Message #448316

[Melbourne Cobbler]

I was tempted to start a separate thread for this post titled Trust vrs Thomas & Bower but I won’t. Having spoken personally at length to individual members of the board of the Trust and been involved in countless discussions on here I will try to give some closure to this debate as briefly as possible. As laughable as it seems there has to be an attempt at resolution on all sides otherwise there will be stalemate indefinitely. I promise you this will be the best you will get, so please read with an open mind.

So who is correct, are the owners allowing the club to languish and not really progress to any acceptable level? Alternatively are they doing an acceptable and decent job? The answer surprise surprise is both. An analogy you could use is that in actual fact we are trying to compare Joe Root and Harry Kane in terms of sporting ability.

The owners are investors. That means they are ultimately looking to spend as little as possible and make as much profit as possible at the back end. In an ideal world a club needs an ownership model that is not interested in profit and wants all revenue ploughed back into the club. The issue is not Kelvin Thomas and David Bower, it is the rules that allow investor owners in the first place.

The real problem is this. If you were able to force them out you may well end up in a situation where the new owners or position of the club is far worse. If you do nothing then they may sell to owners who are far worse anyway. Should the Trust step in with an ownership model, at this point in time my best guess is the risks of the club failing will be high. So in summary if the owners stay then the inevitable is maybe prolonged, or maybe not if they find a more rapacious buyer. If their hand is forced and they leave then the inevitable may come sooner, either way the chances of it coming are very real.

My conclusion is that as a business the club cannot operate to its current levels without additional financial assistance and support. It is unlikely that a new stand will resolve the revenue issue and there is no real alternative vehicle to ensure that there is enough self sustainable revenue is available to the club at this time. The answer is for the rules to be changed to restrict the activities, powers and options for investors in football generally moving forward. Additionally clubs have to find a way to generate additional revenue beyond gate receipts or drastically reduce operating costs, it’s A or B, there is no C.

If we as supporters allow the investor model such as the current one to continue unchecked we are playing Russian roulette with the club. It is only a matter of time before there is a bullet in the chamber. If any group manages to force the owners out without having a viable, workable plan, revenue stream and/or access to finance, they are also playing Russian roulette with the club, and there may be a bullet in the chamber. Either way we are likely as not ending up with a serious head trauma.

The only way this will be settled is for all parties to draw a line in the sand and work together with a very clear plan and set of objectives to secure the future of Northampton Town football club. That should include a strategy for the club and football generally to protect itself from unscrupulous owners. There also has to be a plan that generates income and reduces operating costs for clubs to be self sustainable. The current impasse and on going disputes merely increase the chances of the demise of the club. Northampton Town Football Club and the rest of the EFL needs restructuring from an operational and financial perspective, otherwise the end is coming and it’s only a matter of time. Do we intend to fiddle whilst Rome burns or do we want to be proactive in protecting the club?

Those who support owners such as the current ones are like it or not ultimately endorsing a model that puts the future of the club in real jeopardy at some point, either by the activities of the current owners or those of future incumbents. Forcing them out without having supporting pillars of financial solvency and viable operational planning equally puts the club in real jeopardy. Therefore pointing the finger at each other is pointless as generally speaking we are all right…..or wrong, whichever you prefer. Those are the real facts in all this.