We wanted to thank everyone who attended the fan’s forum at The Latvian Club last night, and who watched via YouTube. We would also like to thank the gentlemen from The City Vent who managed to secure a venue and working with Dan, managed to ensure a live link of some type was available. Though it would never be broadcast quality, without those guys the event would not have happened. We also want to publicly thank Ritta at The Latvian Club for providing us with a venue at short notice, opening up the bar and generally being a wonderful host on a cold Monday night.
We felt that an attendance of approximately 40 supporters and over 700 watching online was a pretty decent start. We did learn a lot of things from last night which we can take away for future events that may be planned.
We would also like to thank Jamie Raynor, from BBC Radio Leeds who arrived to cover the event.
So, the forum gave us a feel of supporters’ views right now. Experiences were shared and the consensus is that the general lack of communication from the club, and a definitive idea of Stefan Rupp’s intentions for the club is concerning. As we write, a report from a media source suggests that Graham Alexander could potentially lose his job after a short time in post.
As I outlined last night, we want to be effective for ALL supporters. We know that differing views can make it hard to satisfy everyone but we will do our best to find a happy medium where we can. Our first objective is to hit 800 members so that we can approach the club and advise them we are representing our supporters, in an official capacity so please go to our membership page and sign up. We want supporters who are signed up with us to get three others who may not know about what we are trying to do and get them to join us.
Initial Actions
We believe, as do many fans, that the first action is to identify what Stefan Rupp’s intentions are for Bradford City. Our first action is to gain as many signatures as we can from supporters, requesting an official fan forum that Stefan Rupp attends. We will write that letter and send the signatures to Stefan Rupp directly, by recorded delivery.
Questions – Is the club officially up for sale? What value are you looking to gain for the club? Are you fully aware of how the club is being run at the moment? Do you have complete faith in Ryan Sparks?
The key here is twofold, if Stefan Rupp does not respond then we get our answer about his custodianship of our club. We would like to send a pack with over 2,000 signatures if we can. Can he afford to ignore 2,000 fans? If he does respond and agrees to attend a forum then our supporters can ask some of those questions above and more. We will post a link to an electronic form later which will be classed as an electronic signature. We need volunteers to come forward and collect physical signatures at games as we can’t do something like this ourselves,
The next action is a major one, which is the first of many (potentially). A strategic walkout at 19 minutes and 03 seconds of a game. We are asking fans to leave their seats, clapping and singing City till I die as leaving. Then everyone to support our businesses locally such as North Parade etc..
We would like to do this at the Wimbledon game this Saturday but it could be too soon. The visual effect of fans leaving the ground in such large numbers will get the attention of local and national media, and we will support this with social media to national press and other media institutions, including German media channels.
The other action we are considering is last-minute season tickets. We have many fans who do not wish to renew their season ticket this coming season and then we have many fans who wish to renew as normal. We are asking that everyone should withhold their renewal until one week before the season ticket deadline. This approach provides something for every fan. The reason this is so effective is because Stefan Rupp will be being briefed on season ticket sales, if numbers are low then maybe questions will be asked. The main thing it does deliver is that the power is within the supporter’s hands.
We will be looking to organise a Discord Room which will be available to members and will provide a real-time messaging environment, real-time coordination, and an opportunity to share documentation, images and responses from the club. We will announce via our social channels when this is ready.
We also intend to hold another forum in approximately four to six weeks. This will be a follow-up forum, an action meeting to discuss more in detail about steps we can take. We will try to identify a date that is suitable and a venue.
These are starting actions but we need our supporters to come forward and work with us.
The Steering Group
We need more supporters to come and join us on our steering group. We want people who are passionate about the club to help us coordinate the actions we take, help raise the profile of our group and put together the things our supporters need. If you would like to get involved and help us become something that our supporters back and have trust in then then please contact us. Membership management, research, social monitoring for info from the club, the list is endless.
We know that we cannot be all things, and some supporters will not be happy with the actions we have outlined. We know how frustrating things can be where Bradford City are concerned. We cannot engage with any action that is deemed illegal and could carry point deductions and fines. We don’t think this will achieve anything. However, visual disruption utilising the size of our fanbase can be an effective tool for change. We are willing to look at other forms of action, and to collaborate with different social channels and individuals. We hope you will all support us, and look forward to talking with more of you over the coming weeks and months.
Steve Hamilton
Chair – Bradford Independent Fans Group