A group of Swindon Town supporters has formed to attempt to convince owner Clem Morfuni to sell the club.
With the club having moved level on points with the bottom of League Two after several years of declining on-pitch performance and off-field issues which have caused multiple EFL charges, a new fan-led protest group called The Spirit of ‘69 has been formed.
This new group has the sole aim of encouraging Morfuni to publicly welcome interest from external parties in buying the club.
Morfuni has previously stated that whilst he would be willing to listen to offers which force his hand, he is not actively looking to sell.
This new group has been created by two former TrustSTFC board members, Terry Pierce and Dan Hunt, along with the founder of The Loathed Strangers Podcast and Fanzine, Rich Pullen, and they plan to undergo a series of offline and online forms of protest to achieve their single aim.
Photoshopped image of the Don Rogers statue with the group’s orange branding (Image: The Spirit of ’69)
Pierce said: “Swindon Town is woven into the fabric of thousands of lives; families and friends have loved our club for generations.
“And today, as a group of like-minded fans, we can no longer sit on our hands and watch. The fanbase is split, and we want to unite behind this single cause because Town fans standing united, together is our only chance.
“We’re going to need help to do it though, and this won’t be quick or easy. If you love the club and want to demand better, back us, be patient with us, help us, and stand next to us on December 21.”
Protest action is planned to start ahead of the Grimsby Town home match on December 21, with discussion with dedicated football officers at Wiltshire Police underway with firm plans to follow.
Hunt said: “I have a 30-year association to Swindon Town Football Club, passed on to me by my father, Roy and now I’m introducing my own young children to a life of Swindon Town fandom. This isn’t a hobby or a pastime, this is part of the very fabric of my identity.
“We have a proud Football League history of 104 years to defend on the field, where the continued and gradual decline of Swindon Town’s off-field operations has inevitably seeped onto what we see on the pitch.
“If Clem Morfuni doesn’t have the will or desire to run Swindon Town competently as a business of significant value at the centre of our community, or the financial means to sustain it, then he has to sell the football club to someone who can.
“Through The Spirit of ’69, we will bang this drum loudly through organised and peaceful protest, and encourage like-minded Town supporters to join us in strong numbers, to hammer the message home. Here’s to the next 104 years.”
Pullen added: “Football fans do not have the God-given right to expect success on the pitch. However, as supporters, it is our duty and default setting to hold any ownership, past and future, to account to ensure that younger and future generations can support their football club.”
