Edinburgh Evening News - 26th November 2002

Fans' Trust making the mark
By David Hardie

THE first football fans trust to be set up in Scotland has made its second four-figure donation to Hibs, it was revealed today.

The Erin Trust, launched four years ago, has become the role model for similar organisations for Aberdeen supporters and, most recently, those who follow Hearts.

And if the sums involved may be small in comparison to the Easter Road outfit’s £7.3 million turnover, Simon Wallace, vice-convenor of the Trust, insisted they were already making a difference.

A second batch of 5000 shares in Hibs was bought with the £8900 raised during the course of the past 12 months but vital medical equipment was also purchased for club physio Malcolm Colquhoun.

A portable ice-making machine to allow injuries to be treated more quickly, two medical boxes for transporting equipment and two treatment couches have been ordered thanks to the trust.

Wallace said: "Last year the money we raised helped Alex McLeish travel overseas to scout for new players but this time we wanted to get something a bit more solid, something which says ‘we bought that’.

"If the portable ice-making machine can help an injured player get back into action that little bit quicker then we’ll have played a part."

Ken Lewandowski and guest receives the cheque from Lawrie Reilly and Simon Wallace

As last year a further sum has been invested for long-term investment and Wallace is hoping proof that the trust is helping the club will persuade more fans to join the likes of Lawrie Reilly, Craig Paterson, Keith Wright and Ian Murray who are already members.

He said: "We have a couple of hundred members but we’d like to see that increase to thousands. It’s been a bit of a Catch-22 situation with people wanting to see what we could do before pledging themselves to the trust. I think we are proving we can help and the more members we have the greater contribution we will be able to make to our club in the future."

While the trust intends to continue building its shareholding in the club to give supporters a greater voice, Wallace insisted they’ll stop short of demanding a seat on the board.

The promise of a series of fans forums from chairman Ken Lewandowski was, he said, the better way to keep supporters informed.

He said: "It’s been tried elsewhere, getting a fans’ representative on the board. But directors of any company are bound by rules of confidentiality.

"Ken said he’d like to hold the forums on a quarterly basis; we believe that is a more transparent arrangement in which the club is open to the supporters’ views."

Erin Trust can be contacted at www.erintrust.org or Erin Community Trust, PO Box 70 70 70, Edinburgh, EH6 8WE.