Supporters trust seeks Tranmere fans’ views

Aug 22 2007 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

A PROMINENT supporters group will be asking fans to map out a way forward for Tranmere Rovers over a series of forums across the Wirral next month.

The Tranmere and Wirral Football Supporters Trust want to put together a blueprint for the future of the club, based upon the concerns, priorities and suggestions of the paying customers at Prenton Park.

Then they intend to pass on their business and football plan to Tranmere chairman Lorraine Rogers, for consideration by the club’s board of directors.

The Trust believes Rovers will have to find local solutions to their problems at the time when the professional game in England is becoming increasingly polarised between a wealthy group of Premiership clubs and the rest. They hope Tranmere will consider their views. Trust chairman Ben Harrison said: “This is about the Trust and the supporters trying to assist the club.”

The informal meetings will be held at three pubs on Thursday nights in September, each starting at 8pm.

The first will be at the Crown and Cushion in Market Street, Birkenhead town centre, on September 6.

The second will be at the Lady Hamilton in Little Neston on September 20. The third will be at the George in Bebington on September 27.

The meetings will be informal with no set agendas or microphones. Harrison says the principal objective is to harvest the views of supporters. Further meetings may be arranged if there is sufficient demand.

Harrison said: “I believe fans understand what is happening to football the moment.”

“The game is being pulled apart by TV money. A small number of clubs in the Premiership are getting very much richer while the majority outside struggle to make ends meet,” he added.

“The Premiership may have agreed to pass on a modest slice of their TV wealth to the Football League this summer but very little of that is going to find its way down to the clubs in Leagues One and Two.

“It is concern among many fans that we are beginning to see the effects of the divide in the form of falling gates outside the Premiership and signs of supporter apathy across the country.”

The Trust believes that closer links to supporters and to the local community offer the best way forward for smaller clubs like Tranmere.

Rovers have been recording trading losses of more than £1million a year in recent seasons and hope to balance the books with the revenue from cup runs and player sales. However they have not made any signifi-cant player sales since Ryan Taylor and Iain Hume departed in the summer of 2005 and have not progressed beyond the second round of the two major cup competitions since 2004.

Meanwhile home gates dropped by an average of 2,000 over the last two seasons. Rovers have debts of around £6m to controlling shareholder Peter Johnson.

Harrison added: “The Trust was originally formed to find a way of taking over the club. But we are here to help and support the club as well. That is what we are trying to do with this initiative.”

Brighton have a fitness doubts over influential skipper Dean Hammond for their visit to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

Albion will leave a decision on the midfielder as late as possible. Hammond suffered a gash to the outside of his right knee during Brighton’s 2-1 home win over Northampton last weekend. He had several stitches in the wound and is on crutches.

The Seagulls have often struggled without Hammond’s driving inspiration. They won only one of nine games he missed last season.