Peter Steward

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Norwich City Blog Entry No 10

A number of people have in recent weeks questioned the validity of the Supporters’ Consultative Group, particularly in the light of a meeting between them and the club at the time of the proposed investment by Peter Cullum.

This meeting has been referred to in some circles as a “cosy chat where only a “select group of superfans are allowed to access the club secrets.”

Other comments have pointed out that the SCG is a group of “unelected supporters who are supposed to represent their fellow fans”

So I thought I would use this latest column to comment on some of these points.

It is not my intention to comment on the actual investment situation, primarily because I do not know the facts as I wasn’t at the so called “select meeting” due to having centre court tickets for Wimbledon on that day.

A fellow member of the SCG has already made an important point, that the group is an “effective cross section of supporters who care strongly about the club.”

Certainly I do not see myself as any kind of superfan. I could claim to be a long term fan, but that’s a different category entirely. That’s a category where you care deeply about the club and what happens to it.

Let me start by debunking the myth that the SCG is made up of club lackeys who have had their own minds brainwashed by being in the presence of club officials. This is just not true.

SCG meetings are open and honest. Nobody is there to simply “tow the party line.” We are not management puppets. We are there genuinely to represent the views of fans.

Of course representing the views of all the fans is an impossibility. We can only ever hope to express a cross section of comments. SCG meetings are certainly not a congratulatory pat on the back group. Yes we are given a real insight into the running of the club and that helps us to get a balanced view of many situations – something that is very necessary. Football is an emotive subject and, as with any walk of life, things aren’t just black and white, there are many shades of grey (something I have previously commented on).

I have made a number of uncomfortable points to the meetings in my short time on the SCG and criticised a number of aspects of club life. To their credit both chairman Roger Munby and Chief Executive Neil Doncaster have listened and either agreed or refuted my points. I believe that they have never been anything less than honest and open.

I keep my ears open when talking to supporters and am happy to bring matters before the meeting if I genuinely believe that there is a specific trend or problem amongst fans. That is surely exactly what we are there for. During the dark days of last season we were asked what the fans views of the Peter Grant situation were and we were able to tell the club that the groundswell of opinion was turning against the manager – as indeed it was and as indeed they probably already knew.

The SCG can perform the function of providing a reality check and act as a pressure group for the club. There are other club led meetings where larger numbers of fans are given the opportunity to make comments in roadshow style productions. Put everything together and fans are kept pretty much up to date with situations in as honest a way as is possible.

I for one hope to continue to fulfil the SCG role of making the club aware of the feeling of fans and the groundswell of opinion from all areas of the ground.

In my next column I will tell you about a very interesting conversation I had recently with one fan who believes that we should stay in the Championship and not get involved in the financial lottery of the Premiership.