Tek wrote:

My tuppence worth for what it's worth to anyone from FU looking in (probably not a lot,but I'll give it anyway if anyone's interested).

I didn't agree with the timing of the protest during such an important match for the club BUT i do fundamentally agree with the principle for setting-up the organisation.You would be hard pushed to find a Dundee United supporter out there who wants a regime change as much as i,and I've also been as critical of Thompson and his Chairmanship as any other.So in a respect with me you are 'preaching to the converted'.

So it is with dissapointment therefore that i would have to say (at the moment) that i would want nothing to do with the group.

My reason/s?

The reaction to any perceived criticism of the Group and/or disagreement about their protest has been met with (at best) indifference and (at worst) out and out hostility towards fellow supporters by some FU members.I am talking about primarily on Twitter.I am not a Facebook user but can hazard a guess that it's the same on there.

This is not the way to win folk over guys.Infact what it might even end up doing is make people who support Thompson even more entrenched in their view.

Instead why not offer a conciliatory tone towards anyone who disagrees?For instance if someone were to say 'i don't agree with you guys protesting during a big game' the response could so easily be 'sorry to hear you disagree but could i tell you a bit more about why we feel this is quite so necessary in private?I can also send you a link to our site which would tell you more about our future plans etc'.

It's really that easy and this approach would mean that even if someone doesn't agree with the groups methods initially their support isn't lost to you completely which it certainly will be if you reply with indifference or worse,hostility.

I do think this group has been set-up for the right reasons and there is nothing at all wrong with that statement of bullet-points AP posted above.I particulary am pleased to see the confession that FU 'don't have all the answers' (this type of contrition and honesty is a start).

But for me what they are saying in their statements of intent and how some of their members are behaving towards fellow supporters is totally at odds with one an other and at the moment is making a bit of a mockery of the misnomer 'Fans United'.

I hope people reading this from FU take this more as friendly advice rather than an attack.Because as i say,i believe in the fundamental reasons the group was set-up for.

But a new approach has to be taken here Gentlemen if you want to win fans round to your cause.We have a modest support and if our core base of 6,000 are utterly divided then i fear your venture is doomed to failure before it has a chance to properly take off.

A bit more openess and (a lot more) friendliness would be a good start imho.

If i were to see that then i would be more inclined to give my support and ideas to the cause.



 

This is where I'm at as well.
 

Cheers Heggy Handshake. There needs to be as much information as possible from FU to help people decide to join or not,without having to wait for a meeting.It could end up a total shambles people turning up on the night with little or no information.