New Sky Blue Trust Open Meeting Reminder (1 Viewer)

Jan, Not sure if this has been mentioned, But I was/am a member of the old Sky Blue Trust, Will this be transferd over? If not will gladly join again.

All the best with this and reviving the SBT - is there anything an overseas supporter can do to contribute?

For information this is what happens in Germany

In amongst the frantically waved flags and billowing banners at Bundesliga games, there's a particularly unmissable one raised by fans of all clubs.
“50 + 1 muss bleiben” – “50 +1 must stay” – is a mantra for supporters here.
The ’50 + 1 rule’ is one of the cornerstones of German football and one that fans believe helps preserve the distinct nature of the nation’s football culture.
It enshrines the idea that clubs must be majority-owned by their members (thus a minimum of 51 percent), thereby preventing a single sugar daddy owner snaffling up the whole club.
The remaining 49 percent can be made available to investors, be it privately or via the stock market, but a controlling stake in the club cannot officially be bought.
The only two clubs exempt from this regulation are Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen, who were founded as company teams (of Volkswagen and Bayer respectively).
When I asked my German colleagues why the rule remains so popular (when, for example, no German club has won the UEFA Champions League since Bayern Munich in 2001), the answer I got was “because we don’t want the sheikhs taking over our clubs.”
You can add to that the oligarchs, Americans and assorted carpet-baggers that make up the majority of new owners in English football.
If you asked fans of Newcastle, Portsmouth and Liverpool at various times this season if they would like more control over their clubs, it’s fairly safe to assume a resounding ‘yes’ would have been the answer.
Last week, at a meeting quickly overshadowed by the death of Robert Enke, Hannover 96 president Martin Kind called for the rule to be scrapped.
He has been banging that drum for some time, calling for greater financial freedom for clubs so that they can compete at the highest level.
“I think that it is a legitimate demand from investors to be able to have a substantial say on substantial issues," he says. "That’s why the change is necessary.”
But the Bundesliga’s other clubs, not to mention 100,000 fan signatories of a petition against the abolition of the rule, say otherwise – and 50 + 1 bleibt, 50 + 1 is staying... for the foreseeable future.
Is it a model that could work in England?
The notion of fan ownership has certainly grown in popularity in the past 10 years with the establishment of Supporters Direct, the organisation that provides advice and expertise to supporters’ trusts.
UEFA, too, see fan ownership as the most sustainable and desirable model for clubs.
However, the financial realities of English football have left these clubs competing on an uneven playing field, where clubs at all levels can with the right financial backing, punch above their weight.
A rule such as 50+1 could potentially combine the best of both worlds.
Examples here such as TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, who secured massive investment from software mogul Dietmar Hopp and shot up the divisions to the Bundesliga where they now reside in the top half of the table, demonstrate that investors can be found who are willing to work within the 50+1 framework.
Even blue-chip companies such as Audi, who are currently in talks with Bayern Munich about investing €100 million in the club, can be tempted to part with their cash for minority stakes.
In Germany the system has helped fans stay close to the clubs, maintained accessible ticket pricing and made the Bundesliga a league rich in culture, if not petro-dollars.
Is the kind of compromise between commercialisation and community you'd like to see at your club?
In some cases fans have also re-founded bankrupt or otherwise disappeared clubs, one such example is Lokomotive Leipzig.

It will cost up to 5 times less to watch Bayern Munich than it will United, Arsenal and co-is the Bundesliga just devoid of quality, or is it part of a much better run domestic system?

I have allways liked how the Bundesliga is run.

Well done, see you tonight.

Steve

Steve.B50 said:

Well done, see you tonight.

Steve

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any feedback from last night jan lads

bishbosh said:

All the best with this and reviving the SBT - is there anything an overseas supporter can do to contribute?

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Buying out SISU and the £40m debt would be a nice touch....

wingy said:

any feedback from last night jan lads

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the most positive news i heard while there was that SISU can not directly liquidate us they will have to put us into admin first

Gray said:

the most positive news i heard while there was that SISU can not directly liquidate us they will have to put us into admin first

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Interesting. Any one know if any minutes will be published?

Gray said:

the most positive news i heard while there was that SISU can not directly liquidate us they will have to put us into admin first

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more information here ....... doesnt necessarily seem to support that

http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/Companies/company-liquidation#5

Companies can liquidate themselves? :thinking about:

Brighton Sky Blue said:

Companies can liquidate themselves? :thinking about:

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Ian Neale did it at Nuneaton Borough.

However the major difference was that he had just taken over the club, which had debts of over £1 million, he wiped out those debts, then restarted from scratch with his new investment.

Nuneaton Borough liquidation announced
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...borough-liquidation-announced-92746-21012289/

Ian Neale defends Boro wind-up
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...14/neale-defends-boro-wind-up-92746-21082604/

Sumo the Micky Quinn said:

Ian Neale did it at Nuneaton Borough.

However the major difference was that he had just taken over the club, which had debts of over £1 million, he wiped out those debts, then restarted from scratch with his new investment.

Nuneaton Borough liquidation announced
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...borough-liquidation-announced-92746-21012289/

Ian Neale defends Boro wind-up
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...14/neale-defends-boro-wind-up-92746-21082604/

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That seems to have worked out ok in the long run.

There is only one way to ensure Sky Blues stay in business and that is to bypass SISU completely. Leave them with their debts and start afresh. SISU will never do a deal with Haskell and co. We will have to set up from scratch sooner or later anyway, so we may as well start now. The Trust needs to start talks with the Council and ACL about running a team from the Ricoh - how it would work a la Wimbledon/Portsmouth. The big danger here is that we cling on to the forlorn hope that SISU will do the decent thing and let someone else have a go. That is never going to happen.

Can anybody tell me what theFL 2fit and proper "or whatever its called test is? Obviously if Sisu are entitled to the GS this test would have to be carried out again if they fail then the FL could remove Sisus entitlement to use it take it back to give it to another party I presume. Egually If someone passes this test if in the future they fall short of the criteria can the entitlement be removed?

cheever said:

Buying out SISU and the £40m debt would be a nice touch....

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Oh to be only £40m in debt again...the good old days, eh?

Nonleagueherewecome said:

Oh to be only £40m in debt again...the good old days, eh?

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The amount owed by SBS+L to SISU for the accounts ending 2011 was around £30m. It is true to say that the club has 'debts of £60+m' but really isn't accurate when determining how much is actually owed to our faceless friends.

Brighton Sky Blue said:

The amount owed by SBS+L to SISU for the accounts ending 2011 was around £30m. It is true to say that the club has 'debts of £60+m' but really isn't accurate when determining how much is actually owed to our faceless friends.

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£69m and counting...we should run a sweepstake on when we are going to get to the magic £100m mark. My bet? Thursday (natch) 12th September 2013.

Nonleagueherewecome said:

£69m and counting...we should run a sweepstake on when we are going to get to the magic £100m mark. My bet? Thursday (natch) 12th September 2013.

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It's all meaningless as the club debt isn't a true representation of the situation but is quoted to make the club less appealing to outside parties.