After a short pause, Society Secretary Fraser MacDonald returned to talk about the voting process. “YOU are the owners of Dundee FC. Every one of you. And pretty much every one of the people who’ll be out there (in the stands) come 3 o’clock. That’s the reality – it IS your club now.
“It probably seems a bit strange to take ownership of the club then ask you to vote on the ownership structure. I remember sitting here a year ago, discussing what would happen not if, but when, Bob Brannan and Calum Melville walked away and if we’d be left holding the baby. Well, it happened a lot quicker than expected, and that means we’ve not gone through the sort of discussions with you – the members – that we would have preferred to have. We’ve all simply been trying to keep the club alive!
“But one huge benefit to you of fan ownership, and that being through the structure of a Supporters’ Trust, is that there are rules in place. Rules to protect you and your interests. I’ll repeat that – this exercise is to protect YOU.
“Scott said the Society is not the people at this top table, or a board of eleven. It’s not – everyone has one share, one vote – and our rules make it clear that we need to consult with you. As your Society Board, we couldn’t take ownership of the club on your behalf and then give that up again without your permission, even if we wanted to.
“So – why have a vote? Does it count? Does it make a difference?”, he asked. “Yes! We’re doing this to establish what the views of all our members are. Do you agree that this Club, YOUR Club, needs to be owned by its supporters? Do you want the ownership structure to protect YOU, your rights, your club, your future?
“We need to make a couple of things clear. One – yes, a number of individuals have been identified who may be prepared to inject money into the club. Two – that does not necessarily mean that the Society’s shareholding would drop below 50% in the near term. There are a whole host of variables.