Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST)

[quayside]

It's quite bizarre that this has been their most ambitious, fanciful plan yet and at the same time their least divisive.

 

I don't think i've seen an NUST discussion as tame as this one on here.

 

Know what you mean, guess everyones keeping their powder dry til the full details are released.

 

True. Also I don't think too many people want to diss any attempt to do something positive, even if it might ultimately come to nothing. 

[Guest Roger Kint]

May be a daft question but where is this £80m figure to raise coming from?

 

People on here. I don't think NUST have set a magic amount yet.

 

[peasepud]

Apologies as Ive not had time to read the whole thread (its been a busy day so far) so things I say here may have already been said/ discussed.

 

Firstly, lets dispel the rumour about us writing to members asking them to invest. Below is the email that was sent out, its aim is to inform and notify people of whats going on, its not designed to say "give us your cash now" thats not what we are saying..

 

Today the Newcastle United Supporters Trust formally launches an ambitious bid to take back our football club. We need supporters like yourself to back a supporter takeover - for more information visit http://www.nust.org.uk

 

There are a number of ways to invest in the club and after discussions with serious Newcastle-based investors we believe that the time is right for the fans to lead the charge and reclaim their football club. The investment is backed by a local consortium of companies advising the Trust, and we've made sure that any investment is safe and guaranteed to be returned to you if the bid fails.

 

The Yes We Can campaign will run for 6 weeks, and we have a financial target which we are not announcing yet, as we want to negotiate from a position of strength with Mike Ashley.

 

The fans can lead the way where others have failed - by standing together and investing together - we can make our club the shining beacon of honesty and integrity and bring the city together to save our club from the current regime, its mistakes and its calculated snubs.

 

When Derek Llambias said the fans could not buy the club - we said YES WE CAN - and now we aim to prove it with your support.

 

Newcastle United Supporters Trust on Behalf of the City of Newcastle, Geordies and Newcastle Supporters everywhere.

 

My first advice is simple and straight forward. Clear your mind of any thoughts you may have had, statements such as "the NUST alienated a lot of people last year" and such, people are talking about early on when we were protesting, things that we are now being slated for not doing. We felt it was right to do that then, others didnt, fair enough but as has been said on here many a time, the past is the past, we were learning (and still are), we're not experts or experienced in this, we're just a group of fans that felt we needed to start something.

 

The next thing to do is to read everything thats released about the scheme, whats there now is the overview and information on how it can be done. Over the next few days/ weeks we'll be releasing more, thats for a number of reasons, firstly we dont want to swamp everyone with tons of financial gumph on day 1. Theres no reason why you have to jump in now and sign up, paying over your cash today, no reason at all and frankly anyone who does so is mad in my view.

 

Read everything, take in what it means for you as an investor, decide which route (if any) you would be interested in, get further info on it either from what we release or by speaking to a financial advisor, we are going to have details of the 27 or so Indipendant Advisors throughout the North East that will be involved in this. Theres going to be a place opening in town where you can drop in and discuss your particular aspects with someone face to face. After speaking to one of our people to get the full facts etc then have a think, if you're then considering it Id say go and talk about it with someone you know personally and trust who has financial experience. Only then should you consider investing.

 

We're not here to rip off people or buy a football club and get ourselves on the board. Someone made the point about why all the board members had to be Trust people, maybe its a misunderstanding of the meaning Im not sure but whats meant by that is all of those involved would be investors, Ant and Dec may stick a million in each, the bloke that owns Sage might put in 2, you however could have invested the minimum, you've all got the same right to be on that board, if you can show your ability and forward thinking then maybe you will be. Someone who has put nothing in however has no right however to be there. If you thought it mean current committee members then you're wrong. Being on the committee for the NUST has absolutely no bearing on the board of the club, Id be hugely surprised if I for instance got a role in there, delighted obviously but I reckon there'll be a thousand ahead of me with better CVs for the positions.

 

The President will be elected by the investors, one member one vote thats the rule so same as above applies. The President however is less likely to be one of us unknowns in the business world because you want someone who has experience of big business and multi million pound decisions, someone with a football past as well as business. We cant say who would be standing because we dont know yet and wont until the day we have bought the club.

 

One question Ive seen already in this thread is where the day to day running costs will come from, we are realistically believe we could raise around £200m through the plan we have in place, that may sound fanciful but when you imagine it would be 8,000 people investing £25000 pension and not actually forking out any cash themselves then it becomes quite realistic (thats not taking into account the cash investors or big business/ individual investments). Overall it could be possible to actually raise £300m.

 

What is important to remember is that £200m @ 2% interest is £4m, roughly the same as we are paying per year in interest on the £40m overdraft and that once we've raised £100m, £200m or even £300m we dont have to stop however the financiers would have to predict the overall impact long term on the amount we pay in interest etc so somewhere there would be a break point.

 

People are questioning whether Moat is involved and why he didnt speak to us when he was "attempting" to buy the club. Those that see it as a bad thing against the NUST should maybe have a sit back and think of the other possible reasons why he didnt. Maybe just maybe he wasnt the white knight hes being seen as, what I will say is that our bid does not involves the football club paying to buy itself and make someone a big profit in the future. Make of that what you will.

 

Everything thats being planned has been drawn up with professional people, not just a fanciful idea ran past a solicitor, welder, shop assistant and civil servant or two sat at a committee meeting, its been scrutinised, discussed, amended and redrafted a number of times to make it what you will see over the coming weeks.

 

Talk of the Barcelona on the Tyne are not wrong, IF this works then we will have achieved something which only one other football league club (Exeter City) currently has, full fan ownership, we however will be the biggest by a country mile. I was speaking to Exeter reps at the Supporters Direct AGM a few weeks ago and although they're not a big successful club they hold their own and more importantly would not change it for the world.

 

Thats another thing that really needs to be drawn out, the increase in income this could generate, a successful club which is heavily linked with the local community will bring more money into the city, increase the feel good factor for both the club and city and as a result increase the ticket sales and merchandise.

 

Oh and St James' Park will always be St James' Park when its owned by the fans.

 

Apologies if Ive not answered a lot of the questions, Im happy to answer anything you put forward, if I have the answer, if someone else has it then I'll get it but if its things such as "when will we see Champions League football under this regime" then Im not going to bullshit and say we'll be there next year.

 

[JH]

One thing I will say is the new image is definitely working and has helped to dispel alot of negative imagery taken over from when it was NUSC. The logo is fucking lush as well.

[TRon]

Apologies as Ive not had time to read the whole thread (its been a busy day so far) so things I say here may have already been said/ discussed.

 

Firstly, lets dispel the rumour about us writing to members asking them to invest. Below is the email that was sent out, its aim is to inform and notify people of whats going on, its not designed to say "give us your cash now" thats not what we are saying..

 

Today the Newcastle United Supporters Trust formally launches an ambitious bid to take back our football club. We need supporters like yourself to back a supporter takeover - for more information visit http://www.nust.org.uk

 

There are a number of ways to invest in the club and after discussions with serious Newcastle-based investors we believe that the time is right for the fans to lead the charge and reclaim their football club. The investment is backed by a local consortium of companies advising the Trust, and we've made sure that any investment is safe and guaranteed to be returned to you if the bid fails.

 

The Yes We Can campaign will run for 6 weeks, and we have a financial target which we are not announcing yet, as we want to negotiate from a position of strength with Mike Ashley.

 

The fans can lead the way where others have failed - by standing together and investing together - we can make our club the shining beacon of honesty and integrity and bring the city together to save our club from the current regime, its mistakes and its calculated snubs.

 

When Derek Llambias said the fans could not buy the club - we said YES WE CAN - and now we aim to prove it with your support.

 

Newcastle United Supporters Trust on Behalf of the City of Newcastle, Geordies and Newcastle Supporters everywhere.

 

My first advice is simple and straight forward. Clear your mind of any thoughts you may have had, statements such as "the NUST alienated a lot of people last year" and such, people are talking about early on when we were protesting, things that we are now being slated for not doing. We felt it was right to do that then, others didnt, fair enough but as has been said on here many a time, the past is the past, we were learning (and still are), we're not experts or experienced in this, we're just a group of fans that felt we needed to start something.

 

The next thing to do is to read everything thats released about the scheme, whats there now is the overview and information on how it can be done. Over the next few days/ weeks we'll be releasing more, thats for a number of reasons, firstly we dont want to swamp everyone with tons of financial gumph on day 1. Theres no reason why you have to jump in now and sign up, paying over your cash today, no reason at all and frankly anyone who does so is mad in my view.

 

Read everything, take in what it means for you as an investor, decide which route (if any) you would be interested in, get further info on it either from what we release or by speaking to a financial advisor, we are going to have details of the 27 or so Indipendant Advisors throughout the North East that will be involved in this. Theres going to be a place opening in town where you can drop in and discuss your particular aspects with someone face to face. After speaking to one of our people to get the full facts etc then have a think, if you're then considering it Id say go and talk about it with someone you know personally and trust who has financial experience. Only then should you consider investing.

 

We're not here to rip off people or buy a football club and get ourselves on the board. Someone made the point about why all the board members had to be Trust people, maybe its a misunderstanding of the meaning Im not sure but whats meant by that is all of those involved would be investors, Ant and Dec may stick a million in each, the bloke that owns Sage might put in 2, you however could have invested the minimum, you've all got the same right to be on that board, if you can show your ability and forward thinking then maybe you will be. Someone who has put nothing in however has no right however to be there. If you thought it mean current committee members then you're wrong. Being on the committee for the NUST has absolutely no bearing on the board of the club, Id be hugely surprised if I for instance got a role in there, delighted obviously but I reckon there'll be a thousand ahead of me with better CVs for the positions.

 

The President will be elected by the investors, one member one vote thats the rule so same as above applies. The President however is less likely to be one of us unknowns in the business world because you want someone who has experience of big business and multi million pound decisions, someone with a football past as well as business. We cant say who would be standing because we dont know yet and wont until the day we have bought the club.

 

One question Ive seen already in this thread is where the day to day running costs will come from, we are realistically believe we could raise around £200m through the plan we have in place, that may sound fanciful but when you imagine it would be 8,000 people investing £25000 pension and not actually forking out any cash themselves then it becomes quite realistic (thats not taking into account the cash investors or big business/ individual investments). Overall it could be possible to actually raise £300m.

 

What is important to remember is that £200m @ 2% interest is £4m, roughly the same as we are paying per year in interest on the £40m overdraft and that once we've raised £100m, £200m or even £300m we dont have to stop however the financiers would have to predict the overall impact long term on the amount we pay in interest etc so somewhere there would be a break point.

 

People are questioning whether Moat is involved and why he didnt speak to us when he was "attempting" to buy the club. Those that see it as a bad thing against the NUST should maybe have a sit back and think of the other possible reasons why he didnt. Maybe just maybe he wasnt the white knight hes being seen as, what I will say is that our bid does not involves the football club paying to buy itself and make someone a big profit in the future. Make of that what you will.

 

Everything thats being planned has been drawn up with professional people, not just a fanciful idea ran past a solicitor, welder, shop assistant and civil servant or two sat at a committee meeting, its been scrutinised, discussed, amended and redrafted a number of times to make it what you will see over the coming weeks.

 

Talk of the Barcelona on the Tyne are not wrong, IF this works then we will have achieved something which only one other football league club (Exeter City) currently has, full fan ownership, we however will be the biggest by a country mile. I was speaking to Exeter reps at the Supporters Direct AGM a few weeks ago and although they're not a big successful club they hold their own and more importantly would not change it for the world.

 

Thats another thing that really needs to be drawn out, the increase in income this could generate, a successful club which is heavily linked with the local community will bring more money into the city, increase the feel good factor for both the club and city and as a result increase the ticket sales and merchandise.

 

Oh and St James' Park will always be St James' Park when its owned by the fans.

 

Apologies if Ive not answered a lot of the questions, Im happy to answer anything you put forward, if I have the answer, if someone else has it then I'll get it but if its things such as "when will we see Champions League football under this regime" then Im not going to bullshit and say we'll be there next year.

 

 

While I still have doubts as to whether this will work in practice, in theory it's a very exciting idea. I really hope it takes off

 

 

[Liam Liam Liam O]

Cheers for clearing up the bit about the board. It was suggested by someone else who I assume is from NUSC that only NUSC members could be elected rather than anyone putting finance in.

 

I do think you should consider people outside of the shareholders for non executive type roles, subject to them being voted for by the shareholders of course. Nothing wrong with at least one pair of independant eyes.

[peasepud]

One other thing I would add is that people should notice something missing from our publicity on this compared to everyone else thats ever talked about owning the club (including the current regime).

 

We're not making pie in the sky predictions for the future, we're not saying buy into this and we'll win the Premiership in three years or we'll install Shearer, Keegan, Mouriniho in the hot seat, we'll not promise a giant screen so you can see adverts during the game or tell you you'll get a free season ticket. The board you install may well promise or do all those things but that would be down to them (and you).

 

What we do promise is your chance to make a difference to the football club you love, your chance to say "you were part of something huge" and most importantly we promise to try wherever possible to make our football club a club that you're proud to be part of.

 

Im expecting my first child in January, a boy, one day I want him to run out at SJP, if we pull this off then that day will be a thousand times sweeter should it happen.

[peasepud]

I do think you should consider people outside of the shareholders for non executive type roles, subject to them being voted for by the shareholders of course. Nothing wrong with at least one pair of independant eyes.

 

Can you clarify why you think its a good thing to do? Im not saying I disagree just personally I feel you'd have to have an affinity with the club to be on the board. If theres 8000 people who have staked their future in this, should they not have more of a right to be there and what would someone that hasnt put money in bring to the table that they wouldnt?

[Ericz]

I do admire their spirit.

 

Compared to many self-proclaimed fans out there, they are in fact attempting to do something and/or putting their words/thoughts into action, rather than engaged in mere chatters.

 

I don't see why others criticism(s) against them can be warranted.

 

 

[Liam Liam Liam O]

I do think you should consider people outside of the shareholders for non executive type roles, subject to them being voted for by the shareholders of course. Nothing wrong with at least one pair of independant eyes.

 

Can you clarify why you think its a good thing to do? Im not saying I disagree just personally I feel you'd have to have an affinity with the club to be on the board. If theres 8000 people who have staked their future in this, should they not have more of a right to be there and what would someone that hasnt put money in bring to the table that they wouldnt?

 

yeah, you'll have to wait until I'm not posting on my phone though.

[JH]

I do think you should consider people outside of the shareholders for non executive type roles, subject to them being voted for by the shareholders of course. Nothing wrong with at least one pair of independant eyes.

 

Can you clarify why you think its a good thing to do? Im not saying I disagree just personally I feel you'd have to have an affinity with the club to be on the board. If theres 8000 people who have staked their future in this, should they not have more of a right to be there and what would someone that hasnt put money in bring to the table that they wouldnt?

 

So is the intention for the elected board to be made up of a selection of the 8000 or so shareholders?

[peasepud]

The 6 members of the board that come from the Trust (ie not the President and his elected three positions) would be taken from the x thousands of investors. Everyone who has a vote also has a right to stand for election to the board.

 

I think the Barca model is different in the fact that they randomly elect people to the board, that personally doesnt seem fair or totally sensible to me, saying that theyve not done too badly from it like 

 

My understanding of our model is that people will stand for election to the board, they will put forward their CVs (for want of a better word) and all members would then decide who they felt were the most able to bring something worthwhile to the table.

 

As someone pointed out earlier, there would be nothing to stop 20 of you on N-O each buying a share and agreeing who to vote for at the time, thats perfectly understandable and legal after all Id assume the person you'd put forward would be sensibly elected on here first. Maybe we'll see a board that has a rep from N-O, one from Toontastic and another from Skunkers all elected in the same way. I dont necessarily see that as a bad thing as long as we're careful who we put forward from each!

 

Apologies if Im not putting it across right, its clear in my head but not necessarily as easy to convey.

 

[JH]

Apologies if Im not putting it across right, its clear in my head but not necessarily as easy to convey.

 

No, that's just what I wanted to know more about. Cheers

[Superior Acuña]

George Caulkin article:

 

http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/11/newcastle-fans-launch-takeover-campaign.html#more

 

believes might just make it the biggest-ever mail-out to football fans. In spite of the bleary-eyed hour, within the first 20 minutes, 120 people had signed up for more information and pledges of financial backing had come from as far afield as Australia.

 

There was a humbling message from an orphanage in Ghana, where the NUST have previously sent Newcastle shirts to disadvantaged children, kids whose lives put notions such as sport, victory and defeat into its proper perspective, with an offer to invest £5. In emotive terms, a value could not be placed on their gesture and at that moment, their challenge felt that bit more manageable.

 

Eight hours later, the NUST officially launched a six-week campaign to raise awareness about their ‘Yes We Can‘ proposal to buy Newcastle United from Mike Ashley. Organisers stood on the Millennium Bridge their backs to a mural on the exterior of the Baltic art gallery. “Victory to the miners,” it read. “Victory to the working class.” It felt like a symbolic message.

 

Their scheme is bold and it has to be, but it has not been formulated on the back of a cigarette packet. Over the past few months and weeks, they have spoken to fans‘ groups, local businesses (it is understood that Barry Moat, whose recent takeover attempt failed, is not one of them), institutions and politicians about the viability of their project and how to take it forward. As they put it, “It’s about reclaiming our football club for the city". 

 

They mean business. About £35,000 will be spent on an advertising campaign, the initial aim of which is to raise enough money (£10million would be a decent start) to demonstrate their intent to larger investors who, the NUSC insists, are already committed in principle. And, indeed, to Ashley. They have, they say, some impressive partners on board, whose identities will be revealed over the coming days.

 

The ultimate goal is fan ownership of Newcastle, a model operated, famously, by Barcelona, but also elsewhere, with a president voted for by members who would themselves be able to stand for election to the trust’s board. It will require investment from individuals, from a minimum £1,500 in cash or the reallocation of pension funds. All of that information can be found here.

 

Could it work? Yes. Will it? That, of course, is the £80m question (or however much Ashley now values Newcastle at), and it is not coincidental that the NUST have appropriated Barack Obama’s optimisitc, against-the-odds campaign slogan for last year’s American presidential election: ‘Yes we can’. What cannot be doubted is that they are good, decent, serious people who adore their football club.

 

A lot has been written and said about Ashley’s stewardship of Newcastle (even he has called it “catastrophic”). Most depressing about it is that alternatives have dissolved away. Aside from apathy or anger for the sake of it, only one remains. What follows is a brief chat with Mark Jensen, editor of the respected fanzine The Mag, who is acting as a spokesman for the campaign.

 

What is ‘Yes We Can’ all about?

 

MJ: “Everybody has seen the protests, both verbal and visible, against Mike Ashley and what’s happened at the club, but it’s not just about him. For years before him, the club wasn’t run in the way it should have been in most people’s eyes and the biggest protest comes now: the fans are leading the way in looking to buy the club. It sounds very ambitious, but everything we’ve done in the last few months behind the scenes - the research we’ve done with businesses and supporters - leads us to believe that it's definitely achievable. We’re putting the final touches to the business plan and this six-week campaign will see us advertising in the local media and doing various events to raise awareness. The first base is to get a seat at the table whereby representatives can negotiate with Mike Ashley the full amount to buy the club then that would become the target. In private, we've been meeting with very, very credible local businesses and people. They’ve assured us that as long as the fans have the appetite to raise X amount, they’ll come in behind it and make this all a reality.”

 

How do you persuade people that buying the club is a viable proposition?

 

MJ: “You only have to go back to 1997, when the club was floated on the Stock Market: the fans bought 10 per cent of the club then and, actually, the offer was oversubscribed. They were prepared to raise money then. The point has been reached now where everybody who is willing and able to could and should invest in the club. We’ve got an opportunity for Newcastle United to be the shining light in this country, as to how a club should be run. That’s the carrot being dangled in front of everybody; as well as having a club that could hopefully go on to win things, it would also be run in the right way and for all the right reasons. It isn’t just a few fans expecting to turn up and the run the club. It’s about fans giving the platform whereby fans, businesses and local institutions could all invest to make a viable club and then appoint people who could run it on a day-to-day basis. Nobody could tell me that what we’ve got in mind wouldn’t end up being better than what we’ve got now.”

 

So it’s about giving the club back to the city?

 

MJ: Reclaiming it, yes. That’s it in a nutshell. People are so fed up. But it’s been unbelievable this season. If you’d told me in the summer that Newcastle would be averaging crowds of more than 40,000 in these circumstances ... People are showing their opposition to Mike Ashley but also showing their support for the team and there was no better example of that than on Saturday. The atmosphere was brilliant and we were playing Peterborough United with nearly 44,000 people there. It was more than Liverpool had at home in the Premier League on Monday night. If anybody asks ‘how can Newcastle be a success in the future?’, that tells you everything. The fans desperately want to go and support their team and this is their opportunity to have much more than that.”

 

Newcastle are top of the league, but how perilous is the club’s position away from that?

 

MJ: “In the short-term you can look at the results and how we’re doing in the Championship and think that things aren’t too bad, but the more games we win and the more that promotion becomes a reality, the more it looks as though we would have to buy pretty much a whole new team. Judging on their past performances, I don’t think anybody would have faith in Ashley or Derek Llambias to successfully do that. People have been hoping that some white knight would be out there, but they have to accept that it’s very unlikely to happen. And that’s how we once felt about Ashley, too. He’s proved to be anything but. Maybe the salvation for Newcastle United is with the people who care most about it, ordinary fans and business people.

 

You’re asking for a big financial commitment from people. What guarantees do they have that their money will be looked after properly?

 

MJ: “Firstly, it’s not a case of fans looking after other fans’ money. It’s about appointing proper professional people, the best people possible, to do that job. As things stand, is Derek Llambias the best qualified person to be in control of the money that comes into the club now? I think we know the answer to that. We would emulate what successful clubs have done and learn from them - up until now, Newcastle haven’t done that and that’s why we’ve ended up in this position.

 

So you have substantive people waiting in the background who will become involved?

 

MJ: “Yes. Newcastle is a damaged brand - that’s one of those phrases we have to use these days - it’s a business and to be successful on the pitch, it has to be successful off it. There are very, very credible people from the local business community - names that people will recognise - who are committed to coming on board. But they need the fans to show they’ve got the appetite to do their bit and then, together, we can turn the club around. Maybe it wouldn’t work for those businesses to come in by themselves. Why can’t we create something much bigger and better than just expecting local businessmen to come in and do everything? Why shouldn’t we do our bit and, potentially, have a really sound, long-term investment in a club we all invest in week after week?

 

Long-term is the key, isn’t it?

 

MJ: “How quickly things can happen will depend on how many people respond. We’ve sent out 40,000 emails to names we’ve collected over the last few months and we’ve already had a very good response from them. The financial plan will be ready in six to seven days’ time, whereby people will have all the information they need as to how they can go about making an investment. We’ll be pointing towards independent financial advisors, because the level of investment possible depends on individual circumstances, but if it’s right for them, hopefully they’ll come on board. The committee members are all putting money into it - it's not throwing money down the drain, it’s about investing in what could be a great club again and a very successful business.”

[Benwell Lad]

The 6 members of the board that come from the Trust (ie not the President and his elected three positions) would be taken from the x thousands of investors. Everyone who has a vote also has a right to stand for election to the board.

 

I think the Barca model is different in the fact that they randomly elect people to the board, that personally doesnt seem fair or totally sensible to me, saying that theyve not done too badly from it like 

 

My understanding of our model is that people will stand for election to the board, they will put forward their CVs (for want of a better word) and all members would then decide who they felt were the most able to bring something worthwhile to the table.

 

As someone pointed out earlier, there would be nothing to stop 20 of you on N-O each buying a share and agreeing who to vote for at the time, thats perfectly understandable and legal after all Id assume the person you'd put forward would be sensibly elected on here first. Maybe we'll see a board that has a rep from N-O, one from Toontastic and another from Skunkers all elected in the same way. I dont necessarily see that as a bad thing as long as we're careful who we put forward from each!

 

Apologies if Im not putting it across right, its clear in my head but not necessarily as easy to convey.

 

 

If this campaign gathers momentum, would NUST view any subsequent offer to buy the club from Ashley as a rival bid ?

In the future would they be sympathetic to a serious bid from serious investors or do they now see themselves as the only way forward ?

 

[Village Idiot]

I think the Barca model is different in the fact that they randomly elect people to the board, that personally doesnt seem fair or totally sensible to me, saying that theyve not done too badly from it like 

 

It works like this: the elected president names the board, and he names whoever he wishes, and he is fit to replace them as he wishes. Think of it as a Prime Minister and his cabinet. Then, every year during preseason, an assembly is held where members have to approve the budget and most major policies the board wants to conduct (for example the board had to obtain permission from the assembly in order to have a kit sponsor, the same when the name of the stadium was changed...). The assembly is made up of 4% (IIRC) of club members with more than a year of membership and over 18 years old, elected by lottery.

 

I like the model since it gives free reign to the board to act as it sees best, which is the way it should be in my opinion, while giving fans a check and balance at the end of the season. It's rare that the board loses a voting in the assembly, but it's also rare that the board will put forward measures that they know are rejected by the fans. To be completely honest not many people show up at the assembly when things go well, but that's to be expected I guess.

 

There are also mechanisms in place to impeach the president (and the board) if enough member signatures are collected (Laporta had to face a motion of no confidence last season, and only narrowly "won" it).

 

All that said, good luck. One of the things I'm most proud of my club is the fact it is fan-owned, I wish more could follow that way.

[Benwell Lad]

The 6 members of the board that come from the Trust (ie not the President and his elected three positions) would be taken from the x thousands of investors. Everyone who has a vote also has a right to stand for election to the board.

 

I think the Barca model is different in the fact that they randomly elect people to the board, that personally doesnt seem fair or totally sensible to me, saying that theyve not done too badly from it like 

 

My understanding of our model is that people will stand for election to the board, they will put forward their CVs (for want of a better word) and all members would then decide who they felt were the most able to bring something worthwhile to the table.

 

As someone pointed out earlier, there would be nothing to stop 20 of you on N-O each buying a share and agreeing who to vote for at the time, thats perfectly understandable and legal after all Id assume the person you'd put forward would be sensibly elected on here first. Maybe we'll see a board that has a rep from N-O, one from Toontastic and another from Skunkers all elected in the same way. I dont necessarily see that as a bad thing as long as we're careful who we put forward from each!

 

Apologies if Im not putting it across right, its clear in my head but not necessarily as easy to convey.

 

 

Don't need accurate figures, but what kind of "ball park" salaries and contracts will be on offer for the Commercial, Financial, Legal and SIP directors. The best people won't come cheap.

Will these posts be advertised or do you already have people in mind ?

 

Is the 2% return on investment guaranteed ? And if so how ?

[peasepud]

Will these posts be advertised or do you already have people in mind ?

 

Is the 2% return on investment guaranteed ? And if so how ?

 

On the 1st question I dont have the answer, I know there are some names in the frame (and I promise you I dont know who the names are) but obviously not all of them yet as we dont know who else will come out of the woodwork as such and we'd be daft to draw up a list based on people we've spoken to and then say "right no more", the list wouldnt be drawn up until election time. As for the salaries, again I dont have that answer, you'd have to assume that they would be the going rate for that kind of position, its no good getting people on the cheap, at the same time theyre not going to be silly money above the likes of Man U, Chelsea etc. I'll ask the question but I would honestly assume that there is no actual figure decided yet.

 

The 2% is guaranteed for the first two years, after that its dependant on how the club is doing. Promotion would obviously see us having a higher income but as we know also higher outgoings. Nobody could say until two years time what the possible figures would be. Again I could do a Graham Roberts and promise 10% as in two years time who would remember? but frankly we're not interested in doing that, all answers will be honest ones not made up to get you to buy in.

[Guest]

As long as it's not a case of 'jobs for the boys' like it is now, then I'm all for this.

[Guest cinside]

I'll be investing. The club already 'owns' us. It's about time we owned the club so that we can create a club to be proud of again.  

[Benwell Lad]

Will these posts be advertised or do you already have people in mind ?

 

Is the 2% return on investment guaranteed ? And if so how ?

 

On the 1st question I dont have the answer, I know there are some names in the frame (and I promise you I dont know who the names are) but obviously not all of them yet as we dont know who else will come out of the woodwork as such and we'd be daft to draw up a list based on people we've spoken to and then say "right no more", the list wouldnt be drawn up until election time. As for the salaries, again I dont have that answer, you'd have to assume that they would be the going rate for that kind of position, its no good getting people on the cheap, at the same time theyre not going to be silly money above the likes of Man U, Chelsea etc. I'll ask the question but I would honestly assume that there is no actual figure decided yet.

 

The 2% is guaranteed for the first two years, after that its dependant on how the club is doing. Promotion would obviously see us having a higher income but as we know also higher outgoings. Nobody could say until two years time what the possible figures would be. Again I could do a Graham Roberts and promise 10% as in two years time who would remember? but frankly we're not interested in doing that, all answers will be honest ones not made up to get you to buy in.

 

Thanks.

The elected board member structure is clear, it's the "managing" directors bit that interests me.

If as you say there are already "names in the frame" then it sounds like people already involved fancy the posts, which doesn't sound too good unless they already have considerable experience of running football clubs.

 

I assume if you say the 2% is guaranteed for 2 years it will be placed on deposit during that time ?

As most pensions funds have gained 25%+ in the last 9 months and lost 40% in the year before that it may or may not seem attractive to a potential investor, but as you say "after that it's dependant on how the club is doing"  which I assume means our investments will be more of a a market driven PLC type arrangement.

 

My questions stem from a post by "Shellshock" who sounded like he/she was from NUST, on page 6.

[JH]

Well you've already suceeded IMO. Making it onto the FIFA 10 news scroll!

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

I can honestly see Mike Ashley refusing any bid from the trust just to piss them and the fans off - even if it matched his previous selling price.

[JH]

I can honestly see Mike Ashley refusing any bid from the trust just to piss them and the fans off - even if it matched his previous selling price.

 

No chance. If it meets his asking price, he'd snap all 16000 hands off to get it and run away.

[Cronky]

 

Compared to many self-proclaimed fans out there, they are in fact attempting to do something and/or putting their words/thoughts into action, rather than engaged in mere chatters.

 

 

To be more exact, they're attempting to do something with other people's money, including big chunks of people's pension funds. In that position, you have to know what you're doing, and to convince people that you know what you're doing.