[h=3]Knight offers to sell shares to fans[/h]1:00am Wednesday 13th November 2013 in Sport By Andy Naylor
Dick Knight's autobiography is published today
Dick*Knight has offered his shares that helped save the Seagulls to Albion fans – for £1 apiece.
The former chairman turned life president has made the offer to honour his pledge when he took over from Bill Archer 16 years ago that no one person would own and control the club and to give supporters a voice at the AGM.
The deal is revealed in Knight’s autobiography, Mad Man, published today and serialised exclusively in The Argus this week.
Knight explains in today’s first extract from the book how he outfoxed Bristol Rovers and their manager, Ian Holloway, to land Bobby Zamora on the cheap for Albion.
Zamora became a goalscoring legend and favourite with the fans Knight now wants to reward for their help in his fight to save the club by giving them the chance to become shareholders.
He said: “I promised when I took over from Bill Archer in 1997 that no one person would ever own and exercise complete control of the club again.
“Through a combination of of economic force and (chairman) Tony Bloom’s generosity, over 90% of the club is now owned by one person.
“My concern is that the ordinary fan should still have a voice at the club annual general meeting and be able to voice their concerns, if they have any. They would have the right to do this if they were shareholders.
“I want to make sure the club is always answerable to the fans, so I would like to make my shares available. These shares have a unique place in Albion’s history, being the ones that actually saved the club.
“I don’t want to profit from them, so they would be priced at their face value, £1 per share, and you would be able to acquire as few or as many (I’ve got over a million of them) as you like.”
An ‘Expression Of Interest’ form in the book gives fans the chance to take Knight up on his offer.
Knight also asks for a synopsis of their Albion-supporting history to ensure the shares go to genuine fans.
He said: “Every club, but this club above all, must listen to its fans. Without them, that is the point of a football club? And without our fans would there even be a Brighton & Hove Albion?
“Directors should always be indebted to the fans – not the other way round. That is a tradition that this club, above all others, must maintain.”
Original article
Dick*Knight has offered his shares that helped save the Seagulls to Albion fans – for £1 apiece.
The former chairman turned life president has made the offer to honour his pledge when he took over from Bill Archer 16 years ago that no one person would own and control the club and to give supporters a voice at the AGM.
The deal is revealed in Knight’s autobiography, Mad Man, published today and serialised exclusively in The Argus this week.
Knight explains in today’s first extract from the book how he outfoxed Bristol Rovers and their manager, Ian Holloway, to land Bobby Zamora on the cheap for Albion.
Zamora became a goalscoring legend and favourite with the fans Knight now wants to reward for their help in his fight to save the club by giving them the chance to become shareholders.
He said: “I promised when I took over from Bill Archer in 1997 that no one person would ever own and exercise complete control of the club again.
“Through a combination of of economic force and (chairman) Tony Bloom’s generosity, over 90% of the club is now owned by one person.
“My concern is that the ordinary fan should still have a voice at the club annual general meeting and be able to voice their concerns, if they have any. They would have the right to do this if they were shareholders.
“I want to make sure the club is always answerable to the fans, so I would like to make my shares available. These shares have a unique place in Albion’s history, being the ones that actually saved the club.
“I don’t want to profit from them, so they would be priced at their face value, £1 per share, and you would be able to acquire as few or as many (I’ve got over a million of them) as you like.”
An ‘Expression Of Interest’ form in the book gives fans the chance to take Knight up on his offer.
Knight also asks for a synopsis of their Albion-supporting history to ensure the shares go to genuine fans.
He said: “Every club, but this club above all, must listen to its fans. Without them, that is the point of a football club? And without our fans would there even be a Brighton & Hove Albion?
“Directors should always be indebted to the fans – not the other way round. That is a tradition that this club, above all others, must maintain.”
Original article