Update 1 of The Road to the Harris Suite addressed the ethos of the “SayNoCPO” (SNCPO) campaign, issues that have arisen to date, and our strategy going forward.
Whilst meetings with club officials are taking take place, and a meeting with CPO Directors is envisaged, this weekend’s home game against Everton, televised on Sky, and the only significant home game before the meeting on 27th October, provides an opportunity for the campaign team to take the battle to those who matter most – Chelsea’s fans.
At Monday night’s meeting it was agreed that 10,000 flyers would be printed and a crack team of enthusiastic volunteers will be out in the streets (and licensed premises) around SW6 distributing these. We’ll also be wearing snazzy “SayNoCPO” T-shirts and they will also be happy to discuss the campaign with supporters who have any questions.
We would like to stress that this is not a demonstration, neither will we be distributing the flyers directly outside the gates of Stamford Bridge. We do, however, intend to make ourselves visible.
If you take a flyer, and you believe that the proposal to CPO’s to be voted on at the General Meeting scheduled for 27th October is lacking in key areas of information and consultation, then please feel free to show your support for the campaign by holding up your flyer during the game.
We would particularly appreciate your support if you are seated in the following areas which are likely to be in view of the television cameras:-
- by the corner flags at either end of the ground
- behind the goal at either end
- seated in front rows of the West Stand (particularly if you sit in the middle blocks)
Also keep an eye out for camera crews outside the ground – given the intense media spotlight that the campaign has attracted there’s the possibility that there will be television cameras outside the ground as well as those inside covering the match, and if you’re happy to support the campaign please flash a flyer at them too.
In addition, please support the campaign during the game by chanting “SAYNOCPO” (think “we are top of the league” for the beat), or singing any songs that the bards among you may come up with – get your thinking caps on and be creative!
In a further development, the official SNCPO website has now been launched. Please visit http://saynocpo.org for full details about the campaign, including a simple guide to voting. Alternatively if you have any questions that the website doesn’t answer, please send an e-mail to saynocpo@gmail.com
In the interests of balance, Chelsea FC continue to work to promote the “yes” vote, most notably with John Terry’s interview to Chelsea TV in which he urged CPOs to vote yes to the proposal. Ron Harris has also publicly backed the campaign, as has Giles Smith of The Times, through the medium of his TOCWS column. CPO Directors continue to maintain their silence; in accordance with the proposal documents, none of them will be publicly commenting ahead of the meeting.
Update 1 addressed the drive for hearts and minds amongst SNCPO, and it is clear that Saturday will prove a key battle to target not only current CPOs who are undecided about their vote, but also to reach out to CPOs who have not received documentation regarding the meeting.
You can follow #SayNoCPO developments on Twitter, or check out their website at http://saynocpo.org and you can you can follow me via @BlueBaby67