£2,500 for a share in the club?

[Happy Face 29]

Not a cat in hells chance of me putting £2.5k of my own money into the club.

 

...or switching my pension over to it.

 

Good luck to anyone else who does like.

[Kid Dynamite 7034]

ditto

[Howmanheyman 33267]

Very interesting. I would probably stump up the cash, but I have to say I have my fears this could all work.

 

We will have to wait to see the details, but would the £100m need to be in an account first before LardAsh considers selling or would he agree to sell at a certain price and then have to wait for the money to come in to an account? Getting the money is going to be fairly tricky I would have thought as promises don't always materialise.

 

And my concerns about fans on the board are well documented

 

We'll see what details emerge.

 

EDIT: I have to admit to being extremely bewildered how NUST can say they already have £20-odd million 'pledged' by some way or other. If that is true, I can't see how anyone didn't come in with a joint venture to buy the club? Obviously I don't have any of the details regarding that money, so I am completely open-minded about it; I'm just perplexed at how it's been 'raised' (I say it that way, as I'm guessing there isn't an actual account with the money in as yet?).

 

Overall, having the club owned (or partly owned) by fans is exceedingly appealing, but concerns about how it would work are inevitably there. If these ideas could come to fruition, it would be a monumental moment in the history of Newcastle United Football Club. To get across to current supporters the huge significance of it would be daunting; those that understood the importance and recognised the historical implications (telling grandchildren in 50 years time about what a person did to achieve it - not to mention the grandchildren proudly exclaiming to their friends "my grandad/grandma played a part in the taking control of the club") would be far more likely to make a commitment. Pity we couldn't just storm it like the Bastille - far cheaper and far, far more satisfying seeing the fat cunt up against the wall a la Ceausescu.

 

 

I like the idea of being owned by the fans, but worry about the long term sustainability. I think it would be a good tool to prise the club out of Ashleys hands only to see it sold on again, but this time with the fans having their say on who gets it.

 

To be fair, I think it's the ONLY way to ensure sustainability. I can see a lot of clubs getting into real trouble down the road (I realise we already are, but we're in a lot less debt than some). It would be great if we could be ahead of the curve and get our hands on the thing that ultimately, only the fans have the right to own.

Good points.

 

Again, if this is feasible and workable, how satisfying would it be to tell the world, we didn't like the bastards, so we took over our club ourselves.

 

Football could be in for a rude awakening, if we owned the club with a modicum of sense, if we were debt free, if we weren't owned by a chancer borrowing millions to be johnny big balls, I think we'd have a fucking great chance in the long term. And also considor the kudos we'd have from the world of football.

 

I really hope this is a go-er. Shame on anyone dismissing it out of hand without properly looking into it.

[peasepud 59]

I dont post much at these boards but thought I'd comment on this.

 

I like the idea, but think it might sound a little unrealistic.

If it were to launch, will the stocks be registered on the "normal" stock market?

If it does, and Im able to buy it in Denmark, I will deff pay 2,5k or maybe more from my pension. Should everything go tits up, and I end up loosing my money, then so be it. Of course Id like some guarantee that we get paid back if nothing happens but Im 26 and Im sure Ill do without 2,5k in 40 years time.

What Im sayind is, if there is a chance we could get rid of the current owners, Id rather invest and risk loosing my money than sit and do nothing.

 

They arent stocks or shares, thats what makes it fan ownership.

 

If you sell shares then all you'll end up with is another Mike Ashley coming along when it suits them and buying up the shares.

 

This is one member one vote, if you've invested £2500 or £25m you still get the same level of say and ownership. What you obviously get more for your £25m is interest, everyone gets the 2% but for some 2% will be £50 a year while others it will be £500,000.

 

The scheme is aimed at all Newcastle fans home and abroad, theres no constraints on that.

 

As in every investment theres a risk, there always will be. The difference as I see it is that we have a say ourselves in how big a risk that is. A football club makes money depending on its success on the pitch, we all know that. Sensible investment into the club with a good management structure and strong links to the community has a better chance of increased turnover than one thats lurching from one disaster to the next.

 

The way I see it, my £25k pension is at the mercy of some investor who can and probably will make me more than 2% but who could at the drop of a hat lose a good chunk of it on a dodgy decision. At least with our football club we can see how thats going, can see when things are going wrong and can make our voices heard if its looking ropey.

 

As for a local bank offering loans, who knows what next week will bring?

[Ketsbaia 0]

Pud, maybe you can shed some light on this. I was wondering in what form the actual ownership would take were this whole thing to be successful? Would the club be looking to follow the Barca model of electing a president (Moat, Wylie type figure) for a fixed time and putting him in charge of the day to day running or an Ebbsfleet 'vote on the colour of the dressing room walls' type set up?

[blackandwhiteboy 0]

Not a cat in hells chance of me putting £2.5k of my own money into the club.

 

...or switching my pension over to it.

 

Good luck to anyone else who does like.

 

Niether would I - because I don't have the money but if they can find enough people who are willing and do have the money then great.

 

Liverpool supporters groups have come up with a similar proposal (details here) but they have had to reduce the asking price from £5,000 to £500.

 

A touch more realistic I think.

[NJS 4389]

It's a balance I suppose - do you try and get 40k people paying 2.5k or 100k people paying 1k?

(Knowing that any more beyond the 40k is worth a lot more than more beyons 100k)

 

From a populist pov I do think that maybe 2.5k is a tad high.

[Park Life 71]

I dont post much at these boards but thought I'd comment on this.

 

I like the idea, but think it might sound a little unrealistic.

If it were to launch, will the stocks be registered on the "normal" stock market?

If it does, and Im able to buy it in Denmark, I will deff pay 2,5k or maybe more from my pension. Should everything go tits up, and I end up loosing my money, then so be it. Of course Id like some guarantee that we get paid back if nothing happens but Im 26 and Im sure Ill do without 2,5k in 40 years time.

What Im sayind is, if there is a chance we could get rid of the current owners, Id rather invest and risk loosing my money than sit and do nothing.

 

For me I could find the 2.5k by just giving up smoking.

[peasepud 59]

Pud, maybe you can shed some light on this. I was wondering in what form the actual ownership would take were this whole thing to be successful? Would the club be looking to follow the Barca model of electing a president (Moat, Wylie type figure) for a fixed time and putting him in charge of the day to day running or an Ebbsfleet 'vote on the colour of the dressing room walls' type set up?

 

Barca, president voted in every three years or so and they assemble a board from there. Theres all sorts of rules and stuff that Im not 100% with but thats the basis of it.

 

All however are ultimately responsible to the Trust, an overseeing body that has no no say in the day to day running but can call the likes of an AGM if the fans dont believe things are going right. By that I dont mean, we lose three games on the bounce and havent bought Ronaldo so we sack the board but in the event of us disasterously making stupid decision after stupid decision.

[Guest Eleven Donkeys]

In a year and a bit NUST have convinced about 3000(?) people to stump up a tenner to join the supporters group. What makes them think they can get 50,000 to fork out £2500? And what are NUST going to do if this falls flat on its face, do they have a contingency plan for getting shot of Ashley?

[Park Life 71]

In a year and a bit NUST have convinced about 3000(?) people to stump up a tenner to join the supporters group. What makes them think they can get 50,000 to fork out £2500? And what are NUST going to do if this falls flat on its face, do they have a contingency plan for getting shot of Ashley?

 

Stumping up money for membership and giving money to actual make the club owned by the supporters are two very different things. Poor comparison. People are also forgetting some will give more and institutions in the area could give large amounts to build a relationship with the club (they would still only get one vote).

[asteroidblitz 12]

I would pay 2.5k in a heartbeat if I knew it would:

 

a. Get the fat cunt out

b. Give me a share in the club I love.

 

Think about it. It's about getting what is ours back again.

 

The last couple of years has been so depressing.

 

Cheap at twice the price.

[Guest Eleven Donkeys]

In a year and a bit NUST have convinced about 3000(?) people to stump up a tenner to join the supporters group. What makes them think they can get 50,000 to fork out £2500? And what are NUST going to do if this falls flat on its face, do they have a contingency plan for getting shot of Ashley?

 

Stumping up money for membership and giving money to actual make the club owned by the supporters are two very different things. Poor comparison. People are also forgetting some will give more and institutions in the area could give large amounts to build a relationship with the club (they would still only get one vote).

It’s a better comparison than Barca, who represent a very large politically distinct region with its own language and a history of state sponsored oppression. It’s only in the last few years Barca have accepted shirt sponsorship. NUST can’t even bring themselves to organise a protest about the renaming of our ground.

 

I fully support the idea of supporters buying a stake in the club, but talk of raising a grand total of £300m a year after they were formed is madness. NUST are trying to fly to the moon before they can walk. Their credibility will be shot if this fails, and looking at the cold hard facts strongly suggests it will fail.

 

I’ll await the full details before making a final judgement, but based on the information here I'm far from convinced.

[Park Life 71]

In a year and a bit NUST have convinced about 3000(?) people to stump up a tenner to join the supporters group. What makes them think they can get 50,000 to fork out £2500? And what are NUST going to do if this falls flat on its face, do they have a contingency plan for getting shot of Ashley?

 

Stumping up money for membership and giving money to actual make the club owned by the supporters are two very different things. Poor comparison. People are also forgetting some will give more and institutions in the area could give large amounts to build a relationship with the club (they would still only get one vote).

It’s a better comparison than Barca, who represent a very large politically distinct region with its own language and a history of state sponsored oppression. It’s only in the last few years Barca have accepted shirt sponsorship. NUST can’t even bring themselves to organise a protest about the renaming of our ground.

 

I fully support the idea of supporters buying a stake in the club, but talk of raising a grand total of £300m a year after they were formed is madness. NUST are trying to fly to the moon before they can walk. Their credibility will be shot if this fails, and looking at the cold hard facts strongly suggests it will fail.

 

I’ll await the full details before making a final judgement, but based on the information here I'm far from convinced.

 

Simple answer is don't bother with it then.

[Happy Face 29]

I would pay 2.5k in a heartbeat if I knew it would:

 

a. Get the fat cunt out

b. Give me a share in the club I love.

 

Think about it. It's about getting what is ours back again.

 

The last couple of years has been so depressing.

 

Cheap at twice the price.

 

I wouldn't pay £2500 if it guaranteed a champions league final. You can go to Hawaii for that y'knaa.

[Geordiejihad 0]

All the best to NUST , but if they cant or worse WONT try to organise protests , how they gonna organise £ 300 large?? Or are some of "The Committe" so up themselves now , that dealing with financial institutions , businessmen etc is more important than the fans?

[peasepud 59]

All the best to NUST , but if they cant or worse WONT try to organise protests , how they gonna organise £ 300 large?? Or are some of "The Committe" so up themselves now , that dealing with financial institutions , businessmen etc is more important than the fans?

 

Why is it that the two have to be mutually exclusive?

 

I want the fat man out as much as, if not more than you do. I and the others on the committee have arguably done more towards removing them than you have yet because you now want something doing then you sit and slag us off for not jumping to your beat. Same argument as ever mate, if you dont join up then you have no right to demand anything.

 

You want to protest then do it but a crisp tenner says I wont see you anywhere near SJP with a banner in your hand.

 

Imagine this scenario, you see a house you really really want to buy but you havent got the cash and the owner really doesnt like you, you're in discussions with the big bank round the corner into backing you and a few mates with cash to chip in.

 

Do you bide your time, pull the cash together and convince those you're dealing with that you can be trusted to own a house of that calibre?

 

or

 

Go round to the huse, smash the windows and tell the owner that you're going to buy the club and he better get the fuck out?

 

Rocket science?

[Cid_MCDP 0]

I am personally very interested in this idea and would do anything to raise the £2,500 to be a part of it. However, who is to say Ashley will sell? I am still under the impression there is some kind of conspiracy going on with Ashley and his intentions with our club. I mean, he could have sold to Moat. Why did he not use his get out of jail card there? Even if the fans doubled what he wanted, I could see statements such as "the end of the week" and then Ashley changing his mind or making up new stipulations. I can't get my head around the whole fiasco. It just seems to me he is gradually turning us into the largest Sports Direct outlet.

 

I could be wrong, but I really don't think there's some grand conspiracy on Ashley's part to destroy NUFC. I think the SD.com thing is soley because of the Olympics. He stuck it up there now so it doesn't appear as obviouls as putting it up a week before the Olympics.

 

At the end of the day, he's a businessman. He's lost money on his investment, but is trying to minimize the loss in this selling/ not selling crap. If NUST showed up with the cash, he'd sell.

 

In a year and a bit NUST have convinced about 3000(?) people to stump up a tenner to join the supporters group. What makes them think they can get 50,000 to fork out £2500? And what are NUST going to do if this falls flat on its face, do they have a contingency plan for getting shot of Ashley?

 

I'm just speaking personally here, but the main reason I never sent over my dough was NUST never really said what they were going to do with it. I would've gladly sent it, but without knowing what the money was for, I just never got around to it (and it took awhile to get the paypal deal up and going).

 

All that being said, has NUST considered taking smaller donations to assist in the takeover (but not get a share, obviously)? I don't know exactly what £2500 is in American, but I'm sure I can't afford it. However, I could drop a hundy or two on somebody without risking the ire of wor lass. Hell, if I got some T-Shirt commemorating the day we kick TFC Ashley out, I'd be down for it.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Cid_MCDP

[Offshore Toon 0]

The only issue is that I'll want to run the club, as whoever does it will probably be an idiot.

[Guest Eleven Donkeys]

All the best to NUST , but if they cant or worse WONT try to organise protests , how they gonna organise £ 300 large?? Or are some of "The Committe" so up themselves now , that dealing with financial institutions , businessmen etc is more important than the fans?

 

Why is it that the two have to be mutually exclusive?

 

I want the fat man out as much as, if not more than you do. I and the others on the committee have arguably done more towards removing them than you have yet because you now want something doing then you sit and slag us off for not jumping to your beat. Same argument as ever mate, if you dont join up then you have no right to demand anything.

 

You want to protest then do it but a crisp tenner says I wont see you anywhere near SJP with a banner in your hand.

 

Imagine this scenario, you see a house you really really want to buy but you havent got the cash and the owner really doesnt like you, you're in discussions with the big bank round the corner into backing you and a few mates with cash to chip in.

 

Do you bide your time, pull the cash together and convince those you're dealing with that you can be trusted to own a house of that calibre?

 

or

 

Go round to the huse, smash the windows and tell the owner that you're going to buy the club and he better get the fuck out?

 

Rocket science?

Part of putting yourself forward as the public face of the support is the inevitability you’re activities will be scrutinised and criticised. It goes with the territory. Perhaps you might like to reflect on that for a moment.

 

It’s very simple. It’s perfectly possible to organise a legal protest without jeopardising the attempt to buy the club. You could, as a throwaway example, just ask fans to leave ten minutes early. The police can’t arrest anyone for that can they? If NUST are so sure the supporters back their no-protest approach, why don’t they put it the membership?

 

I’m on NUST’s side, as I believe are the vast majority of supporters. They’ve come a long way in short space of time, but they’re not perfect and could well benefit from a less ‘we know better than you’ approach.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Eleven Donkeys

[Matt 0]

NUST won't want the scheme to be too successful too quickly with this.

 

If they somehow raise £150m then Ashley will know this. As soon as there is serious traction, then they need to show proof of funds, do due diligence and agree a price- quickly. Then there will be a period in which to raise the funds. If supporters know that the ink has dried on an unfunded deal it will be 10 times easier to attract funds that throwing money into a blind alley.

 

I think £2,500 is well pitched and will appeal to fans based abroad (unlike the pensions side).

 

NUST have done well to get such an interest from financial institutions. The Liverpool and Man Utd financing sagas have put most off touching football clubs with a bargepole.

[Guest alex]

All the best to NUST , but if they cant or worse WONT try to organise protests , how they gonna organise £ 300 large?? Or are some of "The Committe" so up themselves now , that dealing with financial institutions , businessmen etc is more important than the fans?

You've been quite vocal in calling people passive sheep or whatever and going on like you're some sort or radical but would I be right in thinking you're distancing yourself from a much more concrete plan, potentially capable of really doing something which would get rid of Ashley and fundamentally change the club? Just wondered because you certainly talk a good game