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CAN Newcastle United really fall under supporter control? Mark Douglas reports on moves to buy out current owner Mike Ashley.
THE Newcastle United Supporters Trust have fired the opening shots in the battle for hearts and minds as they attempt to wrestle control from Mike Ashley – and one of their first moves is a canny one. Borrowing the ‘Yes We Can’ slogan utilised to perfection by Barack Obama was an acknowledgement that in football terms they are pioneers – and an acceptance of the baggage that goes with that.
Because the biggest hurdle that the NUST faces is convincing supporters jaded by years of mismanagement that it can be done. The example of Barcelona and the German Bundesliga, where the majority of clubs are supporter-owned, is often cited but Kevin Rye of Supporters Direct – the organisation that oversees the Supporters’ Trusts – acknowledges that cynicism remains in England. “Compared to major multi-nationals these football clubs are corner shops – a huge company like British Telecom could buy every single football club in the country if it wanted to,” he said. We have to tackle this assumption that the sums of money at the higher ends of the are beyond us. The purchase of Newcastle United by NUST is doable – absolutely. The income that a club like that generates is capable of paying the outgoings of the business, particularly given that it is assumed that debt repayments the like of which Man United have to make or Liverpool simply don’t exist at Newcastle.” Can it be done? It has already been achieved at one St James’ Park.
Exeter City are the shining beacon of the Supporters Direct movement, a sensibly run club that have channelled the enthusiasm and passion of the local people for their football club. And they have had success too – successive promotions have delivered the Grecians to League One. We took the club over when it was on it’s knees,” Exeter trust board member Neil Le Milliere said. We quickly learned that the day-to-day running of the football club had to be handed over to people with experience, so we have a football board and a trust board – which I belong to. The success depends on getting the right people in – you need a manager who buys into the vision.
“And then you need to harness the enthusiasm of the fans. We have 20 volunteers who sweep the terraces after the games unpaid. I would think that Newcastle United’s loyal supporter base is a huge asset. If you could mobilise that support and get people behind the project it could be a huge success.” Supporter ownership is no road to utopia, though.
The problems that have hamstrung Ashley – chiefly the club’s complex finances and the long, lucrative player contracts – will still exist. And so too will the expectations, hopes and dreams of fellow supporters.
York City have never reached the heights of the Champions League, but the trust that took over ownership of the North Yorkshire side found that patience with their approach of living within their means was finite. The group did sterling work to keep the club afloat but cowed by debts and the daily grind of keeping the club afloat the trust sold its stake in 2006. “It was hard. There was external pressure from other supporters who wanted to know why we weren’t buying a player, or why we weren’t keeping hold of someone,” former chairman Steve Beck says. Beck also acknowledges that the further up the football pyramid you go, the harder it is.
“It is harder. You can add noughts to the sort of sums we were struggling with. There is no dressing that up,” he admits. “When we sat down in the darkest hours the Plan B was to begin again as AFC York City, where costs would be manageable with no debts. At times I have wondered whether that would have been a better option.”
York’s experience is an injection of realism, but not one that should take the edge off NUST’s laudable aims. United have major advantages over the 15 clubs that have come under supporter control – primarily that they are not attempting to take over after administration. Similarly, it is the size and scale of the club is what makes people doubt NUST’s daunting, but it also what makes their vision achievable. If the 40,000 fans who regularly turn up can be convinced, then mission impossible suddenly becomes not only achievable, but probable.
