Where I show using the example of what we think we know about Dave King and Rangers that there is a sensible way for Big Business and Fanownership to work together.
Why do rich folk buy football clubs?
The age old adage of how do you turn a large fortune into a small fortune....is of course...buy a Football Club!
The reality is there is myriad reasons that folk used to buy into football clubs, too many regrettably revolved not around what was best for the Club, Fans and local Community but the ego and other interests of the owner(s)
Fans the world over have a similar reaction when they are taken over by a Sugar Daddy and just like sugar itself it is to crave more and more from them, this diabetic addition to the financial input is IMHO always doomed.....it make take decades for its realisation or just a couple of years but like Death and Taxes the other certainly of life is that when your Sugar Daddy departs, either directly from this mortal coil or via the bankruptcy or divorce courts it will be bad news for the Football Club.
This has both fortunately and unfortunately led to a reluctance of those wealthy supporters that are known to support the club from an altruistic point of view to actually step up to the mark when they are called to serve.
They want to help the Club and they know they have the financial ability to do so but they do not want it to become a millstone, they still want to enjoy going to the football!
They want to help the Club and they know they have the financial ability to do so but they do not want it to become a millstone, they still want to enjoy going to the football!
As can be seen most recently at Rangers this reluctance led to people who had no historical connection with the Club being the ones to step forward when all others faded into the back ground.
Now i can completely understand why this happened and certainly blame no one for reticence to pump masses of personal wealth into a football club that they just want to do the best for.....and this is where the massive Catch 22 comes in.
What Rangers have ended up with IMHO is a situation where there are genuine wealthy people who would like to help out financially with the Club, but that for a change the their business brain and their PR radar is working properly..........this has made them rightly cautious about getting involved because their prime motivation is not making money out of the Club...........
...but this caution opened the door to those who were quite happy take the Club for a spin and try to maximise their personal return from any involvement.
So how does the fanownership route help in this regard.
Here is how
One of the main modern concerns of someone investing so much of their own money into a football club these days is that the Fans think the money will just keep flowing. A billionaire coming to a Scottish Club in this climate will quite easily become the focus of the Sugar Daddy culture, with Fans demanding more and more when the owner themselves knows that this is not the best thing and sees their resources deplete.
As we know Football Fans are at the least prone to fickleness. Many a money bags owner has witnessed just how quickly the Fans can turn from providing a Guard of honour and rolling out the welcome mat to protesting outside the front door of the stadium that he has done wrong by the club while they mix up the tar and gather the feathers
What Rangers have ended up with IMHO is a situation where there are genuine wealthy people who would like to help out financially with the Club, but that for a change the their business brain and their PR radar is working properly..........this has made them rightly cautious about getting involved because their prime motivation is not making money out of the Club...........
...but this caution opened the door to those who were quite happy take the Club for a spin and try to maximise their personal return from any involvement.
So how does the fanownership route help in this regard.
Here is how
One of the main modern concerns of someone investing so much of their own money into a football club these days is that the Fans think the money will just keep flowing. A billionaire coming to a Scottish Club in this climate will quite easily become the focus of the Sugar Daddy culture, with Fans demanding more and more when the owner themselves knows that this is not the best thing and sees their resources deplete.
As we know Football Fans are at the least prone to fickleness. Many a money bags owner has witnessed just how quickly the Fans can turn from providing a Guard of honour and rolling out the welcome mat to protesting outside the front door of the stadium that he has done wrong by the club while they mix up the tar and gather the feathers
So how does someone who wants to do the best by the club actually facilitate his involvement without becoming the sole focus of the fans for the club's future...how does he share the burden with the fans...and provide not just a current future but a succession plan that will out last both himself and this current generation of fans?
Simply put he invests with the fans.
This is what is happening at Hearts.
Private people with significant wealth are backing the 8000 fans who are putting in their £15 per month.
Private people with significant wealth are backing the 8000 fans who are putting in their £15 per month.
An exchange is happening which puts the rich people's business acumen into that club when it needs it the most but with the eye on the succession plan of returning the club to its original caretakers the Fans.
So why should this be any different at Ranges, or anywhere else for that matter.
Why should these wealthy "Rangers men" not make the best deal ever and work in concert with the Fans to produce the best outcome for that which both claim to be the most important THE CLUB.
A Coop CIC owned by Fan members is legally allowed to do just the same sort of deals as a normal Ltd company.
The Hearts model see the High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) people front fund the CVA in the case of Hearts but this could just as easily be Front funding the purchase of a quantity of shares in Rangers.
The Fans then both pay the Wealthy backer back as well as using any excess funding to buy even more shares.
The wealthy backer can of course chose to write off over time his original purchase cost, and in doing this they know exactly what their liability is, it could also take the club in the direction of the German 50Plus1 model where the HNWI own 49% and the Fans 51%
The key however is that for the Rich guys the focus does not turn solely to them from the Fans, but in fact it turns to the Fans to back the Rich guys, back the club by buying new season tickets etc etc.
Everyone is a winner, most importantly the Club
Surely this working group of High Net Worth Individuals and the ranked mass of the Rangers Support would be the best way forward to combine the strength of both and leave a legacy that will out last any HNWI person and this generation of Fans.
So if Mr King is interested in Financially backing the team he loves could there be a better way of doing it than Backing the Fans who love the club also?
@rchrdtknsn
A Coop CIC owned by Fan members is legally allowed to do just the same sort of deals as a normal Ltd company.
The Hearts model see the High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) people front fund the CVA in the case of Hearts but this could just as easily be Front funding the purchase of a quantity of shares in Rangers.
The Fans then both pay the Wealthy backer back as well as using any excess funding to buy even more shares.
The wealthy backer can of course chose to write off over time his original purchase cost, and in doing this they know exactly what their liability is, it could also take the club in the direction of the German 50Plus1 model where the HNWI own 49% and the Fans 51%
The key however is that for the Rich guys the focus does not turn solely to them from the Fans, but in fact it turns to the Fans to back the Rich guys, back the club by buying new season tickets etc etc.
Everyone is a winner, most importantly the Club
Surely this working group of High Net Worth Individuals and the ranked mass of the Rangers Support would be the best way forward to combine the strength of both and leave a legacy that will out last any HNWI person and this generation of Fans.
So if Mr King is interested in Financially backing the team he loves could there be a better way of doing it than Backing the Fans who love the club also?
@rchrdtknsn
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