Post by glosblue on May 9, 2020 9:28:38 GMT
Putting aside for a second the conjecture (and some hysteria) about the proposal to take over the running of the club (because it's mostly based on speculation rather than fact for the moment), it strikes me there's only one way this idea might possibly work.
Mr Murphy has built a successful business, and must therefore be presumed to be an intelligent man. He must therefore know enough about the club to realise the background we've had with unscrupulous owners in the past, and therefore how unrealistic it must be to expect a majority of our CFU members to vote for a straight takeover. Regardless of the picture he paints, that simply won't happen - just read Devachat for 5 minutes and that becomes apparent.
In my view, the only way this would be acceptable is for shares to be split 50:50, with a 'golden share' owned by the Council, who own the ground. In such a circumstance, if plans proposed are clearly of benefit to the club, both the Board and Mr Murphy would agree, and they would proceed. If the Board and Mr Murphy disagree, the Council have a casting vote. Clearly the Council would have the interests of the ratepayers of Chester, and so our fans, at heart.
If Mr Murphy is truly a supporter, wants to help the club move forward, but wants a greater degree of formal say over how we are run, that seems perfectly sensible to me; after all, if he is supporting us financially, a greater say in decision making isn't unreasonable (to my mind, at least; many will disagree, I recognise).
If this isn't his proposal, and he wants complete control over the club, then I think his bid is doomed to fail; we've been burned before, and he simply won't get sufficient numbers to back him. If that means he walks away, and when football resumes we cut our cloth accordingly, then so be it. With no debt, a 'free' stadium, and a decent fanbase at the levels we're at, we should be capable of being competitive; many clubs will not be in the new world, which may look very different.
I very much hope Mr Murphy has this kind of model in mind. If he hasn't, then that's very depressing, because he will have been shown to be someone merely intent on gaining an asset (presumably the land, primarily) at minimal cost. I remember the realtive glory days of playing league football very clearly, and would want to get back there at some point, but don't want to bet the farm on how one individual might be feeling to do so.
Discuss.
Mr Murphy has built a successful business, and must therefore be presumed to be an intelligent man. He must therefore know enough about the club to realise the background we've had with unscrupulous owners in the past, and therefore how unrealistic it must be to expect a majority of our CFU members to vote for a straight takeover. Regardless of the picture he paints, that simply won't happen - just read Devachat for 5 minutes and that becomes apparent.
In my view, the only way this would be acceptable is for shares to be split 50:50, with a 'golden share' owned by the Council, who own the ground. In such a circumstance, if plans proposed are clearly of benefit to the club, both the Board and Mr Murphy would agree, and they would proceed. If the Board and Mr Murphy disagree, the Council have a casting vote. Clearly the Council would have the interests of the ratepayers of Chester, and so our fans, at heart.
If Mr Murphy is truly a supporter, wants to help the club move forward, but wants a greater degree of formal say over how we are run, that seems perfectly sensible to me; after all, if he is supporting us financially, a greater say in decision making isn't unreasonable (to my mind, at least; many will disagree, I recognise).
If this isn't his proposal, and he wants complete control over the club, then I think his bid is doomed to fail; we've been burned before, and he simply won't get sufficient numbers to back him. If that means he walks away, and when football resumes we cut our cloth accordingly, then so be it. With no debt, a 'free' stadium, and a decent fanbase at the levels we're at, we should be capable of being competitive; many clubs will not be in the new world, which may look very different.
I very much hope Mr Murphy has this kind of model in mind. If he hasn't, then that's very depressing, because he will have been shown to be someone merely intent on gaining an asset (presumably the land, primarily) at minimal cost. I remember the realtive glory days of playing league football very clearly, and would want to get back there at some point, but don't want to bet the farm on how one individual might be feeling to do so.
Discuss.
