Coaching sessions begin Tuesday 22nd April

The Trust held its first midweek football coaching session in South Lynn last evening ( Monday 22nd ) which was attended by 34 boys and girls whose ages ranged from 6 to 13. We were absolutely delighted by the response and by the enjoyment shown by those taking part.
It was also encouraging to hear youngsters asking if they could have their own team playing in South Lynn, which is perhaps something we could try to facilitate if there is enough community interest. Sessions will be held every Monday from 6 till 8 ( weather permitting ) except for Bank Holidays.
Once again our thanks go to the Love Norfolk fund and the Norfolk Community fund whose grants have made these sessions possible.

Norfolk County FA Level 1 coaching course

NCFA are running a Level 1 coaching course for 16 to 18 year olds in Terrington St Clement during the May half term holiday.
Those attending must have had their 16th birthday before 31/8/2012 and not have reached their 19th birthday before 28th May 2013 when the course starts.
The programme is as follows:- 28th and 29th 9am till 6pm Theory and practical 30th 10am till 4.30 pm Safeguarding of children plus first aid 31st Assessment 9am till 6pm.
The recent grant awards to the Blue and Gold Trust contained an element to cover the cost of youngsters and adults attending level 1 courses and we would like to hear from anyone who is interested in joining this particular course. Participation is obviously FREE but individuals will need to make their own way to and from Terrington.
For further information please PM me via this forum.
This offer is NOT restricted to Trust members or their relatives.

Cash boost for South Lynn

THE BLUE AND GOLD SUPPORTER'S TRUST is delighted to announce the receipt of two grant awards which will enable it to expand the sporting initiatives which it is carrying out in South Lynn.
Grants of £2840 from the LOVE NORFOLK fund and £5000 from the NORFOLK COMMUNITY fund will be used to provide midweek football coaching sessions in addition to the regular Saturday morning sessions held on the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) behind St. Michael's School, South Lynn.
Click for full article and information on how to take part..

Christmas Draw 2013

The following are winners in the draw that took place in the Lord Napier on 1st January 2013
Thanks to everyone involved. Superb on all levels.
Over 1440 tickets sold , early shout is £1100 in the bank.
Thank you again.
Winners are
J.Flowers: £200
O.Hay: £100
S. Hayes: £50
L.Rout: Deers Leap voucher
Vinders: Nandos voucher
L.Flanagan: Next voucher
D.Rose: HMV voucher
M.Bradley: Costa voucher
Rhys: Kings Butchers voucher
B.Rose: Donaldsons voucher
N & J Dyson: Strikes/Planet Zoom voucher
Sally: Greyhounds voucher
L.Morrow: KLTFC DVD.
M.Skerritt: KLTFC DVD
J.Watson: Trust mug.

Blue & Gold Trust and King's Lynn Town FC joint statement

Blue and Gold Trust and King's Lynn Town Football Club are pleased to have concluded preliminary meetings which were held with a view to building a meaningful relationship.
Both parties would like to report the following:

• The Club have offered the Trust a chance to give a monthly summary of their members' views and comments regarding the operation and management of the Club.

• The Trust has agreed to meet the Friends of the Linnets to discuss the possibility of running a joint fund-raising event.

• The Trust will continue to hold their meetings at their current venue but thank the Club for offering their facilities.

• At the request of the Club the Trust have increased security and moderation of the forum on www.thelinnets.co.uk

• The Club has offered the use of the Community Hub to the Trust for their community work.

• Both parties will meet again in six months to review the relationship.

Phil Ellis, Chairman of the Trust said " We welcome the news that the Trust and Club have begun discussions about building a structured relationship.
It is, and always has been, our belief that when the views of supporters are recognised by the Club it is to the benefit of all concerned".

Blue & Gold Trust Gets Grant Award

We are delighted to announce that a recent application to the Co-operative Group Community Fund for a grant to support the provision of weekly football coaching sessions in South Lynn has been successful.
The grant totals £1,942
This will enable us to buy some additional equipment and to run the sessions on the MUGA at St Michael's school for the next 9 months or so.
Our thanks go to the Co-operative Group for their generosity and support.

Annual General Meeting 2012

Following the recent Blue and Gold Supporters' Society Ltd AGM the following were confirmed as Directors of the Supporters' Trust . . .
New Directors with a tenure to November 2014: Mrs S Barber, Dr R Britton, Mr W Kercher and Miss L Rout.
Joined incumbent directors with a tenure to November 2013: Mr P Ellis,Mr J Flanagan, Mr J Gamble, Mr R Last, Mr M Lane and Mr R Sherring.
Mr K Rout has a support role and was co-opted as Supporters Trust Secretary at the next committee meeting.
At the committee meeting that followed the AGM, the following roles were filled:
Chairman - Mr P Ellis
Secretary - Mr K Rout
Treasurer - Dr R Britton
Lottery Promoter - Mr R Sherring
Raffle Coordinator - Mrs S Barber
Membership officer/Data Protection officer - Mr J Gamble
Membership communication - Mr J Gamble
Website Advertising/Sponsorship - Mrs S Barber & Mr M Lane
Website communication - Mr W Kercher & Mr J Gamble
Community Project Coordinator - Mr K Rout, Mr W Kercher & Mr J Flanagan
Fundraising Coordinator - Mrs S Barber, Mr R Sherring & Mr K Rout

Annual General Meeting 2012

I would just like to take this opportunity to remind all Trust members that the AGM will take place this Thursday, 16th February at the Conservative Club on London Road, beginning at 7.30pm.
A Supporters Trust is a democratic organisation and any member can come forward to seek election as a Director and have their say in the future direction of the Trust.
It is not a supporters' group without membership participation in its management.
Our Trust has had considerable support and success with fund-raising and is actively involved in community projects with schools and youth organisations.
The Trust membership has remained high with many members renewing for 3 or 4 years since inception.
The Trust aims remain to encourage the Club to take proper account of all its supporters (Trust members are also long term supporters of KLFC) and to promote the principle of meaningful supporter representation on the board of the company owning the club.
In this regard it is therefore disappointing that supporters are being forced to choose which event to support this coming Thursday, as I am sure that supporters have questions for both the Club and the Trust.
I wish the Club every success with their forum on Thursday and hope that important dates such as these do not clash in the future.
Phil Ellis, Chairman of the Blue & Gold Trust

Christmas Draw 2012

The following are winners in the draw that took place in the Lord Napier on 1st January 2012
£200 - Ian Coleman (ticket number: 1165)
£100 - Kevin Ash (1514)
£50 - Mr. Painter (2726)
£20 Beers of Europe voucher: Russell Howlett (2564)
Maltings Snooker voucher: Wayne Kercher (1359)
£20 Grants voucher: Kathy Flanagan (914)
£10 Donaldsons voucher: Mal Ely (2258)
Strikes voucher: Mrs J. Page (2234)
Greyhound Racing voucher: Martine Wiggs (362)
£10 Kings Butchers voucher: D. Yardley (847)
Total number of tickets sold: 1,661
The Trust would like to thank all sponsors of the prizes, all those who helped to co-ordinate the draw and everyone who supported the draw by either selling or buying tickets.
Happy New Year!

Eastgate Primary School

The Trust is pleased to announce that it is assisting the school in its programme to improve pupil fitness levels, beginning on Tuesday 27th September.
This will take place at an after school sports club and will use activities such as Kwik cricket and Multi Skills to increase children's fitness levels and to instill the benefits of competitive team sport on a social and personal development level.
Multi Skills concentrate on Agility, Balance, and Co-ordination. They are not sports specific so have the advantage of involving children in a wide range of activities at an early age.

Blue & Gold Trust Two years old

The Blue and Gold Trust has now been in existence for two years and in that time much has happened for all supporters' of senior football in Lynn. It's fair to say that the Trust was originally conceived due to supporters concerns regarding the management and ownership of the club.
Cast your mind back to mid-2009, when we, the fans, had just learnt that the club had been relegated due to ground grading issues, even though the Council had allocated £150,000 for ground improvements long before the club was forcibly relegated.
At the fans' forum at the start of the 2009/2010 season, the fans were asked to draw a line under the relegation issue by the then chairman, rather than answer questions from the Trust as to the mismanagement of the ground improvements. Furthermore, on the same evening we were told that the winding-up order (already issued) was in fact a mistake by HMRC and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. We were asked to trust the owners and assured the debt would be repaid. However, by December 10 2009 our worst fears had become true and the club ceased to exist. In the press, the then chairman told us "we're truly sorry", and walks away from the whole mess. But in that same press report there is a first mention of the new owners interest in the club saying that money was in place to save the club but is quoted as saying "I've never had a limited company, never owned a limited company and don't intend to, so that really blew everything out of the water". Bear in mind that the club was playing football in the Northern Premier, were fifth, ten points behind the leaders with four games in hand. Within a few short weeks a limited company was formed to successfully win the bid to own the lease to the ground and form a new club, albeit playing three leagues lower in the football pyramid. Many would like to believe that if the Trust had £70,000 in the bank two years previously every effort would have been made to keep the existing club afloat.
So a supporter trust is there to try and safeguard the future of the club and had one been formed years previously who knows what league we would have been playing in, but I would like to think it wouldn't be in the UCL with no disrespect to the league or teams currently in it.
A supporters club can never fulfil this guardian's role as we found with the old club when the supporters club were impotent and incapable of averting the winding-up order as all the money they had raised had been handed over to the owners to do with as they decided. However, it's great to see a new supporters club has now been set up to assist with the day-to-day tasks, such as the match day programme, away travel etc.
Of course, many club owners dislike supporters' trusts due to their aims of supporter ownership or board representation, but there are also others that have found that supporter power can push a club onto greater things, like Swansea in the premiership with a 20% ownership by the Swans Trust. There are many also other success stories with supporters' trusts involved at all levels of football.
Mistakes have been made in this new club environment and let's hope that the club never suffers the problems of the past. In fact, I am sure the current owners would never get the club into financial difficulties, but trust is a big word in football and if anything the past tells us about football in Lynn, owners have come and gone with great regularity and constant change is always a possibility.
With the support of its members the trust will always be there in the future to help ensure football in Lynn continues for another 130 years.

Trust Statement

The Trust yesterday (13th June) received a personal letter from Keith Chapman confirming that the club did not at this time want to consider working with the Trust and raising some issues they had in regards to the Trust sponsored website.
We are therefore extremely disappointed that before the Trust had an opportunity to reply to the club that parts of the letter have been released and published in today's Lynn News.
This would appear to be yet another attempt to show the Trust as acting against the Club on its concerns without the chance to respond. On several occasions during the last year we have made positive suggestions to assist the Club, such as the Player of the Month awards only to be discouraged or ignored.
The Trust is today taking advice through Supporters Direct in regards to the Club's concerns relating to the website and will reply in confidence to Keith in due course.
We can only reiterate that the Trust has no desire or seek to be in dispute or disagreement with the owners of the Club but will continue to be an independent voice for supporters of Kings Lynn Town FC. We are always willing and open to talk with the owners of the Club.
In the most recent season the success of clubs who have welcomed the involvement of Supporters' Trusts are there for all to see, with AFC Wimbledon promoted to League 2 and Swansea to the Premiership with a 20% ownership of the Swans Trust. . A successful club with long term stability is all we are working towards with our local football club.

Friends of the Linnets

The Blue & Gold Trust would like to congratulate all involved in the setting up of the Supporters' Club initiative, a good step forward for fans of King's Lynn Town FC.
The Trust looks forward to working with the Supporters' Club in the future.

Blue & Gold Trust AGM

I am pleased to be able to confirm that the Trust have now received the Accounts from the auditors which allows us to give notice of the AGM.
This will be held at The Queens Arms, London Road, King's Lynn on Thursday 24th February at 7.30 pm.
Everyone who was a Trust member on the 31st August 2010 will be invited to attend and we hope as many of you as possible will be able to be there on the night.
After the AGM, a full report of the evening will appear on the website with a copy of the accounts.
The nominations received to become Trust Directors for the forthcoming year are :
P Ellis
M Lane
J Flanagan
J Gamble
N Timms
R Sherring
R Last

Phil Ellis
Trust Secretary.

A copy of the Agenda for the AGM can be downloaded here.

Christmas Draw Results

Ticket No.  Winners Name  Prize   Donated by
132         Ms B Chasney - £200
3332        Mr J Lynch - £100
483         Robert White - £50
3432        Andy Wilson - £40 Grants Restaurant Voucher
2730        John Lake - £20 Beers Of Europe Voucher
142         G Bailey - £20 Van Pelt Butchers Voucher
2550        Keith Bramham - Snappy Snaps Photo Album Voucher
253         Sarah Rose - £10 Kings Butchers Voucher
3014        S Bunting - £10 Pizza Hut Voucher
3559        N Lewis - £10 Love 2 Shop Voucher - kindly donated by Marcus Rose
502         Ron Collins - Bottle Of Champagne - kindly donated by Richard Watson

Total tickets sold 2002 (20% increase on last year)
Profit from sales £1652 (40% increase on last year!)
Thanks to all members who helped with selling such an amazing number of tickets.
Special thanks to Barrett Batchelor Mortgage Services, Guyan Transport and Premier Bars who generously sponsored the raffle tickets and postage of tickets to members.
This terrific result will contribute to the Blue and Gold Trust's efforts to achieve our aims. This shows that you really can "Achieve More Together"

I am pleased to be able to confirm that the Trust has now recieved a draft set of accounts from Osbornes Accountants Ltd, and subject to answering a few minor enquiries, the accounts should soon be finalised. Once this has taken place we will be in a position to give the required 14 days notice to its members, to hold the AGM.
I would also like to advise members that Len Candlish has decided to resign as a Director of the Trust. A close member of Len's family has recently suffered a serious illness which will involve Len in regular visits to Scotland.
When Len took on the Chair in May this year it was his stated aim to hold office until the AGM. Whilst Chairman, Len made great strides in bringing the Trust closer to the Club with the appointment of a Club Liason Officer, and also with regular meetings. These efforts seemed to be undermined at the recent fans' forum where the club used the opportunity to raise issues in a public forum, rather than in the meetings that were being held with the Trust's Liasion Officer. Len was obviously disappointed at this. On behalf of the Trust's officials and its Members, I would like to thank Len for all the hard work and consdierable effort he has put into the Blue and Gold Supporters' Trust since it started.
Finally, I would like to re-iterate that The Trust or any of its Officials will not engage in debate on the forums when matters of the Trust are raised. Any questions should be forwarded via a link on the website and will be answered in due course.

Phil Ellis
Trust Secretary

The Blue & Gold Supporters' Trust Player of the Month Award

The award for August/September goes to Jack Defty.
During that time Jack notched his one hundredth goal for the club. He has scored 21 competitive goals already this season - passing his previous best of 16 which he recorded in the 2003-04 and 2006-07 seasons.

The October award goes to Steve Spriggs. having missed the start of the season Steve soon established himself in the starting line-up scoring five goals during the month.

The Trust would like to thank Barrett Batchelor Mortgage Services for their sponsorship of this award.

Blue & Gold Trust Statement

Following the recent letter to all Trust members regarding nominations to become a Director of The Trust for the coming year, I am pleased to confirm the current position.
After some interest on the forum we have now taken advice from Supporters Direct to allow us to clarify the situation. The Trust has been constituted to have a maximum of twelve Directors and vacancies therefore exist for these twelve positions. Nominations have been received for eight of these vacancies and subject to final ratification at the forthcoming AGM, these eight individuals will become Trust Directors.
I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that The Trust accounts for the year ending 31st August 2010 are now being audited. We thank our contacts at Supporters Direct, who have introduced us to a suitably qualified individual. This person is involved in the running of Leyton Orient Supporters Trust and has offered to complete the audit for a nominal sum. Furthermore, we are delighted that a Blue and Gold Trust member has agreed to make a donation to help with the cost of the audit, from his own pocket. Once again, this shows the great support The Trust has and continues to receive during what has proved to be a difficult year since its inception.
I hope to advise you of the date of the AGM in due course.
Phil Ellis
Secretary, Blue and Gold Supporters Trust.

Blue & Gold Trust and Tax

Some people have queried the mention of the Trust's tax liabilities in the most recently published minutes.
The following is a quote from Supporters Direct literature which may help clarify the situation,
"Industrial and Provident Societies are treated as a corporate entity for tax purposes and as a general rule they are liable for corporation tax in respect of profit or surplus computed in accordance with normal rules applicable for companies".
Inland Revenue Form IR46 details which elements of our funds are taxable. The key to the Trust and most other Mutuals, is that any profit accrued goes back into the organisations funds. No Trust official or member take any profit from the organisation.

The Lord Napier supporting the Trust Saturday 7 August 2010

The Lord Napier Public House, the pub closest to The Walks, is the latest business to be added to the website's rolling banner.
The Trust would like to thank the landlord for his generous and welcome support.
As a bonus for Trust members, he is offering 30p off the price of a pint of draft beers before and after 1st team home matches.
Trust membership cards must be produced to take advantage of this offer.

Trust meeting with KLTFC Wednesday 4 August 2010

The Chairman and Secretary of the B&G Trust met with Keith and Jonathan Chapman on Thursday 29th July 2010.
A list of topics discussed can be found here.

The Trust updates its logo Tuesday 3 August 2010

The Blue and Gold Trust are adopting a new logo as can be seen above. This decision was taken in an effort to give the Trust an image that is both modern and one that can be reproduced on merchandise which will soon be made available.
Our thanks go to young Charlie who designed the original logo which has served us well since the launch. His logo will still be used for the Blue and Gold Juniors section. Finally, a great big thanks to Fred Popp of SME Branding www.smebranding.com, who has been extremely generous in supporting the Trust with his time and advice.

Statement by Trust Chairman Friday 23 July 2010

The Chairman of the Blue & Gold Supporters' Trust has issued a statement regarding the proposed meeting between representatives of the Trust and the owners of King's Lynn Town Football Club to halt any further ill-informed speculation.
The statement can be found here.

Steering Committee Minutes

Minutes of a Meeting of the Steering Committee held on 29th June are available for perusal.
See Trust Documents > Minutes.

Blue & Gold Trust Update Tuesday 6 July 2010

The Blue and Gold Trust is pleased to announce that new membership applications are still being received. After nearly 8 months since the launch date, the 226th full member has just been registered. Along with 155 junior members, 7 associate members and 3 corporate members, this brings the registered strength of the Trust up to 391.
The Trust Chairman Len Candlish commented: " this is great news, and the increasing membership of the Trust proves that it represents a large section of the supporters of football in King's Lynn and the local area".
The Trust can also report that there is now in excess of £10,000 in the bank, thanks to the financial support of members, friends and commercial partners. These funds will only increase through continued support, and ongoing fundraising activities.
Many thanks to all who have joined or supported the Trust to date, and it is hoped that this support will continue to grow and prove that The Trust is a true representative of our football fans. If you wish to join the Trust or support any of its activities, please contact us via this website or alternatively contact any Trust official.

Conference Report Wednesday 16 June 2010

Blue & Gold Supporters' Trust chairman Len Candlish attended the Supporters Direct Annual Conference on Saturday
His report on the day which was themed "A Better Vision for Football" can be found here.

Praise for outgoing Trust Chairman Saturday 29 May 2010

The Supporters' Trust new chairman, Len Candlish paid tribute to his predecessor Neil Timms as he takes over the chair until the Trust stages its first Annual General Meeting.
The complete statement can be found here.

Neil Timms steps down Wednesday 26 May 2010

Chairman Neil Timms has stepped down as Chairman of the Blue & Gold Supporters' Trust.
He said in a statement:
"It is with great regret and after a lot of thought and soul-searching that I have decided to resign as chairman of the Blue and Gold Trust.
The reasons are 4-fold and as follows
1. Living in Norwich and possibly moving to Lowestoft in the next 3 months means that it will become increasingly difficult to attend meetings and functions on a regular basis.
2. I have become increasingly aware that my strengths are not as being chairman and this is having a detrimental effect on the direction of the Trust, moving forward.
3. When Julian Gamble, Ray Sherring and I first started the process of setting up a Supporters' Trust, our goals were to achieve a well supported trust with at least 100 members by the end of 2009. This has been achieved and I am very proud of what we have all managed to do. No one could have believed what we have been involved in over the last 6 months and I have been extremely proud to have been a part of it.
4. I am also sensitive to the fact that as Chairman of the trust, pre-Chapman era, there are a number of supporters that view me as having a personal vendetta which reflects negatively on the wider picture. I would like to finally state that this is not the case and I have always offered our new owners my full support.
The directors of the Trust met last night and it was agreed that Len Candlish take the role of Chairman until our first AGM. I will give Len my full support and am happy that the post of Chair has been left in safe hands.
It only leaves for me to thank you all for your support in the last year and I hope to still be involved at some level in the strategic direction of the trust in the future."

Trust bid for The Walks Lease unsuccesful Thursday 14th January 2010

The Blue and Gold Trust were unsuccessful in the bid to obtain the lease of the Walks Stadium for the creation of a new King's Lynn FC.

A press release can be found here.

Press Release 12 December 2009

The Trust have issued the following statement following the demise of King's Lynn FC. Click here to view.

Kings Lynn FC Wound Up in the High Court: 130 Years of History will not end today

Like all supporters, the Blue and Gold Trust (Kings Lynn Supporters Trust) are devastated at the news that the King's Lynn Football Club have been wound up in the High Court in London today.

We have worked hard on behalf of all fans to prevent this, and as late as Wednesday morning we were hopeful of finding a way through the problems with the tax authorities and other parties.

If this decision is to be reversed, an appeal needs to be lodged within seven days by the board of directors of the football club.

Because of these circumstances, it is clear that there are two choices for us all:

1. To try to save the existing Club by taking it out of the hands of the existing directors, successfully appealing to the High Court to reverse the winding up order, paying off the debt it owes, settling with other creditors, and continuing the season

2. To form a new Club as soon as possible, negotiate a new lease with the Council for The Walks, and apply for a new league in May

We believe it’s critical that we don’t give up on the existing Club if it can still be saved; although the situation appears hopeless at the moment, we also know that circumstances change very quickly. We will continue to actively seek ways to save the existing Club, and we appeal to anyone in Kings Lynn to approach us if they think they can help us achieve this. Please email klfcsupporterstrust@gmail.com if this applies to you.

But we would be equally foolish to ignore the need to make sure that if the worst does happen, and if any appeal is unsuccessful that we have a Club to support, and so with our advisors Supporters Direct we are working on a Plan B to reform the Club.

Although this is the saddest of times for all of us, it is also a time where we all need to be focused as supporters on the outcome. Whatever happens today, in the next seven days, or the next seven months, a football club in Kings Lynn will live on, and we must all be focused on ensuring that outcome, proudly continuing the history of the last 130 years.

Date added: 25 Nov 2009

Trust Launch Thursday 19th November 2009

The Blue & Gold Trust was officially launched. The evening saw informative presentations from Jess Ibrom from King's Lynn Community Football and James Mathie from Supporters Direct in the first half of the evening