‘There is no reason why fan ownership would not work at Sky Blues’
IT IS VITAL THAT FANS SHOULD EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING A STAKE IN THEIR CLUB SAYS TELEGRAPH EDITOR
COVENTRY City is currently rotting and needs fresh investment to lift it out of its downward spiral.
That’s what Telegraph editor Keith Perry told BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire yesterday ahead of a meeting by fans last night to discuss the possibility of fan ownership at the Sky Blues.
Coventry City’s largest supporters group, the Sky Blue Trust, arranged the meeting to discuss the possibility.
The open meeting will include representatives of Supporters Direct who have a track record of helping fans secure stakes in their clubs.
It comes after the trust made an approach to Joy Seppala, the chief executive of Coventry City owners Sisu, to discuss the possibility of a supporter-led takeover. But the approach was rejected before any meeting or discussions could take place.
Thousands of fans have demanded the London-based hedge fund put the club up for sale and actively seek to attract a new owner after nine years of CCFC decline under Sisu.
Speaking to Trish Adudu and Jo Tidman on the station’s breakfast show, Mr Perry said: “There is a point to the meeting, the fans, a huge section of them are disenfranchised from the club at the moment. Fan ownership has worked elsewhere.
“I can’t imagine they are going to have a meeting and be in a position to take over next week but it does give them a way forward.”
Mr Perry also said that while the club was not ‘for sale’ he remains convinced Sisu would sell it if a prospective buyer came in with the ‘right price’.
“There have been a few bids come and go, how credible all of them were is certainly open to question,” he said. Saying the club isn’t for sale is one thing.
“My house isn’t for sale but if someone offered me a couple of hundred thousand pounds more than it is worth I’d be packing up today.”
As to whether a fan ownership model could work in practice Mr Perry said he felt it could but that one of the key problems was the lack of investment.
“We have called for owners Sisu to sell-up and go after nine miserable years of failure,” he said.
“We are not trying to dictate a price or who they should sell to but whoever it is needs to come in and invest.
“One of the big problems is a lack of investment on the pitch.
“As regards fan ownership you are always going to get friction between fans.
“Even at clubs where fan ownership works there is still friction because everyone has a different opinion. But yes, there is no reason why it couldn’t work.
“But you would need a motivated seller as well as a motivated buyer for any deal to go through. The Sky Blue Trust did try and talk to Sisu about an exit but got rebuffed.”
As regards to club’s position at the bottom of the league, Mr Perry added: “It has been on a downward trajectory for some time.
“We launched our petition and got 20,000 signatures, 10,000 in 48 hours, because people are seriously worried about the future of the club.
“I am naturally an optimist but it is looking pretty bad, not just the league position but all the off-field problems. It is certainly rotting.” OVERWEIGHT and obese people dying early saves taxpayers billions and means obesity’s impact on the public purse has been overblown, a think tank has claimed.
The Institute of Economic Affairs estimates these premature deaths save UK taxpayers some £3.6 billion on things like pensions, healthcare and benefits every year.
Their analysis suggests the net cost of obesity is therefore less than £2.5 billion, or 0.3% of public spending – less than half the most commonly cited estimate. Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the institute, called for an end to “making scapegoats of people who happen to be fat”. Mark Tovey, author of the Obesity And The Public Purse report, added: “The public deserve better than shoddy guesstimates and exaggerations.
“Our rigorous, step-by-step estimate of the net cost of obesity on government finances shows the real figure to be less than £2.5 billion.
“This is not a trivial amount of money, but it is only 0.3% of government spending.
“Despite the claims of some of the more excitable campaigners, obesity is not going to bankrupt the NHS.”
The analysis looks at 35,820 lives that were lost in England and Wales in 2014 due to obesity-caused illness, and how much it would have cost the Government if these people lived for an average of 12 years longer.
The report’s authors say the UK’s ageing population is putting more strain on resources in the NHS and public health rather than obesity.
They also criticise “regressive policies” such as the sugar tax.
Mr Snowdon said: “Given the NHS is currently in the icy grip of a winter-related spike in demand, the topic of healthcare costs could not be more pertinent.
“Every year, the public price of increased longevity is brought into focus as the cold weather drives a growing number of frail pensioners en masse into ailing A&E departments around the country.
“It is good news that we are living longer, but we must get to grips with the financial consequences of this, rather than making scapegoats of people who happen to be fat.”