Sleightly Deceptive wrote: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:24 pm
No questions about ground ownership? In my view - that’s critical and maybe holding us back.
If I understand you correctly SD, you are suggesting that if we owned our ground then the club might be better able to attract large investors. But surely, if we could afford to buy the ground then we wouldn't need large investors anyway. Perhaps even more importantly, if the stadium and surrounding land is what attracts potential investors, then you might want to question the motives of those investors anyway. So you could argue that not owning the ground is a safeguard as with no assets to strip, the only motive for buying into the club would be the football itself.
In any case, since March 2020, the constitution allows shareholders a maximum of 50 type "A" voting shares which are £25 each. So even if we found someone willing to put say, £5 million into the club, he or she would only get £1250 worth of votes, the same as some supporters probably already have. Whilst that policy made perfect sense 20 years ago and was an understandable decision given what had happened to our old club, there is a growing belief amongst many of the shareholders that outside investment is the only way we are ever going to be able to compete and believe it is now time to change that policy. However, if they wanted to remove the 50 share maximum, company law dictates that to do so would require 75% of the vote to make that change. And when I say 75% of the vote, I'm talking about 75% of the total "A" shares belonging to those that take part in the vote. i.e. Shareholders get one vote for every "A" share they own. So if 149 single "A" share voters voted for the motion but one individual with 50 "A" shares voted against, the motion would fail. 150 would just tip it over the 75% for a win. So for any of that to happen, one or more shareholders would need to request the board to put the motion to the shareholders for said vote.
Of course there is a risk attached to this idea and for some clubs, it hasn't gone well. But for others it has enabled them to succeed and go on to better things. In any case, there is also a risk in letting our club just sink slowly down the pyramid, constantly harping on about how we can't compete and lowering fans expectations every year. Whether this is the right move or not, it wouldn't hurt to be having the conversation.
in May? really? 
