Dissertation PDF

Southampton Solent University
Faculty of Business, Sport and Enterprise
BA (Hons) Football Studies
Harry Dunford
An investigation into the social, cultural and political
conditions and contexts from which the Pompey
Supporters Trust emerged
March 2015

This dissertation is submitted in part fulfilment of the Degree of
Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Football Studies
at Southampton Solent University in March 2015

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the people that were involved in this dissertation in
some way. Many thanks to my tutor, Mark Turner, for the continued help you
gave me throughout this process. Also, thanks to my family and friends for
being supportive throughout the entire process. Finally, thank you to the
participants of the study for agreeing to be interviewed, giving up your time
to answer my questions and sharing your knowledge of this subject.

Abstract
This dissertation sought out to investigate the social, cultural and political
conditions and contexts from which the Pompey Supporters Trust emerged. It
addressed the background themes which consist of the re-development and
modernisation of English football in the 1990s, as a result of the 1990 Taylor
Report that followed the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. The study explored the
unprecedented wealth the modern game has received through television
contracts and sponsorship deals, and the effect this has had upon football
supporters. This dissertation built upon existing literature that has addressed
the emergence of Supporters Direct, the organisation at the head of the
supporters’ trust movement in England. Undemocratic ownership models are
having a detrimental impact on a large number of English football clubs; in
this respect, the study looked closely at the formation of the Pompey
Supporters Trust as a movement to save Portsmouth Football Club from
liquidation. The dissertation used a qualitative method; it interpreted semi-
structured interview responses from six participants. The findings suggested
that the supporters’ trust movement in England is growing as a result of a
larger proportion of football supporters realising the positive impact of
democratic supporter involvement at board level. It concluded by exploring
the connections between the evolving nature of modern football in England
and the involvement of football supporters within their club communities.
Finally, recommendations were made to ensure any further studies
conducted, similar to this study, would not be limited by financial,
geographical or time constraints.

Table of contents
Introduction 1
Review of literature 4
Chapter 1: Critical discussion of the consumption of football 4
Consumption of football (1970-2000) 4
Consumption of football in the new Millennium, (2000-present day) 6
Chapter 2: Specific focus on the development of Supporters Direct 9
and the role of supporters’ trusts
Consumption of football under the New-Labour government (1997-2010) 9
Supporters Direct and the supporters’ trust movement 10
Methodology 14
Philosophy of research 14
Type of research 16
Sampling 17
Method 18
Thematic analysis 20
Ethics 20

Discussion 21
The emergence of the Pompey Supporters Trust 21
The formation of Supporters Direct and the democratisation
of English football clubs 24
Critical analysis of the effect of undemocratic ownership models
and the influence of supporter involvement at football clubs 27
Conclusions 30
Recommendations 32
References 33
Bibliography 37
Appendices 39
Appendix A: Sample interview questions 40
Appendix B: Example interview transcript 45
Appendix C: Themed index coding sheets 50
Appendix D: Southampton Solent University Ethics Policy 56

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Introduction
The game of football has transformed beyond recognition in the 21st
century,
the formation of the Premier League in 1992, and SKY Sports live televising of
games has completely changed the way football is consumed. When
considering the standard of football that is played at the top level in England
now, of course it has improved vastly since the formation of the Premier
League. However, within the new Premier League era, supporters have
repeatedly been impacted negatively by issues such as increasing ticket prices
and in many cases, extremely poor governance of football clubs.
Football supporters are the lifeblood of the game; the reality is that there is a
constant cycle of supporters at every club; the loyalty of football supporters
to their club is the reason football is often called “the beautiful game”
(wsc.co.uk, 2009). Yet the continuous disregard of football supporters is
creating a game that is far less beautiful, therefore to see supporters so
detached from their clubs as a result of the rising economy in the game is a
concern. It’s important for both football supporters and the governing bodies
of the game to understand that supporters can, and should, have a stronger
influence within their clubs.
For clarification throughout this dissertation, a supporters’ trust is a group of
supporters who join together in an attempt to actively change the way their
club is governed. It is important for research to be carried out within this
field, as the supporters’ trust movement in England is still a relatively new
phenomenon, but it is growing stronger with every new trust formation. A
research project focused on the impact of supporters’ trusts within the
environment of modern football is important in order to increase knowledge
of the subject. But also, to gain a stronger understanding that supporter
involvement within football clubs is crucial to maintain sustainable ownership
models, especially in an environment where football clubs are increasingly
financially unstable.
Countless academics have attempted to depict the evolution of football in the
modern era, from the formation of the Premier League through to the major

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television deals that bring ever-increasing wealth into the game in the 21st
century. This research project aims to investigate the conditions for football
in the modern era, building upon what (Hamil et al, 2013) named ‘The
Changing Face of the Football Business’. The specific issues of supporter
involvement and supporters’ trusts, of which this research project focuses on,
are relatively under researched. Studies formulated by Brown (2007; 2008)
address the formation of FC United of Manchester, a supporter owned club
formed as a rejection to the Glazer family take over of Manchester United;
this literature is of similarity to this study as it is closely linked to club
communities and supporter ownership.
The research of supporter involvement within football clubs, and the
supporters’ trust movement is necessary for a number of reasons. Football is
currently at a pivotal crossroad in terms of increasing active supporter
involvement, against the substantial wealth that continues to neglect
supporters. This research topic is current and therefore important to gain a
stronger understanding of the impact supporters can have over the
governance and maintenance of their football clubs.
This research project will add to existing studies that focus on the
globalisation and intensive hyper-commodification of football over the last
decade (Giulianotti, 2002, p25). Crucially however, this is the first study that
researches supporters’ trusts and supporter influence in modern football,
specifically through the spectrum of the Pompey Supporters Trust and
Portsmouth Football Club. The main aims and objectives for this research
project are to gain an understanding of the cultural, social and political
contexts and conditions from which the Pompey Supporters Trust emerged. It
is hoped the responses from the semi-structured interviews with the
participants will reveal their opinions on the process of the re-development of
football and how this has affected supporter involvement and supporters’
trusts in England.
This research project is therefore a storyline of the development of modern
football, leading to the formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust. By
exploring the social conditions of football within the 1990s, the research will

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investigate how a changing demographic of football supporters radically
changed the way football was consumed in the 21st
century. The economic
culture of football in the 21st
century has negatively impacted a number of
clubs. This research project aims to investigate Portsmouth’s supporter’s
reactions to Portsmouth Football Club going from an FA Cup winning club in
the Premier League to a League Two club on the brink of liquidation and
impending extinction (Guardian, 2012).
The concluding aim is to critically analyse the connection between the
development of modern football and the level of supporter influence within
clubs. Furthermore, the aim is to address whether the Pompey Supporters
Trust has been successful within the environment of hyper-commoditised
modern football. Providing an understanding as to whether supporters’ trusts
and supporter involvement are a sustainable alternative to undemocratic
ownership, and therefore questioning whether Portsmouth Football Club is the
pioneer for supporter owned football clubs in England.

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Review of literature
Chapter 1
Critical discussion of the consumption of football
Consumption of football (1970-2000)
Understanding the consumption of football through the 20th century before
discussing the more contemporary game in the 21st century is imperative.
Football in the 1970s and 1980s was marred by violence and hooliganism; the
social conditions for football during the late 20th
century were of a poor
standard (Dunning et al, 1986; 1988). Therefore, contextualising the nature of
football during these eras provides a basis from which the discussion of the
modernised game can develop.
King’s (1997) literature focusing on “The Lads” provides a historical
background of the ‘typical’ social demographic at football grounds during the
1970s and 1980s. Many, including Stott & Pearson (2007) have cited football
hooliganism as the ‘English disease’; associations can be made between the
dominance of certain groups of ‘lads’ at English football grounds in this period
and violent behaviour. The government’s negative sociological perception of
football supporters was certainly increased further by disasters such as Heysel
and Hillsborough.
In 1985, 39 supporters were killed in Heysel at the European Cup final
between Liverpool and Juventus. Liverpool fans charged at their Italian
counterparts as animosity grew, causing a wall to collapse and kill 39
supporters. In the 1989 FA Cup Semi-Final at Hillsborough, 96 Liverpool fans
were crushed to death as the ‘pen’ the supporters were in became severely
overcrowded. The Hillsborough disaster ultimately caused the Government to
completely reform the game of football in Britain (Conn, 2010).
The Taylor Report (1990) that followed the Hillsborough disaster undoubtedly
improved conditions in British football in the 1990’s. Safer stadiums,

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unrivalled wealth, increasing youth player development and decreasing
football related violence created greater social conditions for football.
Supporters that rejected the new all-seater stadia were seen as advocating
the football that saw fans standing on crumbling terraces (Mackin, 1998).
Football saw ‘increased attendances after a decade of declining attendance
due to mass unemployment and worsening hooliganism’ (Kennedy & Kennedy,
2007, p286) (Nash, 2000).
The formation of the Premier League in 1992 saw the contemporary game of
football completely modernised. SKY’s live broadcasting rights for games has
provided a vast increase in wealth, suggesting the ‘televising of the game
changed the business of football forever’ (Smith, 2000, p2). The sociological
make up of football supporters has radically shifted in the modern era; during
the 1990’s there were more women and families attending matches than at
any other time in the game’s history (Smith, 2000). Over the last 20 years the
contemporary game of football has transformed from a sub cultural working
class game, into a global-cultural reference point and mega-business
(Hognestad, 2012).
As a result of the Premier League, football club owners have become
increasingly profit orientated. The most dominant clubs, Manchester United
for example, have maximised profit opportunities and raised equity by placing
themselves on the stock markets (Giulianotti, 1999). The attitude of football
supporters towards modernisation has largely been negative; there is growing
concern that supporters are becoming increasingly detached from their clubs
(Nash, 2000). The aim of this study is to investigate the social conditions at
Portsmouth Football Club, to discover what led Portsmouth supporters to
actively make a change in how their club was governed.
Smith (2000) further analyses football in the 1990’s, suggesting that there
were emerging problems despite the positives. The standard and facilities in
grassroots football were decreasing despite the overwhelming wealth in the
top division. The rising cost of supporting football, specifically commercial
aspects such as club merchandise and increasing ticket prices were of concern
to supporters. The financial divide between the top division teams and the

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lower league teams was steadily growing. The end of the 1997-1998 season
saw over 80% of Premier League clubs generating profit, yet 80% of the
Football League clubs were generating a loss. This threatened the existence
of clubs outside of the Premier League (Smith, 2000; Kennedy & Kennedy,
2007). The existence of Portsmouth Football Club was threatened twice as a
result of administrations; the aims of this study are to look at how the
Pompey Supporters Trust fought to save the club to ensure this never
happened again.
Consumption of football in the new Millennium, (2000-present day)
Since the turn of the 21st
century, the attitude that there is a developing
social divide between supporters and clubs has only increased. Multiple
studies have focused specifically on the modernisation of football (Dubal,
2010; Sandvoss, 2003; Nash, 2000; Brown, 2008). Despite increased television
deals bringing wealth into the game, year on year supporters suggest the
commercialisation aspects such as rising ticket prices, the sterilisation of
football stadia as a result of a higher middle-class demographic of supporters,
away supporters being poorly treated, and the trend of wealthy, often foreign
investors buying into football clubs has had a negative impact on the game
(Dobson, 2011; Giulianotti, 1999).
Football in the 21st century has lost the sense of a link between the
community and club (Dubal, 2010). Christensen & Levinson (2003) advocate
that communities are the nucleus of humanity, from which everything else
centres upon. Increased ticket prices have broken the social networks that
have been historically formed by live active stadium attendance (Nash, 2000).
With an ageing demographic of football supporters, a crucial next generation
of young supporters are being priced out of the game. Ironically, many clubs
offer community programmes to increase social inclusion for local young
people, yet these are the young people that are being priced out of attending
matches due to continuously increasing ticket prices (Conn, 1997; Conn,
2011). Portsmouth supporters have first hand experience of losing their sense
of connection with the club; therefore this dissertation aims to investigate

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how the Pompey Supporters Trust re-embedded the supporters into the core
of the club.
Bale (2007) looks specifically at the relationship between a football club and
the local community, suggesting the relationship is twofold; on one side, the
club is rooted into the local community, with the supporters feeling an
intense sense of pride and attachment to the club, and in most cases the
clubs home stadium. However for people who live within the local community
but have no attachment to supporting football, the club, but more specifically
the stadium can provide a nuisance. For example, issues such as traffic
congestion, crowding and hooliganism can all contribute to this.
Dubal’s statement that there is a loss of connection between the community
and club appears relevant here. If a club opts to build a new stadium it’s
likely to be situated on the outskirts of the town or city, for example
Reading’s Madejski Stadium. Furthermore, there is a strong likelihood that
retail outlets and vastly increased corporal hospitality sections will surround
the new stadium; further fuelling the hyper-consumption of football (Kennedy
& Kennedy, 2012).
It is increasingly common for football supporters to consume football in this
manner. The migration of a stadium to the outskirts of the town, or even a
different town completely could be attributed to foreign investors who are
unaware of the history and traditions of a club. Nauright and Ramfjord (2010)
suggest the presence of potential foreign investors is based on a questionable
belief that the Premier League offers a business investment that has no flaws.
Where in the pre-War era, football club owners appeared to have the
interests of the club at heart, in the modern era this is less true (Mason, 1980;
Taylor, 1992; Millward, 2012). Owners such as Sulaiman Al Fahim and Ali Al-
Faraj at Portsmouth Football Club were perhaps not aware of the supporter’s
relationship with the club; this study will look at why the Pompey Supporters
Trust was formed, in an attempt to create an environment that had the
interests of the supporters at heart.

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Fan alienation, spiralling debt and an ominous threat of bankruptcy are
increasingly common issues at football clubs in the modern era (Kennedy &
Kennedy, 2012). Clubs such as Cardiff City and Hull City are prime examples.
The effect of undemocratic ownership within fan communities could be
detrimental to that club. Supporters share strong bonds with a deep tradition,
along with a common identity and a sense of moral ownership of their football
clubs. Many fans feel neglected and ignored by their clubs and the games
authorities (Cleland, 2010; Kennedy, 2012). For example, the formation of FC
United was a ‘rejection’ by Manchester United supporters of the Glazer family
takeover of Manchester United in 2005; FC United’s success has illustrated
how supporters can actively influence football clubs (Brown, 2008).
The aims of this dissertation specifically focus on the social and cultural
conditions that surrounded the formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust.
Portsmouth Football Club is an example of how supporters’ trusts can
influence the community and enforce democratic decisions. The Pompey
Supporters Trust was formed in 2009, with the backing of Supporters Direct.
Portsmouth Football Club was placed into administration with reported debts
of £135m in 2010 (Keoghan, 2014). By 2012 the Pompey Supporters Trust had
gained control of the club, after over 2000 pledges of £100 each from
supporters. Additionally, eleven ‘Presidents’ pledged £1.5 million to ensure
the trust had enough funds to complete the takeover (Supporters Direct,
2013). The ideology of supporter ownership is one that can derive benefit
from each member (Martin, 2007). This dissertation aims to investigate the
process of how the Pompey Supporters Trust was formed and gained control of
the club, as well as interpreting the views of the trust members on the social
and commercial aspects of modern football.

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Chapter 2
Specific focus on the development of Supporters Direct and the role of
supporters’ trusts
Consumption of football under the New-Labour government (1997-2010)
Before discussing this chapter further, it is important to contextualise how
the supporters’ trust and Supporters Direct ideologies were formed. Discussing
Tony Blair’s New-Labour government is vital in this section, as the new
policies from 1997 onwards gave encouragement to football supporters who
had previously felt out of touch with the way English football had become
commercialised since the formation of the Premier League.
Tony Blair rejuvenated old Labour policies by supporting worker cooperatives.
Football supporters in England would be economically subsidised by Blair’s
government, if they wished to create and enforce club supporters’ trusts.
Supporters’ trusts are essentially groups of supporters who act in a
democratic way to try and influence more control over the governance and
ownership of the football club they support. The previous 18 years of
Conservative government dominance had ensured that English football fans
were not beneficiaries of any government funding. The New-Labour
government was fundamentally the root cause of the supporters’ trust
movement developing in Britain (Martin, 2007).
The ‘Third Way’ politics of the Labour government since 1997 was viewed as
the agenda that would renew civil society and its institutions. The Third Way
policy was based around the value of community and equal opportunity. Social
democracy and neoliberalism restricted social dependency at this time, the
ideology was that the Third Way agenda provided an opportunity for sport,
particularly football, to be a valuable ‘community resource’ (Kennedy &
Kennedy, 2007, p298). The New-Labour government’s involvement in football
at this time was crucial in shaping the future for Supporters Direct and club
supporters’ trusts (Martin, 2007).

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Specific establishments were created as a result of the new political ideology
under the New-Labour government. The Department for Culture, Media and
Sport formed ‘The Football Task Force’ in 1997 as a result of the Labour
government coming into power. The targets proposed by The Football Task
Force, with the most prominent being the task of eliminating racism in sport,
improving disabled facilities and investing in the community were all in an
attempt to improve the social conditions of sport at that time (Michie, 1999).
The Task Force was the link between football and the government; it
essentially offered the government considerations on areas for improvement,
and conflict resolution; particularly over matters such as ownership.
Furthermore, the Task Force was imperative in persuading the government
that supporters are not solely supporters, but can also have an influence over
the governance of clubs (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007).
Supporters Direct and the supporters’ trust movement
Supporters Direct was formed in January 2000, with funding of £250,000 per
year to actively support the development of supporters’ trusts. Supporters
Direct initially aimed to set up 50 supporters’ trusts, however demand
exceeded expectations and a substantially higher number received backing
from Supporters Direct. Supporters Direct gave the opportunity for supporters
to gain advice if they were wishing to set up mutual trusts or raise funds;
something that football supporters had not previously received (Kennedy &
Kennedy, 2007; Martin, 2007; Hamill et al, 2000).
Kennedy (2012) states Supporters Direct were handed the task of
‘democratising’ football clubs and supporting the ideology of democratic
supporter ownership. Smith (2000) infers however, that supporters’ trusts and
supporter ownership is not the correct solution for every club. Suggesting it
would be wrong for the government to introduce a blueprint for the
ownership of football clubs. Rather, Smith believes communication between
supporters' trusts and the club is imperative when working out which direction
is best suited for future administrative decisions. For example, Manchester
United is established as a PLC; in 1991 a prospectus saw reasons such as giving

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employees and supporters greater opportunity to invest in Manchester United,
and desire to widen the ownership of the club, given (Michie, 1999).
Supporters Direct and supporters’ trusts provide a challenge to the
authoritative administration strategies by those who run football clubs
‘undemocratically’, such as Manchester United. Supporters Direct is set up to
ensure football supporters do not feel detached from their club (Kennedy &
Kennedy, 2007). As previously mentioned, the undemocratic authority of
Malcolm Glazer’s takeover of Manchester United led to many fans ‘rejecting’
this idea, forming a ‘democratic’ club of their own, FC United of Manchester
(Brown, 2008). The aims for this dissertation are to investigate whether the
supporters’ trust formation was right for Portsmouth Football Club, as well as
gaining an understanding of the role Supporters Direct had during the
formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust and the takeover of the club.
Interest in supporters’ trusts has increased significantly since the formation of
Supporters Direct. Membership of supporters’ trusts increased by 900,000
from 1999 to 2007, as well as the number of actual supporters’ trusts growing
to 122 in the first seven years of Supporters Directs existence. Contested
research states the objectives of Supporters Direct and the ideology of
supporters’ trusts reflects the views of the majority of football supporters.
The responsibility of supporters’ trusts is to ‘act on the overall interests of
the club in exchange for the right of supporters to take an active involvement
in the running of a football club’ (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007, p289).
The rise in appeal for supporters’ trusts derived from Football League clubs
losing a £315m television deal with ITV Digital in 2002. Many lower league
clubs felt they could face extinction without this revenue; therefore a lot of
supporters’ trusts were formed as a result (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007).
Burnham (2000) discusses the work of Brian Lomax within the Northampton
Town Supporters Trust, a club that had fallen into administration. According
to Burnham, the Northampton supporters were not willing to put money into
the club for a short-term benefit; instead they opted for providing a
sustainable future for the club. The trust focused on aspects such as
facilitating for disabled people, anti-racism schemes, and a football

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community scheme. These issues are perhaps even more relevant to the study
now, as an increasing number of lower league clubs struggle to survive against
the increasing wealth in the top divisions.
However there are still potential difficulties for supporters’ trusts. For
example the reason for the failing of the Celtic Trust is suggested to be the
absence of a financial crisis at the club. Therefore, unless a club is in
significant danger of extinction, the ideology of supporters’ trusts fails to be
valued by the majority of football supporters (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007;
Martin, 2007; Burnham, 2000). Furthermore, the ultimate objective of many
supporters’ trusts, to effectively run a football club, is difficult within the
current nature of company laws and the process of buying out existing
shareholders; especially if there is no threat of financial difficulty (Michie,
1998).
Burnham (2000) outlines two reasons for the potential failure of supporters’
trusts. Firstly, he suggests ‘undemocratic’ boardrooms exceed the
understanding of football supporters, and therefore cannot value the
traditions of a club. Secondly, Burnham suggests the stature of a club is
relative to the success rate of a supporters’ trust, stating the smaller the club
you support, the better chances of success. This relates to the amount of
lower league clubs who have formed supporters’ trusts as a result of the
financial divide in the football pyramid. Although Portsmouth Football Club is
by no means a ‘small’ club, the fact the club is now in League Two has
undoubtedly influenced the effectiveness of the supporters’ trust.
The stance of Supporters Direct has been critiqued, although Supporters
Direct is the organisation established to ‘address the disenfranchisement of
fans from the lower socio economic strata’ it has been labelled an
organisation ran by middle-class advocates (Martin, 2007, p648). Furthermore,
the majority of football supporters may contest a supporters’ trust nominating
an individual member onto the clubs board of directors. Where a variety of
associations have represented the club before, the sudden election of an
individual supporter to the board could cause ‘hostile factionalism’ between
supporters (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007, p296). By interviewing members of the

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Pompey Supporters Trust, the study will investigate whether there were any
disagreements in regard to the elections of members, as well understanding
the formation of the trust in more detail.
Nevertheless, the power of football supporters and supporters’ trusts should
not be underestimated. Since the 1960’s the most successful social
movements and organisations have been those that are not aligned to the
major political parties, suggesting that individuals engage more with specific
‘single issue’ or ‘protest movements’. Although the government backs
Supporters Direct, it is the independent supporters’ trusts and organisations
that have the most potential to influence the governance of football clubs
(Martin, 2007; Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007).
Football supporter communities are a complex notion that should not be over-
simplified. The government, The FA and the Premier League hinder supporter
ownership in England, as a result of their laissez faire attitude towards the
issue (Brown, 2007). Smith (2000) states ‘football supporters hold the key to
football’s future’, in this case the aim of the study is to reflect on how
Portsmouth Football Club supporters hold the key to their clubs future.

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Methodology
Philosophy of research
Ontology
Ontology is the starting point for all research, from which the researchers
epistemological and methodological positions will follow. Ontology is defined
as “the image of social reality upon which a theory is based”. Furthermore to
this, ontology aims to examine the nature of social reality and what exists
within those social conditions (Grix 2002; p177). The main aims of this
research project focus on the investigation of the cultural, social and political
conditions surrounding football supporters in England, specifically at
Portsmouth Football Club; therefore having an understanding of ontology is
crucial to achieve the appropriate research position.
One’s ontological position is based on the perspectives of ‘constructivism’ and
‘objectivism’. Those who view things subjectively, or ‘constructivists’, form
the opinion that social actors are consistently consuming the social world and
social phenomena (Atkinson, 2012). The term ‘social phenomena’ is important
in this research project as the aims focus directly on football supporters and
their connection to wider sociological issues, such as community values. The
second ontological position that can be held by researchers is that of an
objective nature, or ‘objectivists’. Objectivists assert the idea that social
nature and their meanings exist independently of social actors (Grix, 2002).
An objectivist position is appropriate for researchers who carry out
standardised forms of observation to gain their data, therefore an objectivist
approach would be inappropriate for this research project as the importance
of the study relies on subjective interpretations of the participants interview
responses (Atkinson, 2012).
The research project relies on individual perceptions of the hyper-
commodification of football and the cultural context of football supporters,
therefore the study was formed on a subjective basis as the responses gained
from interviews can be interpreted in more than one way. Subjective

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responses provide a better understanding of the social conditions that the
research project is trying to interpret; in contrast to an objectivist position
that lacks the explorative depth needed for this research project to be
successful (Smith, 2010).
Epistemology
Epistemology is also a core branch of philosophy and no research should be
undertaken without fully understanding the concept of epistemology.
Epistemology is crucial when trying to understand the theory of knowledge,
especially in regards to methods and validation, as well as acquiring
knowledge of social reality (Elliott, 2006; Grix 2002).
There are also traditionally two epistemological positions that contradict one
another, positivism and interpretivism. A positivist approach encourages the
solicitation of natural science methods in relation to the study of social reality
(Grix, 2002). Bryman (2004) supports this by suggesting positivism advocates
the application of the methods of natural sciences. Positivism is concerned
with prediction and replicability, as well as questioning the objective reality
of social sciences (Gray et al, 2007).
The second epistemological position, interpretivism, is centred upon the
necessity for the researcher to make the distinctions between people and the
objects of the natural sciences. The knowledge of the subjective meaning of
social action allows the researcher to look for cultural and historically
situated interpretations of the social world (Ernest, 1994; Crotty, 1998;
Bryman 2001).
An interpretivist approach was more appropriate for this research project as
the aims of the study meant the researcher had to interpret the different
interviewee responses and perceptions, whilst making judgements on how
these responses affected the research aims. All the responses could be
interpreted differently, depending on the researcher. An interpretivist
approach is therefore more suitable than a positivist approach for this
research project, based around social conditions, as there is no numerical

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data to make objective interpretations from. A sound epistemological position
will ensure a suitable methodology follows.
Type of research
Quantitative research
A quantitative research approach is defined as research that applies
quantitative variables, in which numbers are used to represent increasing
levels of that variable (Cramer, 2003). Quantitative research is common with
research projects that aim to focus around objective facts and figures.
Crucially, this research project is investigating subjective issues such as
sociological perceptions, where quantitative data is less effective as a result
of its objective nature.
Qualitative research
A qualitative research method is formed when the research has a central
relationship between analytical perspectives and methodological issues.
Additionally, this further suggests that believing social science is a valid
concept is a key component of qualitative research (Silverman, 2004).
Methodologically this research project draws a qualitative approach as the
ontological and epistemological approaches are subjective and interpretivist,
respectively. Using a qualitative approach gives the researcher the
opportunity to ask open questions, which result in rich, detailed data. Open
questions are more appropriate than closed questions for qualitative
researchers because the interviewee can express their thoughts and
perceptions of the particular question subject. Rather than a quantitative
approach, which lends itself to numerical data and social science based
studies. Using a quantitative approach for this research project would
negatively affect the data collection process, as the detailed responses would
be replaced with numerical, objective data. The approach is therefore more
appropriate for understanding social life in terms of processes (Strauss &
Corbin, 1998; Bryman, 2012).

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The qualitative data for the research project will stem from semi-structured
interview responses from questions formulated specifically in relation to the
social, political and cultural conditions and contexts from which the Pompey
Supporters Trust emerged (see appendix A). The questions that will form the
research project justify a qualitative approach, as they are all dependent on
subjective opinions. For example, questions relating to the conditions and
contexts of football during the 1990s and early 2000s, which led to the
emergence of the Pompey Supporters Trust. Moreover, the interviewee’s
responses when discussing Supporters Direct and the political aspect of the
supporters’ trust movement are truly subjective.
The reliability of qualitative data has to be taken into consideration when
using this research method. For example, conceptual issues have an effect on
the measurement of validity and reliability of qualitative researchers (Mason,
2002). Reaves (1992) supports the ideology that qualitative data provides rich
descriptions of the social world; therefore, for this research project it would
have been inappropriate for the study to apply a quantitative approach as rich
descriptions of social conditions are imperative. Despite Mason’s critique of
reliability, the study lends itself to qualitative data because of the detailed
semi-structured interview responses gathered.
Sampling
There are two main approaches to sampling when conducting research,
theoretical sampling or purposeful sampling. A theoretical approach applies
theory in qualitative research through the investigation of the empirical social
world. However, purposeful sampling is a rather different approach in which
the researcher selects cases that will fit the purpose of the study and provide
rich, detailed data (Emmel, 2013). Richards & Morse (2007) suggest a third
potential approach, in the form of convenience sampling. Convenience
sampling allows the researcher to use cases that are readily available to be
invited to participate in the study making the process easier and less time
consuming for the researcher, however this may result in a lower quality
sample.

18

A purposeful sample was the most appropriate sample for this study. A
purposeful approach lends itself towards gaining a great deal of rich data and
learning a vast amount about the research question. Purposeful sampling
allows the researcher not to focus on theoretical orthodoxy, as the qualitative
nature of the study focuses on seeking out rich data and comparing and
contrasting the responses available (Emmel, 2013). Furthermore, a purposeful
sample allows the researcher to link between the sampling strategy and the
research project, for example in this case the participants were chosen
because of their association with the specific topic of supporters’ trusts and
the modernisation of football (Neergaard, 2007).
Purposeful sampling is only beneficial if the researcher selects information
rich cases that are relevant to the study. Therefore in this study it was
important to select cases that had knowledge about the subject area, for
example choosing members of the Pompey Supporters Trust board ensured the
interview questions could be very specific about the formation of the trust
itself. The researcher can gain ‘a great deal about matters of central
importance to the purpose of the research’ when this is the case (Patton,
1990: p169).
Method
To create the sample for the study, a purposeful sampling approach was used.
The first step was to contact potential participants via email; this included
several members of the Pompey Supporters Trust board who were found via
the Pompey Supporters Trust website. From this first step there were three
participants who responded suggesting they were willing to be interviewed. A
sample of six participants was necessary to conduct the research; therefore
the second step was to send a second round of emails, to a broader spectrum
of potential participants. This included members and former members of
Supporters Direct, who were again found via the Supporters Direct website.
Moreover, the same email was sent to journalists and authors who have
written on the subject area of supporter ownership and the affect of the re-
development and modernisation of the game during the 1990s.

19

This second round of emails provided the final three participants suggesting
they were willing to be interviewed. Further emails were then sent out to the
six willing participants explaining the study in more detail and to address any
other issues the participants may have had. Where this was necessary, the
participant discussed the research topic over the phone in more detail. The
third step was to continue exchanging emails with the six participants in order
to confirm times and dates for interviews to take place, with the interviews
conducted by telephone calls in all six cases. The participants were assured
before the interview that the information gathered would only be used for the
purpose of the dissertation.
The purposeful sampling approach for this study resulted in the researcher
selecting six males, all of whom were aged over 18. The sample includes; two
direct members of the Pompey Supporters Trust, chairman, Ken Malley and
ex-chairman, Ashley Brown, furthermore, Colin Farmery the PR consultant for
Portsmouth Football Club. Additionally, the head of policy and PR at
Supporters Direct, Kevin Rye, and Dave Boyle, the ex-chief executive of
Supporters Direct were selected, despite not being direct members of the
Pompey Supporters Trust. Finally, the sixth participant, Jim Keoghan, a
freelance football writer who has a link to the research project, as author of
‘Punk Football – The rise of fan ownership in English football’, a book that
focuses on supporter ownership and the supporters’ trust movement in
England.
Semi-structured electronic interviews were best suited to the research
project as they allow the researcher to lead the question, however the
response can take any shape the interviewee feels appropriate (Cassell &
Symon, (2004). It is the researchers responsibility to interpret the responses
accordingly and apply this to the research project. Semi-structured interviews
allow the researcher to be organised, for example asking the same leading
questions to all interviewee’s. However, the more rich and complex answers
are provided as a result of the open-ended nature of semi-structured
interviewing, where the responses differ from each participant because of
their subjective indifferences (see appendix B) (Richards & Morse, 2007;
Adams & Hicks, 2009).

20

Thematic analysis
The analysis of data can be managed in a number of ways depending on the
nature of the study, for example if it is a qualitative or quantitative study. In
this study, once the qualitative data had been collected it was necessary to
note down the important recurring themes from the responses. Ensuring a
thematic analysis was used to code the data in more detail. This approach
allowed the researcher to order and synthesise the data in an appropriate
way. When using a qualitative approach, the most appropriate way to analyse
the data is to arrange the data into conceptual themes. Once these
conceptual themes had been developed, the researcher could then create
further core themes and concepts for the data to be categorised into
(Neuman, W. 2013).
These core themes can later be represented in a matrix or an index (Bryman,
A. 2012; Bryman & Burgess, 1994). In this study the researcher used an index
to place all core themes into before processing the most relevant data into
the index. When processing the data the researcher identified similarities in
the data and coded each of the semi-structured interview responses into
these core themes accordingly. This organised indexing allowed the
researcher to systematically process the themed data and interpret the
different responses appropriately (see appendix C).
Ethics
The study has been ethically justified to ensure there are no conditions that
may negatively affect the findings. An ethics consent form was appropriately
filled out to ensure that there would be no detrimental impact on the
environment, habitat or any living species. Ethical consent was given by
Southampton Solent University and the dissertation tutor to ensure there were
no breaches of ethics throughout the entirety of the study (see appendix D)
(British Sociological Association, 2002).

21

Discussion
This discussion focuses on the aims of the study, which were to investigate
the cultural, social and political conditions and contexts from which the
Pompey Supporters Trust emerged, as well as investigating the issues of
democratic ownership models, the role of Supporters Direct and political
backing for the supporters’ trust movement in England.
The emergence of the Pompey Supporters Trust
Poignantly, the supporters’ trust movement began in 1992, the same year as
the introduction of the Premier League, with the formation of the
Northampton Town Supporters Trust. The aim of the first supporter’s trust
was to unite in an attempt to gain influence at board level. Something
supporter’s of other clubs quickly realised could be beneficial at their clubs as
the Premier League rapidly transformed active supporters into passive
customers. The Premier League created conditions where the importance of
football supporters was subsidised for the influx of revenue through television
deals and lucrative sponsorship opportunities.
Since 1992, many trusts have formed to try and affect the way their club is
governed at the highest level. Supporters of non-league clubs to supporters of
Premier League clubs have attempted to create an environment for increased
supporter involvement at their clubs. Ultimately, the reason supporters feel
it’s necessary to do so is because football supporters have a connection to
their club that is completely non-commercial. Before the Premier League,
football clubs had very strong community values. However since 1992, an
increasing number of clubs have disregarded the local community in favour of
exploiting foreign markets to increase revenue.
Jim Keoghan is a freelance football writer, and author of ‘Punk Football – The
rise of supporter ownership in English football’. He says, “Trusts have
emerged because fans have changed, as the game has changed over the last
20 years. Ticket prices have risen, there’s been a feeling, certainly at the
top, but also as you go down the leagues that there is a disconnect between

22

the fans and the club”. This quote bares significance to the emergence of the
Pompey Supporters Trust, certainly, as Portsmouth Football Club were a top-
flight club when a number of incompetent owners cost the club administration
and relegation to the fourth tier of English football. The formation of the
Pompey Supporters Trust was a direct response to the growing disconnect
between the clubs supporter’s and the clubs owners. The timing of the trust
being formed was crucial as the existence of the club was in extreme doubt.
Martin (2007) stated that supporters’ trusts have the most potential to
influence the governance of clubs. Colin Farmery is the ex-spokesperson for
the Pompey Supporters Trust; now press consultant for Portsmouth Football
Club. He suggested, “Fans realised that the only way you were going to have
a chance of shaping anything was to take collective action”. It reached a
stage where it was no longer feasible for the supporters of Portsmouth
Football Club to watch their club fall into administration and face liquidation.
Goldblatt (2014) perfectly depicts how a football club is nothing more than
the collective memories and investments of hopes and dreams of generations
of supporters. Certainly, Portsmouth supporters felt this connection and the
formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust was crucial to ensure the long-term
future of the club.
The formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust was a direct response to a
financial crisis at the club. Ken Malley, the Chairman of the Pompey
Supporters Trust says, “Our supporters’ trust was formed because it was very
clear at the time that we were in severe financial trouble, there was every
chance at that time of liquidation”.
The disappointing reality of the supporters’ trust movement thus far is that
the majority of trusts are formed as a result of financial crises. This is
disappointing in the sense that supporters are often held back from forming a
supporters’ trust solely because it would increase democratic governance at
their club. If there was a culture for supporters’ trusts to develop when a club
was not faced with a crisis, the movement may grow stronger.

23

Portsmouth Football Club was the first club of such a substantial size to pull
off a majority supporter ownership stake in their club in England. This alone
demonstrates the power supporters have to influence the way their club is
governed. Moreover, other European clubs larger in stature than Portsmouth
have seen great success with a supporter ownership model, for example FC
Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich. The emergence of the Pompey Supporters
Trust can be seen as a positive acquisition, one that other supporter’s in
England can follow.
Ashley Brown is the ex-Chairman of the Pompey Supporters Trust. He
described the main aim of the trust when it was being formed and how it
attempts to restore the social conditions for Portsmouth supporters to re-
engage with their club. “The aim of the trust was really to get a stronger
voice for supporters, and ideally potentially get representation on the board
of the football club or in fact a significant element of ownership of the
football club”.
It is important to understand the wider role the Pompey Supporters Trust has
within the community of the city of Portsmouth, the trust recognises the
needs of different supporters. By welcoming more women and children to
games, as well as creating an environment that rejects homophobia and
racism, the trust is succeeding in what Brown et al (2008, p310) state as to
‘build community’. Ultimately, this is most important, as the previous
ownership models in place at Portsmouth Football Club were making the
majority of supporters feel disconnected and uninvolved with the club.
The objectives for the Pompey Supporters Trust are perpetually changing. The
most significant goal for the trust is to sustain the long-term success of
Portsmouth Football Club, on and off the pitch. Certainly, as the very
supporters who care about the history and future of the club now control it,
this is a very realistic goal. The importance of having a one vote per member
system in place is that every decision that will affect the future of the club is
now approached in a rational, democratic way.

24

The formation of Supporters Direct and the democratisation of English
football clubs
Supporters Direct is the organisation that was given the task of democratising
football clubs and supporting the ideology of supporter ownership (Kennedy,
2012). The formation of Supporters Direct in 2000 was a crucial development
for the supporters’ trust movement. Without Supporters Direct, supporters
looking to create a group to enforce democratic decisions at their club would
have lacked knowledge and funding.
Davis-Delano (2008, p116) suggests that ‘contrary to the perceived division
between sport and politics, some social movements are, in fact, associated
with sport’. There is no doubt in this case, that football and politics are very
much connected. Tony Blair’s New-Labour government assisted the
introduction of Supporters Direct. Without this government backing, the
organisation would have lacked the funding and support, much like the
supporters who were relying on Supporters Direct itself.
The responses from participants certainly suggested the New-Labour
government offered a lot of support in the early stages of Supporters Direct,
but whether there has been continued support for the supporters’ trust
movement and enough change in the way football clubs are governed is
contestable. The supporters’ trust movement has invigorated the level of
involvement football supporters have within their clubs, until the government
realises the potential this movement has there will be a slow progression, if
any progression at all.
Supporters Direct has provided assistance to nearly every club looking to form
a supporters’ trust. Certainly their role within the formation of the Pompey
Supporters Trust was major. The prospect of Supporters Direct helping to
democratise Portsmouth Football Club as a supporter owned club provided
both organisations with the opportunity to develop. Portsmouth Football Club
was the first club of such large stature that Supporters Direct had worked
with, this was significant for Supporters Direct to provide evidence to other
clubs that they could indeed provide appropriate support for clubs. In terms

25

of Portsmouth, the formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust was essential in
terms of solely ensuring the existence of the club.
Dave Boyle is the ex-Chief Executive of Supporters Direct. He explained the
role of Supporters Direct within the initial set up of the Pompey Supporters
Trust, “Supporters Direct was called into assist at that point, so we did what
we’d done at every club where this was an issue, which was to essentially
help create the Pompey Supporters Trust by giving them the template
documentation to actually start the supporters trust”.
Colin Farmery explains that Supporters Direct were influential in the early
stages of the formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust. “Supporters Direct
were there to help, advise and support us to ensure we set up the trust in a
way that was going to work”. The evidence suggests that Supporters Direct
encouraged the Pompey Supporters Trust to set up the trust in a way that
would encourage a sustainable future for Portsmouth Football Club.
However, Ken Malley, the newest chairman of the Pompey Supporters Trust
suggests that because Portsmouth Football Club was the first club of its size
to try and gain ownership through a supporters’ trust in Britain, Supporters
Direct also went through a number of learning curves during the process.
“They were a great help to us at the time, having said that I think they also
learnt a lot from us, as much as we were the first people to pull off anything
of this size”.
The process of forming the Pompey Supporters Trust was a new experience for
both organisations, therefore the assistance from Supporters Direct on issues
such as documents and legal files was extremely important. Many average
football supporters have felt let down by the lack of support from the
government towards the supporters’ trust movement, however the on-going
work of Supporters Direct has ensured those supporters who need the
necessary support, can access it.
Kevin Rye is the head of policy and PR at Supporters Direct. He discussed the
importance of Supporters Direct within the wider democratisation of English

26

clubs, as well as the role of the organisation in relation to the formation of
the Pompey Supporters Trust. He maintains that, “without that organisation
(Supporters Direct) the Pompey Supporters Trust wouldn’t have been
formed”. There is no argument that the Pompey Supporters Trust could not
have grown and made the progress it has without Supporters Direct, the
organisation has helped shape the supporters’ trust movement since its
formation. There has been a consistent culture in England that has accepted
undemocratic ownership models within football clubs. Yet the continued
efforts of Supporters Direct are encouraging football supporters to have a
greater influence at their clubs.
Supporters Direct and supporters’ trusts confront the undemocratic ownership
models that are becoming increasingly common since the formation of the
Premier League. The social contexts from which the Pompey Supporters Trust
was formed came as a result of a financial crisis whilst the club was in the
Premier League. It would not have been a surprise if a crisis occurred at
another club in the Premier League; such is the commonality of misguided
ownership within the top flight of English football.
Despite the success of a number of supporter owned clubs, Portsmouth
Football Club, AFC Wimbledon, and FC United of Manchester, to name just
three, the acceptance of undemocratic ownership models as long as there is
success on the pitch is still normality. Having an understanding that
supporters’ trusts become involved in the everyday governance of a football
club, and the responsibility they assume allows those who are members to
influence the direction of their club in both social and business terms, is
important for all supporters (Cleland, 2010).
Jim Keoghan believes that perhaps a “fundamental reform of football” is
necessary to create a culture in England where the majority of football
supporters are willing to move away from the norm of undemocratic
ownership, in favour of democratic decisions at board level.

27

Critical analysis of the effect of undemocratic ownership models and the
influence of supporter involvement at football clubs
The culture of English football has seen undemocratic ownership models in
place for many years. Undemocratic ownership was successful for the
majority of clubs from the early history of the game. Through the post-war
years, up until the 1990s, the majority of football club owners would be local
men, but most importantly, they were often supporters of the clubs they
owned. The issues with undemocratic ownership models have arisen since the
formation of the Premier League, as football club owners are more likely to
be multi-billionaire oligarchs. This new breed of football club owner often has
no connection to the supporters or the club, which was not previously the
case.
The chairman of the Pompey Supporters Trust, Ken Malley, believes there has
been a fundamental cultural shift in concern to football club owners.
Suggesting “club owners have got very little interest in the supporters at
all”, of course this is a general statement about all football club owners, but
the reality is that in general, this is true, especially at the top level of English
football. As a result of the lucrative financial rewards the Premier League
offers, too many football club owners are tempted into overspending to reach
the Premier League, which ultimately risks placing the club in millions of
pounds worth of debt.
Certainly in Portsmouth’s case the previous owners had little interest in the
supporters, something the Pompey Supporters Trust aims to change as a result
of their majority stake hold in the club. Portsmouth Football Club saw
successive ownership models that were not sustainable; Kevin Rye explains
that it is not solely the club owners that are responsible for financial
downfalls, but also that the cultural conditions for which they exist has a role
to play. “Whoever the owner would be there would be a problem, the fact
that they’re foreign is less of an issue. It’s more about the fact there’s no
rules to make that attachment fixed, and that’s important when it comes to
football because they’re more than businesses”.

28

There is too much belief in England that football clubs are businesses,
whereas elsewhere in Europe, for example in Germany, the culture that exists
for football club ownership models is radically different. The majority of clubs
have some form of supporter ownership model, the 50%+1 rule ensures that
the majority stake hold within German clubs lies with the members club,
rather than external investors. Dave Boyle suggests that this culture creates a
far superior experience for football fandom, where the supporters are the
main priority. “There is a reason why the German fan experience is better
and that’s because the people who make the decisions in clubs are
accountable for those fans”.
Author Jim Keoghan believes the “key difference between a country like
Germany and a country like England is that there is a sports law in Germany”.
The implementation of rules in Germany that enforce some form of supporter
involvement at clubs creates the cultural conditions for the supporters’ trust
movement to be successful, whereas in England there are no legal rules to
abide by. Of course, copying the German system completely may not be the
answer, however, certain changes to the structure that currently exists in
England may benefit football clubs and supporters throughout the country.
Undoubtedly, a supporter ownership model should not be forced on every
club, as in some cases it is not necessary, or may not be feasible (Smith,
2000). Colin Farmery makes a valid suggestion that “a lot of Manchester City
supporters would not necessarily want supporter ownership imposed on
them”, ultimately this is true, the model they have under Sheikh Mansour is a
successful model, culminating in the recent development of a £200 million
training complex that will ensure the future of the clubs young emerging
talent.
The argument that can be made is that of supporter involvement compared to
supporter ownership. Although it may be unnecessary for Manchester City to
share an ownership model where they are majority owned by its supporters,
as with Portsmouth Football Club, it would seem unlikely that the supporters
of Manchester City would appose to having some form of involvement with
decisions that affect the club.

29

English football supporters currently do not have an active relationship with
their club, unless there is a supporters’ trust, or supporter group in place. The
active or passive debate has developed from the changing relationship
between football supporters and their clubs as a result of the re-development
of the game in the 1990s. Certainly, the demographical shift in football
supporters during the 1990s to a more middle class audience has created a
consumerist environment where supporters are happy to have a passive
relationship with their club (Cleland, 2010).
Yet, the supporters’ trust movement is growing, the Pompey Supporters Trust
aims to create an environment that encapsulates the supporter ownership
model, whilst still being successful on the pitch. For many supporter owned
clubs however, the success on the pitch will come second to the knowledge
that the club is being governed in a democratic, sustainable way. For
example, creating links within the community and encouraging social equality
for supporters is of the same importance to the Pompey Supporters Trust, as
winning football matches. To win matches is of course important, but to
implement a sustainable model which ensures a foreseeable future of football
for a club whilst promoting these types of positive links to the community is
invariably more important and beneficial.
Ultimately, for supporters who wish to have an active relationship with their
club, if the demand is there, it can happen. Football supporters have long
been the heartbeat of their clubs, and they will continue to be the future of
their football clubs. Dave Boyle says, “in my mind supporter ownership is the
way forward for every club”. Although, on reflection it may not be
appropriate for every club to be supporter owned, the sentiment that all
football clubs should have some level of democratic supporter involvement
remains appropriate.

30

Conclusion
This dissertation has attempted to address the importance of supporter
involvement and supporters’ trusts within the context of modern football. The
overwhelming amount of revenue that has been introduced into football as a
result of the Premier League ‘product’ and the television audience it attracts
has had a major impact on the average football supporter in England. Since
1992, many supporters have felt detached from their club as football club
owners look to spend millions of pounds to secure success on the pitch, often
resulting in mass debt and a complete disregard for the supporters who
followed the club long before their arrival.
The number of clubs, throughout all the English leagues, that have been taken
over by wealthy businessmen since the formation of the Premier League is
vast. The interview responses demonstrated an opinion that the majority of
club owners do not have the best interests of the football club or its
supporters at heart. The fundamental heartbeat of a football club is the local
community, subsequently; any person with the intention of buying into a
football club must remember this.
Drawing from literature, it is clear the notion of a club relocating to a new
stadium, miles outside of the club’s town or city, is one that is common in
modern football (Dubal, 2010). This is detrimental not only to life-long
supporters, who live locally and have always had accessible ways of getting to
home matches, but also to local businesses such as pubs and restaurants that
thrive off match day crowds. The problem facing football supporters is their
lack of influence in regards to these issues. The FA, The Premier League and
The Football League have not shown enough support to supporters for an
increase in democratically ran football clubs.
Findings
Supporters Direct and the supporters’ trust movement have undoubtedly
galvanised the opportunities for supporters to actively engage with their
clubs. The supporters’ trust movement has developed radically in a short time

31

period as an abundance of supporters have seen the beneficiaries of supporter
influence at football clubs. Although as Kennedy & Kennedy (2007) stated, the
formation of a supporters’ trust is only likely to occur when there is a
financial crisis at a club, in the vast majority of cases whenever a supporters’
trust has emerged, it has been successful. Supporters’ trusts provide the
opportunity for democratic decisions to be made at board level. The aim of
supporters’ trusts is to address the disenfranchisement of football supporters
that has developed within modern football.
Evidently, the Pompey Supporters Trust was formed from the circumstances
that exist as a result of the bourgeoisification of modern football. The
participants all shared the opinion that the economical conditions in football
are completely unbalanced throughout England, leading to many supporters,
including Portsmouth supporters to feel detached from their club. Therefore
the paramount aim of regaining attachment to the club was best achieved by
forming a supporters’ trust.
By establishing a cooperative relationship between the supporters and the
club, the long-term future of the club becomes the main priority. Whereas for
clubs with undemocratic ownership, short-term success far too often
outweighs the importance of longevity, it is common for a club owner to
spend beyond their income to pursue success through a trophy or promotion,
without thinking of the consequences that may occur if they fail to succeed
(Millward, 2013).
The reality is that unless a club faces a financial crisis, the likelihood of
supporters forming a trust to challenge an ownership model that is successful,
for example Manchester City, is unrealistic. The success of supporter owned
clubs such as Portsmouth and AFC Wimbledon should continue to be an
inspiration for supporters’ trusts forming as a result of financial crises,
however the future for supporter ownership in England will need to be
developed through continued pressure on the government for a reformation of
the law concerning the governance of football clubs.

32

The formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust has shown that if the demand
for supporter ownership is high enough, then it can be achieved. The Pompey
Supporters Trust has achieved its original aims of securing the long-term
future of Portsmouth Football Club. Furthermore, the trust continues to set
new aims and objectives as the supporters opinions are listened too. Although
the on-field performances of Portsmouth Football Club may still be a
disappointment to the supporters, as the club sits in League Two, the duty,
care, concern and stewardship for the club from a governance perspective is
providing an alternative option for all undemocratically ran football clubs.
The participants certainly advocated that football supporters have proven
they can obtain power from the games authorities. Supporter ownership, or at
least increased supporter involvement at football clubs is the future for
football. The future of the game is not sustainable with the current model,
the number of clubs facing administration or crisis increases season by season,
despite the revenue into the game increasing each year. Ultimately, this
dissertation has further proven that the supporters’ trust movement in
England is developing rapidly; and Portsmouth Football Club and the Pompey
Supporters Trust can be seen as the pioneers in that development.
Recommendations
Time constraints, as well as geographical and financial constrictions have
limited this dissertation. Recommendations for further research within this
field would include using a higher sample of participants. This study only
focused on the Pompey Supporters Trust, there were no participants from
other supporters’ trusts in England. Further investigations could address the
social, cultural and political contexts, from which various other supporters’
trusts were formed, to conclude whether modern football has impacted upon
them in the same way. If the financial and geographical abilities gave the
opportunity to interview members of three other supporter owned clubs, AFC
Wimbledon, FC United of Manchester and Exeter City, this would be
interesting to compare and contrast to the Pompey Supporters Trust and
Portsmouth Football Club.

33

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41

Sample interview questions
Introduction
Could you please introduce yourself for the purpose of the interview?
What is the Pompey Supporters Trust?
How does it work?
What is your role within the Pompey Supporters Trust?
Modernisation of football
What are your opinions of the re-development of football during the 1990s?
Do you believe that disasters such as Hillsborough, and the following Taylor
report in 1990 was the main contributor to the redevelopment of English
football?
How different do you feel the Premier League is now to when it was formed?
Do you believe football club owners truly have the interests of supporters at
heart?
Was the formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust a direct response to bad
ownership models?
Had there been discussions of forming the Pompey Supporters Trust before
the administrations?
Commercialisation
How do you feel commercialisation has affected football from the 1990s to
the present day?
Would you agree that there is a social divide within football? Specifically in
terms of owners and supporters?
Does the Pompey Supporters Trust aim to decrease that social divide?
Is this why supporter’s trusts are becoming more common?
Politics
Do you feel the Labour government was important in the development of
supporter ownership?
Do you think there is still enough support from the government for supporter
ownership?

42

Supporter’s Direct & supporters trusts
What are your views on the role of Supporter’s Direct?
Can you explain the role of Supporter’s Direct in the formation of the Pompey
Supporters Trust?
Am I correct in saying the Pompey Supporters Trust now owns the club and has
paid off all debts?
This is surely clear evidence that the supporter ownership model is a working
model?

43

Sample interview questions
Introduction
Could you please introduce yourself for the purpose of the interview?
What is your current job title?
What can you tell me about Supporters Trusts?
How do they work?
What are your opinions of the re-development of football during the 1990s?
Do you believe that disasters such as Hillsborough, and the following Taylor
report in 1990 was the main contributor to the redevelopment of English
football?
How different do you feel the Premier League is now to when it was formed?
Do you believe football club owners truly have the interests of supporters at
heart?
Are the formations of Supporters Trusts such as the Pompey Supporters Trust
a direct response to bad ownership models?
What do you think would have happened to Portsmouth Football Club had the
Pompey Supporters Trust not been formed?
Commercialisation
How do you feel commercialisation has affected football from the 1990s to
the present day?
Would you agree that there is a social divide within football? Specifically in
terms of owners and supporters?
Does the Pompey Supporters Trust and other supporter’s trusts aim to
decrease that social divide?
Is this why supporter’s trusts are becoming more common?
Politics
Do you feel the Labour government was important in the development of
supporter ownership?

44

Do you think there is still enough support from the government for supporter
ownership?
What are your views on the role of Supporter’s Direct?
Can you explain the role of Supporter’s Direct in the formation of the
Supporters Trusts?
There is surely clear evidence that the supporter ownership model is a
working model? For example, Portsmouth FC now being debt free

46

Sample interview transcript
(26 January 2015)
Introduction
(I) “For the purpose of the interview, could you please introduce
yourself?”
(R) “I’m **** ****, I’m director of the Pompey Supporters Trust and a director
of Portsmouth Football Club”
(I) “What is the Pompey Supporters Trust?”
(R) “(The) Pompey Supporters Trust is a not for profit organisation that was
set up a few years ago. Under the umbrella of Supporters Direct, the aim of
the trust is really to get a stronger voice for supporters, and ideally
potentially get representation on the board of the football club or in fact a
significant element of ownership of the football club. We’ve been lucky
enough of course to do all of those things in the last couple of years.”
(I) “What is your current role within the Pompey Supporters Trust?”
(R) “As far as the trust is concerned, my main role is to represent the trust
from the board of Portsmouth Football Club.”
(I) “Does the Pompey Supporters Trust work independently from
Portsmouth Football Club or do the two organisations work together?”
(R) “Well there’s a certain amount of synergy, but there’s also a difference in
the roles as well. So, the trust obviously has three of its board on the football
club board, so we have significant amount of duties in steering the football
club strategically. Working on a number of significant projects around the
football club. The trust of course has its own identity and it’s own challenges,
it has to look to increase its own membership, it manages various fundraising
community type events. So although there are different synergies between
the organisations, there is of course a common goal, which is to sustain the
long-term success of Portsmouth Football Club. The trust also has its own
areas in which it works as well.
(I) “What are your opinions of the re-development of football during the
1990s?”
(R) “Well I think football has changed tremendously in the last 20 years in this
country. SKY TV has been the main trigger for the change, and the huge
amounts of money that has flooded the game. I think that there are some
positives from that, but there also a lot of negatives but hopefully football is
starting to learn. I think we went through a period of time where far too high

47

a percentage of the income was going straight back into players pockets, and
also the managers and staff etc. The average supporter was just on the end of
bad service, more expensive ticket prices, but perhaps arguably, better
football in the top league. But I think we still have a tremendous in-balance,
so we still have outside of the Premier League a large number of league clubs
that are struggling to stay afloat, struggling to balance the books. Kids that
are struggling to find a pitch that is playable in the winter months, so there is
still lots wrong with the overall game of football and there must be further
distribution of the wealth that we now see in the English game.”
(I) “In terms of what the Pompey Supporters Trust does, compared to some
Premier League owners, do you believe, generally, that football club
owners have the supporters interests at heart?”
(R) “I think that if you or I were to generalise across the Premier League I
would say that the majority of owners don’t have the supporters interests at
heart. The majority of owners are not traditional, English football fans, they
don’t understand the game, they weren’t brought up being hardened fans of
the particular club that they own. They’re people that made a lot of money
else where, and people that treat the football club as yet another one of their
businesses, or in some cases are still their own personal plaything.”
(I) “Do you think the divide between a football club and its supporters has
got worse as the Premier League has developed?”
(R) “Undoubtedly, I don’t want to cast dispersions on all foreigners but we
have seen a huge influx of foreign owners. It’s a bit of a generalisation but
those foreign owners tend to have less interest in the history of the club, less
interest in the history of the supporters, generally less interest in embracing
the way in which most of the local community view their football clubs.”
(I) “Was the formation of the Pompey Supporters Trust a direct response
to bad ownership models from a foreign owner?”
(R) “Absolutely, I wasn’t actually involved in the original formation of the
trust, although I joined it fairly soon afterwards. But the guys that were
involved were definitely rebelling against what was coming, or another way
you can look at it, they were making sure that there was a safety net and
some protection for the football club in the longer term. Although when they
formed the trust things on the surface may have seemed fairly rosy, I think
it’s fair to say that they could see the underlying problems that were coming
our way. They could see the huge mismanagement of the finances that had
already started to happen.”
(I) “Even though you weren’t directly involved in the early stages, what
can you tell me about the timeframe between the early ideas of the trust
and the administrations the club endured?”
(R) “I’m not too familiar with the timelines of the formation but I know that
some of the guys involved were certainly talking about it for a significant
period of time before they actually managed to form a trust. I think there
were concerns from some in the way Portsmouth Football Club was run, it

48

goes back to prior to the Premier League. Of course we had a number of years
of success, and it’s very difficult (to understand) for the average fan that
things aren’t looking great. When we first saw significant problems, we saw
increased trust membership.”
Commercialisation
(I) “How do you feel the commercialisation of football since the formation
of the Premier League has affected fans?”
(R) “I guess you have to approach it from a couple of different ways. I’m
someone that first went to football in the early 1970s and enjoyed the good
old times of football, basic facilities and muddy pitches, and that’s what we
were used to. The passion on the terraces and the passion in the community
was tremendous. What you’ve seen, for various reasons, not just because of
money, but increased concerns around safety etc, the whole game has
changed. With that has come a newer fan and a larger cross section of people
that want to go to football. The experience has changed, it’s about making
sure that people can watch a game in comfort and have access to hot and cold
drinks etc, and of course that’s a good thing as well.”
(I) “Do you think there is a social divide between football clubs and it’s
supporters? Does the Pompey Supporters Trust aim to address this?”
(R) “I think you have to recognise what different types of supporters want. We
obviously welcome a lot more women and children into our football ground.
We make sure we provide for the less able, and football grounds are not
places that encourage homophobia or racism etc. So we have to, not just as a
trust but as a football club, try to make sure that we provide facilities and
look at what all of those different groups across our community want and
expect when they come to football.”
Politics
(I) “Do you feel the Labour government was/has been important in the
development of supporter ownership?”
(R) “I think not, I think they should have done more. I think they for many
many years, when they were in power they did nothing. It’s easy to shout
from opposition but I think successive governments have let the average
football fan down. I’m hopeful that it will be something that is addressed
sooner rather than later. I’m lucky enough to be involved in a government
expert working group looking at this now. I hope that rather than it being a
potential vote winner for any particular party in May, that whoever is in
power following the general election actually acts on this and does something
to protect the average fan and football as a whole in this country.”

49

(I) “Can you tell me in more detail what Supporter’s Direct is, and what
they do?”
(R) “Supporter’s Direct are effectively the overall umbrella organisation for
supporters trusts in this country. They’re able to offer a certain amount of
support and guidance to trusts who are trying to carry out some sort of action
in their local community. They can offer overall leadership for the trusts and
campaign and lobby at government level. Generally they represent the
average fan, of not just clubs in the Premier League and Football League but
also non-league clubs around the country.”
(I) “How much of a help were Supporter’s Direct in the formation of the
Pompey Supporters Trust?”
(R) “I think that they were very helpful when the trust was originally formed,
and in trying to grow the trust and encourage membership. When we went
through the actual acquisition of the football club, we were covering such
new ground that perhaps Supporters Direct were not able to help as much as
I’d hoped they could. But they could help future trusts in a similar situation as
we were.”
(I) “Am I correct in saying Portsmouth Football Club is now debt free?”
(R) “Yeah we paid off all the debt that we inherited so yes our only real debt
is what you would consider sort of business as normal debt that is paid off on
a month to month basis. So yes, we have (paid off all our debts).”
(I) “Finally then, this says to me that the supporter ownership model is a
working model that all clubs could potentially look to follow, would you
share that opinion?”
(R) “The key is that people underestimate the skills and professionalism that
can be pulled from a supporter base. What is good for us is that we have a
strong board all with significant business experience. We care about not just
the now for our club but we care about both the history and the future of our
club. We take all those things in mind before we make every single decision
and approach in a rational way. Yes is your answer.
(I) “Thank you for your time”

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