Part One - Idea to Reality
So what are my memories of those early days of the PST? I attended one on the 8th December 2009 at Smithy’s Bar (now no longer in existence) opposite Fratton Railway Station on Goldsmith Avenue. Like others I’d heard about the idea of a Trust being started.
Lifelong fans, Ken Malley, Tony Foot, Micah Hall plus Barry & Mark Dewing had already met with James Mathie of Supporters Direct at the Lady Hamilton PH on the Hard. The Club had by then begun its descent into deep financial turmoil and faced an uncertain future. I remember one of the first people I met on arriving was Tony Foot, a fellow Lawyer, who became the PST Secretary.
His contribution was to be and since of immense value often unrecognized and certainly crucial. Also there was Micah Hall, later to become a thorn in the side of the seemingly endless stream of recalcitrant owners both real & imaginary, their sycophants the Football Authorities and Insolvency Practitioners appointed. Without Micah‘s dog with a bone persistence and often vitriolic forensic blogs/articles PST would never have got the opportunity to bid for the Club let alone achieve the impossible dream.
Dream it was in those early days. The Smiffy’s Bar meeting resulted in a decision to set up a working group with certain people taking on designated tasks (see minutes taken by PW for details) to get the ball rolling. That was followed by a more general open meeting at the Good Companion PH on the 4th January 2010, a rather stormy affair but which culminated in an agreement to set up a Steering Group to run the Trust until such time as Elections could be organised. At that meeting I realised with my legal background, previous experience gained elsewhere with a Player’s Association and dealings in sports politics, I could make a contribution. I spoke up when perhaps I should have shut up and consequently before I knew it I was being asked to be the Chair of what became the Steering Group.
By then I’d also become acquainted with several other key players in the PST story, Pam Wilkins who as Minutes Secretary from the outset has kept detailed records of who did & said what in these hectic days. Ken Malley with his FSF expertise and level headed approach one the original 4 and with Pam the longest serving PST BM’s. There were Barry Dewing & Tony Goodall, both very influential voices with PISA, they played important roles over the next few months. Colin Farmery of course is already well known, took on the Media Officer duties for which he was well qualified to do. The full list of all those who took on early roles/duties with the Steering Group or played a part is extensive suffice to say all made significant contributions.
By the time the meeting Tony Foot had completed the process of registering the PST as a Trust pursuant to the FCA Regulations and the PST was official by the 23rd December 2009, with the signatories to that document being Tony Foot, Barry Dewing, Tony Goodall and Richard Sexton at the Globe PH in Chichester. To not quite paraphrase an infamous Prime Minister “Out of chaos had come Order”, the Portsmouth Supporters Trust had become a reality.
We next turned our attention to the very large Mountain we needed to climb - quickly
Jo Collins
Chairperson of the PST Steering Group from 4th January 2010 to 1st AGM 16th September 2010
Elected Chair of PST from 16th September 2010 to 26th September 2011
PST Elected BM from 16th September 2010 to 23rd September 2013
Currently Assistant Secretary/Legal Advisor – Non BM