Had to get my two penneth in here and support the Fax Faithful, the board and the backroom staff on this one.
I'm also a Town fan and share the concerns about The Shay being owned by someone in the private sector, who can go bankrupt and potentially lose their assets, but where I think the Town fans are wrong is that whoever owns the Shay regardless of public asset status or not will always have the risk of not being able to keep it, or keep it in the state it should be. Therefore I think they are fundamentally wrong, we see new ideals, legislations, whatever, over turned continually these days, so keeping it in Council hands for this reason doesn't wash with me. I am quite sure any sale would have a clause in it to stop someone buying land on the cheap and flogging it on for non leisure purposes.
Secondly, I was watching football down the Shay long before the Rugby Club arrived, so I do feel a little of their noses being put out of joint, like a non family member getting their hands on an inheritance, and I truly believe this is their agenda, and not any public asset debate.
What I would urge is that they reflect that there would be no Shay without both parties, and that a man is prepared to put his money where his mouth is, taking on liabilities at a risk to his own wealth, business and family, I applaud him and on this issue I do not want to die wondering, I want to give him a chance, let him improve the facilities, for a new'ish ground, its already dated in some parts, with the current situation I think both clubs would struggle to move any further forward.
Im also disappointed that Bosomworth and Ham have not publicly supported him, they don't have to, but I am disappointed they haven't. In short I think some of the Football crew need to take a deep breath, swallow their pride and accept this opportunity, Tony doesn't have to do anything for us, there isn't anyone else waiting in the wings, and if Tonys businesses continue to grow and he ends up somewhere else and they end up enjoying the fruits of his efforts I would be gutted for us all.
Lets all get on this bus I say, Town and Fax, Tony! Drive on sir...