Alan Bowkett steps down as Chairman...

[Canaryboy]

Sounds like he may have been asked to leave?

http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-statement-chairman-alan-bowkett-2840038.aspx

 

[Dubai Mark]

Making way for a new investor to put his man in?

 

[eatonparkboy]

I would like to hear something expanded on this of course. At first I thought maybe some fresh impetus, moving away from the "nice, local people" board and even for a change of direction but reading it three times, it looks like another local coming in.

 

[Wiz]

As long as this doesn't herald the return of Doomcastor!

 

[eatonparkboy]

As long as this doesn't herald the return of Doomcastor!

No, he is doing a brilliant job turning an insignificant league into an invisible one.

 

[SussexYellow]

I am encouraged by this. Having advocated the need for change in "the trouble with Norwich" thread this looks like a step forward - let's hope in the right direction.

 

[morty]

I think Mr Bowkett can look back proudly over his stewardship of Norwich City, we may whinge and moan, but its been a great time to be a Norwich City fan.  

 

[SussexYellow]

I would agree with that Morty. The last few years have been a great ride.

However I do think change is needed if we are to remain competitive going forward. It will be interesting to see what is going to emerge! 

 

[morty]

Its very interesting whats going to happen next. Odd timing resigning just two weeks after the AGM and being voted back in.

News article says all will become apparent over the next few weeks. I would like to hope that any change is a step forward.

 

[eatonparkboy]

Do you think it is ever possible for a club our size to be fan owned?

 

[SussexYellow]

Do you think it is ever possible for a club our size to be fan owned?

Only in a doomsday scenario. 

Portsmouth would be the example - in Premiership not that long ago and FA Cup winners. Yet within a few years had to be rescued by a fan buy out.

 

[SussexYellow]

Its very interesting whats going to happen next. Odd timing resigning just two weeks after the AGM and being voted back in.

News article says all will become apparent over the next few weeks. I would like to hope that any change is a step forward.

The timing would suggest at least a couple of possibilities. That this was a required change for whatever is happening in the background to happen. Or that Alan Bowkett was dead set against and felt that he had to go on principle. But there may be more possibilities.

I too really hope it is a good step forward. I guess we will find out with time. In the traditional Norwich way though I expect it to be evolutionary change. New directors with an emotional tie to the club would be great, but I will avoid going down the speculative route as to whether there will be a significant cash injection into the club!

 

[eatonparkboy]

Only in a doomsday scenario. 

Portsmouth would be the example - in Premiership not that long ago and FA Cup winners. Yet within a few years had to be rescued by a fan buy out.

I wasn't meaning if we got into financial difficulties. I was just wondering whether we might ever see the day when the club is fan owned. Just like so many Spanish, all Argentinian and the compulsion in Germany for their to be multi owners.

The ones in this country are because they were rescued from extinction after failures by the owners or directors to manage the club financially.

For a start I would very much like to see a supporter on the board, initially non voting but ultimately with voting rights. And eventually ownership by the supporters. 

 

[GazzaTCC]

I would suggest, whilst some of the conspiracy theories doing the rounds make great reading, that there is nothing sinister behind this.

It so happens that Alan Bowkett also resigned from a number of his other previous directorships in June and July this year, so, I suspect, he's either "winding down" his various commercial interests to retire, or to move onto  new business ventures.

The legacy of Alan Bowkett will, of course, be forever etched in Canary history, as the man primarily at the forefront of dealing with our banking problems back in 2009 - others may have gone down the administration route at that time; we didn't - and dealing with the disposals of surplus land around Carrow Road.

With the banks sorted, plus surplus land largely sold off, his on-going expertise was always likely to be far more limited, especially as the club has now become more focused on other commercial and marketing ventures.

Nothing more sinister than, "his work here is largely done", time for a change of direction.

 

[Canaryboy]

He is 65 next month so retirement is a possibility, I know that 65 is the standard retirement age for people without a pot to pee in rather than multi-millionaire executives but could be a promise he'd made to himself or his wife to retire at that age perhaps.

It looks like Norwich City Football Club PLC is actually his last remaining directorship Gazza (in the UK at least), so this will leave him with none.

Good spot 

 

[Canaryboy]

Do you think it is ever possible for a club our size to be fan owned?

I don't think so, not a club of our size, unless we were in a complete state financially (as SussexYellow says).

It would require administration and some sort of CVA I assume.

When Cullum was sniffing around didn't Delia want £16m for her shares, which translated into a £25m valuation? 

That was when we were deep in debt, the club will be worth substantially more now. If we put the value at £50m then that's £2500 from every single season ticket holder just to purchase 100% of the club.

The only way I could ever seeing it being feasible is if the club were to enter administration in heavy debt and then a group of fans bought the club out of administration with some sort of pennies in the pound CVA and getting the ground for peanuts like Portsmouth fans did. 

Things had to go seriously bad at Portsmouth before that could happen though, the club lost ownership of their ground at one point and went down three divisions. 

Even if we did enter administration on the cusp of ruin an administrator would still be more likely to sell a club to one or two high net worth individuals who can show evidence that they've got money to burn through to turn the club around and will be able to offer a few more pennies in the pound to creditors.

Fan ownership is only really realistic for phantom clubs like Chester FC, Darlington 1883, AFC Wimbledon etc. because they are created from scratch and are registered not generally listed as ltd companies but as community interest companies or other types of organisation with a watertight constitution which prevents individuals owning more than a certain percentage of the club. 

Portsmouth don't have that constitution, the holding company does but its pretty meaningless. They are the biggest fan owned club in the country, not sure how far it will take them, doubt we'll see them in the Premier League again. 

 

[Andy]

Do you think it is ever possible for a club our size to be fan owned?

I doubt it unless, as others have mentioned, the club faces financial ruin. I would really like to see a fans' representative on the board which for a community club like Norwich should be possible.

 

[morty]

The silence from the club is deafening! 

Anyone spotted any prospective chairmen in Morrissons / Asda?

 

[Beauseant]

Two, possibly three, new directors are expected to come on board in January, one of whom may be the new chairman . The club are also targetting three players.

 

[Wiz]

Two, possibly three, new directors are expected to come on board in January, one of whom may be the new chairman . The club are also targetting three players.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was a keeper Beauseant.