In Conversation with Rachel Martin: From Bill Nicholson to the Fan Advisory Board

“I was so fortunate to meet Bill Nicholson,” Rachel Martin told me.

As a young Spurs supporter she had gone to White Hart Lane simply hoping to take a photograph outside the ground. Instead, Nicholson himself appeared, took her inside, introduced her to the first team and sent her onto the pitch with the groundsman to take pictures.

A few decades later Rachel is on the board of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust and a representative on the club’s Fan Advisory Board. 

But how did these entities come about?

In 1997, former Conservative minister David Mellor, better known to many football fans for a notorious tabloid headline involving a Chelsea shirt, was appointed by Tony Blair to chair the newly formed Football Task Force.

One of the key recommendations of the task force was to strengthen supporter representation, and in response the government launched something called ‘Supporters Direct’ in 2000. This was an umbrella organisation established to provide support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic representation within football clubs. It was in response to this initiative that the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) was established, in 2001. THST describes itself as “a formal, democratic, non-profit organisation led by fans for fans. Its primary aim is to unite fans and enhance their influence over the management of their club while strengthening the connection between the club and its community.”

Supporter trusts later gained even greater influence. In 2021, a group of twelve of Europe’s most successful clubs styled themselves as ‘founding members’ of a proposed new Super League. That the twelve included Tottenham Hotspur suggests the measure of success must have been measured in euros and pounds, more than honours and trophies. The instant and impassioned opposition to the proposal by supporters killed the idea and led to another UK government initiative, this time styled as a ‘Fan-Led Review’. 

Keen not to be completely railroaded by the government, the Premier League created its own ‘Fan Engagement Standard’ ahead of the 2023/24 season. This required every club to have a board-level fan-engagement lead, publish an annual Fan Engagement Plan, and set up a Fan Advisory Board.

In the Spring of 2023, THST and THFC set out the legitimacy of the Trust and its formal relationship with the Club in a Memorandum of Understanding. This defines the number of formal meetings to be held and the seniority of the attendees from both sides. Donna Cullen, for the Club, and Rachel, then co-chair of the Trust, put their signatures on the agreement.

I’ve got to know Rachel Martin since she kindly wrote a review for my book in the THST newsletter. We recently had a chat about her love of Spurs and involvement in the Trust.

Rachel became a Spurs fan as a young child, like many of us she was influenced by the allegiance of her father. 

“I made the mistake of asking him if Tottenham Hotspur was the same thing as Spurs. And he just looked at me and said something like ‘oh, God, you don't even know that!’ And I just thought, I've really got to get to grips with this. And it grew massively from there.”

Despite a busy life as a mum and professional career as a head teacher, Rachel was drawn to the Trust as a way of being involved with the Club. Initially she just wanted to be a member but in 2015 she was invited onto the board.

Her approach to the opportunity reflects the type of person Rachel is.

“I thought, I'm not going to just join and sit on a board. I'm going to join and be really active.” she told me.

“Because that's in your nature, right?” I pointed out.

“Yeah, because what's the point, you know? There's no point just moaning about things, or letting everyone else get on with it.”

Moaning about things is what a lot of Spurs supporters are doing at the moment, including leveling criticism at the Trust. 

“I think one of the things that supporters' trusts find very difficult to get over to people is what the remit is. Actually, within the remit of supporters' trusts, I think they're very successful, but it's off-pitch. And people blame supporters' trusts when the team isn't doing well, because it's all down to how the team is doing. And we can't directly affect how the team is doing, much as we'd love to.”

“As a trust, we know that we've got an exclusive position in that we are independent of the Club, but we have a right, and it's written into a contract, to meet with them regularly. We have access to the staff who are brilliant at the Club, and so we can negotiate. And we have our supporter survey - what we call our Five Principles for Owners of Spurs - that we do for each of those meetings, and it matters to them. It really, really matters to them.”

The Trust’s influence is real, but it operates in areas supporters rarely see: ticketing, accessibility, supporter safety and representation.

The Trust is justifiably proud of the positive impact it has made, within its off-pitch remit, and feels that the Club does listen. One recent campaign, for example ‘Fill Our Home, Find Our Voice’ is all about the club enabling young people to afford to come to the games. As a result of the initiative the Club agreed to the Trust’s proposal to extend the age range for people to receive young adult concession rates from the current 18-21 to 18-25. A genuine benefit for hard pressed young people wanting to support the team.

“I have to say that when we presented this one to the Club, the whole senior level was there, including Peter Charrington, and it was well-received. And, in terms of putting junior and young adult concessions throughout the stadium, they've agreed to that as well, which is massive.” Rachel said.

Much of the Trust’s work happens through the Football Supporters Association, where they work collectively with the other supporters' trusts to bring influence to bear. 

“The reason that there is a cap on away ticket pricing is because of supporters' trusts working together.  And safe standing, the really successful return of safe standing and rail seating is down to supporters' trusts.”

Rachel is contemplating a forthcoming change.

“I wanted to leave before I ended up hating the Club. You know?” she joked.

“Well, I don't hate the Club. I still love the Club. I love the team, although I'm disappointed in them, let's say, in my headteacher voice.”

A thought occurs to me. “Maybe we should have you as the manager to sort them out.”

“I'm absolutely useless at tactics, so no.”

“Well, let's not go there ….with the new guy…..” 

Rachel’s role on the Trust board will finish at the end of the season, but her relationship with the Club will not. Like other passionate supporters who volunteer their time to organisations like THST, she will remain what she has always been first and foremost - a Spurs fan.

Andrew Pettifer is the author of "When the Final Whistle Blows: Glory, Grief and Tottenham Hotspur"