Half Time Discussion Yesterday With Club Slo

[scottg]

Had a brief but interesting half time discussion with the Clubs SLO (Supporters Liaison Officer) John Burke yesterday. He intimated that despite the general feeling of despair, concern and disappointment at the way things were going at Dens he had nothing in his inbox relating to the subject. 
Having had further chat with him this morning John said that if he did he would be more than happy to engage with those running the Club in attempt to improve communication between supporters and club officials. He also said he’d be quite happy to facilitate any meeting requested by any of our fans groups eg DFCSS/DSA. 
So despite all the doom, gloom and posts every hour on social media there appears to be no one who has made an approach to the man acting as the interface between club and fan base. 
I will be passing this on to Norrie Price with my own concerns as my own personal preference would be for our Supporters Trust to deal with such issues and report back fellow members making it much more practical. This is though an opportunity for people who don’t want to go down that road and have issues or questions relating to the Club that they feel they need answers to. 
John Nelms could at a stretch justify not answering some of the questions he is accused of keeping us in the dark with given no individual has been down the formal route or correct channels . That does not detract from the relevant points raised in recent Society correspondence, but if they the Trust bring this to our SLO’s attention then at least it gives him the opportunity to look into it on their behalf. 
I understand the Club being in the Premiership has to have an SLO. I have huge respect for both John and his family who have been following Dundee and supporting the Club in many different ways all their lives. He does this for the love of the Football Club and still pays his way despite him officially being an ‘employee’. 
His e mail address for anyone wishing to contact him is [email protected]

 

[Ludo*1]

I had no idea we even had a SLO anymore tbh. That's probably why his inbox is empty.

[Prince Buster]

I sent him an email a few years back and am still waiting for a reply. I questioned the thinking around having the military visit Dens for remembrance day at a Rangers match. Rubbered, not even the courtesy of a response saying he'd seen the email and doesn't think it worth taking forward. I think I'll look that one out and resend since he's now offering to engage with the fans after what? six years in the position?

He promises much but delivers absolutely nada. The Supporters' Liaison Officer who doesn't liaise with supporters - only at Dundee FC. Oh, sorry, he liaises with the clique at the top of DSA.

Surely a relevant route is second largest or so shareholder asking questions? Do DFCSS do that any more or have countless refusals to respond simply resulted in them not even trying any more?

[scottg]

11 minutes ago, Prince Buster said:

I sent him an email a few years back and am still waiting for a reply. I questioned the thinking around having the military visit Dens for remembrance day at a Rangers match. Rubbered, not even the courtesy of a response saying he'd seen the email and doesn't think it worth taking forward. I think I'll look that one out and resend since he's now offering to engage with the fans after what? six years in the position?

He promises much but delivers absolutely nada. The Supporters' Liaison Officer who doesn't liaise with supporters - only at Dundee FC. Oh, sorry, he liaises with the clique at the top of DSA.

Surely a relevant route is second largest or so shareholder asking questions? Do DFCSS do that any more or have countless refusals to respond simply resulted in them not even trying any more?

Would it not make more sense to drop the note  without firing the insults ? 

[Prince Buster]

6 minutes ago, scottg said:

Would it not make more sense to drop the note  without firing the insults ? 

What insults? He ignores emails and doesn't liaise with the fans, these are facts.

Is sitting waiting for someone to contact you really liaising? Has he approached DFCSS? A fans group that holds a significant share of the club and represents a decent number of supporters surely should be on his list to speak to? Does he actually do anything to justify his title?

[QuesoGrande]

Don’t know the guy but tbh this sounds like a cop out. No emails therefore no issues? Come on. 
As a Dundee fan he must know the concerns. Doesn’t take a lot of time online to see the rage on here and on social media.

Also being reactive is only half the job. What about being proactive? I had no idea we had an SLO. It’s not well publicised so I’d imagine a lot of fans are in the same boat. If this is a formal position it needs to be well known, easily found and accountable. He needs to be putting himself out there and asking for feedback. 
However let’s park that and now that we know this position is there, it’s absolutely the best way to get fans heard in a constructive way. Emailing the guy with ‘Nelms out’ BS is not helpful. I’d suggest as many people as possible get in touch with suggestions for improvement, properly worded so that they are taken as constructive criticism. 

[Harold Finch]

Maybe the email went to his spam folder

Who should he approach at DFCSS? Tott, Forbes?  

I think I would rather try and contact the other 178 members individually.

Agree that there has to be more communication between SLO and the fans, the fact that Scott managed a conversation with him yesterday is the first small step in a long journey 

[scottg]

1 minute ago, QuesoGrande said:

Don’t know the guy but tbh this sounds like a cop out. No emails therefore no issues? Come on. 
As a Dundee fan he must know the concerns. Doesn’t take a lot of time online to see the rage on here and on social media.

Also being reactive is only half the job. What about being proactive? I had no idea we had an SLO. It’s not well publicised so I’d imagine a lot of fans are in the same boat. If this is a formal position it needs to be well known, easily found and accountable. He needs to be putting himself out there and asking for feedback. 
However let’s park that and now that we know this position is there, it’s absolutely the best way to get fans heard in a constructive way. Emailing the guy with ‘Nelms out’ BS is not helpful. I’d suggest as many people as possible get in touch with suggestions for improvement, properly worded so that they are taken as constructive criticism. 

I’m pretty sure the Trust will be going through him re unanswered correspondence and I’m happy to let them bat for me, much more practical. If non represented individuals want to drop him a note he is happy to take points made and questions asked to the Club. Might just be worth a try.  

[Prince Buster]

Just resent the email so his inbox isn't empty now. I can probably now look forward to a response to the email I sent on 9th December 2018 which is transcribed below.

Couple of things to note - at the time Dundee fans flags were regularly being removed from hoardings, when the stewards actually allowed them to be unfurled, and SSAFA stands for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association - it represents all the forces and is not solely a soldiers' charity.

 

Hi John

 

I have a couple of questions I’d like you to put to the club board regarding happenings at today’s game against Rangers.

Firstly I noted that several Rangers fans’ flags were draped over advertising hoardings blocking the messages these hoardings carried. Why were these not removed by stewards? Does the club not think that these advertisers might be paying for these boards with games such as this one which is live on TV foremost in their minds? Seems a very poor deal for the advertisers.

Reference the half time introduction of military personnel. For the record I have no issues with the club supporting any charity however we were playing at home against a club that is known to align itself with the British military and is followed by a good number of a certain type of people with certain views that many Dundee fans find abhorrent. The parade of the soldiers around the ground played into these people’s hands and was great entertainment for them. However I can’t for the life of me see how either Dundee FC or SSAFA benefitted from this. I understand that the third kit needed to be released in time for Christmas, and the team could still have worn it against Rangers, however why was this display not saved for a less contentious event such as our next home game against Livingston on Boxing Day or the St. Johnstone game on 29^th December?

Lastly, the announcer at half time when introducing the military personnel stated twice that SSAFA is a soldier’s charity. This is very poor from a representative of a club that has come out in support of SSAFA. As an ex serviceman myself who has worked with and supported SSAFA during my service I believe this is entirely unacceptable. Will the club apologise to SSAFA for this?

[Prince Buster]

Got a decent response from John after resending the email - obviously I'm not chasing responses to it after all this time.

Johns email address is [email protected] it's also on the website on the contacts page.

[scottg]

12 minutes ago, Prince Buster said:

Got a decent response from John after resending the email - obviously I'm not chasing responses to it after all this time.

Johns email address is [email protected] it's also on the website on the contacts page.

Excellent 

[Prince Buster]

Just now, scottg said:

Excellent 

Comes across as genuinely wanting to take things forward. Looking forward to some progress so well done on speaking to him and kicking this off.