| BST Column 08:48 - May 3 with 495 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
It is probably not surprising, given the seismic events of the last few months, that as we approach the final game of the season affairs off the pitch at Blackpool FC continue to overshadow those on it.
In one sense, Saturday’s game at home to Gillingham offers little to play for except bragging rights with local neighbours Fleetwood Town as to who finishes higher in the league. More importantly, the game will be the climax of a Family Fun Day organised by Blackpool FC Community Trust with assistance for the first time from Blackpool Supporters’ Trust.
Much concern had been expressed during the extended boycott about the danger of losing a whole generation of young supporters. Now that we have our club back, Saturday is a great opportunity for local families with children to start connecting or reconnecting with their football club. The Family Fun Day event is completely free of charge and will take place in the North Stand Car Park from 3pm until 5pm. Blackpool’s game kicks off at 5.30pm. There will be a variety of activities for all age groups to get involved with, from a bouncy castle and face painting to penalty shoot-outs and mega football on a giant inflatable pitch and Fylde Coast Radio will provide the music. It should be a great afternoon and an important step in building a brighter future of our community club.
Once the final whistle goes, then work in preparation for the next campaign begins. A great deal was broken behind the scenes and it needs fixing. That fixing requires paying for. During the closed season, there are at least two essential projects which must be undertaken immediately. One is the replacing/repair of the pitch and the other is work on the East Stand (to be the permanent location for away fans). That stand will not be given a safety certificate unless the work is carried out. This is not BST ‘speaking on behalf of the club’; it’s an independent assessment of the situation.
While we await the sale of the club, the interim board does not have any income to finance these works other than what it can bring in via sponsorships, merchandise sales and most importantly season ticket sales.
There has been a lot of concern expressed in recent weeks about the risk of buying those season tickets before there is absolute certainty that Oyston doesn’t have a way back in, and before we know who the buyer(s) of the club will be. There has even been an inference that the Court Appointed Receiver (CAR) may saddle Blackpool FC with another ‘unacceptable’ owner and a lot of excited speculation ensued on social media.
To recap, the facts are these. From the appointment of the CAR on13th February, Paul Cooper made it clear that if Oyston can raise the funds and pay off the debt, the CARs job would be finished and Oyston would retain the club. He also made it clear that once the club is sold and the debt paid off, Valeri Belokon’s 20% shares could revert to Oyston. This is not new information, it has been clearly stated and has been covered extensively at two public BST meetings.
However, the stark reality is that for Oyston to retake control, he would first have to raise the funds, at least £30 million. He has already had almost 18 months to resolve the situation in this manner and has signally failed thus far. By the way, his debt to Belokon is increasing by a staggering £5,000 per day in interest. Thus whilst Oyston may well continue to disrupt and frustrate the selling of the club, for instance by circulating rumours of his impending return, it is highly unlikely that he will succeed in raising the necessary funds to complete what would in business terms be a suicide mission.
Even if this highly unlikely scenario should occur, he then has to negotiate the EFL’s Owners & Directors Test afresh. The EFL’s failure to apply its regulations correctly to Oyston in the past has now been exposed by a leading QC as an invalid position and BST shared this with the EFL and the football authorities two weeks ago. There is now no legitimate reason for them not to ban Oyston from being an owner or director not only of Blackpool FC but any football league club.
Finally, standing firm beyond all of the financial and governance hurdles are the fans and the community of Blackpool. Most Blackpool supporters who boycotted the club prior to Oyston’s removal would most certainly resume that boycott should he ever try to come back. In addition, the local business community has rallied behind the football club, recognising its importance to the community. The return of Owen Oyston would immediately destroy all the good initiatives that have already begun around the resurgent Blackpool FC. Having publicly supported and celebrated an Oyston free club, Blackpool’s business and Council leaders could not now go back to accepting the Oyston family as owners of the town’s football club again.
At their recent meeting, Blackpool’s Pride of Place Board agreed that due to the importance of a thriving football club to our community and as part of the town’s Agenda For Action, having the right owner of Blackpool FC is vital. Baroness Jo Valentine, Special Projects Director for Business In The Community, has provided BST with the following statement:
‘Blackpool Pride of Place Board is concerned that any future owner of the football club understands their important role in fostering links with, and contributing to, the community. We are making this point to the club and to the receiver.’
Whilst BST cannot state that there is absolutely no chance of Owen Oyston returning in any way, our considered opinion is that the risk is minimal. However, the risk to the club if we do not back it financially right now is huge. Evaluating that risk is a task for each of us but it is important to be sure that decision is based on facts, not rumour. For those who may be concerned that if they buy a season ticket and then Oyston returns, he would get their money, it has to be said that money will be spent as fast as it comes in; there will be no pot waiting for Owen Oyston!
As for new owners, BST understands that there have been a number of credible bids submitted for the club already. The deadline for submissions is 15th May. There will then undoubtedly be a period of several weeks while the CAR completes due diligence on the relevant bids.
The CAR has the responsibility to get the best deal for Belokon that he can (that’s his role as decreed by the High Court). BST is working behind the scenes to make the case that it also needs to be the best deal for Blackpool FC and the fans. The EFL has the responsibility to make sure that whoever the CAR decides to conclude a deal with is absolutely fit and proper to own and run Blackpool FC.
BST put out in the public domain two weeks ago quite a detailed list of questions we would ask of any potential purchaser and we hope the CAR and the EFL are taking those questions on board. The Trust is happy to talk with anyone who has lodged a firm offer for our football club. Our remit is to seek the best for the club, its supporters and the community of Blackpool and we will endeavour to influence proceedings by all legitimate means to ensure that the process is conducted in an ethical manner, with appropriate scrutiny and delivers the right result to guarantee that brighter future.
https://www.blackpoolsupporterstrust.com/Site/LatestNews.aspx?NewId=202 | |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
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| BST Column on 09:12 - May 3 with 479 views | spell_chekker |
Let's hope that this article , and the meeting, has put an end to the distasteful 'don't buy a season ticket' campaign'.
I don't believe the outside chance of an Oyston return (or 20%) was the motivation behind the campaign. Perhaps we'll never know the real reasons.
We'll see now if the dissenters have been whipped back in to line. | |
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| BST Column on 16:14 - May 3 with 465 views | ROTTWEILERS |
To be honest, I'm getting a bit disillusioned with the whole concept of supporter's groups empowering the individual fan.
Multiple statements about the same meeting, the exclusivity, the way information is filtered and presented. I've wasted hundreds of hours of my life with this nonsense and I'm actually disempowering myself through participating. Readers of t'other site and members of the MSG are completely led by the nose, for example.
Bad times. | |
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| BST Column on 18:08 - May 3 with 458 views | basilrobbiereborn |
Rott, I think there is a certain amount of "chicken and egg" about it. If people didn't post made up nonsense, and other credulous people didn't fall for it, there wouldn't actually be anything to clarify. | |
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| BST Column on 20:24 - May 3 with 444 views | Imperial |
Logic and common sense is all that is required.
Ok I understand now why there are so many non stories around. | | | |
| BST Column on 21:21 - May 3 with 435 views | spudgun |
Agree, but unfortunately Imp, common sense isn`t all that common.
Anyone who reads the BST statement and is willing to invest just a little more faith in the leadership (and they have certainly earned it) should logically come to an obvious and straightforward conclusion.
Absolutely no need for this `Lord of the Flies` stuff... | | | |
| BST Column on 22:03 - May 3 with 424 views | basilrobbiereborn |
I'm obviously heavily biased, but what you have in BST is an elected group who are nationally prominent and respected, think deeply about what they are doing and try very hard to live up to the principles they espouse. That is not on offer from anyone else. | |
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| BST Column on 22:22 - May 3 with 414 views | Lala |
I think in theory supporters groups are excellent. But in practice I can see Rotts point too.
There will always be egos involved, not necessarily in the top tier, but infiltrating their way in and running off with their own self importance. Any association has instability within though and it’s hard to weed out the culprits.
If we have a decent owner supporters groups won’t need to push in and can concentrate on the concept of community, not fan power.
Who knows,that may happen and we can all unite peacefully.
I have a feeling that won’t happen though because some don’t want to relinquish fan power and would continue to fight any owner. | |
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| BST Column on 22:46 - May 3 with 412 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
Think some of the "supporters" need a reality check and actually see how far we've come with BST.
Ever since the Southend match (& just before) there has been an attempt to re-write history and claim credit for events they had nothing to do with.
Also the subtle (and not so subtle) digs at BST committee members, false accusations and the attempts to compare BST with BSA are getting tedious.
All this talk of Ultras makes me uneasy, do they really know what these groups are involved in, in Europe and South America? If so, then I fear some may have an agenda that goes beyond football. | |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
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| BST Column on 23:12 - May 3 with 400 views | Lala |
Well you’re a well rounded individual Red, which makes sense to me that you’re uncomfortable with the ultras thing.
It’s not the way forward but in my opinion. A huge backward step if that culture becomes acceptable on any level. | |
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| BST Column on 23:24 - May 3 with 393 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
I'm as well rounded as any chainsaw wielding mass murdering maniac with a fixation about Kellyanne Conway can be.  | |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
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| BST Column on 23:28 - May 3 with 391 views | Lala |
That’s still well rounded in my book! | |
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| BST Column on 10:36 - May 4 with 351 views | spell_chekker |
BST are excellent but I'm with Rot.
The whole episode has turned me off fan involvement in th eclub? | |
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| BST Column on 14:25 - May 4 with 333 views | basilrobbiereborn |
I'm not sure I'd let a few bell ends put me off the concept of fan involvement. | |
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| BST Column on 19:58 - May 4 with 319 views | Imperial |
It is imperative there is fan involvement.
Look at Bolton. They have replaced Blackpool as the EFL laughing stock. | | | |
| BST Column on 20:06 - May 4 with 316 views | spell_chekker |
They're more than just bell ends.
Their neediness to be 'in' drives them to wreck everything in order to nourish their egos. | |
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| BST Column on 20:10 - May 4 with 313 views | spell_chekker |
The only solution is to put them in their place and cut them out.
This'll be difficult as there'll always be an 'in', be it the ticket office women, the Rowley's employee, the guy in charge of corporate.
They'll always shoe horn their ego through the door.
They should be dealt with. | |
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