MICHAEL PEARLMAN SAYS: We all have to unite behind the Trust, but they have to allow that to happen

It’s a totally new broom at Rodney Parade and now it is imperative that all Newport County AFC supporters begin to repair the splits and cracks that have developed between their various factions over the years.

As we now know definitively, it is the Supporters’ Trust who has struck a deal with outgoing chairman Les Scadding to take his shares and appoint themselves as County’s new board of directors, with guidance and liaison coming from national body Supporters Direct.

For many it’s the dream proposition, and I count myself in that group, because a club like Newport should be run by the supporters and reliant on no individual.

However, I wonder how this is going to work in the short-term and I'm somewhat surprised that non-executive directors who have added value to the club are already resigning before any assessment of whether they could enhance the Trust.

I should be clear; my concerns for next seasons are not about matters on the field, because it is simply pointless to make any bold statements about the potential for success of Terry Butcher’s charges. This is an entirely new group of players, an entirely new management team and the huge overhaul of the playing squad is still not completed.

Add a few loanees from Cardiff and Swansea, and Newport should be fine for numbers and will live and die by the success of Butcher’s signings. It’s a real wait and see scenario, enhanced budget or not.

However, it doesn’t seem unfair to state that things are chaotic at best and worrying at worst off the field at Rodney Parade.

Things are always chaotic immediately following a takeover, a change of ownership.

We at the Argus had been asked by the Supporters’ Trust not to use that term ‘ownership,’ nor to suggest it was simply a matter of ‘buying’ Mr Scadding out of the club, but the bottom line is, County were a club ripe for takeover. If another lottery winner offered Mr Scadding £2 million yesterday, the club would have been sold. Or so it seemed.

In reality, an investor had come to County in recent weeks, a former money man at Cardiff City (not that one) who wanted to succeed Mr Scadding and invest in the club. It is my understanding that Mr Scadding refused to even speak with him. He was sold on the notion of passing the legacy on to the supporters. That was absolutely his prerogative and a principled stance from principled man.

The majority shareholder, the owner of the football club, the aforementioned Mr Scadding has walked away from the club lock and stock.

He’s invested just north of £1 million in the dream of taking the Exiles from the Conference to the Football League, but County won’t be taking another penny of his lottery winnings (nor will he be seeing a return on what he pumped into your club).

His departure is a reality everyone was prepared for and has come to terms with, we wish Mr Scadding well and now look forward to the next chapter, to capitalising on the financial investment he made to put Newport in a position several big clubs in the Conference would love to be.

And now that responsibility falls to a group who in the past year, have struggled to run themselves, by their own admission.

I’ve outlined in this column clearly that I’m supportive of the notion of the Supporters’ Trust taking control of Newport County AFC.

But it’s certainly a qualified support.

I’m in favour of the idea of a collective, inclusive, well-defined and clear in their objectives group taking charge. I don’t believe the Supporters’ Trust is anything like that at the moment.

County have several supporter groups, some historic, others established in the past couple of years, and those groups were created by motivation to be a separate entity from the Trust.

It might be normal for Manchester United to have factions in terms of fan groups, but County desperately need all groups, including the County Choir (name chosen only to enable weak pun) singing from the same hymn sheet.

I would worry about, as an entirely hypothetical example, a Supporters’ Trust that wouldn’t be endorsed by the 100 Club, because without the backing of every fan group, a supporter takeover can’t be viable.

The takeover process has been far from inclusive so far. The talks between Mr Scadding and the Trust didn’t involve County’s other directors and as a consequence, the club employees, like new general manager Jason Turner, secretary Lewis Richards and commercial manager James Watts, now have no idea who exactly they work for.

There is currently plenty of scrutiny of those currently still at the helm at the club, notably director Howard Greenhaf and Watts. Both are getting a torrid time on the Argus website and County messageboard.

I can’t for the life of me see what the intended purpose of that was, because surely the club have never been more reliant on those individuals than they were in the last few weeks? They were left to run the club at a tough time, out on a limb.

And they will continue to play a vital role in heralding in this new era.

My understanding is that County will have a board of 12 directors with another 12 underneath them under the new model, but there isn’t much else that we can say with any kind of certainty.
We don’t know what business model they intend to operate, we don’t know for example, whether it will be a mass of fans asked to pay an annual set figure, or if investors such as Matt Southall will be approached to take key roles and pay larger sums. Can the fabled consortium being resurrected? Have they been approached?

There is an open Trust meeting on Friday that should tell us much, but I personally hope there will be a re-evaluation about the position of some of the current board.

Guys like Kevin Morris and Chris Blight have vast experience in football and with Newport County specifically and the same thing can’t be said for the group coming in. They would be foolish to do anything other than attempt to include ANYONE who cares passionately about the County in the new vision.

There is too much supporter ill-feeling towards Mr Greenhaf for him to remain, in the short term, but like Chris Blight, he’ll be appreciated more after he’s left the club.

Mr Greenhaf has at times been a PR disaster and he’s definitely burned bridges with some influential supporters, but he’s been an absolute workhorse for the County, putting his time and money in. The superb playing surface at Rodney Parade and the adjustments made to that ground to ensure it met Football League criteria, a legacy that shouldn’t be overlooked. Maybe he’ll return in the future, like Blight did. Hopefully he’ll be welcomed back.

I think after the last few months we all crave stability, which hopefully is what this news will signify.

But with the whole process being clandestine and exclusive and the Trust so ineffective in recent years it is tough to not feel worried and sceptical, even though I have total faith that in the long-term this is good news. It’s perhaps just all happened quicker than was necessarily beneficial. In the short-term, instability seems inevitable.

And in the meantime? There is only one possible sensible course of action from County’s supporter base, which is to come together as one.

No more in-fighting, sniping, recriminations and pot-stirring, but rather a realisation that you all ultimately crave the same thing.

We all wanted a stable and successful Newport County AFC, controlled by the fans and not reliant on any one individual and that dream is now a reality.

The Trust must now be open, transparent and most of all welcoming, not letting any previous gripes or personality clashes figure in thinking going forward. Anyone with time, money, enthusiasm or a skill set that is beneficial to the club, should be embraced and not shunned because of past disagreements.

Every decision now needs to be taken with a business head. There is no room for ego.

And while we can all try and be patient and supportive and acknowledge that Rome wasn’t built in a day, we must also realise that if everyone had been too busy in-fighting and pointing accusing fingers all the time, it wouldn’t have been built at all.

There is no point denigrating the Trust for being ineffective in the past, because they now hold the keys to the castle. They needed to be supported and they need to be welcoming to anyone who wants to help.

Back the Trust, back the board and back the players and management, because together, you’ll always be stronger.