Newcastle United supporters have made their first move today towards buying a stake in the club to try to stop what they have called “the terrible decisions” of the owner Mike Ashley.
The Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) has 14,000 members and today launched its 1892 Pledge to raise £3 million, with the intention to purchase a 1 per cent shareholding in the club and to take a seat on the board.
Through the scheme, the supporters’ group hopes to create a “pot of money” by asking Newcastle fans throughout the world to donate an affordable sum.
NUST has spent three years working on the plan, and has modelled much of its idea on Hearts, the Scottish Championship club, whose supporters raised almost £12 million to become involved at boardroom level through the Foundation of Hearts.
The 1892 Pledge is dependent on Ashley selling the club and for representation to be made to any new owners about buying a 1 per cent holding.
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If Ashley does not sell, or if a new owner does not want supporter involvement, then “all of the money would be donated to charities based in the North East”, according to the group.
Four guardians, including the former Newcastle defender Warren Barton, an MP in the North East, Ian Mearns, and an accountant, Lee Humble, will supervise the fund.
NUST insists that it has followed the advice of Foundation of Hearts, and that payments to charity are the best course of action if it fails in its attempt to become involved at boardroom level at St James’ Park.
“We want to be clear, everything pledged belongs to the fund,” Alex Hurst, a trust board member, said. “We took advice from Hearts and they said, ‘You either have a fund or you don’t.’ When you deal with large sums of money, there are fees for holding the money.
“There is a huge and ever-growing disconnect between the people who run Newcastle United and the people who support the club. This is a long-term plan. There is no penalty for when you pledge and how much you pledge. There is unhappiness across the fanbase.
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“This isn’t a reaction to a Steve Bruce defeat by Brighton [& Hove Albion]. This is three years in the planning. We’re trying to open doors for supporters when the club changes hands.
“The 1892 Pledge could mean we, as fans, can invest in our club — that could be in the form of a percentage stake in NUFC, if it is sold while in the Premier League, or, if things take a turn for the worse and the club’s fortunes sink further, we would be there standing ready to provide investment and potentially be part of a buying consortium.
“It is important to stress we are not asking fans to part with their life savings or cash in their pension pots — this is not what Pledge 1892 is about.
“In an ideal world we want Newcastle United to be a transparent, well-run community-drive organisation, but it’s not those things. For every terrible decision made by the current owners, fan input has been missing. Now we want to work with new owners.”
Newcastle are fourth-bottom of the Premier League, three points above third-bottom Fulham. Ashley first tried to sell Newcastle in 2008 and has repeatedly failed to find a buyer. His asking price is about £300 million.
