One of the most inglorious episodes connected to Franchise customers (and being covered by popular request) was the abortive setting up of a supporter's Trust. Normally you'd think this was something to be applauded at any football club, but, as we shall see, in this instance it was actually just an opportunity for egos to be inflated, and for money and time to be wasted.
Quite why in 2004 certain Franchise customers felt they should establish a Trust (as specified by Supporters Direct, these should be an Industrial and Provident Society - http://www.supporters-direct.org/page.asp?p=2112 ) is something of a mystery, but at the time there was lots of talk that suggested it was based on nothing more than the fact that Wimbledon had one and so they wanted one too.
Now, the problem with that is that as far as SD were concerned, they had already handed over public funds once to start a supporters' trust for this particular club as defined by the FA - The Dons Trust. So their hands were tied, because Franchise continued to claim to be the continuation of Wimbledon FC and SD simply weren't allowed to help fund a second Trust at the same club. (Publically funded bodies have strict requirements to meet and SD felt it had no choice in this matter.) That, of course, was a huge problem for Franchise customers, because either they had to establish that Franchise was a new club with no connection to Wimbledon or they had to stick to the ridiculous continuation idea and set up a Trust for themselves without SD's help.
http://www.wisa.org.uk/cgi/l/articles/index.cgi?action=show&id=457
The MKSA open letter referred to in the link above is just one of the documents missing from their own lies by omission (http://www.mkdsa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=234&Itemid=13), as is any other mention of 'Trust in MK' in the entire set of documents, other than an incidental mention in the 2006 Accord. Curiously, the chariman of the MKSA, John Brockwell, also signed the open letter and helped set up 'Trust in MK', but apparently doesn't see fit to mention it in his own association's claimed 'facts of the move' - or anywhere else for that matter. Indeed, the more you look at the MKSA's 'facts of the move', the more obvious it becomes what a distorted piece of nasty propaganda it actually is. These aren't innocent omissions of documents they don't have, these are clearly deliberate omissions of documents they don't want remembered, which makes their claim to be presenting 'facts' entirely empty.
The row about SD funding and helping a Franchise Trust even made it as far as parliament. The local MP, Phyllis Starkey, wasted her time and parliament's with this:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo050324/debtext/50324-21.htm
It didn't change anything, of course, because SD was correctly applying its rules, but it didn't stop Starkey, Brockwell and others from stamping their feet and trying to get their own way.
Eventually, money was raised by Franchise customers (about £2,000 if I recall correctly) to establish a Trust and it was duly done. I say eventually, because it was still being dragged out in late 2005:
http://z13.invisionfree.com/MKDSA/ar/t41.htm
'Trust in MK' eventually launched though... it had a website... it had a board... it started to get people to pay for membership... and then... nothing. If you look on the internet now, it is hard to find any trace that it even existed. It is as if those involved have tried to wipe it from existence. And yet this was something deemed so important that they took the matter to parliament!
Where did the money go? Were Financial Services Authority rules for IPSs kept to? (There's a lot of them... http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Doing/small_firms/MSR/Societies/index.shtml) The last mention of it seen on any Franchise forum involved lots of denial of involvement and lots of sweeping things under the rug, but that too has disappeared.
'Trust in MK'? Turns out that was as complete an oxymoron as you could wish to see. I wouldn't trust anyone involved as far as I could kick them.
Quite why in 2004 certain Franchise customers felt they should establish a Trust (as specified by Supporters Direct, these should be an Industrial and Provident Society - http://www.supporters-direct.org/page.asp?p=2112 ) is something of a mystery, but at the time there was lots of talk that suggested it was based on nothing more than the fact that Wimbledon had one and so they wanted one too.
Now, the problem with that is that as far as SD were concerned, they had already handed over public funds once to start a supporters' trust for this particular club as defined by the FA - The Dons Trust. So their hands were tied, because Franchise continued to claim to be the continuation of Wimbledon FC and SD simply weren't allowed to help fund a second Trust at the same club. (Publically funded bodies have strict requirements to meet and SD felt it had no choice in this matter.) That, of course, was a huge problem for Franchise customers, because either they had to establish that Franchise was a new club with no connection to Wimbledon or they had to stick to the ridiculous continuation idea and set up a Trust for themselves without SD's help.
http://www.wisa.org.uk/cgi/l/articles/index.cgi?action=show&id=457
The MKSA open letter referred to in the link above is just one of the documents missing from their own lies by omission (http://www.mkdsa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=234&Itemid=13), as is any other mention of 'Trust in MK' in the entire set of documents, other than an incidental mention in the 2006 Accord. Curiously, the chariman of the MKSA, John Brockwell, also signed the open letter and helped set up 'Trust in MK', but apparently doesn't see fit to mention it in his own association's claimed 'facts of the move' - or anywhere else for that matter. Indeed, the more you look at the MKSA's 'facts of the move', the more obvious it becomes what a distorted piece of nasty propaganda it actually is. These aren't innocent omissions of documents they don't have, these are clearly deliberate omissions of documents they don't want remembered, which makes their claim to be presenting 'facts' entirely empty.
The row about SD funding and helping a Franchise Trust even made it as far as parliament. The local MP, Phyllis Starkey, wasted her time and parliament's with this:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/vo050324/debtext/50324-21.htm
It didn't change anything, of course, because SD was correctly applying its rules, but it didn't stop Starkey, Brockwell and others from stamping their feet and trying to get their own way.
Eventually, money was raised by Franchise customers (about £2,000 if I recall correctly) to establish a Trust and it was duly done. I say eventually, because it was still being dragged out in late 2005:
http://z13.invisionfree.com/MKDSA/ar/t41.htm
'Trust in MK' eventually launched though... it had a website... it had a board... it started to get people to pay for membership... and then... nothing. If you look on the internet now, it is hard to find any trace that it even existed. It is as if those involved have tried to wipe it from existence. And yet this was something deemed so important that they took the matter to parliament!
Where did the money go? Were Financial Services Authority rules for IPSs kept to? (There's a lot of them... http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Doing/small_firms/MSR/Societies/index.shtml) The last mention of it seen on any Franchise forum involved lots of denial of involvement and lots of sweeping things under the rug, but that too has disappeared.
'Trust in MK'? Turns out that was as complete an oxymoron as you could wish to see. I wouldn't trust anyone involved as far as I could kick them.
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