Swindon Town fanbase is threatening to eat itself over SO69 protests... it's on all of us to find a route to progress

There is an irony in how Swindon Town’s once disjointed football team has become unified behind a common cause at the same time its supporters are drifting further apart.

On Saturday, around 250 fans – most donning orange hats – congregated outside the Arkell’s Stand in a show of protest against the club’s ownership.

Generally, the event was considered to have gone off peacefully. There were isolated instances of angry criticism from fans who disagree with The Spirit of 69 group’s position, but nothing so significant as to warrant headlines.

Over the following two days, however, the split in the fanbase has become increasingly evident. And in several instances, increasingly ugly. Exchanges have become barbed and personal. The Moonraker is aware of several volunteers in fan groups who have questioned their roles, given the bile they have had to deal with.

Perhaps it has been encouraged by the cover of anonymity afforded by the internet, perhaps it is because social media incubates aggression. Regardless, this steady descent into angry division needs arresting. And fast.

People are losing their sensibilities. They are losing their sense of perspective. It’s time for a moment of introspection.

Fans who want to protest have a right to do so: the club and the police have accepted as much.

Fans who do not want to protest are entitled to their views.

Neither set has the god-given right to abuse or belittle the other, and there should be a safe and constructive space for the exchange of ideas.

To achieve this, though, requires all involved to be receptive to the idea of discussion. It requires a willingness to listen, and learn, and be open to having your mind changed. It requires a maturity of conversation which at present seems to be well beyond far too many of us.

At the heart of the falling out appears to be a fundamental lack of understanding of, or willful ignorance over SO69’s stance.

SO69’s objections lie with what they call the current club leadership’s “systemic incompetence”.

Their grievances stretch across the general County Ground experience, a failure to deliver on promises, a perceived lack of transparency, and concerns over the financial outlook of the business - all of which have combined to paint a picture of an administration which, in their eyes, is unfit to run the club.

Many of these complaints have merit, some are indisputable, some are debatable, some are embellished or misdirected. But they come from a place of affection for the club, and worry over the club’s future.

The assertion that the group’s three founders are only in it for their own self-publicity is absurd, particularly given two have experienced awful personal tragedies in the past eight weeks and could quite sensibly have walked away to look after themselves.

On the flipside, many protestors – or those actively in support of SO69 - have been all too quick to dismiss those who object to what they are doing, sometimes condescendingly, sometimes maliciously.

There are many good reasons why fans may not wish to protest. There are many good reasons why fans may not be aware of the situation at the club in depth. Heck, in some cases there may even be fans who know much more about the situation than the protestors but feel this sort of action will not be effective.

SO69 are a single-mission protest group. Their only stated aim is to get Morfuni to publicly list Swindon Town for sale.

That would mean the creation of a prospectus for prospective buyers, and a data room to allow possible suitors to explore the club as an investment.

Whenever Morfuni has been asked about his willingness to sell the club, his fallback answer has been that he would engage with any potential new owner, provided they can show an offer letter and proof of funds.

However, without critical information thrown up by due diligence, it is highly unlikely that an interested party would jump straight to the offer stage. After all, how many of us have bought a house we’ve never seen?

The “letter of offer and proof of funds” response is a chicken-and-egg cover for the reality of the situation, which is that Morfuni has no inclination to sell. He told The Moonraker as much last week.

So will protest change his mind?

SO69 were invited to meet with Morfuni and Anthony Hall, via a third party, on Friday night. That meeting took place at the County Ground on Saturday morning, with Terry Pierce representing the protest group.

That the SO69 organisers attended at all has prompted backlash from some supporters, who have seen it as a failure to only engage with the club in public arenas – an early commitment made by the founders.

The difficult truth of diplomacy is it often cannot operate in the open, sometimes for legal reasons, sometimes because of egos, sometimes to protect commercial sensitivities. It was an over-step by SO69 to commit to anything else.

As frustrating as it is, progress is often made behind closed doors. That can create an illusion of inaction - there is a reason the Trust routinely receive heavy-handed criticism for being both too confrontational with the club and not confrontational enough.

Morfuni does not have an obligation to detail every aspect of his private operation in a forum of thousands. He does, however, have a duty of care to the supporters of Swindon Town.

But, and herein lies the rub, Swindon fans have a duty of care to each other, too.

Within the club’s fan engagement plan, there is a commitment to a fans’ forum in March.

The Supporters’ Club, who typically run these events, have been pushing for a date to be confirmed. SO69 are keen to see the format changed, introducing third-party moderators and ensuring all questions from supporters are answered.

Before we get to that forum, however, the fanbase needs to address its internal quarrels, recognise the insanity of the current status quo, and work collaboratively towards a better future.

It’s time to follow the lead of Ian Holloway and the players.