Dundee FC Supporters' Society and Dundee FC Director Maurice Kidd spoke to Tom Duthie of the Evening Telegraph today to explain some of the reasons for the new Fans Ballot. Maurice's full statement is as follows:
"At the time of the original ballot, I urged Society members to hang onto their majority shareholding in the Club. I did however add ‘for now’ at the end of my statement.
"Given the financial information available to myself and other Board members at the time, I believed this to be the correct course of action. Several months on and I will readily admit a different route needs to be taken to secure the long-term future of the Club we all love, however our fans can still be at the forefront of any future planning.
"Since the original ballot, the final figures have been verified regarding Post Administration and player debt. These are now some distance away from what I believed they would be some months ago, and additionally, ‘no strings attached’ investment I believed to be forthcoming, has largely not materialised for one reason or another. However, despite these setbacks, the Club is still in a position to have a neutral cash-flow balance come the summer.
"The First Division is a hellish place for a club of Dundee’s size and infrastructure to be operating, and quite rightly our fans ambitions are to see the Club playing at the highest level. The Club and Society Boards recognise these ambitions and are keen to see them met, but only through prudent and proper financial management. Therefore, what we are doing now is to look ahead to next season and beyond, irrespective of what division we are in, and ensure the Club has the vitality on and off the park to mount a challenge.
"The new proposal offers inclusion to all Dundee supporters at whatever level they can afford, whilst at the same time allowing the Board to accept external investment in return for shares from a number of individuals who have already indicated an interest. I can foresee a future with a large cross-section of shareholders where the Society has the largest, or close to the largest share, but is below the 50% mark. However, by means of an accumulation of DFCSS, DBBT, Dundee-minded investors and fans privately owning shares, Dundee Supporters will own in excess of 50%.
"At a time when many Scottish clubs are finding it difficult to see beyond the New Year, I think everyone at Dundee FC should be applauded for being pro-active and working together to come up with a plan that will make the Club, bearing in mind we have no Bank debt or interest payments, amongst the healthiest in the land, and I would ask all fans to get on board, back this proposal, and add to the feelgood factor which has returned to the Club recently through the achievements of Barry and the boys.
"To sum up, this isn’t a case of people being able to say ‘I told you so’, rather, that in football terms, the goalposts moved, we hit the bar, but we have a great chance to net the rebound for a win-win result all round."
* At Saturday's game, one or two of our volunteers were asked if Ballot Forms would be sent out in the post to Society Members. We'd just like to confirm that Ballot Forms WILL NOT be posted out to all members - forms are available to download here, or you can pick them up from Dundee Direct, the Official Club Shop. A number of factors were taken into account, not least the cost of postage, although any Society member who would like a Ballot form posted to them can of course request one via Contact Us.
Forms must be returned either by post or by hand to the Election Management Group, c/o Dundee Football Club Ltd., Dens Park Stadium, Sandeman Street, Dundee DD3 7JY, or you can post them between 2pm and 3pm into the Ballot Boxes that will be available inside the ground for our next home game v Queen of the South on 10th December.
