Toon Army could run club under new bid
Newcastle United could be
run by its fans in the same way as Barcelona or Real Madrid, a former
professional footballer leading a bid to buy the club has said.
Graham
Roberts, who played for Spurs, Chelsea and Rangers, is fronting a rival
buyer to leading bidder Barry Moat which could see fans invest money in
the club and help to run it themselves.
The Fanbase 410 group even promises to pay fans annual dividends, but Mr Roberts declined to state exactly how that would work.
His group has met Magpies directors and leading members of the supporters' trust.
Mr
Roberts said: "It was a positive meeting. Now we will sit down with the
supporters. They want to run their own football club, and why not?
"I just work for the company that is putting this together.
"Newcastle supporters will pick their own president and the manager - it's the same at Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Barcelona
is owned by and run by its 108,000 members, and Real Madrid supporters
vote every four years on the future direction of the club.
Fanbase 410 will now look at Newcastle's books before launching a campaign to win over fans - and their money.
Owner Mike Ashley is reportedly holding out for £100m for the club, and may end up not selling this week.
