Yes we can

[trophyshy 6432]

http://www.nust.org.uk/the-ultimate-protes...we-can-campaign

 

On the basis of what is already there it looks well considered and professional.

 

I am sure there will be a lot of questions and clarification in the coming weeks.

 

Interestingly for me when Mike compulsory purchased my shares I had about £1500 worth in the club. This being the minimum investment anyway I will glady put that money back in and look forward to extending my interest further by having a voice.

 

Failing a genuine billionaire in the mold of Abramovich this appears to be the way ahead for us. It would be groundbreaking, it is bold and it would be an exciting new era not only for Newcastle United but for football also.

 

What I have to wonder is if we will be able to compete at the highest level? We may well be able to become the most sustainable club in the UK, but will we have the cash to compete? If UEFA ever exert some control over salaries then perhaps we will be well placed to benefit and perhaps we could become a hotbed for young talent once more with this approach. It would certainly be an interesting ride.

 

Anyway as previously stated I am fucking delighted there is at least an opportunity for us to make the change happen. Thanks to NUST for having the courage and ignoring the naysayers to get this off the ground.

Edited November 10, 2009 by trophyshy

[Monkeys Fist 38565]

Well said the last paragraph Trophyshy.

This is our chance, and it seems a very well thought out scheme.

[peasepud 59]

Cheers for that

 

As Trophy says and Ive posted elsewhere, the importance and scale of this cannot be underestimated. This is something huge in British football, if it happens then we will be the first club of any real size to be owned by the fans, in fact theres only one in the Football League, the mighty Exeter City.

 

Its going to be a long hard struggle, Im not going to be an Acca and say we'll piss getting the money because we wont. Im not going to do a Stevie and say that this is only open to Geordies because its not, its open to any Newcastle fan, anywhere. We are all in this together and we need to ensure that we all pull together.

 

Im, as much as anyone aware of the current financial position of many of you (myself included), I dont expect that everyone will run out and sell their first born to raise the minimum stake (which we've listened to early comments and reduced to £1500).

 

What I would hope every single member of this message board will do is read the stuff fully, if you've got questions then ask them on here, lets have this one thread though and not bring it into every other thread.

 

Read the information with an open mind, forget any preconceived views you have on the NUST/NUSC because I can assure you everything that is and has been done in the past has been with the best intentions. This is being done with one intention only, to bring the football club out of its current dire situation and start something incredible within our football club.

 

Read the info, ask your questions and if you are in a position to invest then take financial advice, there will be a city centre shop opening for people to walk in and discuss with Financial experts, use them or use one of your own.

 

If you're not in a position to invest yourself then you could look to set up a group of people, get ten of you with £150 each, 20 with £75 or even 1500 together at a quid apiece. What the hell, lets have a toontastic share!

 

You can even just donate any amount into the Trust who will then group those donations into tranches of £1500 and buy additional shares for the trust.

 

If you've read it, agreed it but cant donate or invest then please pass the word around your mates, sit in the pub and ensure everyone you know understands what its about.

 

Ive said it once, I'll say it again, this is the best chance that our football club has to go forward, another season under Ashley is unthinkable. The future under fans ownership could be the best thing to happen to this football club.

[Ketsbaia 0]

Initially I was very sceptical, then I read a bit more and it began to sound quite doable. I still have one or two questions, hopefully they'll be answered today.

 

Unfortunately i'm not currently in a position to invest, I simply don't have the cash or a pension scheme, but if this is still going when I do I can't see why not. It seems risk free - if NUST don't buy the club then you get your money back.

 

I don't think the scheme will see us scale the heights that we were under Keegan and Bobby, but then I don't think even a cash rich billionaire could do that now - there's simply too much competition to get back into the top 4 at present. I do however think that this will give the club a stable platform to build from and it'll secure the future of the club when the Premier League bubble (presuming we get back there) begins to contract or even worse burst.

[peasepud 59]

Initially I was very sceptical, then I read a bit more and it began to sound quite doable. I still have one or two questions, hopefully they'll be answered today.

 

The best way to be frankly and any questions that dont get answered, bung them on here and I'll attempt to get a full answer for you.

[trophyshy 6432]

not like you to be so incredibly cynical CT.

[Asprilla 96]

not like you to be so incredibly cynical CT.

 

Not unless it's some made up bollocks about being sold at the end of the week.

 

 

 

Top stuff Pud, I personally would rather see us stay in the lower leagues for the next decade if it meant that all growth and improvement were based on sustainability and long term thinking.

 

Seriously, football is about the people who go and watch, not some faceless twat with a portfolio of synergised sporting lifestyle brands.

[Guest alex]

Cunty Twat tbh. I'm seriously considering this btw.

[JawD 31]

Im considering. From my own perspective I need to consider it thoroughly. Of course there are questions to be answered, but to me, writing it off without full consideration is as bad as diving in head first without the same.

[Guest alex]

There will be blood. The big football crash is coming!

 

The path it's on is unsustainable outside the top four. As we are seeing the days of rich men digging deep to sustain also rans in the premier league is coming to an end.

 

A re-allignment is coming.

Well, you've never been wrong before.

[Guest alex]

There will be blood. The big football crash is coming!

 

The path it's on is unsustainable outside the top four. As we are seeing the days of rich men digging deep to sustain also rans in the premier league is coming to an end.

 

A re-allignment is coming.

Well, you've never been wrong before.

 

A clever point , shrewdly put, yet left naked and alone by the lack of a counter argument.

 

Pleased you agree.

We're all happy then.

[donaldstott 0]

Any monies raised will be lodged in a local Solicitor's high interest account and will be returned if the bid is unsuccessful (less a 5% administration fee).

 

Bloody solicitors..

[trophyshy 6432]

I think my bro and dad are up for this, the latter is an IFA so can advise on the SIPPS stuff which I kna nout about. I do know that my pension has performed terribly since its inception and so I am none too worried about shoving a lump in here.

 

Personally, and I appreciate I may be alone in thinking this, I will risk what I am prepared to lose because this represents such a unique opportunity to change the way football is. It was the people's game. It can be played by anyone with a ball costing less than a tenner. It has been exploited beyond all recognition. If us fans do not manage to wrestle something back now then when? If not us then who?

 

If I have a couple of less quid a year when I am 70 because of this well I reckon I can cope. This is the kind of opportunity you would only regret not taking. If you took it and it went pear shaped, well, like I say – put in what you can afford to lose.

 

'Remember when we gathered enough momentum to buy our own club but it just didn't happen?'

 

'I heard about that, it was a couple of seasons before we were bought by McDonalds Corp wasn't it?'

 

'Aye, we used to have a Magpie as a mascot not that fucken clown y'kna'

 

'Really? Oh my dad would never talk about it like.'

 

etc.

 

If you view this as an amazing opportunity to create a genuine community club then invest. If you want to ensure profit on your pension or savings then look elsewhere. However all good portfolios have a diversity of stock and no other stock will give you as much interest and passion as this.

 

We need as many fans as possible who are prepared to not just say No to Mike but to take it further and pay to remove this contemptible fool, invest in a sustainable future and build a brave new world together.

Edited November 10, 2009 by trophyshy

[Matt 0]

Is there going to be a payment portal which would allow payment by Mastercard / Visa?

 

I have zero cash but a penchant for racking up credit card debt so that would be perfect.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Matt

[Howmanheyman 26606]

So far I'd say I'm likely to invest, it may have to be on the credit card. Is there a way to invest in instalments even if this requires the initial 10% up front?

 

This has to made as easy as possible to get the maximum interest in it from supporters in my opinion.

[Howmanheyman 26606]

probably will invest myself,

I'm assuming by investing in the club i shall also get my "accepted by stevie" certificate that forgives my non-local status

You'll need to pay the £25000 premium for the Stevie certificate.

[themags 0]

Havent got a penny to me name, but i have a pension thats sat doing nowt from a previous job that i cant have for another 40 years or something.

 

Looking forward to hearing the details on how this method will work, once released

[beardieman 0]

And when it goes tits up what happens to the money, who stands the loss, everyone?

[Howmanheyman 26606]

Maybe the NUST should just run a weekly lottery with half the proceeds going into a 'buy Ashley out and also cover the running costs' fund.

 

It would take a very long time but it might appease some of the doom merchants like the above poster.

[Papa Lazaru 0]

Maybe the NUST should just run a weekly lottery with half the proceeds going into a 'buy Ashley out and also cover the running costs' fund.

 

It would take a very long time but it might appease some of the doom merchants like the above poster.

 

Probably not a bad idea to try some fundraising things like that in addition to the more important matter of getting people to invest larger ammounts directly. And to really rub it in, have people selling tickets for the lottery outside SJP on matchdays!

 

I certainly think this whole project is well worth a go, but i suspect it will need some clear eveidence that a large ammount of money has already been taken in to show its a genuine possibility to get alot more fans on board, and hopefully they can do this.

 

My other worry is that you could end up with all the money raised an offer put in and Ashley decides to be a complete cunt as usual and turn it down because its the fans and he wants to piss us off even more!

[1892 0]

I'm behind the idea, It's just a shame that I don't even have a pension scheme yet, or £1500/£2500.

[Guest alex]

If they have a payment portal like Matt was asking about I think I'll stick it on my credit card then get a new one that does 0% on balance transfers.

[peasepud 59]

George Caulkins take on it:

 

http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/200...r-campaign.html

 

The emails were dispatched at 2am on Tuesday morning. All 40,000 of them, which the Newcastle United Supporters Trust [NUST] believes might just make it the biggest-ever mail-out to football fans. In spite of the bleary-eyed hour, within the first 20 minutes, 120 people had signed up for more information and pledges of financial backing had come from as far afield as Australia.

 

There was a humbling message from an orphanage in Ghana, where the NUST have previously sent Newcastle shirts to disadvantaged children, kids whose lives put notions such as sport, victory and defeat into its proper perspective, with an offer to invest £5. In emotive terms, a value could not be placed on their gesture and at that moment, their challenge felt that bit more manageable.

 

Eight hours later, the NUST officially launched a six-week campaign to raise awareness about their ‘Yes We Can‘ proposal to buy Newcastle United from Mike Ashley. Organisers stood on the Millennium Bridge their backs to a mural on the exterior of the Baltic art gallery. “Victory to the miners,” it read. “Victory to the working class.” It felt like a symbolic message.

 

Their scheme is bold and it has to be, but it has not been formulated on the back of a cigarette packet. Over the past few months and weeks, they have spoken to fans‘ groups, local businesses (it is understood that Barry Moat, whose recent takeover attempt failed, is not one of them), institutions and politicians about the viability of their project and how to take it forward. As they put it, “It’s about reclaiming our football club for the city".

 

They mean business. About £35,000 will be spent on an advertising campaign, the initial aim of which is to raise enough money (£10million would be a decent start) to demonstrate their intent to larger investors who, the NUSC insists, are already committed in principle. And, indeed, to Ashley. They have, they say, some impressive partners on board, whose identities will be revealed over the coming days.

 

The ultimate goal is fan ownership of Newcastle, a model operated, famously, by Barcelona, but also elsewhere, with a president voted for by members who would themselves be able to stand for election to the trust’s board. It will require investment from individuals, from a minimum £1,500 in cash or the reallocation of pension funds. All of that information can be found here.

 

Could it work? Yes. Will it? That, of course, is the £80m question (or however much Ashley now values Newcastle at), and it is not coincidental that the NUST have appropriated Barack Obama’s optimisitc, against-the-odds campaign slogan for last year’s American presidential election: ‘Yes we can’. What cannot be doubted is that they are good, decent, serious people who adore their football club.

 

A lot has been written and said about Ashley’s stewardship of Newcastle (even he has called it “catastrophic”). Most depressing about it is that alternatives have dissolved away. Aside from apathy or anger for the sake of it, only one remains. What follows is a brief chat with Mark Jensen, editor of the respected fanzine The Mag, who is acting as a spokesman for the campaign.

 

What is ‘Yes We Can’ all about?

 

MJ: “Everybody has seen the protests, both verbal and visible, against Mike Ashley and what’s happened at the club, but it’s not just about him. For years before him, the club wasn’t run in the way it should have been in most people’s eyes and the biggest protest comes now: the fans are leading the way in looking to buy the club. It sounds very ambitious, but everything we’ve done in the last few months behind the scenes - the research we’ve done with businesses and supporters - leads us to believe that it's definitely achievable. We’re putting the final touches to the business plan and this six-week campaign will see us advertising in the local media and doing various events to raise awareness. The first base is to get a seat at the table whereby representatives can negotiate with Mike Ashley the full amount to buy the club then that would become the target. In private, we've been meeting with very, very credible local businesses and people. They’ve assured us that as long as the fans have the appetite to raise X amount, they’ll come in behind it and make this all a reality.”

 

How do you persuade people that buying the club is a viable proposition?

 

MJ: “You only have to go back to 1997, when the club was floated on the Stock Market: the fans bought 10 per cent of the club then and, actually, the offer was oversubscribed. They were prepared to raise money then. The point has been reached now where everybody who is willing and able to could and should invest in the club. We’ve got an opportunity for Newcastle United to be the shining light in this country, as to how a club should be run. That’s the carrot being dangled in front of everybody; as well as having a club that could hopefully go on to win things, it would also be run in the right way and for all the right reasons. It isn’t just a few fans expecting to turn up and the run the club. It’s about fans giving the platform whereby fans, businesses and local institutions could all invest to make a viable club and then appoint people who could run it on a day-to-day basis. Nobody could tell me that what we’ve got in mind wouldn’t end up being better than what we’ve got now.”

 

So it’s about giving the club back to the city?

 

MJ: Reclaiming it, yes. That’s it in a nutshell. People are so fed up. But it’s been unbelievable this season. If you’d told me in the summer that Newcastle would be averaging crowds of more than 40,000 in these circumstances ... People are showing their opposition to Mike Ashley but also showing their support for the team and there was no better example of that than on Saturday. The atmosphere was brilliant and we were playing Peterborough United with nearly 44,000 people there. It was more than Liverpool had at home in the Premier League on Monday night. If anybody asks ‘how can Newcastle be a success in the future?’, that tells you everything. The fans desperately want to go and support their team and this is their opportunity to have much more than that.”

 

Newcastle are top of the league, but how perilous is the club’s position away from that?

 

MJ: “In the short-term you can look at the results and how we’re doing in the Championship and think that things aren’t too bad, but the more games we win and the more that promotion becomes a reality, the more it looks as though we would have to buy pretty much a whole new team. Judging on their past performances, I don’t think anybody would have faith in Ashley or Derek Llambias to successfully do that. People have been hoping that some white knight would be out there, but they have to accept that it’s very unlikely to happen. And that’s how we once felt about Ashley, too. He’s proved to be anything but. Maybe the salvation for Newcastle United is with the people who care most about it, ordinary fans and business people.

 

You’re asking for a big financial commitment from people. What guarantees do they have that their money will be looked after properly?

 

MJ: “Firstly, it’s not a case of fans looking after other fans’ money. It’s about appointing proper professional people, the best people possible, to do that job. As things stand, is Derek Llambias the best qualified person to be in control of the money that comes into the club now? I think we know the answer to that. We would emulate what successful clubs have done and learn from them - up until now, Newcastle haven’t done that and that’s why we’ve ended up in this position.

 

So you have substantive people waiting in the background who will become involved?

 

MJ: “Yes. Newcastle is a damaged brand - that’s one of those phrases we have to use these days - it’s a business and to be successful on the pitch, it has to be successful off it. There are very, very credible people from the local business community - names that people will recognise - who are committed to coming on board. But they need the fans to show they’ve got the appetite to do their bit and then, together, we can turn the club around. Maybe it wouldn’t work for those businesses to come in by themselves. Why can’t we create something much bigger and better than just expecting local businessmen to come in and do everything? Why shouldn’t we do our bit and, potentially, have a really sound, long-term investment in a club we all invest in week after week?

 

Long-term is the key, isn’t it?

 

MJ: “How quickly things can happen will depend on how many people respond. We’ve sent out 40,000 emails to names we’ve collected over the last few months and we’ve already had a very good response from them. The financial plan will be ready in six to seven days’ time, whereby people will have all the information they need as to how they can go about making an investment. We’ll be pointing towards independent financial advisors, because the level of investment possible depends on individual circumstances, but if it’s right for them, hopefully they’ll come on board. The committee members are all putting money into it - it's not throwing money down the drain, it’s about investing in what could be a great club again and a very successful business.”

[Howmanheyman 26606]

Just one quick point.

 

I didn't get the e-mail!!

 

I'm a NUSC/T member.

 

I don't think the NUST's IT system likes AOL. It isn't the first time I've had problems like this with nust corrospondence.

[snakehips 0]

Just one quick point.

 

I didn't get the e-mail!!

 

I'm a NUSC/T member.

 

I don't think the NUST's IT system likes AOL. It isn't the first time I've had problems like this with nust corrospondence.

 

It's you. They recognise trouble when they see it. You and CT are both marked men.