Supporter's Club wind up a shame, but...

I'd heard that the Derbyshire County Cricket Supporters Club was likely to be wound up a few days ago and the letter and comments on the Falcons Forum were on that level not altogether surprising, nor the club's response on the web site.

The disappointment of Colin Gardner, who has done a lot of good work on behalf of the club, is tangible in that letter, but I don't think that its publishing is doing anyone involved any favours. Committee business should, unless decided by a vote to the contrary, be kept as a private matter and Colin should, after a long involvement with the club, have been well aware of that. Rightly or wrongly, there is an air of toys being thrown out of a pram, which is unfortunate.

I don't pretend to be privy to the innermost details of what has happened but I am old enough in the tooth to know that there are always two sides to every story. While knee-jerk reactions are always likely - especially in Derbyshire cricket - one has to be in full possession of the facts, from both sides, before making a judgement on the rights and wrongs of anything.

The facts are that the Supporters Club has done a terrific job over the years for Derbyshire, but maybe it needs revamped and restructured to bring it into the modern era. The book shop was a nice place to stop by, but its a long time since I bought anything there as the stock really needed pruning and organising. The chartered librarian in me ached to sort out the shelves and make searching a little easier, but there was always the value of serendipity to be considered, I suppose.

I have a feeling that a decision was made in haste and if I have learned one thing in life it is that there is much value to be had in sleeping on things and weighing them over in your mind before doing anything that you later have cause to regret.

I hope that the shop isn't fully lost to the club and I hope that the Supporters Club is revamped to appeal to perhaps a wider membership than was the case. There is always opposition to change, but it is as inevitable in life as the sun going down each evening. A restructured club, ideally with the involvement of people with experience and interest, would continue to be of value and I know that the purchases made by them for the players, their equipment and their well-being have always been appreciated.

For now, it is important that the resources revert to the club, for which they raised the cash and that the club works with interested parties to introduce a new, modernised one in time.

What has happened is sad, but we don't need to blow it out of proportion. It is what happens on the pitch that counts.