An FC Halifax Town fan whose open letter to the club received 157 signatures says he hopes it will act as a catalyst for change.
Sam Barnes, 33, from Southowram, wrote to Halifax chairman David Bosomworth recently highlighting several areas where he believes the club should be doing better off the field.
Sam called for improved engagement with supporters in the letter, as well as greater off the field activity and initiatives to encourage more people to watch the team.
“I have been disillusioned with how the club has operated off the field for some time,” said Sam, “having a moan between friends and fellow Town fans hasn’t changed anything, there’s also an impression that the club are perhaps not attuned to how myself and others feel on these matters, possibly attributing it to a handful of fans.
“I wanted to try and make it clear to the club it isn’t a few people moaning for the sake of it and hopefully play a small part in improvements going forward if it can help encourage constructive dialogue between the club and supporters.”
Sam’s first Halifax game was in 1998 and he started attending regularly in 2002, holding a season ticket for the last 19 years.
“I’m not necessarily hoping for a written response,” he said, “the best response for me would be that the club started taking notice of the fans view point and essentially start implementing things off the field that can be taken as a given at near enough every club in the country from right at the top right the way through to the counties leagues.
“As supporters I believe we just want to see the club trying to be the best possible version of itself, it would be naive to believe a complete switch around to what we would like to see from the club could be imminent but I do believe should the right moves start being made and maintained the fanbase would respond positively.”
Sam says the list of supporters who signed the letter, which equates to roughly 10 per cent of the club’s average home attendance, has been sent to the club, but said he’d rather not share the list with the Courier without their consent.
“I think it’s difficult to say how widespread exactly,” he said when asked how many other Town fans share his views.
“Nearly everyone I communicate with regarding Halifax Town agree it’s a strange way to run a football club, particularly one that may not have the same resources as many of the clubs it is directly competing with and often says as much.
“This sees differing levels of frustrations from supporters, social media seems to have a lot of the same complaints across the board.
“In the interest of fairness those who aren’t as openly critical often attribute that having over the years supported the club throughout financial struggles, David Bosomworth does seem to keep the club in a financially stable place, he does deserve credit for this.
“However I and others this does not need to mutually exclusive from a club that engages with it’s fans/town and looks to maximise opportunities presented to itself, quite the opposite I believe!”
FC Halifax Town have been approached for comment
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