Fan ownership, why won't it work? (2 Viewers)

Irish Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
AFC Wimbledon same fans as Wimbledon FC so in every logical way the same club. Do they believe their club died? I don't think so. Same with R and D.
I don't understand why it is possible for Portsmouth fans to take over their club and make a decent job of it but that for Coventry it would never work. We are a bigger city, bigger historical and potential fan base yet it would never work here, why not? The Pompey Trust guy alluded to the fact that not all of their supporters were behind their take over. I think the majority of City fans would welcome a supporters take over if it meant Sisu were gone. An initial take over by fans does not mean that a sale to other owners at a time in the future cannot happen. We need to have owners who care, will stabilise and will stop the downward spiral. If the choice was supporter owned or Sisu owned would some supporters seriously choose Sisu?
 

Broken Hearted Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
AFC Wimbledon same fans as Wimbledon FC so in every logical way the same club. Do they believe their club died? I don't think so. Same with R and D.
I don't understand why it is possible for Portsmouth fans to take over their club and make a decent job of it but that for Coventry it would never work. We are a bigger city, bigger historical and potential fan base yet it would never work here, why not? The Pompey Trust guy alluded to the fact that not all of their supporters were behind their take over. I think the majority of City fans would welcome a supporters take over if it meant Sisu were gone. An initial take over by fans does not mean that a sale to other owners at a time in the future cannot happen. We need to have owners who care, will stabilise and will stop the downward spiral. If the choice was supporter owned or Sisu owned would some supporters seriously choose Sisu?
Yes they would
 

Ian1779

Well-Known Member
AFC Wimbledon same fans as Wimbledon FC so in every logical way the same club. Do they believe their club died? I don't think so. Same with R and D.

Rushen and Diamonds did die - they were dissolved in 2011. The new club had ro re-apply for entry to UCL Div 1 - several leagues below. AFC Wimbledon was born out of the rejection of the move to MK by fans.

R&D was handed over to the Supporters Trust by Max Griggs. He built them a ground and training facilities and gave it to them for nothing. They still went to the wall.

We have nothing. I'm sorry but I can't see the sums adding up. If someone can show how they do then I'm all for it.
 

covmark

Well-Known Member
AFC Wimbledon same fans as Wimbledon FC so in every logical way the same club. Do they believe their club died? I don't think so. Same with R and D.
I don't understand why it is possible for Portsmouth fans to take over their club and make a decent job of it but that for Coventry it would never work. We are a bigger city, bigger historical and potential fan base yet it would never work here, why not? The Pompey Trust guy alluded to the fact that not all of their supporters were behind their take over. I think the majority of City fans would welcome a supporters take over if it meant Sisu were gone. An initial take over by fans does not mean that a sale to other owners at a time in the future cannot happen. We need to have owners who care, will stabilise and will stop the downward spiral. If the choice was supporter owned or Sisu owned would some supporters seriously choose Sisu?
Who is choosing Sisu? People are saying Portsmouth had a massive amount of help, including from the local council. Something that history tells us, we wouldn't receive.
Chief Dave has explained it all throughout the thread, far more eloquently than I could.



Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 

Irish Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
I am sure there are exceptions ( MK are one) but most clubs came into being because of a group of supporters setting them up and keeping them going. Supporters are the only constant, particularly these days when clubs change managers and players at whirlwind speed and some even change stadiums. Supporters stick with their club through thick and thin. Legally Wimbledon took on a new name and changed location and R and D were liquidated. However, to those sets of fans they are still supporting the same club they always have. To me it is what is in the hearts of those fans that defines whether the clubs are the same, not what is on a legal document. Even MK seemed to accept this by returning WFC memorabilia to AFC.
 

Irish Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
Don't be so melodramatic - people are asking legitimate questions that as yet no one can answer.
There are some who just seem dead set against fan ownership and do not seem able to accept that it could ever happen here. It would be interesting to see if anyone would say that yes they would prefer Sisu to stay in preference to a fan owned CCFC.
 

Ian1779

Well-Known Member
Who's being melodramatic? Every time it's mentioned you're there with overwhelmingly negative reactions. Yet at the same time accept the decline of the club under the present owners. Why is that?

Do you want to keep repeating the same mistakes with the next owner?
 

skybluetony176

Well-Known Member
I think any potential fan led takeover would have to be led by people not part of the Trust/protest group hierarchy now or in the recent past.

You've narrowed it down to it having to be led by Grendull, Torch and Nick. Every other fan has been involved in a protest of some sort. Never going to happen then.
 

skybluetony176

Well-Known Member
If someone can come up with a viable response to 'who pay the bills in the off-season' and 'who pays for a manager to be able to sign a player, pay a signing on fee/transfer and for a contract longer than 12 months' than you may have far more people behind the notion.

It could be funded by the fans and player sales. So basically the same as it is now. Minus the hedge fund.
 

skybluetony176

Well-Known Member
You are arguing semantics - the fact is that the original Rushden and Diamonds had a fan ownership model and went bust. And they were given a ground for free.

Rushden and Diamonds was never a viable team though. IIRC correctly it was basically the folly of Mr. Dr Martin. When he went it fell on it's arse because it was basically a true non league club with a nice ground that flattered there natural place in the world which is really a Rugby Town or Racing Warwick. Also, it was back in private ownership when it went to the wall.
 
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skybluetony176

Well-Known Member
Do you want to keep repeating the same mistakes with the next owner?

No one in the history of the game has ever run a club like how SISU have run this one and no one ever will again. If you think SISU's mistakes will be repeated you should take a leaf out of your own book and stop being melodramatic.
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
AFC Wimbledon same fans as Wimbledon FC so in every logical way the same club. Do they believe their club died? I don't think so. Same with R and D.

I'm glad you said think. Because you are wrong. A mate of mine was a Wimbledon suporter. He now doesn't have a club. He watches other clubs. I am working on him supporting us :) The majority of them didn't follow to MK or the club that started again. On April 1st we are going to Chelsea v Palace. His son is a STH with Palace. Then we are going to Wembley together. Try telling him that most went on to AFC Wimbledon. He knows differently.
 

Broken Hearted Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
I'm glad you said think. Because you are wrong. A mate of mine was a Wimbledon suporter. He now doesn't have a club. He watches other clubs. I am working on him supporting us :) The majority of them didn't follow to MK or the club that started again. On April 1st we are going to Chelsea v Palace. His son is a STH with Palace. Then we are going to Wembley together. Try telling him that most went on to AFC Wimbledon. He knows differently.
So most of the AFC Wimbledon fans are alll new supporters? They've really done well then.
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
So most of the AFC Wimbledon fans are alll new supporters? They've really done well then.
Look at their support. They are young on average to most clubs. Of course some moved to the new club. They started it after all.

If you know I am wrong why don't you tell my mate when we are in London? Most he went with don't bother anymore. So is just him and the supporters that he knows and nearly everyone else carried on going?

What amazes me is how much some of our supporters know about other clubs and their supporters. I would know nothing about them if my mate hadn't been a supporter of them for over 20 years. And some of our supporters know more about them than he does.
 

Broken Hearted Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
Look at their support. They are young on average to most clubs. Of course some moved to the new club. They started it after all.

If you know I am wrong why don't you tell my mate when we are in London? Most he went with don't bother anymore. So is just him and the supporters that he knows and nearly everyone else carried on going?

What amazes me is how much some of our supporters know about other clubs and their supporters. I would know nothing about them if my mate hadn't been a supporter of them for over 20 years. And some of our supporters know more about them than he does.
I know about Rushden and Wimbledon because I work with guys that are supported of both. Also one from oxford and unfortunately a Villa fan who worked with me in brum and transferred to Coventry when we shut the factory there. As an aside never got grief from the villa fans there the blue noses that's a different story.
 

Irish Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
The fact that AFC exists at all is because the original fans made sure it didn't die. It is not surprising that in the near 20 years since the formation of AFC that the demographic of the fans changes. How many younger fans post on here and say they have never known anything but misery and gloom as they have only watched City from 2003 onwards. I have supported our club for 50 years but could not tell you the details of who has supported us for one year or for 60 years. I see the same faces when I go to games but wouldn't recognise all 9k of our regular fan base. I would think it will be the same for your mate. The fact is that AFC was formed by Wimbledon supporters who continued to support the club as it progressed through the leagues. No doubt some left and some arrived. I would be surprised if the hard core of support who kept the club going are not still Wimbledon fans if they are still around and going to football.
If our club went to the wall, I have no doubt that an AFC Coventry City would be born. Everyone would have the choice to give up on football, support someone else or support the Phoenix club. For me if they played in sky blue, played in Coventry etc I would support them and from my point of view see them as a continuation of CCFC. Others would be free to see things differently. The fact is that there is a possibility that CCFC may not exist in the future. That's not melodrama, that is looking at where we are heading and remembering what Seppala said about liquidation.
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
I know about Rushden and Wimbledon because I work with guys that are supported of both. Also one from oxford and unfortunately a Villa fan who worked with me in brum and transferred to Coventry when we shut the factory there. As an aside never got grief from the villa fans there the blue noses that's a different story.
But you was telling us about the Wimbledon supporters ;)
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
The fact that AFC exists at all is because the original fans made sure it didn't die. It is not surprising that in the near 20 years since the formation of AFC that the demographic of the fans changes. How many younger fans post on here and say they have never known anything but misery and gloom as they have only watched City from 2003 onwards. I have supported our club for 50 years but could not tell you the details of who has supported us for one year or for 60 years. I see the same faces when I go to games but wouldn't recognise all 9k of our regular fan base. I would think it will be the same for your mate. The fact is that AFC was formed by Wimbledon supporters who continued to support the club as it progressed through the leagues. No doubt some left and some arrived. I would be surprised if the hard core of support who kept the club going are not still Wimbledon fans if they are still around and going to football.
If our club went to the wall, I have no doubt that an AFC Coventry City would be born. Everyone would have the choice to give up on football, support someone else or support the Phoenix club. For me if they played in sky blue, played in Coventry etc I would support them and from my point of view see them as a continuation of CCFC. Others would be free to see things differently. The fact is that there is a possibility that CCFC may not exist in the future. That's not melodrama, that is looking at where we are heading and remembering what Seppala said about liquidation.
I said that AFC Wimbledon was started by some of their supporters. But look back at what was said. The majority of their supporters didn't follow on to AFC. They picked up supporters as they went through the non league levels.

The same would happen with our club if it folded. I would give up. I would not spend a 4 figure sum each year to watch a club I didn't grow up supporting. I wouldn't feel the urge to spend so much time travelling up and down the motorway or spend so much time away from my family.

If you think that most of us would follow an AFC club if our club folded try doing a poll. Look how many have already stopped going to our proper club now. Look at how many we will have next season. Then consider how many we would have about another 5 levels lower at a reincarnated club.
 

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