Chelsea fans to be offered a seat on the board: Is it a good idea?

Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich

According to a report in The Telegraph this morning, Labour's Ed Milliband wants to shake things up in Football and if they win the next Election, wants to force clubs into offering the supporters a seat on the Board of Directors. I am asking you the Chelsea fan if you think this is a good idea?

To quote the article it states the following:

“Labour have vowed that, if they win the next general election, they will pass a law that guarantees supporters trusts a place on the board of Premier League clubs.

Clubs will be forced by law to add supporters to their board of directors if Labour wins the next general election, it can be revealed.

In what it billed as “the biggest legislative shake-up” in the way teams operate in England and Wales, Labour unveiled plans to give fans direct input into decisions made by the likes of the Glazers at Manchester United, Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, Stan Kroenke at Arsenal, Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City and John W Henry at Liverpool.

The proposals would also require the Premier League's multi-billionaire owners and those in charge of every listed and non-listed English and Welsh club to offer shares to supporters were they ever put the club up for sale.

Labour vowed to introduce a law to that effect should it form the Government next May after confirming its plans would be included in its election manifesto when it is officially unveiled by its leader, Ed Miliband.”

Of course there will always be arguments for an against a shake up such as this (if it happened) but various people have had their say.

Shadow Sports Minister Clive Efford said: “Too often, fans are treated like an afterthought as ticket prices are hiked up, grounds relocated and clubs burdened with debt or the threat of bankruptcy, We have reached a tipping point in the way football is run.

Over 85% agree or strongly agree that fans should be represented on the boards of clubs and that fans should have the right to acquire a stake in their club."

In addition, a Labour "source" said: “We don’t think this is undermining the successful model that the Premier League is. We think it is augmenting it. We’re not going to claim it’s a complete panacea to all the ills of football.

What we’re saying is that when they have to look in the whites of people’s eyes and sit around a table and discuss corporate strategy, then at least there has to be some minimum level of accountability there.”

The Football Supporters’ Federation and Supporters Direct said: “This would be a significant step in improving transparency and accountability in the way football clubs are run.

The importance of having a seat at the table where decisions are made has been the central plank of our movement and this organisation since the seeds were sown by our founder, Brian Lomax, at his own Northampton Town in 1992.”

After reading the plans and the various quotes above, What is your initial reaction? Has it been positive or negative and do you see something like this happening eventually?

I think that the majority of football clubs in the lower leagues would welcome the idea but I am not 100% certain that the big clubs would be so forthcoming.

My opinion is that if clubs really wanted something like that to happen (especially the bigger clubs), then it would have done. Keeping supporters at arms length but giving them a say in "meetings" a couple of times a season is where most feel comfortable.

I am sure plenty of people will have an opinion on this subject, so I would love to hear from as many people on this as possible.

What do you think of the idea?

Edited by Staff Editor