The latest set of Fans' Forum notes show that those running the club continue to miss opportunities to improve their supporter engagement - and indeed, that they're actually getting worse at it.

Just a few weeks after a well-publicised and well-attended protest that showed the level of discontent among supporters at the club regime, the Forum presented Francesco Becchetti and his lieutenants with a chance to start to change things for the better.

Instead, previous pledges were rowed back on and there appears to be no desire to engage with supporters at all on anything more substantial than stadium safety and comfort - important though such matters are, they should not be the full extent of two-way communication between the club and fans.

In the previous Forum in May, the agreed minutes show that "an AGM for shareholders of LOFC will take place, with the date to be decided. The Club acknowledged it needed to improve communications with minority shareholders." And yet now the club has said that no AGM is planned. This shows nothing less than a blatant disregard for shareholders, and a continuing inability to stick to any promise.

Indeed, when it comes to substantive matters around finances and strategy, the club says one thing and does another; having previously told fans that all differences between costs and operating turnover were being covered by "capital injections", the truth as shown in the holding company accounts - and now admitted at this Forum - is that "investments" in the club are in fact "inter-company loans between companies within Mr Becchetti’s group".

The extent of these loans will show just how expensive the past couple of years of Mr Becchetti's ownership have been, and how far the club has changed from the well-run debt-free position it was in just prior to his takeover. It is difficult to see how those loans will be anything but detrimental to the club's future prospects if Mr Becchetti decides he's had enough (or runs out of inter-company funding).

Of particular note is the club continuing to express the view that "Orient should have the right to play in the Olympic Stadium" - the previous Forum noted "they continue to weigh up the best option to defend the interests of LOFC in this regard" and it remains to be seen what exactly the "legal discussions" are that are apparently being had.

Communication, or rather the lack of it, has been one of the biggest complaints from O's fans since Mr Becchetti took over the club - as shown by over 90% of over 1,100 surveyed agreeing that they had no confidence in the regime's ability to communicate. And yet after a protest in which a clear message was sent from supporters to change or put the club up for sale, all we heard was that Mr Becchetti was 'disappointed' that supporters had protested.

Perhaps he thinks supporters should be grateful for the way the club has been mis-managed, pleased that Leyton Orient has become a club with nearly the highest number of managerial sackings over the past two years, appreciative of how large a loan the club now owes his companies, and thankful that he hasn't completely trashed the club by putting it into administration or liquidation?

Incredibly, the club "emphasised the need for supporters to engage positively with the club". LOFT has been trying to do this for over two years, yet it is clear that Mr Becchetti has no desire to meet with representatives of LOFT face-to-face to discuss the important issues affecting the club's stability. We too are 'disappointed' at this, but not surprised, and we will consider the next steps in our campaign for change.

Our door will remain open and we remain committed to attending Fans' Forums as they offer the only line of communication with the club hierarchy, nonetheless it is clear that the regime can make much better use of these opportunities and engage on a far greater level than it currently chooses to.

--

Notes of Leyton Orient Fans’ Forum
3:00pm ​8 December 2016

Present:
Keren Harrison, SLO and Chair
Vito Micelli, Chief Operating Officer
Roberto Gagliardi, Hd of Recruitment
Lindsey Martin, Company Secretary
Craig Witham, Safety Officer
​​​​​​​Steve Dixon, Hd of Commercial
Dave Knight, LOFT​​​​​
Mike Randall, LOFT​​​​​
Tony Roome, LOSC​​​​​
Paul Levy, Orient Outlook​​​​

Apologies:
Alessandro Angelieri, CEO
Mat Roper, Pandamonium

Due to the attendance of new representatives, all present introduced themselves.

The Chair opened the meeting by noting that the CEO had suffered a heart attack. The COO confirmed that he was recovering but it would be a while yet before he returned to work. The Chair asked Vito to pass the best wishes of the supporters' representatives to Alessandro, along with the hopes that he will be able to make a speedy return.

The Chair also noted that James Cassidy had retired from the LOFT Committee and would therefore no longer be attending the Forum. She placed on record our thanks for James' efforts at previous meetings and welcomed the two new LOFT reps.

1.​ Stadium Issues

​West Stand:

Undercroft - Agreed that the removal of the TV had improved the situation in the tea bar area, but further action would be beneficial. Ways of opening the Emergency Doors on to pitch side, without contravening the FA rules re drinking alcohol in sight of the pitch, will continue to be investigated.

[Since the meeting, the club have confirmed that it is not an FA rule preventing drinking in sight of the pitch, but rather the Sporting Events (Control Of Alcohol Etc) Act 1985, which prohibits the consumption of alcohol within view of the playing area, during the period 15 minutes before the start of the event to 15 minutes after the end of the event.]

Steps – Were repainted with yellow non-slip paint to the nosings early in the season. There was some discussion about whether a greater area of the steps should be painted. This will be considered by the Safety Officer.

Handrails - The Safety Officer showed an example of the type of handrail which could be fitted to the West Stand seats to assist people going up and down the aisles. It was noted that there is no safety requirement for these rails but that fans had asked consistently for these to be fitted in light of the steepness of the steps. Cost of sourcing and fitting the rails is expected to be in the order of £1,200 – £1,500. It is likely that the installation will take place over the summer period as the work is not insignificant.

​South Stand:

PA System - Complaints received concerning the volume of PA broadcasts. Various volumes had been tried and the system's effectiveness will be checked during the next system service. Fans asked if emergency messages were automatically broadcast at higher volume – this will be investigated, perhaps by broadcasting a pre-match test message when the stadium is at least partially occupied.

East Stand:

TVs had been reported as unsatisfactory. They have now all been upgraded to a full digital system. A hot water system is not installed in the toilets and would only be available at disproportionate cost. The club confirmed that they will be fitting coathooks to the back of toilet doors and would be investigating the cost of replacing the hand dryers.

North Stand:

Hand dryers need replacement still.

2.​Communications

​AGM - Vito confirmed that no AGM was planned. Supporters' Reps emphasised that shareholders felt they were being ignored and wanted the chance to scrutinise accounts and discuss the strategic direction of the club. This will be reported to the President.

​General communications concerns (as revealed by recent LOFT survey). In addition to the AGM issue, it was noted that the feeling was that the club did not take the initiative in communications with fans, either directly or through the media. After a long discussion, the club took note of the fans' concerns and will continue to review its communications policy. The club also emphasised the need for supporters to engage positively with the club, and that abuse and personal derogatory comments on message boards etc. did not help matters. Supporters' reps accepted and agreed with this point; in particular condemning any personal abuse on social media.

​Potential LOFT meeting with Mr Becchetti – COO confirmed that he had received the LOFT letter but had not yet been able to pass the message on to the President. He also confirmed that there was little likelihood of this meeting going ahead at present, but that the President was in touch with the club on a regular basis and was aware of, and up to date on, the issues.

3.​Olympic Stadium

​On the issue of the State Aid Claim, the club representatives were unable to confirm that the state aid claim regarding the OS by Mishcon de Reya, the club solicitors, was on behalf of Leyton Orient, or another of their clients.

​It was noted, however, that the President believes that Orient should have the right to play in the OS, should we decide we wished to do so, and that he will continue legal discussions for this right. No such stadium move would take place without discussions with the fans.

4.​Financial matters

​It was confirmed that the investments in Leyton Orient had come in the form of inter-company loans between companies within Mr Becchetti’s group. Fans' reps asked what effect these loans would have on any sale of LOFC by Mr Becchetti. COO explained that he assumed provision for loans would form a part of the negotiations in the event of any discussions of a sale – though there are currently no concrete offers from potential investors to buy the Club. In response to a question, the club confirmed that this funding was in line with the Financial Fair Play rules. The club is not yet able to provide an estimate of the full year losses for 2015 - 16.

5.​Any Other Business

​It was reported that Mr Becchetti was disappointed by the recent fan protests at the Blackpool game. However, he, and all the staff, understand and share the fans' frustrations regarding the lack of success at the club.

During discussion, it was confirmed that Mr Becchetti discusses general team matters with, and expresses opinions to, the manager and others at the club but that it was the manager's job to pick the team and no 'selection committee' existed. It was noted that previous managers had given interviews to the effect that Mr Becchetti was involved in team selection, but this was clearly and vehemently denied by the COO.

The EFL and Supporters Direct proposals for 'structured engagement' between fans and clubs were mentioned. The Fans' Forum already fulfils many of the requirements, though additional sharing of financial information (on a confidential basis) is proposed. The COO gave his opinion that much of the financial information required is already in the public domain, but that significant elements are confidential to the club and are not likely to be shared with supporters’ representatives.

The issue of recent media revelations re child abuse in football was raised and the club confirmed that they were supporting, and co-operating fully with, FA/EFL enquiries.

The COO noted that there had been some recent real positives at the club, in particular:

• The new Diversity Hub
• The signing of several youth team players to professional contracts
• The radio programme
• The news that we have the lowest season ticket prices in the league
• The marketing effort aimed at attracting new young supporters

The supporters' reps agreed with these comments and also stressed that the functioning of the Fans' Forum was positive.

The possibility of the next FF meeting being later in the day (say, 6:00pm) - to allow a wider range of supporters representatives to attend – was proposed. It was agreed that this could be considered for the next meeting if it was possible. There was also a suggestion that one of the future meetings could take place at the training ground – this was noted.

Meeting ended at 5:05pm.