Dear the Board of Directors at Derby County Football Club.
There was collective sigh of relief on Saturday afternoon with a challenging season coming to a dramatic close with our Rams maintaining Championship status. Saturday highlighted the importance of fans to this football club, the heartbeat who regardless of circumstances are steadfast in support. It is us fans who feel let down by the lack of communication, transparency and direction. Players, managers, owners come and go, the supporters are the ever present. Before we convey our concerns, we'd like to note the positive engagement with club staff on several initiatives celebrating the diversity of not just our fan base but the city, more of which will be shared at a later date. We have three areas of immediate concern; - Outstanding refunds - Communication on the club’s future and takeover - General supporter engagement. Outstanding Refunds Sadly, we have members who still haven't received refunds from the 2019/20 season and no communication on when they might expect these. We're mindful that we've been in a pandemic and that staff have been on furlough but we would have expected the refund process to be completed by now. Communication on the club's future and takeover On the sale of the club, we're cognisant that not all details of a deal can be shared due to legal reasons. However, communication on a proposed takeover has been mixed over the past six months. CEO Stephen Pearce appeared on BBC Radio Derby on 14th January 2021 and mentioned that the takeover with Derventio Holdings was nearly complete and just "final bits of the transfer" remain. Given this failed takeover and now a prospective deal with No Limits Sports Limited being no closer to completion, we would like assurances over the club’s future and how this will impact planning for the 2021/22 season.
General supporter engagement We are worried and our worry has been further amplified by the seeming lack of engagement with local media outlets in favour of TalkSport and the Daily Mail. We have a seat on the Supporters Charter Group and the meetings are a useful forum for different groups to raise concerns and engage with the Board. However, the last meeting was in October 2019 with the subsequent one in March 2020 delayed due to the first national lockdown. We would like there to be a commitment to hold a meeting in the coming days/weeks and then a minimum quarterly engagement. "We all need answers" "Preparations for the next season have to start now". These are the words of our manager Wayne Rooney in his post match interview on Saturday 8th May. The manager shares the fans frustrations and was clear on the fact that we can't have another season like this. We need clear transparent updates on all of these topics and a commitment to actively engage with the supporter base so that we are informed by facts and not the fear of rumours. One thing is for certain, we all want the best for the football club and look forward to the response to the issues outlined above. WE ARE DERBY. Kind Regards, Punjabi Rams