CAST Need to act

Stig said:

Davo55 said:

This site is full of people saying what CAST and CARD should have done, should do etc.

Precious few of them willing to actually get involved in planning and organising anything themselves. The protest fund exists for everyone. Why are you sitting back and waiting for others? If you feel you can do better than those who have tried and are trying, step up. CAST and CARD don't have special powers; they're just individual fans like everyone else. Every single thing they've done has been at considerable personal effort, stress and often expense.

I'm full of admiration for what's been done historically by CARD and CAST, but that doesn't stop me having an opinion that things have been a little flat of late. I can't speak for others, but for me personally whenever I've been critical it's never been because I've wanted to moan, to belittle others or to wind people up. I recognise that people have put a fantastic amount of time and effort in, and I appreciate that. Whenever I have disagreed or agued for more, it is from the position of being an advocate not from a position of being anti or antagonistic.

You ask why others are sitting back. Well I think that at least part the answer is that lies in the nature of CAST and CARD. Many of us elected CAST members to represent us (or at least we sat back whilst people were elected). I don't think it's a realistic proposition to create an organisation, take peoples' money (albeit quite a small amount) and then say 'why don't you do it yourselves'. With CARD it's a little bit different. CARD never claimed to be a representative organisation. Instead, they stepped forward and filled a partial vacuum. Where before, there were a few disparate groups and individuals trying to get campaigns going CARD took the best, most creative and most committed campaigners and galvanised them, and us, into a force to be reckoned with. CARD members set themselves up as a vanguard. They assumed leadership in that situation and a majority of us ordinary fans followed. CARD called the shots; if other fans were consulted it was on a piecemeal basis. I realise that it must be a pain having the weight of expectation on your shoulders that CARD now has, but ultimately that is the price for assuming leadership of the situation. People wouldn't have such high expectations if what had been delivered historically wasn't so damned impressive.

On a personal level I don't feel that I have the ideas, the contacts or the physical proximity needed to take on such a role myself. I may have opinions, but I don't think I could have done the job a fraction as well as those who actually have done it. I've spent two years arguing for a total boycott, but the fact that so few seem convinced is perhaps a sign that I do not have the ear of anyone.

It might not be fair, it might not be realistic and it might not be reasonable to to expect so much from CARD and CAST, but those expectations are there because you have such an impressive track record. I'm so glad to hear that there are new ideas on the stocks. Lets hope that they get all supporters back on board and hasten the departure of the yellow-toothed manic. And if I haven't said it, or haven't said it loudly enough, thank you!

Thanks for that @Stig, and apologies to you and others if I sounded a bit tetchy last night.

What I was trying to convey, speaking as one of the CARD organisers since the start, is that the burden of expectation, planning, organising and execution is not inconsiderable. When I had the idea of starting the protest fund, I knew none of the other people that formed CARD. I didn't have the contacts or the physical proximity (I have a 3 hour round trip whenever we have a CARD meeting to discuss next steps). Most of us are just fans who have never done anything like this before. Most of us (not me, being retired) have day jobs. We all have families. We are all fans that feel all the emotions, rage, despair that everyone else feels at the situation. When considering protests, none of us wants to step over the line, face a ban, get prosecuted.

Other people have ideas. That's great. When they are put to us they are given consideration. Some we've done. Some we've decided not to. But it doesn't always have to be CARD that organises things. None of us know, REALLY KNOW, in advance what is going to work. If people have a good idea I'm saying why not get a few people together and do it yourselves - and the protest fund will consider requests for financial support. It's happened before.

And the point @Nug made about flip-flopping fans is very pertinent. Let's be honest. If we had held on to win 0-1 at Sunderland on Sunday, there would be a large number of fans on here and elsewhere proclaiming a new dawn, exhorting everyone to get behind Bowyer and the team and , most importantly, saying how critical it is not to do anything that will de-rail such a positive start to the season. A 2-1 defeat and it's "what are CARD doing on Saturday?". It's impossible to satisfy everyone. It's impossible to make a call some time in advance about when the mood will be right for a protest. We have to call it using our best guess.

Within the CARD organising group there are a wide range of opinions. Nobody always gets their own way. We are always debating and sometimes arguing, vociferously, about what best to do and when to do it. Some are naturally more aggressive and optimistic, others are more careful and see the downsides.

From a personal point of view, I think the protests we've organised have been often pretty successful at gaining media attention way beyond that you might expect at a league one club. I also think and hope they've made an impact on Duchatelet. Our friends in ROT certainly report that is the case. But many of the fans who took part in protests at the Valley just aren't there any more. We could possibly arrange further protests at the Valley but that would mean asking fans who are boycotting to come especially to take part. Some would, some won't. It would be a gamble.

The stuff that the B20 and ROT have done in Belgium has been great too. So was the "Taxi for Roland" thing I organised for CARD, and the joint Unity protest by CARD/B20 combined. But, again from a personal view, although I do think that further protetss in Belgium are worthwhile, I'm not at all sure that "more of the same" would have anything like the same impact. I think we need new, fresh, different protest in Belgium and that's what my mind is focused on - as well as having joined ROT and being prepared to get out to Belgium with them when family issues allow.

What I will say is that, even when its quiet, there always ideas being floated, debates being had, decisions being made. We won't go away until Duchatelet is out, however long that takes.

I'm rambling a bit now, so I'll shut up