Thursday 22 August 2019

EGM Suggestion


From Philip Measures


So here's my suggested wording calling for an EGM:

Draft 2 

We, the undersigned Members of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, hereby call for the holding of an Extraordinary General Meeting as soon as possible to discuss our serious concerns regarding the continued failures of the Directors and Coaching and Training Staff to achieve what we regard as acceptable playing success over the past 2-3 Seasons.

Further, we regard the failure of the Committee to properly act on our clear concerns as amounting to a failure on their part to safeguard the standards of cricket that we expect at Trent Bridge.


We also expect the Committee through its Chief Executive and Chairman to ascertain and represent our views to the ECB and we believe that failure to formally ascertain by means of a Ballot of Members their wishes over such major issues as the 50 Over and 100-Ball Competitions was unacceptable. 


This is OUR Club and we demand a greater say in how it is run and managed and we therefore call on the Committee to either take positive action immediately or resign and hold new Elections.






Draft 1

'We, the following. being members of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, hereby call for the holding of an Extraordinary General Meeting as soon as possible to discuss our serious concerns regarding the continued failures of the Chief Executice Officer; Director of Cricket; First Team Coaches and Training Staff and First Team Players to achieve what we regard as acceptable playing success over the past 2-3 Seasons. Further, we regard the failure of the Committee to properly act on our clear concerns to amount to a failure on their part to safeguard both the standards of cricket that we expect at Trent Bridge to reflect adversely on both the Directors of the Club as well as the relevant Contracted staff. We also have serious concerns looking to the future that the Committee through its Chief Executive and Chairman are failing to hold the ECB to account for the general 'direction of travel' of that organisation with especial reference to the 'down-grading' of the 50 Over Competition; the timings of County Championship Matches and the potential adverse impact on the T20 Competition by the introduction of the 100 Franchised Compeition in 2020 which will result in less Matches at Trent Bridge for our membership fees. We believe that failure to adequately formally ascertain by means of a Ballot of Members their wishes over such major issues as the 50 Over and 100-Ball Competitions was unacceptable. This is OUR Club and we demand a greater say in how it is run and managed and we therefore call on the Committee to either take positive action immediately or resign and hold new Elections.'

Any suggested Amendments or Additions will be welcome.


25 comments:

  1. Looks fine to me. Happy to support by whatever official means required. It is sad of course, but needed. Of course members may back the status quo. but they must take the power to decide. Whatever energy there was in the clubs management has drained away IMO

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  2. Philip, it should be a simple motion of a vote of no confidence in the committee “whom are not acting in the member’s wishes and/or interests”. We do not need to mention about the 100/50-over arguments that is not just a fault of Notts; it’s all counties bar Surrey who was the only county who voted against The Hundred. Better still; rather than having a proposal for an EGM why not have a petition to remove Newell, that is what nearly every member wants. I am pretty sure you would get a multitude of signatories to that petition!

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    1. I would support such a petition. Not too concerned about precise wording, which certainly can’t be agreed by a very large group.

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    2. 'Anonymous' - the issue is that the Club will take legal advice and I am sure that it would not be acceptable to call Constitutionally for the removal / dismissal of any named individual. A Motion of No Confidence in the Committee would, I feel certain, be acceptable. A simple Petition to remove Mr Newell would be just that - a Petition which the Club would be under no obligation at all to act on.

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  3. Goes without saying that given my past comments about the clubs hierarchy,That
    i would fully support any moves to bring about the much needed changes at management and committee level

    Good luck with your efforts Philip.

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  4. Very well put. I resigned my membership a couple of years ago in protest at the direction I felt the club was going and this motion accurately reflects those concerns. I would urge all those who are still members to support the motion.

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  5. I would break up your paragraphs so it is not a long turgid diatribe.
    Have a new paragraph at 'Further we regard the committee..... And likewise a new paragraph for 'We also have serious concerns. That way everyone should understand at a glance what you will be saying and what you want. However, please note that an attempt by the committee a month ago to bring about changes to the top brought about a meeting of legal implications and employment rights. You, therefore, may want to change the content.

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    1. Thank you 'Unknown' - there is a difference, I think, between what we as Members are unhappy about and HOW to achieve change. It is a matter for the Committee to consider our concerns and to decide whether a) they are valid and b) what actions can be taken.

      The Committee is in charge of the 'Executive' and not vice versa. Employment Rights are certainly important but if any Staff are not demonstrating that they are able to perform to expected and agree levels of Competency then the Committee needs to act - and, yes, to take appropriate legal advice. As 'ordinary' Members a number of us are, however, perplexed as to what does now amount to not meeting acceptable levels of competency. In almost all fields of employment failure to achieve progress would meet with quite serious consequences.

      The Committee is charged with managing the Club through agreed delegations of responsibility but no-one can be immune from actions being taken against them for failure to deliver on agreed Performance Indicators (PI's) and failing to meet agreed Annual Appraisal goals - assuming that the Committe is aware of, and has agreed with, what they are.

      As those 'ordinary' Members we expect vigorous and incisive management of our Club.

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    1. Stonewall Jackson22 August 2019 at 21:12

      Top effort Sir Phillip. Is it worth emailing Richard Tennant or contacting him to advise him of our intentions to see if hes willing to give you any rough info. on what possible changes may/ARE going to happen? Just a thought, but if he is not compliant then yes, put the committee under some pressure. Sounds like we are stuck with Teflon no matter how he performs. What an appalling state of affairs. Guess half the country wish they could swap places with that boy

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  7. It would appear that the Committeee have had the 'frighteners' applied via legal advice. I genuinely believe that we need some new Committee Members who will make sure that the 'tail' does not 'wag' the dog. I think that the whole issue of Contracts and payments need to be 'forensically' investigated. This is potentially developing into an extremely serious issue because no-one should be 'Teflon' coated. I urge everyone who contributes on this matter to be aware that the Club and its solicitors may well be watching closely.

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  8. Clear to me and I like draft 2; there's a good comment above that in a large group you cant get everyone to agree wording - but I think it is fair enough (I have a bit of a thing about splitting infinitives - "to properly act = to act properly) - but this isn't a grammar test and I am not a teacher (but I am a pedant)

    Back to the original point - it costs the club nothing to be more transparent (which is what the text above asks for). It is also clear we have "blown the player budget" by our actions last year in recruiting so many players. So accountability and transparency are needed..

    Thanks for driving this

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    1. Pedants are good 'jagella' because they pay attention to detail! Are you up for the Committee?

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    2. I'm an English teacher and I say split infinitives are fine. Also, the division into smaller paragraphs was a good call.

      I believe that it is right for us to make our views on The 100 known. Just because most of the other counties acquiesced, doesn't mean we should also accept it without a murmur. What I'm not certain of, however, is whether that should be tied in with our feelings on the current shambles on the pitch. They're separate problems.

      Having said that, I'm unlikely to initiate any process on either issue myself, so I'll support anyone else who does, provided I agree with in the main, which is the case here.

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    3. I would add that I'm not sure how much consensus there'll ever be on on-field matters, nor do I believe that should be significantly shifted to the control of the supporters. What I do concur with is some views already expressed about expressing our dissatisfaction to the committee. One thing I'd love to change is the social media feed. Posts about Broad's catch, or describing a Duckett inns of 37 balls, including fail attempted reverses and forays down the track, as "resistance", all when we're getting humiliated again, just serve to perpetuate the idea that the fans will meekly accept anything the club does.

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  9. 'OPEN LETTER' to the Club Chairman sent 23 August 2019:


    Dear Mr Tennant,

    OPEN LETTER

    In all probability you will be aware from the 'NottsView' Blog Site that steps are being initiated to call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in accordance with the provisions withing the Club's Constitution.

    If this proceeds it would be the first such EGM for almost 50 years and would attract unwelcome negative publicity on probably a national scale, and even beyond.

    I share the opinion of some others that the Committee and Directors should have the opportunity, as it were, to 'seize the initiative' and address Members in some detail at the forthcoming Members Forum on what steps are being taken to address the on-going difficulties within the playing side of the Club especially. There are many Members who feel that it is in as bad a state as it has ever been in and that urgent remedial actions are required.

    We are a Members Club but there are feelings of alienation arising resulting from a failure of communication by the Committee despite recent Committee Meetings which are not not able to be attended by Members or the Media and so we are reliant on what the Club do communicate. Currently we have no clear ideas of any future Plans to address our current plight.

    Perhaps the forthcoming Members Forum can be extended beyond the usual 40 minutes of the Lunch interval to ensure a full, positive and frank exchange of opinions.

    Yours sincerely,

    Philip

    Philip J Measures
    Member 161411

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  10. Seems there are certain "affairs" going on off the pitch ;-)

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    1. Intriguing comment - 'personal' or 'professional'/'helpful' or 'unhelpful' to us?

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  11. I am not sure sacking the whole committee is that easy. Who would replace them ? In 1933, post bodyline, they were all sacked and re elected. I say with some sadness, we need a new more collegiate CEO, and one Cricket Chief to replace MN and PM.That person should come from outside the club, never having played or worked for the club. We need an objective person to make the decisions, with an initial 2 year contract. That is my opinion, and happily reading others'

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    1. There has to be some recognition from Mr Tennant that members feel that the current situation is not good enough and that he should be / and is prepared for leading the committee to take steps to improve recruitment in management and/or coaching roles, so that this situation can be rectified during 2020.

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  12. If Members want to accept the current situation then the answer is to do nothing! It seems that those of us wanting real change are probably in the minority - no-one seems willing to stand for the Committee next year (and I understand what their reservations may be) and I personally feel that just 'moaning and groaning' is a waste of emotional energy. The hierarchy of the Club seem to have things 'sewn up' in their favour so we, the Members, only have ourselves to blame IF we are unhappy. So I am 'bowing out' out of trying to do anything more but hope that others may, as they say, take up the mantle.

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  13. Hi all

    What’s the time commitment to do a proper job on the committee. I’d love to - but only if I could do it properly of course.

    Just a couple of things.

    A: I think we need to divorce complaints about ECB direction (the hundred, international match schedule etc) with our situation at Notts, which is about communication, clarity and future direction.

    I see lots of comments which, although interesting, focus on the wider cricket changes and not the Notts (great English) position

    B: just received a mail about governance from Notts. Are the proposed forums the right time to make these points?

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  14. What do you mean 'do a proper job on the committee'? There are 2 ways forward: 1) EGM 2) Stand for the Committee next year. Committee Nomination Forms available from the Club - you will then have to be 'interviewed' by the Chairman! Suggest that you speak with a couple of Committee Members. I have not received anything re. Governance - and Yes, it is relevant for both this Site and the Members Forum / AGM to discuss / seek clarification I feel sure as it directly concerns Notts.

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