The General Election and Football

[Stan]

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2019/11/a-manifesto-for-football
I imagine that B & G trust members and any other football supporters, frustrated at the lack of supporter involvement in their football clubs, will be voting Labour on December 12th.

[Bluboy]

 
Nooooooo please not politics on the forum ....

[Mallard]

Sadly in my area a good bloke in Norman Lamb decided to stand down.  The candidate who is elected has some big shoes to fill.

I try and be as PC as I can Stan. Great believer in people being honest and upfront, until they prove otherwise.

It’s certain there needs to be serious money spent on Health in this Country. Maybe even if it’s at the expense of other area’s.

[KES80]

This country needs a "sea change" in thinking and there needs to be some social responsibility across the board.....this dog eat dog mentality and trying to always be one up on one's neighbour, is sad, waring and ultimately very damaging for mankind in general IMO.
That of course excludes football, where it's imperative that Lynn are" one up" on York for the rest of the season. Actually I have a hunch that the biggest threats will be Chester and Brackley, at the sharp end of the season.
Anyway, come on Hereford this evening, pull something out of the bag for us !!!

[gs50]

In same area as you Mallard. Think people voted for Norman rather than lib dems. Can't see myself voting for his replacement.

[kenny r]

What is pleasing is that Norman Lamb is continuing his interest in Mental Health by setting up a fund to promote care for those suffering from such problems.

It is also beneficial that it is possible to have a much more open debate in general these days whereas problems used to be tucked away by individuals and organisations, including those involved in football.

[Stan]

Below are the main points. It won't make you anti-semitic if you read them or like them. 

The Issues:
Fundamentally, that problem is a philosophical one. Who has moral ownership of our football clubs, and who are they intended to benefit? Are they mere businesses and profit vehicles, private entities with which wealthy individuals can do what they wish, or are they community institutions which are there to serve those who have supported them, both financially and materially, since the start of their history?
The enormous wealth on offer in the top flight, combined with a hopelessly inadequate Owners and Directors test, has incentivised unprincipled owners to run up huge debts in a desperate scramble to reach the summit.
Solutions:
Give supporters’ trusts the ability to appoint and remove directors.
Give supporters a chance to buy shares in their clubs.
Redistribute wealth from the richest clubs to the poorest via a levy on Premier League television money, a proposal which should strengthen the game nationally at a time when many grassroots clubs and community institutions are struggling for survival. Many clubs struggle to pay heating and electric bills let alone wages. Redistributing a proportion of broadcasting revenues to improve grassroots facilities is a good start in the quest to fix football’s broken economy, not least because, as the base of the pyramid – the mud-spattered clubhouses and churned-up pitches where so many kids first fall in love with football – they hold up the rest of the game.
Conclusions:
More than anything, though, these plans to put fans in positions of power represent a radical change which should transform football for the better. As supporters of Exeter City, AFC Wimbledon and Wycombe Wanderers have shown in recent years, fan-owned clubs are capable of overachieving while remaining financially responsible. Where wealthy benefactors are so often blinded by greed and unrealistic ambition, fans are motivated by their clubs’ wellbeing as much as their success. Empowering fans can only benefit the health of the game, where exploitative owners like those at Bury and Bolton have done it so much harm.
While giving supporters a chance to buy shares when their clubs change hands is not an immediate gateway to majority fan ownership, it is an incremental step in the right direction. Allowing accredited Supporters’ Trusts to appoint and remove directors should help to democratise opaque boardrooms right up to the Premier League, giving fans a direct say in how their clubs are run.
Supporters have already shown that they are the most responsible custodians of football clubs and that they, unlike the plutocrats, can be trusted to preserve their community institutions for future generations. In that sense, football is a window into our society.

[Stan]

 Great believer in people being honest and upfront, until they prove otherwise.

It's difficult to take that seriously from someone using a pseudonym 

[Mallard]

Interesting article Stan.  Full of holes of course.

So if the Premier League Clubs we’re forced to pass their earnings further down the food chain ultimately does that not de-value the attractiveness of the product to the TV companies etc?

Who says down the chain Trusts have more ability to run a club than say a Board of Directors.?

Loads of debate on this one Stan, without a doubt.  Cheers for highlighting it.

Food for thought to the Club closest to all our hearts ( I hope).  Would a Trust run Club at Kings Lynn be competing at the top of Step 2 and would we as fans be enjoying the style of Football we have the privilege of watching at the moment ? Sustainable under its current M.O.  not a chance.  So do we enjoy today and hang tomorrow or do we as fans try and get involved in helping the owner maintain this level?

[Mallard]

 Great believer in people being honest and upfront, until they prove otherwise.

It's difficult to take that seriously from someone using a pseudonym 

You have my name ( part) my mobile my place of residence.  I can forward inside leg measurement if so required.  ‘ Stan’ 

[Stan]

 Great believer in people being honest and upfront, until they prove otherwise.

It's difficult to take that seriously from someone using a pseudonym 

You have my name ( part) my mobile my place of residence.  I can forward inside leg measurement if so required.  ‘ Stan’ 

Yes, I suppose people in Anglian conservatories shouldn't throw Stones.
Stan is indeed a pseudonym.

[Stan]

Interesting article Stan.  Full of holes of course.

So if the Premier League Clubs we’re forced to pass their earnings further down the food chain ultimately does that not de-value the attractiveness of the product to the TV companies etc?

Who says down the chain Trusts have more ability to run a club than say a Board of Directors.?

Loads of debate on this one Stan, without a doubt.  Cheers for highlighting it.

Food for thought to the Club closest to all our hearts ( I hope).  Would a Trust run Club at Kings Lynn be competing at the top of Step 2 and would we as fans be enjoying the style of Football we have the privilege of watching at the moment ? Sustainable under its current M.O.  not a chance.  So do we enjoy today and hang tomorrow or do we as fans try and get involved in helping the owner maintain this level?

I think it's talking about more fan involvement not necessarily full fan involvement.
Would the trust have got the club to step 2: no, but does the club need the supporters, through a fully engaged and proactive trust, to sustain the current level?  Project Linnets definitely needs a team effort but what that team looks like is open to question.

[KES80]

Thanks for posting the article Stan......I don't see quite as many holes in it as my 'alter ego'.  I think a good part of it makes sense actually. Not only would it help clubs at lower leagues, it might actually make each league more competitive by devolving wealth downwards eg The Premier League which effectively has 3 leagues in one due to club wealth issues at the moment.

[TonyM]

...Food for thought to the Club closest to all our hearts ( I hope).  Would a Trust run Club at Kings Lynn be competing at the top of Step 2 and would we as fans be enjoying the style of Football we have the privilege of watching at the moment ? Sustainable under its current M.O.  not a chance.  So do we enjoy today and hang tomorrow or do we as fans try and get involved in helping the owner maintain this level?

I think it's talking about more fan involvement not necessarily full fan involvement.
Would the trust have got the club to step 2: no, but does the club need the supporters, through a fully engaged and proactive trust, to sustain the current level?  Project Linnets definitely needs a team effort but what that team looks like is open to question.

No surprise where I sit on this, although it don't think it should be in any political party's manifesto but preferably put forward as a private members bill so that all who feel they can support it do so without the nonsense of Politics (with a capital P) messing things up.  Personally I would be very keen on Supporter Trusts having the right to buy into a club but wouldn't have thought it would ever apply below the EFL.  As for TV money 'filtering down', I think the fact that this is even talked about shows that since the inception of the EPL the pyramid has been turned upside down and its no longer 'grassroots' football that supports the top of the game but the other way round.  Probably a 'better' way of sorting out football's mess would be an extension of the financial fair play model and far stricter rules on financial doping which could ultimately lead to more sustainable models being adopted at all steps in the pyramid.

As for our club, I think we could well be where we are today under a Trust run model as there were wasted years towards the end of Chapman's regime as the club stagnated whilst he found a buyer.  SC is gradually realising what his early promises will need financially to back them up and it isn't a pretty sight for a sole owner.  Fans can do their bit, particularly if the Trust decided to be 'part of the solution' and relaunch the GDF then we could all 'do our bit' for the most pressing financial hurdle - the ground improvements required to keep us at step 2 - sadly I think the current Trust board are setting themselves up to be seen as 'part of the problem'.

[Blue_and_Gold]

[Sadly I think the current Trust board are setting themselves up to be seen as 'part of the problem'.

    May I ask why?