CUSG meeting summary - remote meeting via Zoom, 23 January 2023
Attendance – John Kukuc (Chair), Terry McCarthy (London Branch), Dan Maclennan (CUOSC), Simon Clarkson (SLO), Alastair Woodcock (CUOSC), Keith Elliott (CUSAT), Keith Ward (Scottish Supporter), Andy Hall, Amy Nixon, Nigel Clibbens (CUFC)
Apologies – Nigel Davidson (EDI Rep/CUOSC), Matt Spooner (CUOSC), Gary Wylie (LGBTQ+ Supporters)
- Club update
Read the full club update HERE.
Nigel C offered a summary of the decision to call off the match at Bradford late on Saturday. He said that the club shared the fans’ frustrations at the lateness of the decision. The referee was there on Friday and the pitch was considered playable apart from a small area which he thought would be OK by Saturday. CUFC didn’t know about the Saturday inspection until Andy & Amy were approached by Bradford about PR (after the team had left from Brunton Park). Nigel described the circumstances of the postponement as ‘very unsatisfactory’. He has contacted the EFL and asked for 'inspections' to be on the agenda for League Two clubs at their next online meeting on Thursday this week.
John Kukuc had been interviewed by ITV about the postponement tonight.
The team had left Carlisle at 8.30am on Saturday, with ‘no inkling’ of a problem until 9.45am.
The re-arranged game will likely be on iFollow, according to Nigel. However Nigel stressed that the club’s main concern was the way fans had been treated after many had set out and some had already arrived in Bradford.
Nigel C asked if CUSG groups had any comments to make on the EFL’s Sanctioning Guidance? Dan said the solution depends on the age of offenders. Younger fans were considered more likely to benefit from a collaborative rather than a punitive approach from the club. Nigel C added the club favoured 'restorative justice options' and was working on a new initiative with Cumbria police and specialists in the area.
Nigel C said two fans recently involved in flare incidents at Crewe had been offered this option. They had been invited to take part in a discussion to understand the impact of their actions. No bans had been issued yet. They were under the age of 18.
Nigel explained that fans usually respond to an invitation to a meeting with the club. The club try to take a pragmatic view of the situation. Misbehaviour from a tiny minority is a problem for the club.
Nigel C again asked for CUSG to support its appeals to the tiny minority of fans to stop misbehaving (with flares in particular but also objects thrown and chants).
Andy commented that footage of some CUFC fans letting off flares in Skipton at the weekend (after the Bradford match postponement) had been circulating. He stressed again that this was a recurring problem that was not improving.
Keith Elliott said that the smoking of cigarettes and vapes on CUSAT coaches had been an issue recently. They often set off smoke alarms. These little incidents he said, all contribute to the ongoing problem. As a further example, he said, one traveller on Saturday had tried to avoid paying.
[Subsequent to the meeting, the referee vs Hartlepool reported the club after a vape was thrown towards the Hartlepool keeper and assistant and collected from the pitch as they checked the nets at the WRE. This required a police and steward response behind the goal at the WRE in the second half. The club has now been again asked to report back to the FA on crowd behaviour.]
Andy said a decision to stop producing a match programme for each home game is likely to come soon. The club had sold only 350 at the Bradford City game, which had attracted a crowd of over 8,000.
Nigel said that a profit of £200 had been made for 2 full days of work producing the programme for the Newport game.
Some elements of the programme were seen as still being valuable such as manager comments and away team insight and analysis. Dan suggested that a QR code be printed on tickets to link to a match update online. This idea was considered a good one and the club will investigate this as a potential alternative to producing a printed programme for next season. Nigel C reminded CUSG that the pdf programme is available on line FREE after every game.
- Finance and fundraising inc Christmas raffle
Bank Balance as at 23.01.23 was £2,783.35
£142 of the above is ringfenced for the Prediction Competition (£87) and a donation to Jigsaw (£55).
Terry had updated the group with a summary of lessons learnt from the raffle.
One prize remained unclaimed -- to liaise with the club over potential tracing of the winner.
- Events and projects update
Simon explained that this item overlapped a little with his SLO update.
The Glass Bar project was now complete and the bar had been officially opened by Jimmy Glass.
The 74-75 Lounge refurbishment was progressing well. A commemorative event was being planned to mark the re-branding.
Two bars in the East Stand were to be named ‘Hopper’s and Halpy’s’ after Tony Hopper and John Halpin.
The archiving of programmes was still ongoing. A decision would need to be made about what to do with duplicated items, of which there were many. There was the potential to sell some programmes in the Blues Store.
- Review of CUSG constitution
Terry asked if the group needed to list all constituent groups within the constitution?
It was considered a good idea to review the constitution annually. It was agreed to simply list all current members as at January 1 each year.
A revision of the constitution would be undertaken as part of this process.
- SLO Update
General issues raised by fans to the SLO team are continually relayed to the club and feedback provided to fans. The number of issues reported have reduced throughout the season.
The SLO team hope that the proactive social media presence enables our fans to have an enhanced game experience. We focus on fan information that also includes key messaging on appropriate fan behaviour, including external media appearances.
The fan zone remains extremely popular even as the temperatures drop. The extra space and seating have eased any issues relating to queues, The container bar provides an increased serving capacity and a good selection of drink options. The way this area has been embraced by fans is brilliant and is a notable example of effective fan engagement. A challenge now that we have more fans using BP pre match is capacity of internal bars.
In the East stand I am co-ordinating new signage across the bars with the addition of ‘Hopper’s and ‘Halpy’s’. The SLO team continue to look to reduce pressure on catering queues by engaging with fans and showing them the click and collect app as well as where applicable, encouraging families to use the tuck shop instead of the bars.
I was delighted to be asked to pull together an event to commemorate the opening of the former sponsors lounge that will be re-named the 74/75 lounge. Utilising memorabilia, the room will be decked out with some great items and it has been fantastic to speak to members of the squad, many of whom will be coming to BP for the opening event.
With thanks to Craig Milne, we are pleased to announce that as part of the Green Football Weekend on 4 Feb, there will be a ‘Walk and Talk’ event pre-match. Fans will be encouraged to ditch the car for the match, and instead walk to the game. The walk will be leisurely, starting in the city centre and taking in both Bitts and Rickerby Park.
We are always keen to recruit more meeter and greeters who are thanked with a complementary ticket. If you would like to join us, please get in touch.
- EDI update
- There are several EDI projects ongoing with supporters. More news to follow.
- EFL EDI & Mental Health code of practice meeting held last week; see NC update.
- A welcome event for recently arrived asylum seekers hosted at BP by club and CST for Carlisle Refugee Action Group on 28th January in Foxy's and the Neil Centre. Comms going out shortly. This is by invitation only. I will be doing photos/videos and some interviews.
- I'd like to add for the record my massive disappointment that we experienced racist abuse at the home game versus Bradford City on Boxing Day. We are trying so hard to ensure that all are welcome at Carlisle United and that it is a safe space for everyone. This is a setback, but it only serves for me to redouble my efforts on behalf of the great supporters of Carlisle United, the club, the members of the supporter groups, and the community sports trust.
- Disabled facilities
John and Nigel C had discussed this. The safety officer was now involved. It was reviewed again after the abandonment of plans to construct a platform at the Warwick Road End.
A canopy in the Waterworks End had been considered the best option but it was a ‘non starter’ according to Nigel C. Disabled fans didn’t want to be isolated from the rest of the supporters on match days.
The issue would be re-visited with potential locations within the ground and funding options to be discussed.
- Group updates
CUOSC
Meeting planned for Board in early February to map out future direction of CUOSC - Name, Logo, Direction, Membership, Roles etc. Will be more info from this once we’ve had it!
Annual Foodbank appeal happening before Colchester on Sat 18th Feb. Club on board with this. Posters will be produced, will appreciate other Groups sharing to their Members in due course.
Quiz Night being planned, Date etc in process of being sorted. More details to come.
Stands in Fan Zone/East Stand continue to receive visits, thanks to all who pop by. A couple of Questions were forwarded to NC from our last match (both answered in Club Update).
London Branch
Following an approach from Paul Simpson and Chris Brunskill the branch have agreed to the immediate funding of £3,644 for the purchase of urgently needed leg extension gym equipment which will hopefully help reduce the incidence of injuries and enhance the recovery time from injuries.
Demand for places at the Paul Simpson Q & A event at The Coach House ( 7 Oxendon St, Piccadilly, SW1Y 4EE) on the evening of Friday February 10th is high. Anyone interested in attending who has yet to book a place please contact Dave Brown at chairman@cusclb.com
We are planning to use Sutton Cricket Club, open to all Carlisle fans, as the pre-match breakfast meeting place for the Sutton away game on Monday 8th May ko 12.30pm. Further details will be supplied nearer the time.
Nigel C confirmed he will attend all the LB get-togethers before London games.
CUSAT
Due to unforeseen circumstances a couple of rooms have become available on our weekend trip to Oxford staying at a city centre hotel and taking in the Swindon game and Blenheim palace
For more details please contact CUSAT on 07563700987 - it’s 3 nights 09/03/23 -12/03.23
One coach only is currently being laid on for the Sutton game (May 8). Further discussions about potentially laying on extra coaches to come.
The coach(es) to depart 4am from Carlisle for 12.30pm kick off.
- AOB
Simon asked about plans for directors forums this season. There were two to organise by the end of June.
The group asked the club to organise one as soon as possible. This would be arranged after the transfer window, likely to take place in February. The next one to come in May/June.
- Next meeting
March 6