Warren Barton has thrown his support behind an ambitious plan by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust to buy a stake in the club.
The NUST launched The 1892 Pledge in April and the long-term plan is to raise enough money to buy a stake in Newcastle when Mike Ashley sells the club to new owners.
The 1892 Pledge is three years in the making and is billed as a 'positive campaign' rather than a protest.
Newcastle fans are being asked to pledge money to give the Trust enough capital to enter into negotiations with any new or prospective new owners to buy a minimum of a 1% stake in the club to ensure supporter representation at the club.
And now the Pledge has the backing of Barton, who spent seven years at St James’ Park during his playing career, and the former England international is keen for fans to embrace this opportunity.
Barton, who now works as a pundit for Fox Sport in America, said: “With what’s been going on over the last number of years at Newcastle has been difficult. I’ve always tried to remain positive as a fan, I’ve always got behind the team, and I’m like that now when we get a great result. But looking at the club overall, it looks weak and vulnerable.
“It hit home what could happen. The fans are so disillusioned with how things are going in the boardroom, and on the field, and I thought that something had to be done.
“The easy thing is to sit there and moan about it and do nothing, but with my career I’ve always stood up and tried to do the best I can. I wasn’t the most technical player but I always put in the effort.
Through social media, someone [from the NUST] reached out to me and it snowballed from there. It’s a club I love and I wanted to get some positivity going.
“God forbid it ever happens, but the Pledge scheme is there if the team gets relegated and the owner walks away, the idea is that they can step in. We all say it’s not going to happen, but you only have to look at Bolton, Bury, clubs like that, and the team down the road, what happened to them.
“So for me to be asked to be a guardian, and with people pledging their money, I was glad to get involved.”
The NUST are not trying to buy the club off owner Mike Ashley, but their aim is to try and raise in the region of £3million which they hope will allow them the opportunity to speak to any potential new owners and buy a share in the club to allow them to have a voice on the board.
If unsuccessful, then the NUST have said all money raised will go to local charities in the Newcastle area.
Barton added: “What I’d love to see at Newcastle in the future is for them to challenge. For people to have pride in the football club, for people to walk into St James’ Park and have hope, optimism and excitement, which hasn’t been there for a long time.
“We’re not asking for titles, even in our time we never won anything, but at least the boys had a good go at it.
For the fans who regularly travel 300 miles and get home at 2am, then get up for work at 6am, we want them to wake up saying “yes, that was worth it.” They haven’t had that for a long while and they deserve it.”
For more information on the Newcastle Supporters Trust and their aim, visit the The 1892 Pledge website.
Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get a FREE England Euro 96 shirt!
SQUADS Euro 2020 squads: Every confirmed team for the 2021 tournament so far
ENGLAND EURO 2020 PREDICTIONS FourFourTwo writers pick who they'd take this summer
