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Proposal for fan ownership


TheAuthority

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TBH, with the new £75m asking price it comes into the realm of (outside) possibility.

10 000 fans * £7500 = £75m 

I wouldn't put it beyond the realms of possibility that we could find 10 000 fans worldwide with a bit of coin to throw at the club.

Only problem is finding a figurehead as it would take massive amounts of coordination to get off the ground. Howard Hodgson?

The next problem would be then what? There would be no money left for transfers or anything but at least the club would be the masters of their own destiny again.

Nice idea anyway

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I'm not sure if will ever be owned by the fans, unless the club sinks further down the leagues and goes into administration and after all that finally becomes affordable like Portsmouth.

What I do think would work and would be an important step would be some form of membership that led to a Barca style body of delegates which would elect a board & chairman every five years or so. Essentially giving the supporters an active and tangible role in how the club is run.

But I've no idea how to get that in place without owning the club. Any individual or group who buy us will want their own people and to pursue their own interests.

 

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3 hours ago, mwj said:

TBH, with the new £75m asking price it comes into the realm of (outside) possibility.

10 000 fans * £7500 = £75m 

I wouldn't put it beyond the realms of possibility that we could find 10 000 fans worldwide with a bit of coin to throw at the club.

Only problem is finding a figurehead as it would take massive amounts of coordination to get off the ground. Howard Hodgson?

The next problem would be then what? There would be no money left for transfers or anything but at least the club would be the masters of their own destiny again.

Nice idea anyway

Okay, you raise £75m and buy the club. Great. First day in the job the leccy bill arrives - £50k. Bill from WMP for the recent match - £30k. Who pays that? The players wages are due that week - another few million. Where's that coming from?

Despite all the money we get from TV and gate receipts and general sales of merchandise, we still lose about a million a week! The club would be in administration in a week!

 

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Okay, you raise £75m and buy the club. Great. First day in the job the leccy bill arrives - £50k. Bill from WMP for the recent match - £30k. Who pays that? The players wages are due that week - another few million. Where's that coming from?

Despite all the money we get from TV and gate receipts and general sales of merchandise, we still lose about a million a week! The club would be in administration in a week!

 

As I mentioned, it would take enormous amounts of organisation. You would need to find a capable C-level team and lines of credit from willing sources to deal with day to day costs but again it's not impossible.

Every team in Germany is owned at least 51% by the fans (with the exception of about 3), and they are all well run, dealing with huge turnovers, minimal clubs with debt, with the highest league attendances in Europe. Why not Villa?

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7 minutes ago, Xela said:

Okay, you raise £75m and buy the club. Great. First day in the job the leccy bill arrives - £50k. Bill from WMP for the recent match - £30k. Who pays that? The players wages are due that week - another few million. Where's that coming from?

What you'd need to find was a nice chap who works at a bank to help... :)

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Because German clubs had fan control before it was a multi-billion pound industry.

As I understand it, they all just pay their annual membership  (which is a nominal amount) to have their vote, German football fans have never had to collectively stump up tens of millions to seize control of their club.

It's a comparison that just doesn't work.

Edited by Davkaus
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6 minutes ago, snowychap said:

What you'd need to find was a nice chap who works at a bank to help... :)

I generally try not to lend money to companies that haemorrhage money! :D

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People always cite FC United of Manchester as being a good example of a fan owned club and doing well. Scratch beneath the surface though...

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/31/fc-united-manchester-broadhurst-park

Quote

Moving into their own ground, Broadhurst Park, was a momentous moment for the Manchester United refuseniks but behind the scenes a club built on shared principles has been undermined by legal action, resignations and gagging orders

 

I've been to about 10 FC United games this year and there is a big divide even in the terraces.. at Corby, two fans of FC with opposing views got into a fight. There is no way shared ownership could work (IMO) at the top level in England

Edited by Xela
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I think fan ownership would be interesting, i would stump up as much spare cash as i had to buy a few shares. If every fan did this plus a few rich fans buying significant stakes we could raise enough to buy Lerner out.

I would then keep Hollis as i think he is doing a decent job in the circumstances trying to make the club a more professional business and bring back Bernstein and King to the football board.

We might not get back to the PL at first attempt but would put us on a solid footing to get further investment and push on. Oh and we'd be shot of Lerner !

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2 minutes ago, R1chuk said:

I think fan ownership would be interesting, i would stump up as much spare cash as i had to buy a few shares. If every fan did this plus a few rich fans buying significant stakes we could raise enough to buy Lerner out.

I would then keep Hollis as i think he is doing a decent job in the circumstances trying to make the club a more professional business and bring back Bernstein and King to the football board.

We might not get back to the PL at first attempt but would put us on a solid footing to get further investment and push on. Oh and we'd be shot of Lerner !

What further investment :)

You own the club. Those bills are due now, so better get your wallet out again.;)

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If the sale price was £75m, you'd want at least £150m - £250m at your disposal to buy the club and make changes. Don't forget this club is appallingly run and pisses money out the door! 

 

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