GTFC fan's ownership

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

Absolutely right we have a squad of 31 and have loaned 5 players out to get game time because there are virtually no reserve games. What a complete waste of money.

Another point I'd make is that I think gates would be more forgiving if the trust were in charge and we were struggling for form. As we would literally all be in it together.

I made the point elsewhere we should have been on an average home gate of 7k+ last Season but due to the same tried and tested Season ticket sale tactic that had failed spectacularly for the previous 30 odd years we managed about an extra 500 on the back of our best season in 6.Rest assured we repeated said ST routine and the 500 were retained we will repeat again at the end of this season and the 500 will be lost .The fanbase fluctuates between 3-5k in the main and yet in exceptional circumstances that can increase to 15k+ and must be tapped into ala Lincoln.

Steady on. The trust is essentially a supporters group. I am sure there are some intelligent people running it. But managing an entire business (and a complex one at that) is a different kettle of fish.

I think Fenty is doing a crap job but just because someone is a fan and can organise things amongst the fans doesn't mean they could run the club.

Quoted from Caesar

There are obstacles to fan ownership but the main one us surely there are not enough of us committed to it.

Trust run clubs can work and they should be ideal. Just like with every rich benefactor club while some succeed like man city, some are nearly wrecked like Portsmouth.  So Trust run clubs succed while some fail. And as an ideal they never fail in the way a rich benefactor does. Ultimately as we always say fans are the constant at a club, so fan ownership of clubs should be the aim.

The problem is the Trust had an open meeting and barely got in to double figures of attending. If we want to aspire to owning our own club we need to work together and support groups like the Trust. All other complaints or obstacles to fan ownership are summountable, but until enough fans are willing to work together I fear we will always be at the whim of the fan who has money, or worse a guy who thinks we are simply are business.

The Trust need to look at why they got such a low turnout there were reasons. By the same token if the Trust go cap in hand to members with a genuine proposal which would result in sea change they would probably get massive backing if previous fans response is anything to go by. A one man dictatorship isn`t working a fans trust may do better I don`t know but I would be all for giving it a try.

Quoted from Jaws

Steady on. The trust is essentially a supporters group. I am sure there are some intelligent people running it. But managing an entire business (and a complex one at that) is a different kettle of fish.

I think Fenty is doing a crap job but just because someone is a fan and can organise things amongst the fans doesn't mean they could run the club.

It doesn`t mean they couldn`t either?

But would they want to?

A fan's club means having the majority shareholding in it so the club can not become the plaything of any individual.

In the Bundesliga it used to be aprt and parcel of being in said league although Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig have bucked the trend in recent seasons - to great hostitlity from the fans of other clubs who see it as an affront to the credibility of the game that they in effect own.

Barcelona are owned by their 180,000 members. Clubs do not have to be the playthings of oligarchs, magnates and other financial crooks to compete at the very highest level, so why should it be any different at ours?

When fans own the club there's much more a feeling of "we'll stick together through the hard times to get to the good ones" As I said in my original post, we'd still be in the Checkatrade, we'd still be dealing with ignorance and beligerence from the EFL and Bragate, but we would know that the club would be speaking out on our behalf. It's the same in all walks of life, when you're taken for granted - as governments around the world have found out in the last few years - you have the capacity to kick back. When someone speaks up on your behalf you fell that you are no longer just a number, and a vehicle for the club / their owners to make money out of, but are actually part of that decision making process. Communciation is such a powerful weapon, and when handled properly can do so much good, and when done badly - look at the mess our current government's in because it can't communicate at all - it can  do untold damage.

We are where we are. I floated the idea again because I believe in it, and the amount of adverse criticism I see on here nowadays, and on other forms of social media, makes me think that even having the debate would be a useful step to take. I saw JF on the pitch at Wembley - he was making a statement by doing so - and that's perhaps the good side of being in such a position, but the other side as well is you have to communicate with the fans during the lean times as well.

I honestly don't think that an accountable body such as the GTFC Trust would make the same mistake. I also believe that fan ownership is not only desirable, it's the only way to go.

Perhaps now is the time for the Trust to formally approach Mike Parker to launch a takeover bid. Some kind of structure with MP as the overall owner, with a CEO (with PR skills and qualifications!) employed to be the day-to-day 'face of the club' might suit him, along with a strong Trust involvement to bridge the ever-increasing gap between the club and the supporters.

Plus, if the Trust could look into Garth Lane (perhaps with an out-of-town enabling development) as a viable alternative to Peaks Parkway then maybe MP could be tempted to oversee the project as his legacy to the town.

Whether or not Mike will still be interested after what happened with the shares he gifted to the Trust is another matter!

Mike Parker has absolutely NO interest whatsoever and that is not down to the shares he gifted to the Trust in any way

Quoted from Cloudy

Mike Parker has absolutely NO interest whatsoever and that is not down to the shares he gifted to the Trust in any way

What are the reasons he's not interested?

Quoted from AndyMariner

Perhaps now is the time for the Trust to formally approach Mike Parker to launch a takeover bid. Some kind of structure with MP as the overall owner, with a CEO (with PR skills and qualifications!) employed to be the day-to-day 'face of the club' might suit him, along with a strong Trust involvement to bridge the ever-increasing gap between the club and the supporters.

Plus, if the Trust could look into Garth Lane (perhaps with an out-of-town enabling development) as a viable alternative to Peaks Parkway then maybe MP could be tempted to oversee the project as his legacy to the town.

Whether or not Mike will still be interested after what happened with the shares he gifted to the Trust is another matter!

Mike won`t have been happy about the shares but I am sure he is well aware of the facts/circumstances surrounding them being handed over.We can debate it day/night but in my eyes the trust made a mistake albeit I can`t see what alternative they had at the time? I also wonder if the Trust have any scope in asking JF to give all or some of the shares back and if they could be used to raise funds somehow?