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Post by Deva Chanter on Mar 19, 2018 21:47:32 GMT
As I said previously , if we move away from the fan owned model, I would walk. Jesus people have some very short memories. And I thought the Brexiteers were living in fantasy land. Hundreds have walked this season with the fan owned model And most of them probably couldn't care less about who owns the football club. This preposterous idea that they aren't showing up because we're fan owned is ludicrous in the extreme. They aren't showing up because we're shite, it really is that simple.
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Post by billyw on Mar 19, 2018 21:58:54 GMT
Hundreds have walked this season with the fan owned model And most of them probably couldn't care less about who owns the football club. This preposterous idea that they aren't showing up because we're fan owned is ludicrous in the extreme. They aren't showing up because we're shite, it really is that simple. Jeez. Who the hell suggested they aren't showing up because we are fan controlled. Of course 'they aren't showing up because we're shite' and why are we shite - because as a fan owned club we are broke and unable to bring better players in.
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Post by agl on Mar 19, 2018 22:08:03 GMT
The idea that there's some benign white knight out there willing to pump unlimited funds into a non league football club in the shadow of Liverpool and Manchester always make me chuckle. Why on earth would anyone? All you get are the crooks and egotists.
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Post by exiled on Mar 19, 2018 22:13:50 GMT
This poll says it all to me really. If it's a true reflection of what our supporters think, with some prepared to walk away if we are anything other than fan owned and a good proportion wanting private ownership/investment. Where does it leave us? some sort of compromise has got to be the answer with so many disillusioned staying away.
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Post by tonya on Mar 19, 2018 23:01:46 GMT
Given that private ownership gave us decades of football at a higher level I have no issue going back so long as any prospective owner is scrutinised. Unfortunately fans can get carried away, as we all know, and believe in the likes of S. Vaughan and others despite warnings... I am certain there will be interested parties at the end of the season, hopefully from those we can trust.
Fans ownership proved no more successful and we nearly went under. If we don't bounce back next season funds could dry up and there would be no alternative and we would be easy pickings.
We rely on the council for our ground. They may not be so supportive if our crowds plummet.
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Post by Blockhead on Mar 19, 2018 23:13:34 GMT
Given that private ownership gave us decades of football at a higher level I have no issue going back so long as any prospective owner is scrutinised. Unfortunately fans can get carried away, as we all know, and believe in the likes of S. Vaughan and others despite warnings... I am certain there will be interested parties at the end of the season, hopefully from those we can trust. Fans ownership proved no more successful and we nearly went under. If we don't bounce back next season funds could dry up and there would be no alternative and we would be easy pickings. We rely on the council for our ground. They may not be so supportive if our crowds plummet. Decades of football at a higher level was not entirely (if at all) down to private ownership. The Football League was a closed shop for decades with no relegation. We finished bottom of the Football League in 1984, if we'd not be re-elected, we could have been a non-league club at whatever level for years.
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Post by midfieldgeneral on Mar 20, 2018 8:02:09 GMT
If I am not wrong are not the teams fighting a relegation battle all around us pprivate owned. Look at any league and you will see the same. Probably caused by a series of bad decisions. Anyone would thinks private ownership was the solution to all our problems it isnt More investment in order to get better players. Lol. Look what £450k got us. Lol Good luck to the deluded in their search for the white knight. A crisis and you are prepared to sell your club out.
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Post by nostradamus on Mar 20, 2018 9:29:14 GMT
It seems to me that there are 2 alternatives:
If we remain a fan-owned club, we have to balance the books at whatever level we are playing. If we don't, we face a repetition of the same problems that we have experienced over the last few weeks, with a serious risk that we could go out of business. Our continuing survival is the number one priority for the board in this scenario, and they should run things accordingly if we remain fans-owned. Under this scenario it seems unlikely that we will be able to make the level of investment necessary to take us back into the Football League (or even the Conference Premier if we are relegated?).
No serious investor will be looking to Chester FC to be a big earner, so they must be prepared to invest with the probability of making a loss (particularly if they want to shift us up the football pyramid). In this situation the motivation for the investor will be to have something that they can manage/control - and derive some pleasure/respect/value from doing so. They surely wouldn't want the hassle of dealing with a fans group that are in overall control. We should therefore want to see a real commitment to the club from any potential buyer, as they need to be in it for the medium to long term and are unlikely to make money. It is also likely to take up a lot of their time, and sometimes the comments made on the way the club is run may not be friendly or polite!
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Post by Lobster on Mar 20, 2018 9:31:55 GMT
This poll says it all to me really. If it's a true reflection of what our supporters think, with some prepared to walk away if we are anything other than fan owned and a good proportion wanting private ownership/investment. Where does it leave us? some sort of compromise has got to be the answer with so many disillusioned staying away. This is part of the problem. I believe fan ownership can work, but if a significant number of our fans don't, then it won't. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Post by billyw on Mar 20, 2018 11:14:51 GMT
There are two polls running at the moment and it will be interesting to see the correlation between them l.e. How many of those supporting the fan owned model will pledge to donate money every month. Just saying.
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Post by soulseal on Mar 20, 2018 11:30:06 GMT
CFU Member. Stay fan owned.
I’m not against private ownership if the right owner came our way. But I think this is highly unlikely.
I prefer resolving our own mess than someone else’s. There are too many Vaughan’s and Oystons out there for my liking.
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Post by peterkaysock on Mar 20, 2018 12:19:51 GMT
For me fan owned has run its course, we need some proper clout, its all very well good raising money here and there but as it has already been said we have a small fan base. I feel we are going to struggle.
There are investors on the sidelines who are prepared to invest, i think its time to move in that direction.
It has shown this year our vulnerability. We are certainly not out of the wood's by any means.
This not saying i don't rate the board currently in place, i think they have the clubs best interests and they are big Chester fans also, but we need someone to take this club to another level, i think its pipes dreams of league football with our current fan base and its going to take a lot to win a few returning fan's back next season, with lower budget and dropping down a league. We need to hit the floor running next season as we have the risk of further plunging down. I hope i'm totally wrong
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Mar 20, 2018 12:21:45 GMT
If there are investors on the sidelines prepared to invest then why aren't they doing so? Swettenhams are always ploughing money into the club, what's stopping these anonymous characters?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2018 12:52:22 GMT
For as long as this discussion has been going on, the very old adage has never been far from my thoughts:
Q: How do you make a small fortune running a football club?
A: Start with a large one!
Short of an investor with money to burn, who is quite prepared to potentially lose most, if not all, of their investment and not worry too much ie a lottery winner or other very rich bod, then we're never going to be that attractive to those sort of people. There are far too many commercial reasons why.
Our level of investor is more likely to be local businesses and benefactors with an affinity to the club and who, understanding the unique status of Chester FC, would not seek control over the operation. AS IT IS NOW.
In my view, this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future and we simply need to get ourselves sorted out as a club, and see where that it takes us.
If, as a WELL RUN outfit, we find ourselves stagnating in the future, then, maybe, the issue can be revisited but, for the moment, I opt for fan-owned
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Post by peterkaysock on Mar 20, 2018 13:02:13 GMT
If there are investors on the sidelines prepared to invest then why aren't they doing so? Swettenhams are always ploughing money into the club, what's stopping these anonymous characters? Like any investment they would look for some kind of return or the club stabilise it's self if they were Chester fans. Giving a limping dog a lift so to speak. I just feel it has run course now, time to look a fresh elsewhere.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Mar 20, 2018 13:05:24 GMT
If there are investors on the sidelines prepared to invest then why aren't they doing so? Swettenhams are always ploughing money into the club, what's stopping these anonymous characters? Like any investment they would look for some kind of return or the club stabilise it's self if they were Chester fans. Giving a limping dog a lift so to speak. I just feel it gas run course now, time to look a fresh elsewhere. Ha! If they are looking for a return on their investment in ANY football club, never mind ours, then you'd question their intelligence.
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Post by peterkaysock on Mar 20, 2018 13:08:45 GMT
Like any investment they would look for some kind of return or the club stabilise it's self if they were Chester fans. Giving a limping dog a lift so to speak. I just feel it gas run course now, time to look a fresh elsewhere. Ha! If they are looking for a return on their investment in ANY football club, never mind ours, then you'd question their intelligence. I am fully aware of that, but money can be made in football, ie bringing players through ect. Not picking an argument. Just my opinion. Look at Telford, how they have struggled.
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Post by midfieldgeneral on Mar 20, 2018 13:21:29 GMT
The simple fact is that we were in perpetual crisis for 20 years, prior to our demise in 2010, under pprivate ownership Barnes Gutterman Smith Vaughan and people would vote for more of the same? Unbelievable.
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Post by peterkaysock on Mar 20, 2018 13:36:44 GMT
The simple fact is that we were in perpetual crisis for 20 years, prior to our demise in 2010, under pprivate ownership Barnes Gutterman Smith Vaughan and people would vote for more of the same? Unbelievable. This is true, but duedilgence is needed also which i think has not been carried out, only the sight of cheque book and quick way to pass the baton.Who says the next person would be same. There are lots of clubs who are successful with the right people at the helm. It's not about voting for the same, it's having an opinion and an options. Followed Chester for a long time,seen my fair share over many years.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2018 14:01:06 GMT
Have been watching Chester FC / Chester City FC / Chester FC since 1980, and we haven't had a decent private owner in all that time.
Rowlands over stretched on the new stand, had to get Barnes in. Barnes screwed us for millions on the land deal selling our ground and club to Morrisons. Morrisons screwed us with tiny ground, had one good year before they pulled financial plug on Graham Barrow. Sold to Guterman. Blah blah Smith blah blah Vaughan/Smigger/Warren blah blah blah...
Interested there are people on the sidelines willing to step in with investment. I've been on the board now for 2 months and haven't heard of any of these.
I guess anyone seriously interested must be listened to, and a presentation should be made to the owners (and the council) by any potential investors, and a vote should be taken.
The only thing I can see though is that that would probably be it then, as if it went bottoms up again I don't think there are many people left with the energy to start it up again.
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Post by waggoner on Mar 20, 2018 14:15:24 GMT
For me we’ve attempted it and proven that it’s not possible that we can progress up the footballing pyramid as it stands. I would prefer to go 51 / 49 with CFU holding the 51%. Not sure whether a serious investor would be willing to put in a wad of money for a minority holding, especially taking into account the amateurish financial dealings of the last incompetent board. I would want more control of how my money was going to be spent. That's just it though Billy. People want to keep hold of the club as a total fan owned entity giving no say to how the money pumped in is used. I would be pretty pissed off if i pumped in say..100k and we ended up like this season. Total fan ownership can only get you so far. Look at FCUM, they look like they are going back to Evostick footie on a model similar to ours
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Post by geoff on Mar 20, 2018 14:38:34 GMT
Have been watching Chester FC / Chester City FC / Chester FC since 1980, and we haven't had a decent private owner in all that time. Rowlands over stretched on the new stand, had to get Barnes in. Barnes screwed us for millions on the land deal selling our ground and club to Morrisons. Morrisons screwed us with tiny ground, had one good year before they pulled financial plug on Graham Barrow. Sold to Guterman. Blah blah Smith blah blah Vaughan/Smigger/Warren blah blah blah... Interested there are people on the sidelines willing to step in with investment. I've been on the board now for 2 months and haven't heard of any of these. I guess anyone seriously interested must be listened to, and a presentation should be made to the owners (and the council) by any potential investors, and a vote should be taken. The only thing I can see though is that that would probably be it then, as if it went bottoms up again I don't think there are many people left with the energy to start it up again.
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Post by geoff on Mar 20, 2018 14:43:33 GMT
It may have been a rumor but wasn’t Jonathan Legard and Tony (?) Durkin expressing some interest in investing and both are long time supporters. I couldn’t agree more with NWAS that if there is another major crisis we would have to seek external funding.
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Post by midfieldgeneral on Mar 20, 2018 14:55:06 GMT
As I said previously , if we move away from the fan owned model, I would walk. Jesus people have some very short memories. And I thought the Brexiteers were living in fantasy land. Hundreds have walked this season with the fan owned model Bollocks. They have walked because the football is shite. Pretty poor memory Billy. I can remember back to the early 80s , when the crowds were on a par with what we have now. Under Rowlands, before the succession of crap chairman and private owners put us out of business.
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Post by Captain Duff on Mar 20, 2018 15:07:49 GMT
As I said previously , if we move away from the fan owned model, I would walk. Jesus people have some very short memories. And I thought the Brexiteers were living in fantasy land. Hundreds have walked this season with the fan owned model Billy, we know that you want to privatise the club, but completely daft comments like that do you no favours, attendances are down because of performances on the pitch, not because of an intellectual decision around ownership models led people boycot a club because it happens to be owned by fans. Now give your head a wobble and try again.
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Post by avfo on Mar 20, 2018 15:17:44 GMT
Ha! If they are looking for a return on their investment in ANY football club, never mind ours, then you'd question their intelligence. I am fully aware of that, but money can be made in football, ie bringing players through ect. Not picking an argument. Just my opinion. Look at Telford, how they have struggled. Since Telford co-owners voted to abandon fan ownership and return to the traditional majority shareholder model results and attendances have slumped and losses have increased. No major outside investment has materialised (other than the mysterious supposed investment from Wolves - mysterious because no-one other than the clubs owners seem to know what exactly the club is getting from Wolves).
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Post by billyw on Mar 20, 2018 15:57:11 GMT
Hundreds have walked this season with the fan owned model Billy, we know that you want to privatise the club, but completely daft comments like that do you no favours, attendances are down because of performances on the pitch, not because of an intellectual decision around ownership models led people boycot a club because it happens to be owned by fans. Now give your head a wobble and try again. Perhaps I should have expressed myself better but I wish you would read all the posts and not take things out of context. If you read my earlier post I explained that I wasn't saying they were staying away because we were fan owned per se. I was demonstrating that people will not support a fan owned club if performances are poor and I was replying to the idiot comments that people would walk away, or in other words boycott the club, if we have a private investor.
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Post by inthestand on Mar 20, 2018 17:00:47 GMT
I think the votes for option 3 need to be taken with a pinch of salt. No CFU member in the right mind would want any 1 person to have a controlling stake and that is exactly what any investor would want then its going to have to be grass roots football all the way,and fly by the wind every season...we cant keep going around with a bucket 2 or 3 times every year and have players just playing for expenses just to try to keep us a float...we are now balancing on the edge of oblivion, and a good chance we wont be here next season to make any decisions ...im 100% behind fan owned clubs as a great model...but in our case we haven't got enough fans to keep the whole thing afloat...its like trying to run an airline with no passengers...commercially..the figures dont add up...
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gaz
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Post by gaz on Mar 20, 2018 18:39:59 GMT
Ha! If they are looking for a return on their investment in ANY football club, never mind ours, then you'd question their intelligence. I am fully aware of that, but money can be made in football, ie bringing players through ect. Not picking an argument. Just my opinion. Look at Telford, how they have struggled. invest in what exactly? you know what invest means don't you...... INVEST-To commit (money or capital) in order to gain a financial return. what return could this club offer any investor? You are asking for someone to gift money to the club ... every club in the country wants some one like that, and frankly there are better options than this one. if the fans can't be bothered to put their hands in their pocket no one else will. if someone wants to throw money at this club there is nothing stopping them now.... they can form a queue on Bumpers lane..... oh wait tumbleweed!!!
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Post by midfieldgeneral on Mar 20, 2018 18:58:36 GMT
Absolutely, I am a serious investor and prepared to put a million, in to the club? What actually do I get for my investment? Can I sell the ground, build houses and re-located the ground? No! its owned by the council. Has it got any assets? No! So you want me to gift you a couple of million, with nothing in return? Heres an easy one for you Billy? How many takers do you think we will get?
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