PUNK FOOTBALL

the tune at their favourite clubs says it’s time for more fans to call

How fans are taking over at clubs

THAT owners make decisions which some supporters find unpalatable is one of the few immutable truths of the game. There is a suspicion among most fans, however unfair, that owners aren’t true supporters and that the decisions they make are motivated not by a love of the club but instead by a desire to increase the value of their investment.

Barring some financial calamity or hugely unpopular decision, for most fans the disagreements that intermittently appear rarely mutate into open rebellion. Instead, they become the subject matter of post-match rants in the pub, angry articles to a fanzine or acerbic posts on supporter forums.

Beneath the angst though, there is often the tacit acceptance that the ‘money men’ are necessary. Because what’s been the alternative really? After all, English football has been run in this way for a very long time.

But is this the case anymore? Over the past few decades a new way of thinking has emerged that has challenged the long-held dominance of the private owner. And it’s a way of thinking that has proven to be particularly attractive to clubs playing non-league football.

Back in 1992, most of the media was focused on the arrival of Sky and the Premiership, salivating over the influx of money, the promise of glamour and the hairiness of Richard Keys’ arms. Few writers, or fans for that matter, took notice of a financial crisis engulfing Northampton Town.

Facing liquidation and with no new investors on the horizon, the supporters organised to help the club out of its financial hole.

Although fans of all persuasions had been doing this at their clubs since the professional game’s inception, they’d always done so on the understanding that nothing would be given back in return. It was a one-way street that suited both parties, with each believing that supporters had no role to play in the running of the club.

But this time things would be different. Scarred by the board’s response following a previous campaign to help the club out financially, after which the fans’ generosity had been rewarded by the gift of six blazer badges, the supporters demanded that this time they would get something better in return. A democratically structured supporters’ trust was created that pooled individual investments from members and then used this money to buy a stake in Northampton. Through this, the trust was able to become part of the financial solution at the club, gaining two positions on the board in the process.

Since then, with the backing of Supporters Direct, this novel concept has proliferated across football and there are now 104 supporters’ trusts across the game. Although not all own shares, many do. And there are even some that possess a majority shareholding, such as the trusts at AFC Telford United, Chester FC and FC United of Manchester.

These are supporter organisations that have established brand-new clubs (AFC Wimbledon, FC United of Manchester, AFC Liverpool) saved others from going to the wall (Lewes FC) and resurrected several that otherwise might have disappeared (Chester FC, Scarborough Athletic FC, AFC Telford United).

“In its short-life, the supporter ownership model has had a real impact upon non-league football, shaping its appearance in a more profound way than is the case within the Football