Charity is always a bit awkward. It demeans those who rely on it by forcing them to ask for, and sometimes justify their right to, it. It's a humiliating business all round.
So why am I bringing this up now? I've just seen this tweet from the AFT.
- Argyle Fans' Trust wrote:
- We’re fundraising for Argyle’s youth team trip to the Milk Cup in Ireland this summer. Pls RT. For details see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] … #PAFC
And I am not sure that I approve.
Argyle's youth team is going to competing under the name "Argyle", is going to representing "Argyle" and should be paid for by "Argyle" as a result and that means Argyle as in Brent and not Argyle as in AFT.
"Oh but if we don't sponsor it the boys can't go" I hear the response being. Why not? They went before and AFT didn't cough up. "No but the GTs did and you didn't complain then!" I hear as a triumphant rebuttal. Well yes except the GTs are independent and can do as they please and how they spend their money is of no concern to me - indeed it is why they were established. An AFT/GT dream team is in some ways a very welcome development and the £1000 put in so far, which is £1000 more than Brent appears to have put in, shames James Brent and does so 1000 times.
But that is almost a side issue. Almost the sole raison d'etre, the very core purpose, of the AFT is to assume ownership of the club. It is there in ithe constitution. If you do not firmly believe in this then you should not be an AFT member because THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT. Or supposed to be. Any money, well... maybe not all of it, the AFT makes should surely be stockpiled for the day that it can either buy in to or bale out the club and assume (some) ownership as it does? It should not be subsidising the expenditure of an already very wealthy man who could easily pay for the youth trip if he wanted - he just doesn't want to. "And why should he when others will" I'm sure his defenders will say "it frees up more money for the 1st team". Oh yeah. How much? £50/player? 20 players? Another £1000? That is hardly going to break the £2m 1st team budget is it? Not even £10,000 would. Even £50,000 would probably only be a fraction of the cost of a first team regular. The sum of money we are talking of here is peanuts to the club.
Don't get me wrong here. I hope the youth team goes. The trip clearly has long term worth. It is exactly the sort of thing THE CLUB should be doing and exactly how its money should be best spent. This isn't an attack on the GTs, in any way, for helping out nor the AFT for deciding to join forces with them but with the very need for such a venture in the first place. This isn't about questioning the integrity of the bucket rattlers but more questioning the need for bucket rattling at all. Is it a sign of goodwill on the part of the fans or steely-eyed, cold-blooded exploitation of that goodwill on the part of James Brent?
Running youth teams is all part and parcel of running a professional football club professionally. The club should be funding this entirely and if it is not then it should at least be promising matched funding (- and it is offering matched funding, I assume?) because if it isn't then it is just blatantly scrounging whatever it can get.
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Mon May 18, 2015 2:30 pm
