Tickety Tock!

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 11/10/2007

My article Tick Tock has brought some response. Some have been critical, some have been complimentary and others have been very encouraging in that fans are beginning to understand that nothing can be achieved if we don't stand together and work with, not against, the club.

"Billo's article was just another advert for the trust" I cannot see anything that the fans can achieve if they do not work together to decide what their aims are and what they hope to achieve, if they do not have a vehicle that brings them together.

That vehicle is now in situ. It is the Grimsby Town Supporters Trust. It is the only supporters group that the club recognise as being valid representatives of the Grimsby Town fans and supporters and the only group they support, and support it they do.

So whenever we, the fans, talk about what we can do, the trust should always take an active part. So if it appears I am only trying to advertise the trust, so be it. Because the trust is our future, whether you believe it or not.

Let me point something out. The Fishy has a reasonably good working relationship with the club. I talk to John Fenty across the net. We support whatever the club is doing. As we should, seeing as we are a fans site.

But if we were to ask JF to call a fans forum or some sort of meeting with the fans, we would be lucky if he agreed. But if the trust asks, it would happen.

Because the trust is the fans. It is our trust. We are it. So a request by the trust is seen as a request by the fans and supporters. This means the trust has pull and some influence. Is that not what we have been demanding over the last 50 years or so? A voice in the club.

Now we have it, we have to be a part of it. Otherwise we are just wasting our time.

"Billo has not said anything new we didn't already know" If that is the case, then what have you done about it in the past? What steps have you taken to address the problems we may have to face in the future?

I may repeat all I have said again and again and again, until someone sees the light and realises, that we cannot sit on our bums waiting for someone else to do something.

We have done that too many times in the past.

I note here that I have just received the news that Dave Otter, chairman of GTST, has requested a fans forum.

That is good news but could be a complete waste of time unless there is an agreed agenda and a set objective.

I made three suggestions in my previous article.