Shelsweb Team: "The Web Chat is now closed as the 2 lads have to attend meeting now at 8.00 pm"...

Answer: Thanks for all your questions.

Billy: "When do you expect to take over the programme"...

Answer: We're working on a proposal which we hope to finalise soon, but there's a lot of work involved in producing a new programme. It is possible that we could be up and running in 2 weeks hopefully.

JS: "How is your committee structurred?"...

Answer: We currently have 20 members nominated to the interim cmtee at the open meeting 6 weeks ago. This number will be adjusted downward to make it more workable and election to the full cmtee will be open to all members at the AGM

Des: "For those people currently unable to pay the weekly amount, how can they contribute or are they ruled out of being involved in the SSDG?"...

Answer: We are always happy for volunteers to help in any areas of the club we may be decide to get involved in. Whilst non paying members will not have a vote, they will still be kept informed of SSDG progress and their help will not be refused. If people can not find a way to subscribe financially, we will have numerous fundraisers in the future that need supporting. Shared memberships are an option, which means more than one person buying into one membership.

Leixlip Red: "Are there plans in the future for different levels of membership or even non paying members (ie those who cannot afford to pay in but wish to help the club out as best they can but wouldn't have a vote at an AGM, etc)"...

Answer: The membership structure of the SSDg as is - may possibly be reviewed at the upcoming AGM. We are open to any ideas or suggestions from supporters, but it is difficult to incorporate different levels of contribution in terms of our annual draw and voting rights.

: "Have the SSDG been made fully aware of the current financial situation within the club? If no, I presume once the club gets a stake in the club they will be privy to such information? Information such as players salaries, current debt etc? So that as fans, we would know if we are overspending etc..




-- "...

Answer: We have some outline information, but would expect to be privy to more detail once we get our two people on the board.

However, information on individuals' salaries and suchlike would require an amount of confidentiality.

Gonzo Jimenez: "If we are to believe all that is being said at the moment, big things are happening at the club - move, investment etc. Does the SSDG feel that they are being adequately kept informed of these events and do they have any way to represent the supporters views to the club re: these events which will carry any influence?

Once all leases are sold etc, will Accolade Ltd still be the main company controlling the Reds or will it then be Shelbourne FC? If it is Accolade isn't ¤100,000 per 7% of a company that doesn't control the club a bit much? And does ¤100,000 need to be raised before even 1 share is handed over? "...

Answer: As part of the share proposal to be put forward to the members at our AGM, there will be two places on the Shelbourne board of Management for our group. This will give the SSDG a greater say in the day to day running of the club. Something which supporters here have not had in a structured fashion up to this point. The two SSDG representatives on the Shels board will have a chance to put forward the views of our members.

As for the second part re Accolade, we are not involved in those dealings currently and therefore it would be wrong for us to speculate on them.

Brian: "I've heard talk about an annual draw. How will this work?"...

Answer: Each member will be entitled to entry into the draw which will take place at the end of our first 12 months. We have already secured Shels season tickets, international match tickets for the Landsdowne Road / Croke Park, European trips with Shelbourne, and we are currently close to securing a sponsored car as the main prize.

We also are working on securing other substantial sponsored prizes.

Dennis: "What would be the ideal number of participants?"...

Answer: Our target is to get everyone that calls themselves a Shelbourne fan to get involved in some form or other. We want to grow the group as large as possible.

Martin: "Do the SSDG believe that the existence of the group will deter investors from becoming involved in Shels?"...

Answer: No - in fact we are led to believe that the new investors are keen for such a structured supporters group to be involved proactively in the club. We also feel that the financial support we can offer, would be attractive to them.

Shorty: "Will the new group have any say in the decision of where Shels will be playing, after we leave Tolka?"...

Answer: While the SSDG is in it's early days, it is hoped that the views of it's membership will be represented at board level by our two nominees.

Chris: "Are we allowed to know how many have signed up currently? So we may have an indication of how much is currently being raised for the club via this project?

On a similar note, is money raised handed over immediately to the club, or are set limits in place? i.e: Waiting till ¤10K is in the bank to hand it over?"...

Answer: Any money raised by the members of the SSDG is fully controlled by the group. The members will have the final say on where the money will be spent. Its only practical that the committee will have the power to spend certain monies up to a limit, but beyond that, any spending of money over the limit will require members backing. This limit will be defined in the SSDG constitution and signed off by the members at the first AGM in September.

We have 40 members signed up which for less than two months in operation is a good start (40 members equates to 40,000 euro a year. On top of this we are hopeful of running some substantial fundraisers. We are also hopeful that the membership will rise as the months go on).

Francis: "Does the new group see itself as another '400 Club' and eventually taking over the club"...

Answer: No. The SSDG sees itself working in tandem with the owners & BoM of the club rather thasn taking control. This however does not stop us from taking complete control of certain working areas within the club. One such area being the match programme.

MC: "As the new investors will hopefully be on Board soon, have the SSDG had or intend to have any discussions as to their opinion of the Group?"...

Answer: The SSDG was set up to aid Shelbourne FC regardless of who is at the helm, be that Ollie Byrne or a different group. No meetings have taken place with any new investors and the SSDG, but Ollie Byrne has stated that any new potential investors will be made aware about the SSDG's role within the club.

We would be requesting a meeting with the new investors if and when they get involved.

Martin Grehan: "The shares the SSDG will recieve are purely symbolic so whats the significance of the 21% final figure? "...

Answer: Yes they are symbolic, but 21% gives a sizeable shareholding withhout having a controlling interest in the company which is not our purpose. It also entitles us to two seats on the board of management.

Roy McHugh: "I am aware of the aims of SSDG, but is there any plans for a website or booklet breaking it right down, as in point form unlike the letter last week, which although informative was easily thrown about, lost or given up on due to the game itself? I suppose a dumbed down version easily understood???"...

Answer: Yes we are currently setting up our website which will be launched in the coming weeks. We will put all relevant information pretaining to the SSDG and any developments that occur on the website. We have a very full agenda and getting everything sorted will take time.