Planet Swans ArchivesWell, you would think so but several people are questioning how this scheme is run and fingers are being pointed at Mike Lewis and it seems that questions need answering.
It’s hard to pass concrete judgement, well in fact it’s impossible without having the full facts to hand but let’s look at what we do know for now and take it from there. First off, we’ll take the Townhill area of Swansea. Quite a large catchment area and full of Swansea fans. One Swans fan has figures for the amount collected in this area over the past twelve months and it amounts to around £13000. The same Swans fan states that the law relating to lotteries states that around 50% needs to be paid out in winnings. The same area which has ‘donated’ around £13000 has received in winnings less than £1200. That is less than 10% of the total fund.
Now it is appreciated that this is feasibly possible. There could be other areas where everyone is a winner – Sandfields perhaps??? But you would presume that with a large collection (it’s around 250 people paying £1 per week) you would have more in winnings than just £1200 even on the basis that 50% of the total pool only has to be paid out?
Questions on this front surely need to be asked? Petty has said that he will make figures available to the public and now we challenge his regime to do that – failure to do so will only heighten the suspicion that they have something to hide on this front?
Now let’s have a look at another example. We have a couple in the surrounding area of Swansea who, being ardent fans of the Swans, set up a striker account over 3 years ago. To save a collection from the door each week, they set this up by Standing Order to be paid in six-monthly installments. Not happy with the Petty regime, they decided to take another source of income off the club and decided to cancel the standing order. However, the club denied receiving payment from these people for their Striker numbers and said that they had changed the numbers as ‘it is standard practice when payment isn’t received’ But the couple’s bank account has been debited with the money and the details are all correct. How does that add up?
But the strange incidents don’t end there. We have reports of reputed winners in Bristol – hardly a big Swans stranglehold despite the high numbers of MAGS members in Bristol and its surrounding areas. However, knowing plenty of these memebers personally I cannot find too many of them that contribute to the strikers fund so you have to presume that the fans that do must be amongst the luckiest people in Britain. I will certainly ask them for their lottery numbers if I ever find them!
There are no accusations here just pointing at what we have been told. Some things just don’t add up and again we ask the club to tell us what is going on here. Publsih the figures if you have nothing to hide. Kill the speculation – you always claim that speculation does more harm than good so here is your chance.
As for the strikers fund, I suggest that people stop paying the money into this. On the basis that the club get £250 per week from Townhill alone, it would cut off more of Petty’s income. Every little helps. Re-activate your subscription when we are rid of him and we have someone who cares at the helm.
If you contribute into the Striker fund or even if you have won in the past (and received your cheque) then let us know – something doesn’t add up here and we want to find out what. Contact Us Here
Update following an email received at JackArmy.net
Some of the details of the e-mail cannot be reproduced for libel reasons but we have provided what detail we can. As we know, Phil Chant was bought into run the Striker scheme. Phil is an old friend of Mike Lewis and their association goes back was beyond their days at Reading together. Phil though left the club last year to run a similar scheme for the Welsh Air Ambulance.
Phil’s successor at the Vetch was a guy by the name of Charlie Whitehead. This happened in April 2001, our source tells us that Phil Chant signed a winners cheque in October 2001 – a full six months after he left the employment of the club – a question has to be asked if this is true, why? It is theoretically possible – if the mandates at the bank were never changed then Phil would have remained an authorised signatory on the account. However, it is normal business practice to change the mandate immediately when an authorised signatory leaves the employment of the business. Normal business practice that is?
OK, questions were also asked about the winners coming from the Bristol area this morning and the results of 3 draws in September posted this afternoon on the Message Board confirm this
Week 12 (19/09/01) – Winner (£1000) – Mrs J Sale of Bristol
Week 13 (26/09/01) – Winner (£500) – M James of Cardiff
Week 14 (03/10/01) – Winner (£1000) – M Meacham of Bristol
This is explained a little by our source. “As for winners in Bristol and Western Super Mare well Chant was running the Striker and lottery scheme for Western Super Mare FC at the same time as he was running it for the Swans and he spent every Wednesday down there doing the Draw and paperwork!”
Now we have to question this as well. Proceeds (profits) from the Striker lottery are supposed to go to Youth Development at Swansea City. If, and we stress if, we are being bulked together with a similar scheme at Weston Super Mare then we have to question if all the paying customers are aware of this. And it still seems rather strange that more winners come from Bristol than Swansea?
There are accusations in the anonymous e-mail directed at both Mike Lewis and Phil Chant that cannot be printed here. Suffice to say they make interesting reading and I am sure that a copy of the e-mail could end up in the hands of the Fraud Squad who I understand have a file open on this particular scheme.
Again, this opens more questions and if this sort of information is hovering around the place then those in charge should get more worried. The net is closing in.
