meetings are scheduled for the end of this month and further newsletters will keep all concerned informed.

THE TRUST AND THE CURRENT SITUATION RE SHARE PURCHASE

It had been hoped that the timing of the AGM would allow some recommendations to be made to supporters who had attended several meetings and/or had pledged financial support to the principle of supporting the purchase of EFFC shares from the current majority shareholders.

The last meeting between EFFC and EFSS had ended with the unsatisfactory offer by EFFC to allow EFSS and other groups to buy into a minority share of the 52%. At that point we indicated that until more detail of the current board's purchase was made available, and a clear understanding of the club's financial position was revealed then the EFSS working group would be unable to make any firm recommendation as to the financial involvment our members should have.

Unfortunately we are now a couple of months further down the road and although the EFFC accounts have been published we are not really any closer to being in a position to recommend any form of support for the EFFC directors' bid. At the same time we are still keen to be heavily involved in creating a community club run by all groups, not excluding the current EFFC directors.

The club is clearly in financial difficulty and desperately needs the land sale to go ahead if financial obligations for this season and into next season are to be met. At this stage a witch hunt into why we are in this position achieves nothing and neither does dwelling on the headline figures in the EFFC accounts. It is quite clear from both the EFSS accountants and the EFFC auditors that as things stand any investment in EFFC is a very risky proposition so our advice to our members is not to get involved with the bid yet.

We do, however, have some clear recommendations to the EFFC directors:

Review the value of the offer to buy the 52% majority shareholding but pursue the land sale as it was stated that the two transactions were not dependent on each other.
Be more open with details of the current financial situation and your plans/budgets to get the club back on a level footing.
Work with the EFSS to put together a joint bid which will genuinely move the club towards community ownership rather than the status quo.

Until progress is made in meeting these three targets any recommendation made by the EFSS working group would come from the heart rather than the head. Although the current EFFC board undoubtedly have the interests of the club in mind, it does seem in their case to be heart over head.


CONTACT DETAILS
If you want to ask any further questions or get involved in any way please
email member@buyeastfife.org and we’ll take it from there.
You can call also Allan Duthie on 07962 245388 or Eugene Clarke on 0779 088 1760

Re: Trust AGM

Well done Allan and all the working group, this is obviously a step in the right direction!!!

Keep it up, the support is there for you!!!

Re: Trust AGM

King Kebab
Well done Allan and all the working group, this is obviously a step in the right direction!!!

Keep it up, the support is there for you!!!



Hear hear! This is a most encouraging update from the Trust. Sensible and focussed, and putting the groundwork in place to ensure that if a bid is made, it is solid. This is what people want to hear. Well done the Trust.