Monthly Update

Dee4Life update – October

Dear members,

I write this update still on a high from Saturday’s away win at Livingston and our ascent into the top half of the table. Whatever happens against Rangers tonight, I think we can all be happy with how Tony Docherty’s side have adapted to life back in the Premiership.

Last week, we met with Dundee City MSPs Joe FitzPatrick and Shona Robison to ask for their assistance in resolving the impasse we have reached in our attempts to have the club board address concerns raised by Dee4Life members.

In our discussion, Joe and Shona emphasised how vitally important Dundee FC is to the city and that they understand Dee4Life is seeking only to ensure that the future of the club is secure. They are sympathetic to our efforts to have boardroom representation restored and appreciate the importance of fans being able to ask challenging questions when appropriate.

Joe and Shona have asked to meet with us again once we have consulted with our members at this month’s AGM and we thank them for taking the time to meet with us and consider what they can do to help.

As you know, Dee4Life’s entitlement to two board places was agreed when FPS took over the club 10 years ago and is enshrined in Dundee’s Articles of Association. A lot has happened in the past decade so it may well be that what was negotiated back then might not be the best option for all parties now. As we made clear to Joe and Shona, if the club have an alternative model in mind then we are open to discussing it, noting that members will have the final say on any proposed changes.

The current board may feel the idea of oversight unnecessary and unfair given the financial stability that FPS have brought. We acknowledge this stability and would far prefer to be collaborating with them for the benefit of Dundee but, in line with our founding principles and with the agreement made 10 years ago, Dee4Life has a duty to ask difficult questions on behalf of fans, especially around the proposed new stadium development.

As we communicated with you a few weeks ago, we were pleased to hear that the club owners currently have no plans to sell Dens Park and groundshare, following Dark Blues Property Holdings’ purchase of our historic home. We believe the club owners are doing what they see as being in the best interests of the club, but there are still many unanswered questions about the stadium project that need to be addressed.

Also in October, Dee4Life Directors met with the committee of the Dundee Supporters’ Association and robust discussions about recent development took place. We believe it is healthy for open conversations to take place between all parties who have the best interests of Dundee FC at heart, and we will meet with the DSA again in January.

As recent communications from the club have shown, the DSA does a fantastic job of providing them with assistance and, as a long-standing Invergowrie Dark Blue, I know first-hand the work done to represent member clubs.

There is significant overlap between Dee4Life and DSA membership and, while our respective constitutions mean there are differences in the issues we will raise with the club board, we all want a Dundee that is successful on the park and secure off it.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the AGM on Saturday 11 November (start time 11am in Dundee Social Club) and hope you can encourage family and friends to join us before then so they too can help shape our future.

Best wishes,

Keith Winter, Dee4Life Chair

Chairman's Updates

Dear members,

Over the past three months, representatives of Dee4Life have been meeting with John Nelms and other Dundee FC officials. The purpose of these talks has been to establish a framework for the future relationship between the Trust and the club, including the restoration of fan representation to the Dens Park board.

These discussions are progressing in a positive manner but, given the extent to which the relationship between the two groups deteriorated over several years, there remains some distance to go before we arrive at an agreed position. We feel that for a fans’ representative to be successful, their addition to the board has to be done in a positive manner that adds value to the club and its supporters.

We sincerely hope that the positive dialogue we have had since New Year lays the foundation for a fresh start that will allow us to represent our members – and the wider support – at board level, supporting the club’s development and helping to grow our fan base while also asking challenging questions when appropriate.

Gardyne visit and DSA meeting

I visited Gardyne campus on Wednesday to present the findings of our season ticket survey. A total of 200 members responded, with many taking the opportunity to ask other questions of the club.

We will share the results and their responses to the most asked questions with you all shortly and acknowledge the club’s decision to reduce early bird prices by £15.

After that meeting, myself and several other Dee4Life directors met with the committee of the Dundee Supporters Association.

This builds on our improving relations with the DSA over the past year and it was very obvious from our meeting that the same hopes and concerns are shared across both groups.

Combined we represent a substantial part of the Dundee fan base and we will work together closely in pursuit of our common goals.

The Dundee players celebrate a goal in our recent win over Ayr United. — Image: Derek Gerrard Photography

Earlier that day, Greg Fenton had reaffirmed his intention to meet with supporters’ groups, including Dee4Life, in the close season and we welcome this.

The more communication and engagement that takes place, the more likely it is that the club and fans will move forward as one.

In the meantime, I would encourage as many of you as possible to take advantage of the reduced admission offering for tomorrow’s vital home clash with Hamilton.

Times are tough for many people right now, so we were pleased to see ticket prices slashed to just £15 for the game. Let’s hope for a bumper crowd to cheer the Mighty Dark Blues on to victory.

Kenny Valentine
Trust Director

Chairman's Updates

Monthly Update

Dear members,

Increasing dialogue between Dee4Life and the club has been taking place in recent months, and we are hopeful that this will lead to a stronger relationship that will enable us to better represent Dundee supporters on all the issues that matter to them.

To that end, we were pleased that Dundee’s General Manager Greg agreed to a Dee4Life proposal for members to route any questions they have about the club through the Trust. We will share further details of how members can submit questions over the next few weeks. Greg also expressed his interest in attending a future Dee4Life meeting to hear from members in person.

That agreement came when our Director Kenny Valentine held another positive meeting with Greg at Gardyne Training Centre last month. At this, Greg confirmed that the club are committed to addressing the problems that some supporters have experienced when trying to gain entry to Dens Park this season.

We have agreed to support them in this endeavour and we hope to share plans for an improved admissions experience shortly.

Kenny (above) also shared feedback from members regarding the cleanliness at Dens. Supporters have noted improvements over recent weeks but also report a few areas where more work is required. Greg was pleased to receive this feedback and confirmed that steps continue to be made to improve the general upkeep of Dens.

In response to a question raised by one of our members, it was confirmed the club have plans to relaunch the Junior Dark Blues. We have offered our support for this initiative and look forward to helping with a new offering for young Dundee fans.

Prior to this meeting, Kenny was introduced to John Nelms, spent more than half an hour discussing the relationship between Dundee FC and Dee4Life with him.

Elsewhere, Directors George McIrvine and Scott Lorimer represented the Trust at the recent Dundee FC Sponsors’ evening at the Invercarse Hotel.

Board members George McIrvine (centre) and Scott Lorimer (second right) represented Dee4Life at the recent Dundee FC Sponsors' Dinner. The are pictured with players Luke Hannant and Max Anderson. — Board members George McIrvine (centre) and Scott Lorimer (second right) represented Dee4Life at the recent Dundee FC Sponsors’ Dinner.

The evening was well attended, with players and management staff taking time to chat with guests.
George and Scott had good conversations with Luke Hannant and Max Anderson, who they shared a table with, and both took an interest in hearing about the work Dee4Life does.

The more members we have, the more successful our efforts will be. Please encourage fellow Dees to sign up to the Trust as we aim to provide a voice for supporters.

Best wishes,
Grant Hill (Vice Chair)

society updates

Chair’s Update – October 2022

Firstly, I apologise for the delay in getting October’s update to you all – so much has happened over the past month and we wanted some of our projects to reach fruition before circulating.

As part of our efforts to improve our digital presence, we have launched a new website at www.dee4life.com

that incorporates a new membership management platform. This was a much-needed upgrade and the new platform will help automate a lot of the time-consuming administration work and ensure an improved experience for members.

Gone are manual spreadsheets, difficult to pull distribution lists and members’ communications relying on director intervention. Now, we can offer you a seamless customer experience including simplified 4-step sign-up process, multiple payment options, ability to self-update membership details, digital membership card and access to a members’ only portal to see trust documents.

This work has been led by our directors Ross Day and Ryan Norrie and forms a major part of our efforts over the past few months to overhaul the way the Trust is run to ensure we are a more modern and agile organisation capable of representing Dundee supporters.

You will have seen that our annual membership fee has risen to £10, a modest increase that was backed by the vast majority of those who completed our recent survey. This will help us expand our activities and, where appropriate, support the club’s development. This deduction will occur automatically on your renewal date and no action by yourself is necessary.

In a similar vein, our recent raffle of framed tops sponsored by Dee4Life in recent seasons – organised by Ross – raised £420 for our funds and the winners will be receiving their prizes by post shortly. We will also raffle/auction Paul McGowan’s 2021/22 awayshirt at our AGM on Saturday 19 November, when limited edition Dee4Life pin badges – an initiative by board member Mary Coyle – will also be on sale.

This will be the first occasion since pre-Covid that we have been able to hold an in-person AGM and we hope as many members as possible take the opportunity to attend. The event starts at 11am in Dundee Social Club and it is our intention to complete the formal part of the meeting as quickly as possible to allow the maximum time for questions from the floor and an open discussion about the direction of both Dee4Life and the club we all love.

The proposed development at Camperdown will no doubt be uppermost in the minds of many of you and we are keen to hear your thoughts about this at the AGM. As we shared with you last month, we have written to the club to ask that they consult with fans directly about the potential impact, risks and benefits of the development for the football club.

We have been gauging the views of experts in planning, property, construction, and the law as we seek to provide oversight on behalf of all Dundee fans. Given our club’s previous brushes with extinction, we believe this is essential. While we support the development in principle, our backing is contingent on the club addressing the issues that we outlined previously and fully engaging with supporters.

Kind regards.
Norrie
Chair