500th Stanley shareholder is Sir Alex Ferguson

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500th Stanley shareholder is Sir Alex Ferguson

500th Stanley shareholder is Sir Alex Ferguson

Red Devils’ boss become Th’owd Reds shareholder! 

Footballing minnows Accrington Stanley Football Club has just announced that they have their 500th shareholder as part of their long term plan to issue shares to their fans. This is not just any ordinary supporter however, and the name on the 500th share certificate is that of a certain Sir Alex Ferguson.

The director of Accrington Stanley Peter Shaw, along with the senior none executive Idris Khan, presented Sir Alex with his share certificate on Wednesday at Man Utd’s training ground this week. Shaw said that the club was extremely grateful for the display of support that Sir Alex had shown towards the club. The Chief Executive Rob Heys said that the supportive gesture of becoming a shareholder was very gratifying.

Mr Heys also said hat they were not only honoured by his decision, but were truly touched by the support he has shown for a historic sporting neighbour. He added that everybody at the club was looking forward to welcoming him to their next AGM, where he will receive his official shareholder vote.

Stanley has always had strong connections with Scotland after manager Walter Galbraith signed 11 Scottish players to form the famously successful 1950s Stanley side – this was recalled by Sir Alex when he received a retro Stanley football and commemorative book.

Sir Alex said: “Everyone has heard of Accrington Stanley and I am so pleased to see a small community club flourishing during these times.

“Long may they continue to be an active and healthy member of the Football League.”

Accrington Stanley announced its programme to expand club ownership and secure its financial future through the issue of shares to fans last October.

Shares have been sold to fans locally and around the globe, with shareholders in Canada, Brazil, Finland, Australia and the USA.

Shares cost £100 each and can be purchased from the club shop or online at www.wearestanley.co.uk

To see footage of Sir Alex receiving his share, visit www.youtube.com/stanleyshareoffer 

 

Portsmouth head into administration for second time

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Portsmouth head into administration for second time The football club Portsmouth are set to go into administration for the second time in two years, and the company has recently been issued with a petition for winding up by the revenue office.

The club are due to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice in late February and they face a 10 point deduction in the league. This will leave them outside of the top 20.

The Chief Executive of the club is David Lampitt and he has recently told the BBC, “An administration order has been applied for. We expect that this is going to be heard in court by the end of the week and that the club will be placed into administration.”

The club are finding it difficult to trade currently because their bank accounts have been frozen due to the winding up order. As soon as this has been put through the club will be able to trade again but they will not escape easily as the 10 point deduction is a very severe penalty.

The club was the first Premier league side to be put into administration last year and this meant that they were relegated to the championship. If it happens again this time around then it is likely they are going to be fighting against relegation once more.

Mr Lambert continued, “We have worked hard to keep the club up and running since its first administration hearing in 2010. Finding out that we are going to have two go into administration again is very hard and my sympathy mostly goes out to the fans of the club.”

The parent company of the club entered administration last November and has forced Pompey to find a new owner. It later became clear that the club owed a lot of money to the Inland Revenue, and this made keeping it afloat very difficult.

Football match troublemakers to be dealt with by security experts

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Football match troublemakers to be dealt with by security experts A high-profile police presence and close monitoring of CCTV has always been the way that football clubs dealt with high-risk games; but now more are turning to security specialists who send in undercover operatives to help clubs and the authorities, thus identifying and banning those fans who are the ringleaders when it comes to violence and anti-social behaviour.

Racism has been rearing its ugly head again in British football, though many would argue that the problem had never really gone away in the first place. With John Terry set to face a criminal charge in July for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, an incident which cost Terry the England captain’s armband and Fabio Capello his job as international coach, and Luis Suarez returning to action after an eight-match ban for racist comments directed at Patrice Evra, the problem has never been more palpable.

This weekend’s match, with Liverpool and Suarez playing Patrice Evra’s Manchester United was always going to be explosive, and it is thought that both clubs hired undercover intelligence specialists to try and deal with the threat posed by fans hell bent on taking advantage of the fiery atmosphere to cause trouble.

In the end, Suarez managed that by himself when he refused to shake Evra’s offered hand but the move towards undercover operatives to root out anti-social fans is one that is proving successful at clubs around the country.

CCTV can only go so far in identifying potential culprits and it is much easier to prosecute and ban people if they are caught in the act; of course, most of these “fans” stop any abusive chanting as soon as police or stewards come near the, but undercover intelligence experts can be used to monitor any individuals which the club or the police have identified as being potentially “high risk”.

These undercover fans can then be used to stop any violent behaviour or simply to report on anti-social chanting – evidence which can then be used to ban supporters whose activities are unacceptable in the 21st century, even on the football terraces.

Sir Alex questions FA argument

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Sir Alex questions FA argument Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the disagreement between England manager Fabio Capello and the FA  will end up having a negative effect on the international team, unless the two parties can bury their differences and learn to work together again.

The difference of opinion stems from the FA’s decision to take the captain’s armband from Chelsea defender John Terry until the verdict in his upcoming trial is delivered. Terry faces a charge of racially abusing another defender, QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, and is set to appear in court in July.

Capello has already launched a stinging attack on the FA for taking the step, arguing that Terry is innocent until proven guilty and that the English football authorities are delivering their own justice. But the comments in the media could end up putting the England manager himself in hot water and he has been summoned to appear before the FA to explain why he so publicly disagreed with the organisation’s decision.

Other managers, including Fergie, have been weighing in on the issue, with Terry’s club manager, Andrew Villas-Boas backing Capello for taking a stand and defending one of his player’s against unfair treatment. Villas-Boas added that the England manager had the right to hold an opinion on the matter and shouldn’t be prevented from expressing that opinion by his bosses at the FA.

A meeting between Capello and the FA is set to take place this week to discuss his future as England manager and whether or not he breached his contract by criticising his employers so publicly. The FA’s main problem seems to be that Capello had not told them that he intended to give an interview on the subject to an Italian television company so they were unprepared for the subsequent media storm.

John terry, meanwhile, has been attempting to keep a low profile; his only recent statement has been to the effect that he will continue to play for England even though he is no longer allowed to wear the captain’s armband.

KOP racism row rolls on

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KOP racism row rolls on Liverpool FC’s reputation took another dive recently, when a young footballer accused supporters in the famous KOP stand of racially abusing him as he played in a FA Cup match at Anfield.

Twenty-year-old Tom Adeyemi, who was born in the UK but whose parents are originally from Nigeria, was playing for Oldham Athletic in the match, which his team went on to lose 5-1, when he appeared to react angrily to something said in the crowd in the dying minutes of the game.

Adeyemi, who was visibly upset by the incident, was calmed on the pitch by his own captain as well as Liverpool players, including Steven Gerrard. Merseyside Police are now investigating the incident and a man has been arrested and charged.

This is the second time in recent weeks that the successful club has been involved in a racism scandal, following the banning of player Luis Suarez for eight matches after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Witnesses to the incident involving Adeyemi claim that some Liverpool fans started to chant Suarez’s name after the young Oldham player became upset.

Adeyemi, who is on loan to Oldham from his home-town club of Norwich City, declined a place at prestigious Cambridge University to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional footballer.  The youngster, whose family runs a successful business in Norwich, secured three A grades in his A Levels two years ago.