Shrimpsvoices

Our club is seriously underfinanced by an owner whose reputation has been damaged by the destruction of Worcester Rugby Club. He is anxious to sell our club and make significant money out of our club. He seems to want to sell to a prospective buyer who doesn't seem able to show how he will finance the purchase. Our wage bill is the lowest in the EFL and shows the lack of ambition to support the club by the owner. I know it's early days but after the performance at Mansfield today our stay in the EFL seems under serious threat. All this leads me to ask when are we going to take protest action to highlight what is happening to our club ? Our action needs to be united and concerted with the full involvement of the Trust, our supporters and all who love MFC. In my view we cannot leave it too late or we will be doomed to join the likes of Southend. Yeovil, Scunthorpe and Oldham wallowing in the lower reaches of the football pyramid or worse joining the likes of Rushden and Diamonds and Bury in football oblivion. In my view we need to attract publicity highlighting how our club is being messed around. We mustn't sit quietly by as our beloved club continues to decline.

Reality is there is very little we can do other than sit and wait. We have a break even budget but really you cannot expect any owner to put extra money in. We are still a couple of players short and have a tough run of fixtures. Let's get behind the team and hope after a dozen or so games we are in a better position. UTS

Wild Bill wrote:Reality is there is very little we can do other than sit and wait. We have a break even budget but really you cannot expect any owner to put extra money in. We are still a couple of players short and have a tough run of fixtures. Let's get behind the team and hope after a dozen or so games we are in a better position. UTS

Unfortunately WB is right in that whatever we as fans do will have zero effect on Jason and Co as they have never been fan friendly and despite the good intentions of the Trust in organizing that meeting sod all has come out of it despite the the best efforts or the Trust.

If our Co Chairman can't get any answers out of the Bond Group then whatever we as fans do will be pointless.

It is not being defeatist but whatever the fans do will fall on the deaf ears of our owners.

Our only hope is that the local bid that was rejected by Jason and Co is submitted once again because surely the owners have to realize that any bid to meet their current valuation (whatever that is ) is unlikely to be met so the owners will have to accept that they will continue to ask for a price that will not be met especially in the current climate.

All we can hope for is that there comes a point sooner rather than later that they see sense and accept what they can for OUR club and walk away having already more than recouped what they originally paid for us with the interest payments that we have had to pay.

Their valuation on OUR club is obviously far too high to attract interest unlike other clubs who appear to attract investors with little problem.

Listening to Freez in the latest Pod Cast it sounds as though our BoD have been directed not to discuss in public anything to do with the sale which is unfortunate as I'm sure they would be delighted to divulge all so that we fans know exactly what is happening rather than assumptions from fans like myself and others.

I was like many delighted when the club under PMcG was sold in what at the time looked to be a good deal......in hindsight how wrong was I......

Wild Bill wrote:Reality is there is very little we can do other than sit and wait. We have a break even budget but really you cannot expect any owner to put extra money in. We are still a couple of players short and have a tough run of fixtures. Let's get behind the team and hope after a dozen or so games we are in a better position. UTS

Just a point on this, we DON’T have a break-even budget anymore. That only lasted for about a week. If we still had a breakeven budget then we’d still only have six players. The board and Bond Group put out statements to affirm that a budget had been made available.

The words changed but I doubt anything else did. Jason wasnt putting money in back in May and won't be putting money in now.

I don’t understand how but would the owner make more money if we fold as a football club? I realise much of the ground is protected by the Christie Trust but is there land still available to him to sell for building?

I doubt there's anything in it to let the club fold. He will want to sell but I doubt he will get much or whether there's a credible buyer. I just hope he's taken enough money out to pay off his loans and therefore is willing to let it go for a modest amount. I think the whole johal affair was to simply to try and smoke out a bid from fury or another sugar daddy.

fulwoodshrimp wrote:I know it's early days but after the performance at Mansfield today our stay in the EFL seems under serious threat.

Good grief, one bad performance (mainly due to some tactical decisions that didn't work out) after a couple of good ones to start the season and suddenly we're under serious threat of relegation. The ownership is a obviously concern, but this statement is a massive overreaction.

On the ownership - I think we can be pretty certain that Sarbjot is out of the picture now. Anybody expecting a public statement confirming this is being very wishful. Does anyone really think Jason's going to publicly admit the move he's been chasing for the past 11 months has been a huge waste of time? And that it's probably lost him about a million quid in terms of the reduced value of the club due to relegation!

fulwoodshrimp wrote:In my view we cannot leave it too late or we will be doomed to join the likes of Southend. Yeovil, Scunthorpe and Oldham wallowing in the lower reaches of the football pyramid or worse joining the likes of Rushden and Diamonds and Bury in football oblivion.

Again, ownership is most definitely a concern but these kinds of statements are not helpful. These clubs do not have comparative situations. Ultimately, we know Jason wants to sell. Sarbjot is off the table now. We'll have to see who the next party he tries to go with are. Fingers crossed it'll be someone credible - no idea whether or not Jason has learnt his lesson from the Sarbjot debacle.

Fulwoodshrimp wrote:

All this leads me to ask when are we going to take protest action to highlight what is happening to our club ? Our action needs to be united and concerted with the full involvement of the Trust,

Good luck with that...

What good would a march or demonstration do? It wouldn't change Jason's mind. OK it might gain some publicity but is that going to do any good? The EFL already know the situation, Morecambe MP is no doubt aware of the situation, media in Lancashire know the situation, as for the general public outside Lancashire they couldn't care less. A bit of sympathy maybe but that's it. I fail to see what can be done by the fans and can't see how we can bring pressure to bear on Jason to set a realistic price.

Has anyone asked for a question and answer night with our current board?
Is that a route to go down?
Let's be honest Part of the 3 year plan was to bring everyone together as one.
I believe that the clubs stance of just being silent is definitely not bringing the fans together.

I love your optimism Little Shrimp but we are a team with a playing budget lower than many National League sides and I believe this has been reflected in some of the signings we have made for this season. Re-signing a player we released several years ago reflects the difficulties we have faced in player recruitment. We shall see later in the season whether my worries about us were pessimistic or whether your confidence in the squad was misplaced. I think we both appreciate the work of our manager and his continued presence gives me some hope that all will be okay!

Fulwoodshrimp wrote:

All this leads me to ask when are we going to take protest action to highlight what is happening to our club ? Our action needs to be united and concerted with the full involvement of the Trust,

I can see you're getting frustrated with the Trust not sharing your opinion. It just takes one to start a protest movement though, so why not stand outside the stadium with a "JASON OUT" banner. I'm sure others will join you that share your opinion and before you know it .......

I can't join you as I'm out of the area on Saturdays and I don't share your passion for the protest just yet. My motivation is to find a way to increase fan ownership of the club with a view to getting Jason out that way. I'd bust a gut to get that moving if others share this view forward.

Zip It Shrimpy wrote:Fulwoodshrimp wrote:

All this leads me to ask when are we going to take protest action to highlight what is happening to our club ? Our action needs to be united and concerted with the full involvement of the Trust,

I can see you're getting frustrated with the Trust not sharing your opinion. It just takes one to start a protest movement though, so why not stand outside the stadium with a "JASON OUT" banner. I'm sure others will join you that share your opinion and before you know it .......

I can't join you as I'm out of the area on Saturdays and I don't share your passion for the protest just yet. My motivation is to find a way to increase fan ownership of the club with a view to getting Jason out that way. I'd bust a gut to get that moving if others share this view forward.

NOT outside the stadium needs to be inside so that National TV will catch it for broadcasting. Maybe will not be what our BoD would accept but could do no harm.

Maybe a different banner ' OUR CLUB DESERVES BETTER THAN THE BOND GROUP'.....maybe a bit too big...

Hodgie1978 wrote:Has anyone asked for a question and answer night with our current board?
Is that a route to go down?
Let's be honest Part of the 3 year plan was to bring everyone together as one.
I believe that the clubs stance of just being silent is definitely not bringing the fans together.

I still question whether direct action is the way to go at this stage. We don't have the answers as to what (if anything) is going on. Perhaps Hodgie's suggestion is right although, if as Freez says there is a ban on the Board discussing it, there may be no joy with that either.

Protests can take time, they did for Bolton and Blackpool and in our case made the bugger more bloody minded and determined to get his pound of flesh.

Did the drinks magnet not put money in with the idea this would be offset against shares in the club, if so this may well makes things difficult for the Bond group as one assumes they worked the share allocation on the value they and the chap placed on the club, meaning he will expect £x for his shares if they are part of the package and if the Bond group drop the price below the original valuation then it will come out of their pocket.

Just saying and I am no financier.

Catte wrote:Protests can take time, they did for Bolton and Blackpool and in our case made the bugger more bloody minded and determined to get his pound of flesh.

Did the drinks magnet not put money in with the idea this would be offset against shares in the club, if so this may well makes things difficult for the Bond group as one assumes they worked the share allocation on the value they and the chap placed on the club, meaning he will expect £x for his shares if they are part of the package and if the Bond group drop the price below the original valuation then it will come out of their pocket.

Just saying and I am no financier.

Sarbjot paid £200,000 for shares back in February to ensure wages were paid. Not clear where this money came from as his drinks business latest accounts show the company is worth less than that. As you say there may well be an agreement that he recoups this when Bond Group eventually sell.

As time goes on this feels less like a sale process and more like the Bond group is holding Morecambe fc and its fans hostage.

"The message from Shrimp fans is clear - sell the club asap .And if they do not intend to do so anytime soon,at least have the courage to say that and explain what the charade of the last 11 months has been about.

Meanwhile at Newport
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66471677

I think is it more than time for some 'Jason Out' banners around the ground, where they will be seen by TV cameras whenever a goal is scored.

A few 'Jason Out' chants wouldn't go a miss either, let the Board know that we are losing patience with the whole sorry mess. Whilst out of the boards hands we need to collectively let them know our feelings. They are closer too Jason than we will be able to get.

Not sure a march or public demonstration at this time is quite right, it needs to start inside the ground. The general public, if they care at all, would probably see an owner trying to sell the club and wonder what the actual problem is.

But we do need to do something.

Hodgie1978 wrote:As time goes on this feels less like a sale process and more like the Bond group is holding Morecambe fc and its fans hostage.

"The message from Shrimp fans is clear - sell the club asap .And if they do not intend to do so anytime soon,at least have the courage to say that and explain what the charade of the last 11 months has been about.

Meanwhile at Newport
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66471677

The Newport example is a good one. It shows the problems of a fans owned club and the constant need of raising of funds. Without someone with a great deal of cash involved we just don't have the numbers to make this viable. Imagine our 2000 or so owners facing a £500,000 bill.

Also well done to everyone on SV for talking about this situation.
SV gets a bit of unfair criticism in my opinion because it's not fashionable.
Fb page is pretty much silent on Jason
despite having 6k members

Hodgie1978 wrote:Fb page is pretty much silent on Jason
despite having 6k members

Of which probably about 5500 of haven't a clue / are keyboard warriors.

Despite being a member and a reader of it, I swerve well clear of ever commenting.

Seasider9601 wrote:

Hodgie1978 wrote:Fb page is pretty much silent on Jason
despite having 6k members

Of which probably about [color=#FFBF00]5500 of haven't a clue / are keyboard warriors.[/color]

Despite being a member and a reader of it, I swerve well clear of ever commenting.

More like 5,990

Old Man Kensey wrote:

Hodgie1978 wrote:As time goes on this feels less like a sale process and more like the Bond group is holding Morecambe fc and its fans hostage.

"The message from Shrimp fans is clear - sell the club asap .And if they do not intend to do so anytime soon,at least have the courage to say that and explain what the charade of the last 11 months has been about.

Meanwhile at Newport
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66471677

The Newport example is a good one. It shows the problems of a fans owned club and the constant need of raising of funds. Without someone with a great deal of cash involved we just don't have the numbers to make this viable. Imagine our 2000 or so owners facing a £500,000 bill.

The Newport example is a good one because they are a similar sized club to ourselves. With one major difference. We own our ground whereas they lease their ground from I think the Welsh Rugby Football Union. Therefore they have to find a large chunk of money each season to pay for the lease. A major expense before anything else comes into the equation. They had good cup runs in the past which kept them afloat but their losses last season without major cup income are eye watering.

It makes you realise why potential owners apparently, aren't queuing up to buy us, particularly for the reputed 5 million Bond Group are asking. You would though think that because we own the ground in a trust it would make us more attractive to 'genuine' buyers as opposed to speculators out to make a quick profit at the expense of the club.

This could go on for a long time yet and we can only hope that we finally get decent ownership rather than the succession of chancers we've had since 2017.