Last weeks' OSC meet

[maccawozzagod]

just to bring you all up to date a bit, this was posted last week on the Ultras's site<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px" width="100%"> </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=postbody colSpan=2>right well anyway, it was 7pm after all. Thank you all for your efforts those who made it. Hold on that'll be Spud and Bagpuss then (apologies accepted Kipax). We turned up late thinking it was a 7:30pm kick off. Got a beer, lit a fag then sat down and got a welcome to the meet offa the old boys. Talk, talk, talk about stuff such as filling us in on what we had missed. Eight seconds later we were about ready to call any further business then off we tootle. Somebody raised the question 'how come the Ultras can organise these big banners but they dont do any fundraisers?' I told them the answer and then explained that was why I was there too, to obtain access to fundraised money with a view to speculate to accumulate and all that.


Talk, talk talk, next point was why dont we (the OSC) fundraise objecctively to pay for the build of some sort of bar on the Clayton End? Point met with some element of that'd be good cos we (the OSC) could then use them funds (the bar takings) to good effect.

Good idea, but lacking from the point of view that the club WILL build something because they are losing too much money over the lack of bar takings. Mick, the sTEWARD of the clubhouse, then informed us that there are plans submitted to the club (from he, and Diane the Stewardess) to implement door staff so that, via a hand stamp sort of thing, people can still use the clubhouse BEFORE a game. There is nothing anybody can do about half time.

'Any other business'

I raised the points that many fans avoid the OSC because a) un-informative b) folk hate the format, c) lack of big scale thinking. Well what have you got Rob? I presented the Open/Fun Day idea and this was met with nods of approval from all present (15). People proceeded to talk amongst themselves or direct their talk at me or Simon, Malcolm issued a request for all ideas to please go through the chair to keep some sort of order. I was the asked how the Ultras account for their money and I told them that it was done loosely by Loweiy on a trust basis because that is the only way we can function. Elaborate, elaborate, elaborate, Malcom then told us that we the first Ultras to the meet since Jase and Bubs told them that we are forming the Ultras and we wish to work hand in hand. I re-iterated that message and then told them that through at least me, there will be more communication and future collaberation.


The open day was greeted with excitement, they want something to get their teeth into rather than the mundane usual tripe. I left that point at I am speaking with LCC and the local police at the moment (I;m not but I will in the next 7 days) and we are awaiting confirmation. No further dialogue was needed as it is futile at the mo because a) we have no confirmed date, and b) there WILL BE A NEW COMMITTEE NEXT MONTH.

Which brings me to my next point, the current Chairman of The OSC, has announced that he and others are stepping down at the next meeting (the AGM). Positions up for grabs are Chairman, Vice-chairman and Secretary. We absolutley need to flood the place next month and guarantee that the right people are put in place. Other than me, Spud and Bagpuss there were 12 people present, so we need 13 (pro-rata) to force the vote. We can take this club to the place where it deserves to be. I absolutley think that the people who are known to the general crowd have to be there next month and have to be there as often as possible in the future because they have ideas and thoughts beyond the xtreme (normal - some of the rest of the ideas such as mine are sometimes extreme - biggest flag in the world anybody?). Jason, Loweiy, Plum, Bubs, Cammy, Kipax and Bottletop I think are essential. People, who in the past or the present have tried to make a difference - and with a large degree of success in many parts, have to be there at the birth of the new OSC.

I d'idn't get involved in slagging off because Malc had already indicated his willingness to step down (gracefully before the push?) but the main places where the club has to change are:

1/ transparency and openess - all meetings should be posted on the general interwebbery and minutes should be posted. Anybody who is a member has a right to know what is going on. Anybody who isn't a member has a right to know whats going on because othewise why or how would they get interested.

2/ appeal - the club and the meetings has to appeal to the public. We all like to gossip about the club and put a view foward, that is the beauty of football - we are all experts on tactics, selection and how to run a club; but nobody likes to listen to other people drone on. The new chairman has to have the ability and the respect to draw **** to a conclusion. Tonight we talked for ten minutes about the floodlights. What? we have no jurisdiction, interest or clout with regards to the lights. End of. Move along nothing to see here. We need to introduce 'speed meeting',. Not necessarily get it over wi' as quick as poss, but talk about more relevant stuff that is something other than gossip or ****e.

3/ media - has got to be used more and to our advantage. The papers and the radio need to get hold of anything that we do. Will they do it themselves? no. We need to tell em, its easy. They ar crying out for anything to tell and if its got the Stanley name behind it then so much the better.

4/ Think big - the OSC has always done the same old tired format every year because it is all they know and they know how to go about it. No problem with that, but its boring, its under populated and under funded. Yes there is room for kids christmas parties and end of season bashes. But for ****s sake lets do that as a social club committee maybe? Yes, its been done before, but those people still had to run the OSC as well so the impetus was lost IMHO. Old ideas rehashed are sometimes the better ones.



Out of the people present tonight Me, Spud, Bagpuss, Sparkie and the UK Cowboy were all in agreeance on many of the issues raised or knocked. There is room there for growth. The OSC nows has five dissenters in its ranks and most of the older end that were present begrudgingly nodded their heads at things that were said. They were silently impressed.

There is room for the Ultras and the OSC to co-exist by being separate entities but frequented and run by the same people. I've said it before, imagine if we could use our ideas and their money and credence for a **** off speculate to accumulate type initiative.

Whilst I'm on the subject, Jase, Sparkie told me to tell you that she needs to know how much material you need, and you need to talk to her on wednesday. Not having previously known that she can get cheap material, I quickly broached the old subject of 'the worlds biggest flag!' I quickly informed her of the rough dimensions as I remembered them 565m x 300m ish. That kind of quantity would come in at about a pound a yard (metre) at tops. I'm still sure that we could go way down from that and go for absolute ****e material, stuck together with blue tack. We could get sponsorship to go a long way to buying it, get in The Guiness Book, the Daily's, on Granada News etc and then E-bay 'buy a bit of the Official Worlds biggest flag' at a pound a yard. Exposure done for free, few quid made for the pot and everybodys' a winner.

We and the OSC, or preferably both as the same entity, need to think big from now on. This is ASFCs' big chance but on the pitch they are blowing it, the commercial side is blowing it and up to press the OSC is blowing it. Can we get hold of the wheel and steer this ship ashore?.

Come on everybody on here, we need to fuking ride this pony in and sort it out. THERE IS ROOM FOR BOTH if you have the time or the inclination, but we cannot let the club die on its arse just because we dont like to have a 'club format'. Bring your ideas to the table and see them through under both banners.

If nobody better (more suitable) comes forward then I will run for chairman myself. I have already stated that I would hope somebody with a bit more seniority, age, clout or respectability would come forward, but if they dont then it becomes my project. Please help me out and please back this move. It is designed to try and win back the OSC to a more Ultra ethos of 'by the fans for the fans'. It will be as Ultra as I can make it but obviously **** like the vote and the minutes kinda have to stay. BUt the minutes could be typed up and presented to all members present at the next meet, or posted out after every meet to EVERY member. Therefore no need to clarify what happened a month ago and waste another 10 minutes.


Anyways, enough drunken rambling. Please post positively and get thinking about how you think the OSC should move forward.

_________________</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>