How’s that working out for you, Thomson, you bald twat?
“DUNDEE UNITED chairman Stephen Thompson crawled into bed at one in the morning and knew an insomniac had more chance of getting a good night’s sleep than he did.
Four hours earlier, on Thursday night, he had released a club statement that promised United would be voting “no” when the SPL met to discuss a Rangers newco.
And last night he outlined to Record Sport the hard facts of life as they apply to standing up for what you believe in:
? If an extra 1000 United fans buy season tickets they will pay for the loss of games with Rangers.
? United wouldn’t last five years without ample box office backing.
? Other clubs have to stand up and make their position on Rangers clear like United and Hearts.
The Tannadice declaration was seen as another nail in Gers’ coffin and the start of a move to demote the Ibrox club to the lower leagues.
But that wasn’t what destroyed the Tannadice chairman’s chances of getting his first decent night’s kip for months.
His main concern was how the United fans would respond to his rallying cry to show the club support before the financial consequences of Rangers’ departure from the top flight hit home.
Then Thompson woke up to find there were queues outside the ground to buy tickets and his email inbox was full of messages of congratulation from supporters of other clubs.
However, he told Record Sport he couldn’t feel any sense of elation because he was too knackered to take it all in.
What had lifted Thompson’s spirits, though, was a chance meeting with one ticket-buyer whose decision to spend £265 was all the more remarkable because he will never see the team play.
He revealed: “The guy told me was in the city on a visit from Australia. He agreed with the decision we had taken as a club and decided to buy a season ticket he would donate to a fan before going back Down Under.
“Then I turned on my computer and there were messages from fans of all sorts of clubs saying well done for coming out and making United’s stand a matter of public record.
“On my way out of the ground to go for a quiet coffee I also met a fan who said he wasn’t going to buy a season ticket if we had approved a newco but was now getting four.
“The past few months have been stressful on a personal basis.
“I like to think I’m thick-skinned but you have to be concerned whether the fans will back the board after we’ve made our decision on the game’s biggest issue.
“It’s a big risk and you don’t take these matters lightly.
“There’s a feeling that you want to do what’s right and a realisation that doing the right thing brings with it a huge financial pressure.
“It was a massive decision for us to take and a tough one as well.
“But if we can sell an extra 1000 season tickets that will compensate us for the loss of SPL fixtures against Rangers next season.
“Without them? No club.”
Thompson has to involve his club’s supporters in everything he says because he needs them to understand the power they wield beyond being the driving force behind a “no to newco” vote.
He added: “If a club fails to listen to its customers then it dies, it’s as simple as that. Without our fans’ full backing Dundee United dies in five or six years.
“We stuck our heads above the parapet when we went public and some other clubs might have to be put under pressure before they will do the same.
“There’s a feeling of anxiety about Sky TV and whether they’ll walk if Rangers aren’t in the SPL next season.
“The new, five-year deal we have with them isn’t signed yet but I’m also looking at the knock-on effects of taking a stance on the newco vote. I spoke to people at Hearts and they’ve noticed an immediate uplift in ticket sales after Vladimir Romanov’s statement that he couldn’t back Rangers’ right to stay in the SPL.
“I’m even looking ahead to the day when we might be thinking in terms of an SPL channel, owned by the supporters and clubs.”
In the meantime, Thompson has the satisfaction of knowing he has listened to the supporters and played fair.
He said: “We simply couldn’t raise season-ticket prices.
“Our ticket is only a couple of pounds more expensive than Dundee’s – and we’re offering the guarantee of SPL football.
“A rise will have to come one day because clubs are having to deal with increases in everything, from electricity to pies, but now is not that time.
“All of these things were buzzing round my head when I went home on Thursday night. Then my mobile had to deal with so many calls that it ran out of power about the same time as I did.
“I sat up until one o’clock and my small son woke up at six o’clock. You have to think about your family at a time like this because you want to protect them.
“But the bottom line is the long-term good of the game and what’s best for your club. And if you had a public vote among every supporter in the country, excluding the Rangers fans, 90 per cent of them would be in favour of United’s decision.”
