It’s now been eight days since Chelsea FC announced that a General Meeting of Chelsea Pitch Owners would take place on 27th October, at which their proposal to buyback the Leasehold of Stamford Bridge would be voted on.
Over course of the last week, tentative discussions between individuals via the medium of social networking have combined with supporters’ groups and CPO shareholders to form an umbrella group representing the interests of a large swathe of Chelsea fans, whether they be Pitch Owners or not.
A meeting took place last night to determine a way forward amongst those who have misgivings about not only giving Chelsea FC carte blanche to remove the club from Stamford Bridge without consulting the fans, but those who are concerned that the Board of Chelsea Pitch Owners are not truly independent of the club.
“What’s in a name?”
One of the aims of last night’s strategy meeting was to give the “No” campaign an official name. Over the internet during the last week the phrases “No to CPO” and “Say No” have been very much to the fore. During the last couple of days “SayNoCPO” has gained currency and, following a vote at the meeting, has been designated as the official campaign name/slogan.
“No, Nay, Never”
Those who are in favour of the club’s proposal have castigated the “Noes” as Luddites who wish to take the club back to the 80s. One particularly misguided blogger has described the “No” campaign as a vote for racism and a return to the days of “pissing in pockets”. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The campaign has a number of aims. One of the biggest is that we want to raise awareness that the current campaign is a “no” to the current offer – not a “no” to never moving from the Bridge. We require more consultation and information before we believe we should be asked to give up anything. We have no wish to alienate any supporter or fan group, whether they believe that we should leave Stamford Bridge or not. At the end of the day, we all love the club.
“Strong Arm of the Law”
We’ve received advice on legal issues relating to the campaign, and some of these issues are currently being pursued.
“Reach Out and Touch…”
Another aim is that we want to reach out to any existing shareholders, and ask people to get in touch with any shareholders that they know – we need every vote. Each of our no vote is worth three yes votes so your vote can make a difference (we need 26% of the vote to win).
Our boffins are currently working to create a website and e-mail address that will provide information on the Say No CPO campaign, and the media will be targeted to channel the campaign to those with little/no access to the internet. In addition, information will be sent out to all Chelsea blogs/fanzines/websites and Podcasts, so keep checking for latest campaign updates.
Above all, we are actively seeking dialogue with the club and CPO directors in an attempt to move things forward, following a constructive initial meeting which took place with Bruce Buck last week.
This is just the first of a series of updates in the run-up to the meeting on 27th October, and we will keep you appraised of developments as they occur.
You can follow #SayNoCPO developments on Twitter, and you can you can follow me via @BlueBaby67
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