Aged 8, I attended my first Newcastle United game on January
1st 1973, when we drew 2-2 with Leicester City at St. James
Park. A month later, my second trip to
the ground saw my first, numbing experience of the familiar pattern of
underachievement and failure that has followed Newcastle United around like a
bad smell since we last won the FA Cup in 1955, as we were knocked out of the
cup 2-0 by Luton Town; 40 years later, the wait for silverware continues, with only
the capture of the 2007 Inter Toto Cup to celebrate in the intervening period.
Of course, that’s not really true; I’ve celebrated thousands
of things since my first game, from last minute winners, to disputed
equalisers, opposition red cards, dubious penalties and refereeing errors that
went in our favour, as well as hundreds of the other minor incidents that make
up the intricate mosaic of a supporters’ life. However, in all that time I’ve never once
cheered a director or club official because, for the most part, they’ve done
nothing but harm to my club. If they haven’t actually done the club harm,
they’ve put their own needs and desires ahead of what was best for the team. In
those 40 years, I’ve seen 20 permanent managers and 6 caretakers try and fail
to win us something, but I’ve supported the ham-fisted labours of every single one;
even Souness, even Joe Kinnear. In the same period, I’ve held the 6 different
majority shareholders, executive chairmen and “owners” who’ve presided over the
club, regardless of their self-selected, aggrandizing nomenclature, in complete
contempt for the entire time of their stewardship over my club. Why? Because I
believe that morally, every football club should belong entirely to the
supporters and not to any one of self-perpetuating oligarchy of wealthy,
rapacious capitalists who’ve had their noses in the SJP trough since time
immemorial.
There is a discernible gap between the oft-stated lofty
philosophical aim of fan ownership and the minutiae of the everyday running of
a football club but, at a level that is more geological sub strata than
grassroots, I do have some hands-on experience of being involved a club that is
owned 100% by its supporters. When I finally reached tipping point with
Newcastle United in 2009, I threw in my season ticket and stopped going, in
favour of accepting a role on the committee of Percy Main Amateurs, a club 8
miles east and a million economic light years from St. James Park; a decision
I’ve not once regretted. Admittedly, over
the past 4 years, I’ve gradually been enticed back to watch the odd Sunday or
midweek game at SJP, generally when someone has a spare ticket, but I’ll never
put a penny directly in the coffers of the club by buying a ticket from the box
office whilst the current regime is in place. I’d much rather invest my money,
my time and my emotions in to the Main.
My club Percy Main Amateurs were formed in 1919 and play in
the Northern Alliance Premier Division, which is a Step 7 league in FA parlance,
meaning we need 10 straight promotions for the opportunity to rub shoulders
with Fulham and Stoke. We play our home games at Purvis Park, in front of
crowds of around 50, where it costs £2 to get in (with a free programme) to see
us engaged in boisterous local derbies with the likes of Wallsend Town, Walker
Central and Whitley Bay Reserves. Obviously the standard isn’t on a par with La
Liga, but it’s the most honest and the most rewarding involvement I’ve
had with football in more than 20 years for all the reasons Stand
AMF was set up and why you’re reading this piece.
At Percy Main, we take the final word of our club’s name
very seriously; the club’s written constitution, prominently displayed in the
clubhouse, expressly prohibits payments to players, other than out of pocket
expenses, or the granting of dividends to committee members. We are allowed to
make a profit at the end of each sporting year (31st July), but our
rulebook states that all surplus monies must be used exclusively for the
benefit of the club, with the express purpose of either improving facilities
for players and spectators, or securing the long term future of the club. The
decision on what to spend any money on, like every other policy decision or
item of significant capital expenditure, other than playing equipment, must be
debated and voted on at a full club meeting, which we advertise in the
programme and on the website (www.percymainafc.co.uk)
and which all supporters are invited to attend and committee members are
expected to be present at. If you do turn up as an interested observer, chances
are you will be begged, cajoled and emotionally blackmailed in to joining the
committee; we need all the help we can get.
Basically, if this sort of involvement sounds appealing, turn
up regularly at your local non-league side, say hello to the regulars and, if you
stand in the same spot 3 games running, the chances are someone will give you a
book of raffle tickets to flog or a mop and bucket to clean the ref’s room at
full time, because that’s what happened to me. If you do, don’t come with any
ego or any expectation of strict demarcation of job titles, roles and
responsibilities. Above all, don’t expect any thanks for the time, money
(either directly or indirectly) or effort you put in to the club, which
doesn’t, on the surface, make it all that different a prospect to turning up to
a Premier League club I have to admit! However, I can assure you, the sense of
achievement and wellbeing your involvement in a game where everything runs
smoothly, preferably a win, simply cannot be bettered.
Let’s be honest here, keeping a club going at our lowly
level isn’t glamorous; it requires dedication, hard graft and group cohesion, whereby
everyone involved mucks in and does their bit, according to family and work
circumstances, as well as recognising the skill set a particular individual can
bring. If you’re of a practical nature, DIY, decoration and other odd jobs will
keep you busy, while those of methodical mind can always be usefully employed
wrestling with the intricacies of administration. You can even sell the half time
cuppas or make the post-match buffet. The only thing we don’t do is wash the
kit; we’ve found a local laundry that will do it for nothing in return for an
advert in the programme.
Regardless of your level of involvement, at Percy Main we
are all constitutionally part of a committee and that brings with it many
intangible rewards as well as a few proper responsibilities, the idea of which
hasn’t really crossed the radar in any debate about fan ownership I’ve read. There
are insurance policies in place to indemnify volunteers, but those premiums
need to be paid on a regular basis; falling in to arrears means you’re dicing
with financial ruin if something bad happens on club premises. Also, at a more
mundane level, giving the ref a mouthful at full time or posting something
questionable on a message board or in the programme can result in a charge from
the local FA and a subsequent fine, which you’ll be required to pay, as the
club needs every bean it raises to keep going.
Financially, we’re talking relatively small amounts of money
at our level; indeed, in the absence of a benefactor, it took us 2 years to
raise the £8k needed to repair the roof of the clubhouse. The fact we made the
money through fundraising events and organising sponsorship of players, games
and match balls, made it seem special as the improvement to the structure of
the clubhouse ensured the club had a future and we’d all been part of that
through our efforts. Around that time, I wrote a book about the club (Village
Voice; price £5 inc P&P via PayPal to iancusack@blueyonder.co.uk) to
make the club a few quid. It’s one of my proudest achievements in life, but as
far as the club was concerned, Geoff the programme editor’s work in finding a
roofer to do the job for half the price we were first quoted is far more
crucial than my creative efforts, which is a useful ego check for us all.
At times, it is hard work being involved, when you’re
short-handed because of holidays or illness, but I’ve never begrudged a minute
of my time. Just as well, because we’re talking noon until 6 on a Saturday or 4
until 10 when we play midweek at the end of the season (no floodlights you
see). I still remain 100% committed to fan ownership in the professional game
because, as I’ve seen at Percy Main’s level, it really can work.
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