Talks aimed at updating the current position of the mystery billionaire who has expressed an interest in investing in Carlisle United are to take place imminently, The Cumberland News has learned.
The position of managing director currently held by John Nixon will be left vacant to accommodate the backer’s plans when Mr Nixon steps down next week in a board reorganisation.
In a new development a position on the board is to be created for a fans’ representative who will have to apply for the role and undergo interview procedures.
The job is to be advertised.
Last week United pulled the plug on an investment proposal by businessman Andrew Lapping, deeming it unsatisfactory.
And in an exclusive interview, United chairman Andrew Jenkins asked for patience and belief from sceptics who are dubious about the existence of the billionaire, whose identity is top secret because of a confidentiality clause in negotiations at the backer’s insistence.
“Only three people at the club know who he is,” said Mr Jenkins. “Even the manager (Keith Curle) doesn’t know.
“These things take time. If you look at the Andrew Lapping experience, longer than a year passed by since we first sat face to face at the club.
“In the end it came to nothing and despite all the time and energy devoted to it, it is right that it came to nothing because in the final analysis it was sticking plaster. It would have solved a problem for a year or so.
“You need big money in football. You need big-hitters.
“For the past two or three years I have bankrolled the club myself. I didn’t want to see it go into administration.
“I have been here at the club for 55 years and I don’t want anything bad to ever happen to it.
“So it hurts when people doubt what you’re saying. The club has been and still is a big part of my life and it is wrong of people to think I’m telling lies or misleading them about ongoing talks with a seriously rich individual who is looking at what he can do for the football club.”
Mr Jenkins is keen to stress the positive aspects of current activities at the club, citing a recent example of a fan who had expressed his concerns about its welfare.
“This man, a lifelong fan, came along saying that he had had a stroke, was ill and couldn’t sleep at night worrying about what was happening at his beloved Carlisle United,” said Mr Jenkins.
“I invited him in, sat him down and went through every aspect of his misgivings. In the end he went away a much happier man, very much reassured and in a much more positive frame of mind.”
United have spent £20,000 on pitch improvements and £30,000 on bringing the floodlights up to the required standard.
There are plans for a 700-seat family zone in the Pioneer Stand and the creation of a crèche.
Season ticket sales are currently 167 higher than they were at this time last year, with 1,451 having been snapped up against a figure 12 months ago of 1,284.
Sales of the new replica home shirt are reportedly “brisk” while the new training kit is selling well. And there is a sense of pride within the club about the formation of the Carlisle United Official Wheelchair Football Club, which will play in the national league sporting club colours at their venues at Penrith Leisure Centre and Morton Academy.
The sales of bright young players Brad Potts to Blackpool and Kyle Dempsey to Huddersfield will potentially put £600,000 into club coffers depending upon their progress at their new clubs.
“Overall everything is going very well,” said Mr Jenkins.
“A sobering side of football is that some years ago John Courtney lost money in Carlisle United and more recently Fred Story lost money in Carlisle United. The same fate awaits me.
“But the door is wide open to investors who feel they can propel the club forward in the fashion of Blackpool, Blackburn, Leicester, Bournemouth and others who, through large cash injections, found their way into the Premier League.