Full disclosure

The ill-tempered resignation of Ken Masters from the board of Bristol Rovers Football Club represents the sorry ending of a project at the club that began back in the early 2000s. The idea was for supporters to invest in the club in exchange for a collective substantial shareholding through Bristol Rovers Supporters Club and representation on the board of directors. In every way, the Bristol Rovers Share Scheme has failed.

Masters became a director of the football club in 2006. He had failed in a previous election of supporters but his persistence soon paid off. Regarded by many as a bit of a joke figure, Masters announced to much laughter at one hustings meeting for a directorship that he was “coming ‘ome” to Bristol, having moved to Lincolnshire many years before. No one was laughing when he finally got on the board. Few people knew whether he ever “came ‘ome”.

A previous elected director, Kim Stuckey, showed how to do the job. A fiercely intelligent and successful businessman, Stuckey communicated brilliantly with supporters, within the obvious confines of confidentiality. Masters saw the role very differently.

As ever with Masters, his resignation letter is full of self-praise, citing his hard work for the Community Department (which is an independent charity that works with the football club), the Youth Academy and Women and Girls football. All well and good but let us be absolutely clear about this: Masters was elected to the board of directors, at a cost of well in excess of a million pounds via the above mentioned Share Scheme, to represent supporters. To that end, his achievements are non existent.

Masters whines that he has “no confidence or trust in any corporate governance going forward under the proprietary operational methods now employed by the Club. My position is therefore untenable.” When the club was being run into the ground and taken into the National League by Nick Higgs, what was he doing then? Swanning around Box Number One, posing for photos at half-time and failing at all times to represent the supporters who he was repeatedly elected to represent. And what was Masters doing when the Supporters Club agreed to dilute its own shareholding in the football club without bothering to ask the fans who had paid to buy shares which put him on the board?

Masters complains that “I have not been invited to attend a Board Meeting since March 5th 2019.” Well, that’s over a year ago, Kenny boy. You were on the board of directors to represent people who paid, and for some reason, still pay, towards a failed and utterly discredited investment scheme. Did it not occur to you at the time, a year ago, that your position was untenable then? Or did you fear you might lose your exalted position with the not so great and good up in the gods?

I suspect he knows far more about whats going on at the top of Bristol Rovers Football Club, even from outside the boardroom and when he says “I love the club” doesn’t he have a duty to come clean on the rumour and speculation that has rumbled on for a very long time? Tell us more about the sacking of Steve Hamer. What did Masters know about it? Did he support it? Tell us if, as is rumoured, the al-Qadi brothers have different opinions on whether to continue loaning money to keep the club going. In other words, after 14 years of woefully failing to represent supporters, let him tell Gasheads what he knows.

Masters’ resignation is totally insignificant, as has been his contribution to the role of Supporters Club director. Instead of complaining and telling us what a great job he did, tell the truth, Mr Masters. Full disclosure. Because you know the truth, don’t you?