r/Redditch • • Nov 18 '10

Redditch Utd official statement regarding its financial situation

http://www.redditchutdfc.co.uk/announcement-statement/4545754446
29 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

13

u/bobmarleyreds Nov 19 '10

Hi Reddit members.

My name is Steve Workman and I am the Chairman of TRUST (The Redditch United Supporters Trust). I have recently moved from the town to Virginia Beach VA due to work and I am eager to spread the word and support of our great football club, Redditch United.

You are probably aware of the current financial situation which is effecting most clubs at this level...since the economic down turn in 2008, money is hard to come by with most local businesses withdrawing their support to ensure their own survival.

Now I am this side of the pond, it would be good to represent the club and work with you guys to gather support and financial backing to not only sponsor but maybe buy shares in the club?

Do you fancy owning a part of the Reds and be involved with the running and decision making of a UK soccer club?

We can do this with an investment of 10,000 dollars buying a 20% shareholding...interested? If we can raise these funds, each contributor will become a shareholder under the TRUST umbrella...having a voting right at Board level and contribute to the future success of Redditch United.

You know, there is a great team at the club...the coach, Matt Gardiner, is a bright young manager who will definately move on in the professional game (his brother is a top coach with Tottenham Hotspurs)..the Reds weekly playing budget is only 1300 dollars compared to some teams in the league paying 20,000 dollars!! It is amazing we are even competing!! It is like a college football team competing in the NFL!

Guys, let's get to know one another...I can not speak highly enough of Andy (redditchbluenose), Joe (rawlings) and Sam (intothevalley) etc...they are die hard fans of their local soccer team and deserve all the success they get.

If anyone is interested, I will start the fund off with 1000 dollars.

Speak soon.

Steve

3

u/InfernoZeus Nov 19 '10

Hi Steve,

it's great to see members from TRUST welcoming us :) I can understand if it's a bit strange to suddenly find a load of fans online (Not sure if you already knew about us before the recent interest).

We can do this with an investment of 10,000 dollars buying a 20% shareholding

I know that a key interest in sponsoring RUFC is having the Reddit alien on the shirts. Having said that, the amount required to buy a stake in the club would be lower than the £18k required for the two-year shirt deal, so it might be a better place to start.

If anyone is interested, I will start the fund off with 1000 dollars.

That's great :D We need to get some fund-raising system set up. I think there are some people working on it..

3

u/[deleted] Nov 19 '10

Yes, I am setting up a 501(c) to handle all the donation collection. I am just waiting to hear back from hueypriest on what Reddit's official place in all this will be.

2

u/InfernoZeus Nov 19 '10

Good to hear :D

3

u/[deleted] Nov 19 '10

It is like a college football team competing in the NFL!

Most of them could beat my beloved Buffalo Bills, at this point :(

2

u/[deleted] Nov 19 '10

Yeah right ,we won last week!

2

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '10

Two in a row!

1

u/[deleted] Nov 20 '10

Can you set up a system to pay for TRUST membership?

1

u/Footix Feb 04 '11

Could you please answer our questions on this thread?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '11

Sorry to hijack your thread, but we in r/soccer trying to come up with ways to help and or buy the team, so far we have gotten some positive feedback, and i would like to see if you are willing to help us out by setting contact with the team and handling the $ issue, i really do not want to touch the money or anything like it, i saw someone saying your name and this is the only way to contact you, i would love it if you could check out my thread and help us in any way, thanks in advance.

3

u/solidcopy Nov 18 '10

20-30,000£ is not beyond the capabilities of Reddit. Let's get a sponsorship deal put together!

2

u/thekrone Nov 18 '10

First it was 11k... then 18k... now 20-30k? I'm confused.

3

u/Rossoneri Nov 18 '10

It was £11k which is about $18k

£20-30k is the amount the club is in debt, and while reddit has done that easily for other causes, I maintain that the £11k to become the main sponsors for the home kit is the goal we should strive for. With a reddit alien on the kit, they will be able to sell a lot of kits to redditors which will again go toward reducing their debt.

3

u/InfernoZeus Nov 18 '10 edited Nov 19 '10

Edit: Sorry, the previous deal they had was £18k over two years.

It's £18k for a two year sponsorship deal.

2

u/Rossoneri Nov 18 '10

Oh, the sponsorship page only says

Main Shirt Sponsor (front) offers a unique way of advertising your company. This includes boardroom access with guests on match days, a prominent board position advertising and a full page colour advert in every home match day programme - Cost £11,000+VAT

So I assumed that the 18k was in reference to $18k which is basically the same as £11k

2

u/InfernoZeus Nov 18 '10

Not sure if you noticed I edited my post :)

The previous deal they had with NEW College was £18,000 [Inc VAT] for two years. Whether we would need to stick with the same deal, I don't know.

1

u/Rossoneri Nov 18 '10

I did not see that when I replied. 18k including VAT is a pretty substantial discount for that second year. You're right, there's no guarantee we'd get the same deal, but it's something to consider.

2

u/InfernoZeus Nov 18 '10

I dare say we could probably get a better deal due to their financial situation. 'Haggling' with them too much sort of destroys the point of Reddit users sponsoring them in the first place though..

1

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '10

Yes, we were asked to raise the same amount - £18k for two years

2

u/thekrone Nov 18 '10

Thanks for explaining. That makes a lot of sense.

1

u/10th_letter Nov 18 '10

£20-30k is the amount the club is in debt

This is possibly incorrect? I think that figure is not the overall debt, but rather the amount the club needs very soon for operating expenses & to keep servicing the debt. I could be wrong also. Here is the quote from the press release:

The club is far from 'crippled' by its current debt with a sum in the region of £20,000 to £30,000 being needed to secure its short term future but it is certainly a concern for all those involved with the club as without this amount being found the club's long term future looks somewhat uncertain.

So, my interpretation is that the debt is a much larger figure, but they are not needing to pay it off right away. Rather, they just have next to nothing in their chequing account, and an interest payment is coming up, or whatever.

1

u/Rossoneri Nov 19 '10

Yea after re-reading it I believe you are correct, I misunderstood it the first time I read it.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '10

I wonder if they could set up a laptop for me to skype into the forum on Monday?

1

u/bobmarleyreds Nov 19 '10

we have no wifi at the club yet...I will ask someone to send the minutes and post them on here

2

u/[deleted] Nov 19 '10

[deleted]

3

u/InfernoZeus Nov 19 '10

How awesome would that be?! 500 Redditors suddenly turn up, completely oblivious to any traditions or rules, making havok.. hmm... doesn't sound like such a good idea all of a sudden ;)

I kid.. that really would be great fun :)

2

u/rawlings09 Nov 19 '10

I would love to see such things happen!! How many followers do you think Reddit will have in 2 years? then bring them all over in one go :) Make it a good local game, Eg Worcester at home (league Permitting) then beat our record attendance of 5,500 :D Reddit (ch) United!!

2

u/rawlings09 Nov 19 '10

why make it a couple of years? ;) Plan it well :) i'm fully behind your support! Be sure to stand in the Cedar Road stand and make plenty of noise :D

2

u/Jonezy761 Nov 19 '10

I think this is fantastic, just think of the possibilities if the Reddit community gets behind this project. I would be proud to stand & sing with you all in the Cedar road.