NUST set to benefit from new Labour rule?
Posted on April 2nd, 2010 | 96 Comments |
With things going well on the pitch and remaining quiet off it, any negative comments could possibly backfire on them as they would then be viewed as the ones who are unsettling things. Despite that though, it appears that their desire to have at least a fan representation at board room level could move a step closer under new proposals by the Labour party. The proposed Labour manifesto would force clubs into handing 25% of the shares over to the fans based on the German model, although the current German model requires 51% of any club to be fan owned. This comes amidst a financial deck of cards that faces the very real risk of falling over as clubs run up unsustainable debts under the cover of a lack of regulation within the Premier League.
The NUST was formed at the height of the board room and behind the scenes disarray that ultimately saw Kevin Keegan walk away from the club, with what later turned out to be valid reason, and had the aim of complete fan ownership of Newcastle United similar to the setup currently adopted at footballing power-houses Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Soon after the campaign started it became apparent that the NUST were in a learning curve and came out with some sensational statements about how Mike Ashley was running the club and indeed just how much money he was taking out of the club. Such claims are as yet unfounded and are widely disregarded as false as anyone who can do the most simplest of maths can work out.
We didn’t really hear much from Mark Jensen and Co after that little outburst, an outburst that appeared to destroy any real credilbilty the organisation had. However, during that period of calm it appears the NUST have gone away, re-organised and had a word with themselves. They have gone through the first elections to decide the hierachy of the organisation and have generally let things settle down whilst getting their own house in order. It comes as no surprise then that this latest move by the Labour government has given them a springboard to ‘get back in the game’ so to speak. Here, Mark Jensen explains:
“Whether it’s a short, medium or long-term aim, the goal of all these football trusts is to own a stake in their club, whether that’s a part stake or full ownership. At the minute we’re still working on that and providing the framework for it, however that happens. It’s not about us running the club.”
“The whole idea isn’t just about ownership of the club. We do things like our local achievers scheme for people who have done something for the community. And we’ve just come through some elections for our first fully elected board, the results of which will be announced soon.”
“We’re not looking at this as a short-term thing. We just want to work with the club to make it better with fan ownership as part of that.”
It appears now the goal posts have shifted from complete fan ownership to a partial stake, something which could appear difficult after the NUST rebuffed a chance of talking to the current owners earlier in the season.
I have no real feeling either way, I don’t dislike NUST and appreciate what they stand for and what they have achieved in setting the trust up, but I also worry that at no point has there been any dialogue about how they intend to take the club forward in the medium to long term. It’s a very romantic notion and all that, but as a fan I want to know where a club that will be funded by us fans will be heading in the future. I very much doubt if relegation had have happened under the stewardship of the NUST that we would have been able to retain the squad we have now, and ultimately that would have shown in our ability to gain promotion or not. Of course I could be being a tad harsh, they may have had a credible plan around it with the same result as we have now – promotion, but why haven’t we heard about it?
On top of that, I’m not quite so sure how any government can force an owner to hand over 25% of his own business. I wouldn’t be too impressed if the government suddenly said I had to hand over a quarter of my business that’s for sure. What use it 25% anyway? That doesn’t give any say at all really, which is why in Germany it is a mandatory 51%. How about debt aswell? What happens it? Does 25% ownership mean the fans are then also responsible for a quarter of the clubs debt?
So many questions with very little answer, again!
NUFCBlog Author: toonsy
toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.
these clowns need to be kept well clear of our club…