The Saints Trust have a proposal for the way forward for Southampton Football Club
In recent months, like many supporters of Southampton Football Club, we have been deeply concerned about the future of the Club both on & off the field. Although we haven’t called for action against the current board, believing that it had to be given time to put its plans for the club into operation, with no viable alternative in the pipeline we understand and respect the opinions of those supporters who have chosen to protest. Administration is a word that has been used much in the past few months, with many supporters believing it to be a preferable option to the current board and infighting between shareholders. Whilst we can understand the reasons for supporters holding this view, regardless of whoever is in charge of the club, administration is not a course that should be taken lightly and is an action that takes the future of the Club out of the hands of the shareholders – and potentially the supporters – and would possibly mean the loss of most of its assets. Perhaps more importantly there would be no guarantee as to who might buy the club and with the fact that not one concrete offer has been put on the table in the past fifteen months, the club could be forced into liquidation. We now feel that now is the time for all parties, major shareholders and supporters to come together and work together to ensure that this great club celebrates its 125th anniversary next year, and indeed is there for future generations. With this in mind the Saints Trust would like to make several proposals: It is obvious after three years of boardroom infighting that the three major shareholder parties, represented by Rupert Lowe, Michael Wilde and Leon Crouch are unable to put personal differences to one side and work together at this point in time. This is not in the best interests of the club so changes must be made. Former Chairman Leon Crouch should be invited to join the board of the PLC. It is only right that as a major shareholder he should be involved in the vital decisions. The PLC board should therefore consist of Rupert Lowe, Michael Wilde, Leon Crouch, David Jones, Andrew Cowen, and joined by a further representative(s) from either the City Council or one of the two Southampton MP’s, as well as a representative of the Saints Trust. All these positions would be non-executive directors, with the board’s job would be to oversee the football club board, who would then run the club till the end of the season and beyond. The football club board would consist of a newly appointed, professional Chief Executive whose task would be to run the club on a day to day basis, and for operational reasons it would be necessary to also have PLC board members Andrew Cowen and David Jones on this board. They again would be joined by a further representative(s) from either the City Council or one of the two Southampton MP’s, as well as a representative of the Saints Trust. The job of the Saints Trust on these boards would be to ensure that the future of the Club is planned properly without the political in fighting of the past years and to represent the supporters. Whilst in the short term this representative would have to come from the current Saints Trust Board, in the longer term the position would be open to any qualified supporter nominating themselves for the position and elected with democratic elections, according to be agreed. It is only right that all the major shareholders have representation and are able to ensure the Club is run properly. Whilst complete change isn’t possible in the short term, we believe this compromise has the potential to unite supporters at this crucial time With the Club being run by an independent professional Chief Executive on a day to day basis this should enable any Southampton supporter who currently feels unable to support the club due to the involvement of one or another major shareholder to do so, and in doing just that help stabilise the club financially. In the meantime, whilst the discussions of this proposal are considered we ask each and every Saints supporter to put personal differences to one side and unite in helping secure the future of this Club by attending the home game against Cardiff City on Saturday. Together the fans can make a difference. The time has come to Save Our Saints.
However we are now of the opinion that the position the club is currently in is untenable, and that the financial future of the club is far from guaranteed. Further, unless the supporters of Southampton Football Club unite to support the club then it is likely that the Club may be forced into administration.
The Saints Trust invites Rupert Lowe, Michael Wilde, Leon Crouch the City Council, alongside Alan Whitehead & John Denham our two elected MP’s, to set aside any differences that may exist, and to join it around the table to discuss these proposals and find an agreement.