THE JAGS FOUNDATION (TJF), the Partick Thistle fans’ group formed with a view to receiving the majority shareholding in the Glasgow club, have announced that elections are to be held to appoint a new board.
Seven candidates have so far put their names forward for the ballot and all are affiliated under the banner ‘Jags for Change’. The group – who share common principles surrounding the transition, implementation and operation of Thistle under a fan ownership model – have launched a website, including a manifesto and the open letter that was sent to the club board last month.
The previous TJF board resigned en masse last month when statements released by the club and Three Black Cats (3BC) – the company that currently holds Colin Weir’s shares – described the board as ‘not fit and proper’.
A vote to elect a new TJF board is forthcoming and Andrew Holloway, one of the candidates, explained why Jags for Change has been formed.
“We are excited to launch it and we are realistic about what can be achieved here,” he said. “We want to deliver a club that everyone can be proud of and a part of and we want to deliver on Colin Weir’s objectives – to deliver fan ownership for Partick Thistle.
“What we’re looking to do is deliver fan ownership, and then deliver on a club that people can be proud to support and a club that listens to its supporters, has values that aligns with its supporters.
“Fan-owned does not mean fan-run but we would want to ensure that we have a board with the appropriate skills, knowledge and desire to deliver for Partick Thistle.
“We believe that there are successful fan ownership models out there – Motherwell, Hearts, Exeter – that we can build on and deliver a club that we are proud of.
“We would like the parameters that are acceptable to 3BC for the share transfer to be published. We would like then to work with the club to agree a timeline, a transition period, common objectives. And then we want to get moving. The last thing we want is another two years of inertia and going around in circles.”
Holloway continued: “I think a lot of people right now supporting Partick Thistle feel at best disenfranchised with how the club is operated; they are looking for more, they are looking for better.
“You hear a lot from our support about challenges in dealing with the day-to-day functions of the football club. It can be hard to sort season tickets, it can be hard to sort match tickets and it doesn’t need to be like that.
“I think the club have missed a trick on a number of occasions recently. We had a Friday night game in Inverness after a long, hard season where fans have ponied up money for games they haven’t been to. The year before, they ponied up and didn’t even get to any games. I feel the club should be giving back to supporters.”
Ian Mackinnon, another candidate in the upcoming TJF elections, felt compelled to volunteer his time after watching the move to fan ownership slow down in recent months.
The club’s statement last month prompted a reply from Jags for Change, who drafted an open letter directed at the Thistle board. It originally had around a dozen signatures; now, over 700 supporters have added their name to it.
“Absolutely, [the response to the open letter] does give us a mandate,” Mackinnon explains. “The response blew us all away.
“The number of people that signed the letter outstripped the number of members of TJF. You can’t compare those things directly because there was a financial commitment involved with TJF but I think it shows that a lot of people still care about fan ownership and want it to happen.
“The thing about our fan ownership journey is that usually a crisis brings this sort of thing about but these shares are being gifted to us. The fact that it’s taken so long and that it now seems to have ground to a halt – I think that has really galvanised the fanbase.
“When TJF launched I was slightly sceptical because it was yet another fans’ organisation springing up. But when I spoke to some of the guys, I did get involved and I did sign up as a member.
“I was excited about the potential of it but then things started happening and they stopped communicating with their members. We realise now that a lot of that was down to negotiations hitting a standstill but the fact is they were dealing with one hand tied behind their back.”
Heather Holloway, another candidate for the TJF board, stressed the importance of TJF members to get involved in the election process. The more voices added to the debate and the greater the plurality within the group, she reasons, will lead to a more diverse organisation: something she feels can only benefit Thistle in the long-term.
She said: “As a female member, I feel like I represent a section of fans that aren’t always represented or thought of during these things. As a teacher, I feel I have a different skill-set and we want different people from different areas of life to be involved.
“We are not trying to change the face of the club because Partick Thistle is such a unique club as it is.
“The beauty of supporting Partick Thistle is that when you look around Firhill, you see people of different generations. You see people from all walks of life and that is how a fan-owned club should be represented. If we just have people from one certain walk of life then that doesn’t represent who is at Firhill on a Saturday or on the trains and buses. We are a unique club and we deserve that wide range of supporters to be represented.
“If we are elected then we will be spearheading Colin Weir’s wishes. We want to work with the club and it won’t be adversarial. We will be there to work with the club and do the best that we can for the fans. We believe that getting elected democratically gives us the best chance to do that.
“It’s important that people take the vote seriously. It’s something that could change the future of the club so it shouldn’t be taken lightly and people should take a lot of thought and care. So many of us are doing this for the generations to come. My niece is three and I can’t wait for her to grow up supporting a fan-owned club where there is support for the fans.”
Supporters interested in finding out more about Jags For Change or the candidates for the upcoming TJF elections can do so at jagsforchange.wordpress.com.
