Being exiled, as I am, in the med (and we had a thunder storm yesterday - In MAY! I ask you.....) I can't profess to being particularly knowledgeable regarding the works and actions of the Pompey Supporters Trust, other than being set up (I think) to set the ball rolling with the Phoenix club project, should the club, in its current entity, be liquidated. So I'd be interested in your views on this news... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18146640
I have always applauded the Supporter's Trust drive and initiative. Their plans are well beyond my price range but it is a good thing to see the fans take an active role in trying to sort their club. I have, however, doubted their ability to provide the funds needed to run the club long term and I am not convince that they would be able to even if they took control instead of Chainrai. Admirable though it may be I do no think that Pompey can be solely a community owned club, I think the debt and the running costs would be too much for the Trust to handle. In a few years once the high wages are reduce and running cost fall back within the means the club can sustain by itself then it would be a more reasonable attempt but as it stand Pompey, as a going concern, I feel is a bit too expensive for the Trust. The ideal solution, I think, would be for Chainrai to take control of the club then sell a 40-50% stake to the Supporter's Trust. In this way we could ensure the Clubs immediate survival and have a voice in the board room that actually is emotionally invested in the club and will act in its best interest.
I have been reliably informed that negotiations are nearing a conclusion with the national trust in regard to their takeover of Fratton Park. They wish to preserve the stadium as part of their 1950s history of sport in England project as part of Her Maj's Jubilee celebrations. They are keen to keep, in its original form, a stadium with a great history and a great atmosphere and will be imposing a listed building conservation order on it. The sticking point to the conclusion of the negotiations though is that they are insisting that the roof is removed from the Linvoy Primus stand as this is not part of the original fabric of the stadium - this is the away end where visiting fans can enjoy being buffeted by the high winds and rained on by the gales which come off the English Channel, these do seem to be regular Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons events. We are so looking forward to welcoming you to our lovely ground.
There is no doubt that they are working hard to find a solution and we ought to remember that the board members are doing this in their own time - but - their communications are quite shocking. As a board they are somewhat secretive with their intentions, although I think they believe they are acting with discretion and don't want to tip their hand. For a long time they heavily promoted setting up a phoenix club and a lot of people bought into that idea. They told me that it was always their intention to try and get a fans buy-out or partial buy-out of the club, that certainly wasn't clear to anyone else. Although the phoenix club was always a "final resort" if the club was liquidated it was the only option they promoted for so long, even while they were drawing up plans to buy the club as a going-concern they continued talking about Plan B with a vague reference to it being a last resort. I cannot believe they really thought Chanrai would not protect his debenture by purchasing the club again. He was never going to allow the business of PFC to be liquidated, he's got far too much to lose. In the end they were very slow getting the fans buy-out plan off the ground and they could run out of time. The cost of the share is too high for a majority of the fans who have now been excluded from the plan and they have failed to respond to that problem except by way of a loan which will cost loanees an additional £142 plus an enforced £10 a month savings plan, this still excludes a lot of supporters. They could, for example, have opted to sell 1/10th non-voting shares for £100 - many supporters would have bought one or several shares on their own and many others would have bought 1 voting share for themselves and additional cheaper shares for their children/grandchildren. As it is a number of fans are trying to get syndicates together of 4, 6, 8 fans to buy 1 share between them. I just think that if they had researched the 2 Scottish clubs properly they might have come up with a more income maximising plan - they missed a trick there. A lot of people who don't go to FP/who aren't football fans might also have bought a 1/10th share, just as a goodwill gesture because they know how much work the club does in the community. I know I sound somewhat critical - but they haven't inspired me with any confidence in them as a group. There is just so much more they could have been doing to promote the best opportunity to come our way.
Excellent post 3rd eye and I concure with what you have said. It is only now becoming clearer that they have a number of very capable people within their ranks but their PR has been as bad as the club's and all too often they have come accross as well intentioned amateurs. They may well have a sound business plan with the necessary income stream that will put the club back on an even keel and then move it forward but we only have their word for it. If I wanted to buy shares in a company then I can see their prospectus in order to make an informed decision. £1,000 is a lot of money to invest in blind faith.
