This update was originally printed in the match day programme for Crawley Town on 03.08.2026.
Good evening, and welcome back.
Ten seasons. That is how long we have waited to enter this competition again, and we should be excited to be back. The Carabao Cup has been good to York City under its earlier guise as the Coca-Cola Cup. Old Trafford in 1995, three goals and no reply. Goodison Park the season after. This is where some of our fondest memories were made, and where every so often the impossible happens.
It has not been an easy week to be a York City supporter, and the change of manager came as a surprise to almost everyone, including us. Stuart Maynard took this club to a National League title, 108 points and a 103rd minute none of us will ever forget, and he leaves with our thanks and our very best wishes.
I am not going to use this page to set out the Trust’s position on the decision itself — for that, see ycst.org.uk and our social channels. But the Trust remains the supporters’ voice inside your football club, and we are using it. Much of that work happens in private conversations rather than in press releases. When we are quiet, we are rarely idle.
Which brings me to something I am proud of. Last week we launched the YCST Governance Report in the members’ area of our website. Every month we will set out, in plain terms, how the Club and its shareholders are living up to the commitments in York City’s Articles of Association and the All Shareholders Agreement. Eighteen areas across seven sections, each tied to a specific clause and each carrying a green, amber or red rating. Where it is amber or red, we explain why and what needs to happen to improve the rating.
The Trust’s own governance is one of those sections, and it does not come out of the first edition spotless. A report showing nothing but green would not be worth publishing, and everything in it has already been raised directly with the Club. Our shareholding is now 5%, but our protections do not depend on its size — they attach to our shares and to the Trust by name, and they came through the recent changes stronger than ever.
Please read it at ycst.org.uk/governance-report. If you are not yet a member of the Trust, that page is the best argument I can make for joining.
Now, the football. Whatever any of us think about the past week, please get behind the team tonight. They deserve nothing less than our full-blooded support, and I am sure they will get it. Scott Lindsey, welcome to York City. Facing your old club first up is a fixture list with a sense of humour, and we really hope the evening goes your way.
Membership of the Trust starts at £10 a year, and we are aiming for 2,000 members by our 25th anniversary next February. Every new member makes us harder to ignore. Join at ycst.org.uk/join, or come and find one of us on match-day.
Keep The Faith.
Seth Sowerby
Chair, York City Supporters’ Trust
chair@ycst.org.uk
About York City Supporters’ Trust
Established in 2002, York City Supporters Trust is a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We were formed to protect the long-term future of the football club and represent the interests of the fans. We are also 25% shareholders in York City Football Club Ltd.