By Matt Spooner - CUOSC

Darren Kelly blasting a free kick off the front of the Warwick Road End roof, Will McDonagh scoring with his rear end and Brian Wake scoring a hat-trick at Shrewsbury in another relegation battle-laden season. All some of my earliest memories of Carlisle United.

If you had told me that a couple of decades down the line, Carlisle United would be majority owned by an American family with aspirations, drive and passion to improve the club across all fronts then I would’ve called you a liar.

Alas, here we are, and it’s starting to sink in…I think.

This new era of CUFC has seen a great amount of visible change already, at Brunton Park, and as Paul Simpson commented at the fans’ forum on Monday, he wants to strengthen the playing squad which we hope will give us more champagne moments and match day memories that our newest generation of Carlisle United fans can grow up with and cherish.

Alongside a positive new dawn for CUFC, it also marks a great new opportunity for CUOSC as we start the journey of increasing our relativity within, and representation of, our members.

To be more representative of fans two things need to happen: we need to grow the membership and we need to communicate more with the membership.

Both of those require your help. “What does fan representation look like?” was a question posed to us at the AGM. My response was, in a nut shell, that it will be different for all fans.

If you are reading this as a member, tell us what you want us to do that we currently aren’t. If you’re reading as a non-member, tell us why not.

An older fan may want something slightly different than a teenage fan. We want to be relevant to all demographics.

Across early 2024, our ‘refresh’ and ‘membership’ sub groups will be looking at what we currently do, what we could do differently and how we can ultimately be a supporters’ trust that people choose to join and be part of.

We will do this through member meetings, online feedback platforms and physical presence on match days for people who want to chat in person.

We will also be speaking to other fan groups to see if there’s a way we can work together and create new connections that way which will all help in having one collective voice for fans of Carlisle United.

CUOSC now has over 1,200 members. To join visit our website at www.cuosc.org.uk. It costs £10 for an adult for one year and £5 for seniors and under-18s.

If we can grow that membership to 2,000, then 3,000 and counting we will have a greater collective voice and be a much more relevant vehicle for helping the club develop with the fans in mind.

Why not buy a membership for your family member or friend as a stocking filler?