Port Vale

[Nigel Brooks]

Yes, I know this should probably be in the 'Football World' thread (mods, move it if you wish) but it has a bearing on our efforts.

The administrators at Port Vale have accepted their Supporters Trust (Valiant 2001) bid to take over the club, subject to creditors approval.

The story is here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/2779709.stm

If they can do it, so can we!

 

[JTofBFC]

Quite interesting really.

I wonder if that sort of story will have a bearing on the likelihood of our beloved leader placing us into administration.

I can just see it now. Noades places club into administration. Bank takes Noades deposit money and clears their debt. Noades now sole creditor and administrator accepts Bees United's 10p in the £1 offer to the creditors. Noades disappears to La Manga nursing a perfectly deserved loss of £4m and BU gain control for £500,000.

Then I woke up.

Food for thought though.

Well done to the Valiants Trust. Just shows what can be done.

 

[wanderingbee]

It is a boost to know that with the backing of the fans it really can be done if every Bees Utd needed any positives to flaunch a bid for even more standing orders this has to be it.

Well done Port vale we will be second behind you with a bit of luck.

 

[West Wilts Bee]

Port vale

Perhaps they have more than 500 people with standing orders, and realising that you have to do more, than just pay your money at the turnstile. If we get more people getting involved, at least we might have half a chance.

This is in now way having a go at the people who donate via the buckets, especially the generous new roaders.

 

[Sweepy]

Re: Port vale

Perhaps they have more than 500 people with standing orders, and realising that you have to do more, than just pay your money at the turnstile.....

The struggle for the Port Vale supporters may start now. What Bees United haven't done is over-commit themselves, allowing an option to purchase the club pass. This further reassures me that our supporters can run the club more capably than the present buffoon.

 

[JTofBFC]

Worth having a look at the Port Vale Trust website.

http://www.valiant2001.com/

Quite a lot of similarities between their plight and ours. They have a rogue Chairman too although the debts are less than half those run up by Noades.

They also do not have the problem of having to finance a new stadium as they already have a pretty decent one.

Interesting to compare the different ways they have sought to raise funds. They are encouraging fans to put funds into a building society account which remains the individual fans property until such time as the club can be acquired and the account deposit is then converted into shares. There is no mention of any standing orders anywhere.

Maybe there could be some changes that could be made to the BU fundraising methods as a result of the success of the Valiants trust.

 

[John Mac]

Just as a matter of interest. "Valiant 2001" is not Port Vale's Supporters' Trust, that "honour" goes to "VaST".

Valiant 2001 is a consortium created by a group of local businessmen who are Port Vale supporters, some are also former directors of the club. The group has been formed with the express purpose of taking over the football club.

Membership is open to anyone who is prepared to invest £500, or there is an "associate membership" option for a one-off payment of £5. Associate members are entitled to appoint one person to represent them on voting issues. Valiant 2001 have stated they are prepared to appoint two supporter elected directors when they have control of the club.

VaST (Vale Supporters Trust) is set up along the same lines as Bees United, and their objectives are basically the same as ours were, when we launched in 2001. The difference at Brentford is that the Chairman has offered the club to the supporters' trust, which is not the case at Port Vale. This has meant we have had to modify our strategy quite significantly.

The relationship between the two groups at Port Vale has not always been cordial, and this is probably down to a simple case of stepping on other people's toes and of different people having different views on the future management of the club.

We have the same issues at Brentford, and some people are uneasy about the capabilities of a supporters group being in control. However, despite this, our situation is very similar to the one at Port Vale, it's just that our supporters have decided that a single organization is the best way forward for us.

Our Loan Capital Fund is very similar to the Valiant 2001 building society scheme, and our standard membership options are similar to the ones operated by VaST. Our structure for managing the club is also similar to Valiant 2001's in that we want a mix of people experienced in football and business, as well as supporters, represented on the board of directors.

With the relationship between the two Port Vale groups now stable let's hope they can be successful, lessons learned from all the clubs who are restructuring (including clubs already run by supporters at Bournemouth, Chesterfield and Lincoln) will be invaluable to us in the future.

 

[Sweepy]

...including clubs already run by supporters at Bournemouth, Chesterfield and Lincoln

I'm sorry, I don't believe you! I am certain that one of the "supporters" who was recently controlling affairs at AFC Bournemouth had a dog named after a town far closer to home!

 

[Bigbee]

nice

The MD was my cousin.The man with dog same name as my cat did one day call him into his office to say his services were no longer required.Out of the blue

 

[CJC]

interesting...