The supporters direct newsletter carries an article about our supporters' trust.

It can been read at www.supporters-direct.org and then follow the link to the newsletter for June 2006.

good stuff Eugene, well done

First class piece Eugene.
Thank you.

Absolutely superb, Eugune. Very well written and puts the whole situation into perspective.
Anyone who isn't familiar with the current rift between the club and its supporters should read this and be instantly enlightened.

Thanks for the nice comments guys.

Although I wrote it for the wider public I'm grateful to Jim for pointing out it might be useful as an intro to our own supporters who may have understandibly lost track of what's been happening.

If you go to www.supporters-direct.org you'll see a link at the top of the page to Issue 22 and the article is on page 25. There are also a couple of good pieces on the Dundee and Rangers Trust.

Hang in there chaps and chapesses - we're almost there!

Because of my limited computer skills it has taken no short time and much mutterings for me to access the article,Eugene,but it was well worth the effort.Excellent read.

I can't open PDF files on this comp, any chance of a copy & paste job??

Good article!
I was just wanting something cleared up for me. DB said that the biggest off-field challenge was the trust, did he say this because the first thing the trust put in their news letter was that it was their objective to rid the club of DB.
If this was true I can see why he was "slightly" worried, if false then what is his problem with the club embracing a trust that has the good of the East Fife at heart.

The newsletter in question was not the first of its kind but it was the first to suggest that DB was not the right person for the club.

At no time was there a direct call for his removal, only for a "change in leadership". In other words it was at that time open for DB to alter his approach and make us welcome. He did not avail himself of that opportunity and this led , first to the informal protest and then to the protest becoming part of offical Trust policy.

I still personally feel regret that we've had to spend all our efforts in conflict with DB rather than helping the club in the way we want.

I echo what Clarke said. That particular newsletter came around the time of the club's AGM which DB used as part of the reason for the rant against the Trust and subsequent refusal of the 2nd tranche of shares. It did not call for his resignation only a significant change in leadership. This mostly meant the attitude towards the Trust and supporters.

Hang on a minute, in anyone's language a change of leadership means replacing one person (or persons) with another/others. If the statement really meant a change of attitude or approach, why did it not say just that. or at least it should have said a "change of style of leadership".

The Trust Says
The East Fife Supporters Trust was set up because of concerns about the direction the club was taking and these concerns have greatly increased over the last year.

Under the chairmanship of Mr Brown the club has operated in a more secretive way, there are serious questions over share ownership, there is no real evidence of where the club is aiming and of course the recent performance on the field has been poor.

While we have tried to come to terms with Mr Brown's cavalier style of communication which involves lengthy delays in replying to letters and refusing to talk with the Trust Secretary, it has proved frustrating for our members.

There are serious questions to be asked about the club's shareholding dealings, not least of which is why a substantial shareholding appears to be in the hands of a minor and how Mr Brown himself acquired such a large shareholding and at what price.

We have seen the example of other UK clubs where the agenda has been more to do with property development than with football and we will strive to ensure this does not happen at East Fife.

Nothing however that Mr Brown has said or done gives us confidence that these issues will be resolved to the satisfaction of our members and the wider community in Levenmouth




Above is the offending article that we are taling about. Looking back, the Trust were stating the facts and not calling for change so please ignore my significant change in leadership post!

Can I just add that I've been through all the press releases I put out on behalf of the Trust (39!) and this remark appears nowhere.

I think that it was in a letter I sent as a private individual to the EFM or Courier.