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I'd be interested to know other posters thoughts on Supporters Trusts & Fan ownership.

Is it something we should aspire to? The Mariners Trust have certainly showed great initiative and organisation since their reform a few years ago.

Timing is good because we face a Newport side on Tuesday who are now, I understand, fully owned by their supporters.
The facts are they are struggling big time with a poor budget brought about by poor crowds. Their fans are asking whether they are actually a big enough club to be in the Football League and fear at least one relegation.

IMO I am not sure that supporter ownership would work although we would certainly have a better chance of surviving than a Newport given our fan base, but sadly , in a way, money is the only real way to have success and move up the leagues.

Whether a club is fan owned or owned by an individual it comes down to the quality, leadership and effectiveness of the people at the top. Would our Trust have the business acumen to run the club? I am a critic of JSF because despite his money and loans he has a stranglehold on the club that rules out serious investment from others, plus I find his decision making and judgement to be questionable. That is just personal opinion not a personal jibe btw!

IMO the current involvement of the The Trust with the board is about as far as I feel comfortable with at present. JSF said as much at the forum, that we have at least as good a relationship than any club were fan and club is concerned.

Would anyone want to go further? To have full Trust ownership/responsibility?

Did Newport fans take over a debt free club ? I ask cos obviously they had the Euro lottery winner who eventually walked away but what were the terms etc

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Did Newport fans take over a debt free club ? I ask cos obviously they had the Euro lottery winner who eventually walked away but what were the terms etc

My understanding is that they are now fan owned

I'm pretty sure JF is a fan, therefore we are fan owned.

Works in Germany I believe. I think we would have the gates to sustain a fan owned club, it's also clear that the wealth of feeling for the club means that fans will dig deeper when needed (look at operation promotion). Fan ownership means realistic ambitions and living within your means, for us that would be league 1 or 2. There must surely be a wealth of pride and togetherness for fan owned clubs when it is done right.

No if it was a co-operative kind of way where we were the money behind the club.
Look at Wrexham...arguably a similarly supported club to ourselves but with maybe a bigger potential fanbase perhaps......14th in the conference and despite a couple of promising seasons when they first went down seemingly going no-where.

It is a beautiful idea but just not one that is going to work that well in this country....unless relative success is all you are after. Unfortunately we need a financial backer to see you through the darker/leaner days and put the cold hard cash into the club when emergencies kick in.

Ours is by no means perfect in some ways but...he does care about the club which is alot to be thankful for.

Even if a body of people like the Trust run the club ultimately a handful of people make the decisions, just like any other company. The most important decisions are setting a budget and appointing a management team.The stadium move is a one-off challenge that the club faces at the moment. Someone has to make the decisions, it's not as though there are places in the world where thousands of people are consulted every time something has to be done, so in that sense I think fan ownership is a misleading phrase.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Did Newport fans take over a debt free club ? I ask cos obviously they had the Euro lottery winner who eventually walked away but what were the terms etc

Look on their message board and they seem to be having their doubts about fan ownership

I think the only way it can be sustained is by following the German model whereby clubs must be 51% fan owned but at least the other 49% can be filthy rich.

If it isn't broken........................

Quoted from mariner tommy

If it isn't broken........................

It's a discussion point, no more

In other news, Andy Todd is their assistant manager.

On point, based on their crowds, Newport surely cannot sustain the football league place.

I have a close friend who is very heavily involved in Osnabruck F.C. who play in the third tier of German football. The big difference (as far as I can ascertain) is that there is nowhere near the amount of money that is in the English game. The rules seem to prevent clubs spending above their means and even above the level set for their particular league. A couple of years ago Osnabruck missed out on promotion on the last day and were given a small dispensation for a modest increase in budget to succeed the next season. When they ultimately failed they had to cut their cloth for last season which meant the better paid players had to leave. This sort of environment definitely appears to create a more level playing field and is more conducive to management/ownership by fans. It should also be noted that admission prices are considerably less than are paid in this country.

Quoted from mariner tommy

If it isn't broken........................

£3m in debt. Yes it's broken. We should fix it.

Quoted from barralad

I have a close friend who is very heavily involved in Osnabruck F.C. who play in the third tier of German football. The big difference (as far as I can ascertain) is that there is nowhere near the amount of money that is in the English game. The rules seem to prevent clubs spending above their means and even above the level set for their particular league. A couple of years ago Osnabruck missed out on promotion on the last day and were given a small dispensation for a modest increase in budget to succeed the next season. When they ultimately failed they had to cut their cloth for last season which meant the better paid players had to leave. This sort of environment definitely appears to create a more level playing field and is more conducive to management/ownership by fans. It should also be noted that admission prices are considerably less than are paid in this country.

Viewed as a 'whole game solution' the Germans seem to have got it right. Their national team has several trophies to our 1 (unless you count Le Tourney in 98). Their top teams are competitive in the Champions League, Bayern M being one of the most successful clubs ever in that tournament and it's predecessor. You can stand at most grounds. The tickets are cheaper. You can even drink beer in the stand.

Then they took the decision long ago to place the national team's interest first above those of clubs, and to keep clubs as member owned clubs.

Just shows, if you decide what the problems that need solving are, then consider what are the best solutions and implement them, you are on to a winner. But then like business and work, the Germans benefitted from losing the War and getting the chance to start with a clean slate.

Nearer to home we have AFCW and FC Utd who have both done OK since starting out at 'village football' level.

Also near to me is Hampton & Richmond Borough. Previously owned by a wealthy individual, worked their way up to near the top of the Conference South on gates which topped out at 1400, lost loads of money, suffered two (nearly 3) relegations), the owner* lost interest and he handed it over lock stock and barrel to the supporters trust, and they're now sitting pretty 2nd in the conference south again**.

* to be fair to him he gave it to the Trust.

** despite having Christian Jolley on the books ;)

Quoted from moosey_club

No if it was a co-operative kind of way where we were the money behind the club.
Look at Wrexham...arguably a similarly supported club to ourselves but with maybe a bigger potential fanbase perhaps......14th in the conference and despite a couple of promising seasons when they first went down seemingly going no-where.

It is a beautiful idea but just not one that is going to work that well in this country....unless relative success is all you are after. Unfortunately we need a financial backer to see you through the darker/leaner days and put the cold hard cash into the club when emergencies kick in.

Ours is by no means perfect in some ways but...he does care about the club which is alot to be thankful for.

spoke to a couple of wrexham fans during the Euros and they said it wasnt a good thing. no decisions being taken and not enough investment