Stronger together

Families work hard to celebrate Christmas together. At the Canaries Trust we know that fan unity is everything whatever the time of year. In this piece, Laurie Egan, the Trust's Treasurer, talks about how we are all stronger together:

When published in October there was widespread vehement opposition to the Stadium Development proposals. The Supporter Panel felt so strongly about how they’d been treated they said ‘…we care deeply about the club and its supporters. We want to contribute meaningfully, not just react to decisions already made… we’re committed to engaging constructively with all topics, including the stadium improvements... (we) ask for accountability moving forward.’

At the Trust we felt deeply disappointed too. The implication that the Club had consulted ourselves and the Supporters Panel on the proposals made us an easy target. This was later clarified but the damage had been done. At the Trust we're all volunteers and we do most of our work in the background. We work hard not to personalise issues, and we try to treat every individual with respect. For us quiet discussion, respecting confidentiality rather than public posturing works best.

Being a membership group, we work on behalf of groups of fans rather than individual fan issues. The recently launched Mobility Bus scheme is a clear example of this.

We’re often told we don’t shout loudly enough or often enough. It’s difficult to move issues towards resolution when you’re shouting, and if you’re always shouting it’s difficult for others to distinguish which issue really matters. We will and we do shout but only when we believe we have no other option. Since I joined the board in 2020 the only time we really shouted was in 2021 with the BK8 issue.

At the AGM Richard Ressler said “….how we did communicate [on Stadium Development] was not to the standard we expect," Mark Attanasio added. "We just need to do better, and we will do better next time. I promise everybody that… We want to be more visible."

The Canaries Trust and Supporters Panel are determined to engage positively over the contentious detail of the stadium development. Now, more than ever, we call for unity from all parts of our great club: supporters, fan groups, club staff, players, executives, directors, and owners. We know, as our new head coach Philippe Clement is beginning to demonstrate, that with all great teams, we are stronger together.