I was on the verge of becoming City's owner (well majority shareholder) but the deal fell through at the last second.

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Brentford were fan-owned until 2012.

Yes as was Stockport County at some point

 

[Maly]

You could also say that if Fergie hadn't have been so successful, and by proxy, putting Manchester on the map as a sporting entity, investors wouldn't have been sniffing around at all. I think it is no co-incidence that City were bought 3 months after United won the Champions League with Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney etc..

You'd have to say that the owners were bedazzled by the prospect of getting in on the action. Yes, they looked at Everton, but Liverpool FC were in the wilderness by then. It was less of a challenge becoming top dog in Merseyside.

So in the United thread, according to one’s good self, ‘we’, as in City, were only bought for sportswashing purposes, yet in this thread, we were only bought cos ‘Fergie’ was soooooo successful, he put Manchester on the map as a sporting entity?

You’ve proper bedazzled me mate, so much so that I’m gonna thank every red I know for ‘Fergie’ fucking things up at your place & fixing things at ours

Thanks mate

 

[MCFC Wirral]

Is that a result of the club going bust initially?

Yes. 50% local businessmen with starting capital and 50% trust fundraising.

Swansea’s supporters trust have maybe 20% of the club. As mentioned before, one of the chaps put £20,000 in a Tesco carrier bag and then went to meet the asset stripper to buy the club off him.

The business and culture side of football interests me as much as how the game is played.

 

[East Level 2]

Yes. 50% local businessmen with starting capital and 50% trust fundraising.

Swansea’s supporters trust have maybe 20% of the club. As mentioned before, one of the chaps put £20,000 in a Tesco carrier bag and then went to meet the asset stripper to buy the club off him.

The business and culture side of football interests me as much as how the game is played.

My point was that clubs tend to only have significant fan ownership after they've been deep in the shit or gone bust.
Hereford are a phoenix club formed after Hereford united folded in 2014. Aldershot Town, Chester and Halifax are similar, and Macclesfield may also fall into that category. The Swansea situation is interesting but they were being run by an asset stripper so were deep in the shit rather than bust.
Do you believe it's possible for fan ownership at a high level other than as a result of collapse?
It exists in Germany but the fact that Bayern have won ten titles in a row suggests it's just an ownership model rather than beneficial for the game in that country.

 

[Bluesince1979]

My point was that clubs tend to only have significant fan ownership after they've been deep in the shit or gone bust.
Hereford are a phoenix club formed after Hereford united folded in 2014. Aldershot Town, Chester and Halifax are similar, and Macclesfield may also fall into that category. The Swansea situation is interesting but they were being run by an asset stripper so were deep in the shit rather than bust.
Do you believe it's possible for fan ownership at a high level other than as a result of collapse?
It exists in Germany but the fact that Bayern have won ten titles in a row suggests it's just an ownership model rather than beneficial for the game in that country.

Macc certainly dont. They have a very rich benefactor

 

[MCFC Wirral]

I’d never say never but fan ownership at a high level now seems extremely unlikely given the huge sums of money invested in clubs now.