Forever Bury, the supporters trust of today’s visitors, was one of many to be born in a storm. In March 2002, the club was hit by a cash crisis and Bury Football Club was placed into administration.  An army of supporters was mobilised and funds were frantically raised in a desperate attempt to save the club. The "Save our Shakers" campaign was launched, orchestrated by the man so good his parents named him twice, Neville Neville, father to a couple of lads called Phil and Gary who continue to scrape a living out of football at obscure English clubs.

On its website, www.foreverbury.org, the Trust acknowledges the huge debt the fans owe to Neville, who tirelessly organised supporters groups, gave media interviews, worked closely with the administrators, and finally arranged a deal which would ultimately save the Shakers from extinction.

Eventually, Bury Football Club was allowed to come out of administration due to the massive amount of monies that had been raised through various fundraising schemes and a hell of a lot of bucket rattling all over the country. The debts were restructured and the purchase of the ground on the fans’ behalf by a local benefactor allowed the club to play at Gigg Lane rent free for two years.

Forever Bury was officially launched on 4th July 2002 and, in recognition of the massive amount of funds that were generated by supporters, was granted a seat on the Bury FC Board of Directors. The Trust is now one of the major shareholders in Bury FC, owning 319,000 shares.

With the spectre of non-existence hopefully exorcised, Forever Bury is now able to look to the long-term with its fundraising projects. Their annual Ramble to Rochdale sponsored walk in August helped to raise money for a new minibus for disabled supporters, as have other diverse events such as a sponsored body shave.

 A month earlier, a Summer Fun Day was held, along similar lines to the successful open day GTFC organised a couple of seasons ago (and will hopefully do so again before too long), and local charities were invited to raise funds for their own good causes. They also benefit from an annual charity football match, last year’s being contested by Forever Bury FC and Soccer AM.  

The demon drink has proved a fantastic ongoing earner for the Trust, with its Forever Bury beer, a strong (4.5%) golden bitter, bringing in £5 for every 9-gallon barrel sold by the Leyden Brewery which produces it and also 10p on each bottle purchased from the local pubs and supermarkets which stock it. Annual beer festivals have also been held since 2005, with last year’s raising a remarkable figure of around £11,000.

All in all, Forever Bury appears to be one of the Trust movement’s success stories, although the proposed amendments to their constitution put forward for approval by their members in October last year do suggest that they are now experiencing the downsizing that inevitably seems to occur when a club is no longer in crisis. These amendments included a proposed reduction in the number of members required to form a quorum at an AGM from 50 to 20 and a decrease in the minimum number of board members required from 15 to 6. This does not mean that Forever Bury is struggling however, merely that they are realists and adaptable to change.

Closer to home now, as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the GTFC Youth system, the Grimsby Town Supporters Trust has agreed to sponsor the Grimsby Town Youth team’s pre-match arrangements for their Midlands Floodlit Youth Cup semi-final at Port Vale, which will now be played on Wednesday 4th March.

The Grimsby Town Youth team won the competition in 2006 and coach Neil Woods is looking to prepare the squad in the best possible way as they look to overcome the current holders.

Woods told the Grimsby Evening Telegraph,

“With the support of the Supporters Trust we are able to give the lads the experience that the first team have when travelling to an away game.”

In closing, don’t forget that the Fans Forum, which has been jointly organised by GTFC and GTST, will be taking place on Friday 20^th February at Blundell Park. The doors will be open from 7pm, admission is free and the event will give you the opportunity to put your questions to manager Mike Newell, GTFC chairman John Fenty and GTST chairman Dave Otter. The event will be broadcast live on both Mariners World and BBC Radio Humberside. This is your chance to have your say and get your questions answered, so don’t waste it.