Notice is hereby given to all members that the Annual General Meeting of Partick Thistle Supporters Association (t/a The Jags Trust)
will be held in the Disabled Supporters Association Room*, Jackie Husband Stand, Firhill on Saturday 6 January 2024 at 12:30 – 13:30.
(*Access the DSA room via front door of the Jackie Husband Stand, turn left at the top of the stairs and walk to end of the corridor).
The use of pyrotechnics at Scottish football matches is on the rise. The number of incidents, and the number of pyro devices being used, is increasing. The “Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill” that was introduced this summer means that every one of these incidents is a crime, and that every supporter bringing a pyro device into a stadium is breaking the law.
But more important than criminality, pyro puts supporters at risk. Some of these devices burn at over 1000°C and can cause serious injury. The smoke produced can be harmful, particularly to people with respiratory illnesses or conditions. The noise and light from pyros can cause temporary damage to eyesight or hearing.
These devices are illegal and dangerous, and the legislation in Scotland effectively sets up a “zero tolerance” environment. But without the resources to identify and arrest those responsible for pyro use, this legislation has no chance of being effective. As a result, those using pyro move into the most congested parts of our stadiums, where they are least likely to be caught but where the risk of harm is highest. Instead of disposing of their pyro devices safely, they’re often thrown onto the pitch – where they could injure players, damage the grass, or disrupt the game… if they get that far. Otherwise they land in the middle of the stand, most likely hitting fellow supporters.
The current legislation, in the absence of sufficient resources to police it, makes the problem worse rather than better, and puts every one of us at risk.
In our view, four things are required if we are to keep each other safe:
1. Everyone involved in football – including the police and government – needs to accept that “zero pyro” is not a realistic possibility. If these devices exist, they will be used. The focus should be on minimising their use, and reducing the likelihood of harm – this will not be easy or cheap, and will increase stewarding/policing costs. Clubs will need support (with costs of staffing and equipment/facilities) if they are to be held responsible for close monitoring and intervention to implement this legislation.
2. Supporters need to speak up, and speak out. If you see someone about to use pyro in the middle of the stand, take action. Let them know that these devices are not designed to be used in a crowded area. Don’t give them the anonymity of being part of a crowd – they should be held responsible for their actions, rather than their club and the whole support being punished.
3. Changing fan behaviour is a gradual process, and is most effective through dialogue. Respectful, open, trusting conversations are required, which recognise that most fans using pyro do so because they want to support their club, and want to help create a great atmosphere. We need to help them do that in ways that do not put themselves, their fellow fans, or their clubs at risk.
4. We need to learn from elsewhere – Scotland is not the only country where pyro is used! Un-controlled use of pyro is illegal almost everywhere, and there are different approaches to its use in football – some are more effective than others. We should look closely at how countries like Norway, Austria and France deal with this problem. Each has experimented with permits / exemptions that allow pyro to be used at football matches with minimal risk – with advance agreement about what will be used when, where, and by who.
As with many things in life, pyro is inherently dangerous, but we can’t simply wish it (or legislate it) away.
Notice is hereby given to all members that due to unforeseen circumstances the Annual General Meeting of Partick Thistle Supporters Association (t/a The Jags Trust), scheduled for Monday 11 September 2023 in the Community Central Halls, has been cancelled.
Details of the rescheduled meeting will be circulated to all members in due course.
Notice is hereby given to all members the Annual General Meeting of Partick Thistle Supporters Association (T/A The Jags Trust) will be held in the Blythswood Room, Community Central Hall, 292 - 316 Maryhill Rd, Glasgow G20 7YE on Monday 11 September 2023 at 7:30pm - 9pm.
Looking forward your support of The Team on the park is the priority and the goal is Fan Ownership for Partick Thistle, supporters being the majority shareholder in the company.
The close season has only a few weeks left.
We now know which players have left with our good wishes; who has renewed their contract which is great news and now Kris Doolan has secured and named a couple of new players.
A pre-season visit to Kelty Hearts on 4th July 2023, 7:45pm at New Central Park will let us all have a look at the shape of the Thistle Team.
The last few weeks have given supporters the opportunity to renew their season tickets. You’re reminded it’s time to join or renew your membership of The Jags Trust.
Pay by BACS transfer to:
Partick Thistle Supporters Association t/a The Jags Trust
Sort code: 80-83-88 Account Number: 00665537
The form is available on the website www.thejagstrust.com
The Jags Trust thanks all our members for their continued support through the payment of their small annual membership fee and the purchasing of red and yellow goods advertised on the website.
Hope you all noticed the recent statement from PTFC Trust.
PTFC Trust has published the “PTFC Trust Deed Variation” document and wants to hear from as many beneficiaries/supporters as possible via an indicative vote.
Please check you have received the email and complete the survey.
The purpose of the PTFC Trust is to act as the conduit between fans, as major shareholders, and the Board of Directors of Partick Thistle Football Club, and ultimately as guardians of the Club. As the conduit, the role is to ensure that communication between fans and the club, is as efficient, as honest and open as can be.
The original Trust Deeds can be read alongside the Deed of Variation of PTFC Trust at http://www.ptfctrust.com.downloads/ Please email contact@ptfctrust.com with any feedback.
The main changes are as follows:
Moving from 5 trustees to a minimum of 2, namely The Jags Foundation and The Jags Trust.
This means that any full member of either is automatically a beneficiary of the PTFC Trust and can have a vote on major decisions such as sale of the ground or the sale of any shares owned by the Trust.
The amendment to include all season ticket holders over 16 years old and also members of the 71 Club as beneficiaries of the Trust.
Happy New Season!
Morag, Chairperson PTSA t/a The Jags Trust
We have always said that there can never be a second “Save The Jags” campaign but, regrettably, we seem to be again facing oblivion and in need of rescuing.
Although the immediate, and huge, problems need to be addressed, there are questions that have to be asked, and answered, about how this situation came about.
The extraordinary good fortune of a decent and genuine man, offered Thistle a bright future off the park, with the consequent potential to develop on the field of play.
Instead we find ourselves learning that only loans from directors and a favourable draw in the Scottish Cup, got us to the end of a season which, miraculously, almost took us back into the Premiership.
The crushing disappointment of losing out on promotion has now been followed by the revelations that, once again, our very existence is in doubt.
In a way, some of this was “old news” to shareholders, The Jags Trust and The Jags Foundation office bearers attending the November 2022 Club AGM.
The accounts which were presented by the then Club Board and Accountants were vigorously and vociferously questioned by those present.
The answers from the top table, Club accountants; Club CEO; Club Chairperson and Club Directors, to the questions put from the floor were unsatisfactory and they appeared uncomfortable when faced with this robust scrutiny.
It was unheard of that the football club’s business section of the AGM to ever last more than a few minutes. In fact, the meeting took over 90 minutes due to the probing of those shareholders/supporters present seeking to confirm that their club was on a financially stable footing.
Whatever funds the then Club Directors expected to “maybe/probably come in” clearly did not materialise and we now face a £280K deficit. One which would have been even more had losses not been offset against some good fortune – but you don’t run businesses by relying on good fortune!
Let me paraphrase the final question asked from floor “If there are so many accountants on the Club Board how could you not see the hole in the finances and let this happen”. The question went unanswered and the meeting was closed.
Subsequently, less than two weeks after AGM, seven of the eight directors resigned!
The Club Statement of 7 June 2023 clearly highlights the hole in the accounts and the massive implications it will have on our ambitions and perhaps our very survival.
We are all well aware of the cost of living pressure on all our back pockets and this situation, plus the gap in the club’s finances does not provide a stable footing for Partick Thistle.
All football clubs, and particularly those in Fan Ownership, rely on a break-even budget or a generous benefactor.
We had that generous benefactor, indeed more generous than we could have dreamt of. So how this situation came about is a matter which needs to be probed and answers sought by way of a forensic audit of club finances and a clarity about the terms of Colin Weir’s bequest.
What, sadly, is already crystal clear is the fact that we are unlikely to be able to offer terms to players of the calibre required to mount another challenge and that Kris Doolan has been sold a hospital pass!
The club legend surpassed all expectations as he galvanised the team and took us to the very brink of the promised land. It now seems that, had we overcome that final hurdle, even that might have been insufficient to stabilise finances at Firhill.
If, as many of us fear, we are unable to assemble or retain a competitive squad for 23-24, we must avoid turning against Kris and his management team when results go against us.
Justifiable fury will be generated in the fan base, but it needs to be directed at the right targets – and it needs to be secondary to doing everything we can to sustain our club.
The Jags Trust thanks all our members for their continued support through the payment of their small annual membership fee and the purchasing of red and yellow goods advertised on the website.
We remind you that it is never too late to join or renew your membership. The form is available on the website www.thejagstrust.com or pay by BACS transfer to:
Partick Thistle Supporters Association t/a The Jags Trust
Sort code: 80-83-88 Account Number: 00665537
Season 2023-24 will be tough for us all, but your support of The Team on the park is the priority for The Jags Trust membership.
The Jags Trust, before and since Covid, has been part of the Working Group with other Thistle supporters’ groups, including The Jags Foundation and representatives of the majority shareholders PTFC Trust. The goal was Fan Ownership for Partick Thistle, supporters being the majority shareholder in the company.
That Working Group must reconvene, with the information now available in the public domain, and refocus on our efforts to secure the future of the football club.
Proposal from The Working Group to The PTFC Trust Trustees
What follows is the proposal arising from the working group consideration and consultation over recent weeks. This is provided for you to consider as a trustee group, and we look forward to hearing of the conclusions of your deliberations. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide this to you for consideration.
Firstly, an explainer of abbreviations :
TJF – TJF 1876 Limited t/a The Jags Foundation
PTFC - The Partick Thistle Football Club Limited
The Jags Trust – The Partick Thistle Football Supporters Association t/a The Jags Trust
The Background .
The shares rest in the Trust; it will be expensive and impractical to now move those. .
Two fans organisations already exist. .
It is widely accepted that a trust (a vehicle for holding assets) is not the best vehicle for delivering dynamic fan ownership. .
We believe there is a method to efficiently move from where we are to a unified position that recognises the best parts of what everyone has achieved and does not require re-invention of the wheel. .
The unity has been apparent in recent weeks with TJF funding and co-crediting the Trust in various initiatives, and open lines of communication between both. TJF are looking forward and wish to pull everyone together; this is demonstrable by actions as much as words.
Our Proposed Solution
Firstly, with regards to the Trust, we would suggest that the Trust Deed is varied in the following ways :
1. Add two corporate trustees, namely TJF, and The Jags Trust. (See below)
2. Recognising that the Trust becomes a passive holder of shares, which also protects the asset similar to a Holding company.
3. Redefine beneficiaries as season ticket holders, members of TJF, and members of The Jags Trust. At the same time, make a special interest member class in TJF by amending articles so democracy can be delivered to beneficiaries through existing infrastructures. In addition, with agreement of The Jags Trust, we can similarly add a membership class for their members if they wish on the same basis. The Jags Trust will also explore a ‘beneficiaries’ class in their articles.
4. Make provision for the current PTFC Trust trustees to step away at such time that they are confident and comfortable that everything is operating as it ought to. Therefore ultimately the Trust would have two trustees, namely the two largest fans organisations, The Jags Trust, and The Jags Foundation. As both represent fans, we are confident all future trust decisions will be taken in unison (another great sign of the aligned fan base this would deliver) between the respective Boards at the time. However, in the event of a disagreement, this would be democratically decided by the fanbase by a polling of beneficiaries.
5. Add a clause to Trust deed that mirrors article 42 in the Articles of Association of TJF. Namely, compelling certain actions (selling stadium or part thereof) to require a beneficiary vote with 75% majority vote.
It is our view that the corporate trustees INCREASE protections, in that :
. as trustees, there is a fiduciary duty to beneficiaries; .
as corporate boards, there is a fiduciary duty to members; .
as boards, there will be multiple democratic voices in the arriving at the view of either corporate trustee;
. as trustees, there needs unanimity between the two fan organisations.
These are much greater levels of responsibility and co-operation that required by individual trustees.
Under this proposal, until such time as the Trustees are comfortable, they would of course remain in control with 5 votes, to the 2 of the fans organisations giving them continuing control until they see fit. So to be clear, there would initially be 7 trustees, reducing to 2. We believe from consultation that some fans will expect to see a backstop date for the existing trustees involvement. In recognition of co-operation and working together and the trust that is being built, TJF can commit to defend the need for there not to be a backstop date, on the basis that the thought is you will step away ‘when comfortable’. It may make this less criticised though to have one, even if some considerable time into the future, and we make no demand on this but ask the trustees to consider the optics.
In respect of timing, we believe that the fans organisations should put their articles into order as soon as possible, and the trust deed should be amended on a similar timeline. It seems that the sensible way to populate the special interest membership classes of one or both organisations would be at season ticket renewal time, when renewers could be asked whether they wanted included in TJF, The Jags Trust, neither, or both.
TJF will fund the revision of the Trust Deed to adopt agreed changes.
Why These Fans Organisations?
TJF currently :
. Has funds .
Is income-generating .
Is engaged and has dialogue with members .
Is the largest membership organisation in history of PTFC .
Has transparency and democracy at its heart .
Has the infrastructure to deliver what is required .
Already has elections due for 2023; these could be expanded/altered to add further representation from other groups (we also have ability to co-opt under current articles a further 3 board members, perhaps from representative groups in this Working Group for example. As an example we can specify a specific Equality and Diversity Director elected separately and in a ringfenced way from the other Board positions.
To add another (competing) layer of democracy will, we believe be confusing to fans, will cause delays, and is unnecessary.
The Jags Trust similarly has much of the above, and the trust of a section of the support.
Conclusion
We believe this solution :
1. Recognises PTFC Trust as the owner of the shares and the job the trustees have done delivering this.
2. Recognises The Jags Trust’s importance in our history.
3. Recognises the weight of numbers of TJF, and its ability to deliver fundraising, democracy, engagement and dialogue, and a functioning infrastructure rapidly.
4. Binds everyone into truly working together, whilst allowing the Trustees time to evaluate that this is a solution which works for all.
5. Is unique to our set of circumstances, recognising the past, the current and the best chance for a unified future, but allows TJF and The Jags Trust to maintain their independence and individuality.
6. Brings collective responsibility, and representation of members to the heart of the Trust for the future, as it will not be represented by individuals but the boards which they elect. This will also provide stability.
7. Will need effective communication to the fanbase, and unified support by all parties being seen to pull together.
