League 1 club Tranmere Rovers are furious after a company they hired to find a buyer for the Wirral club put them up for sale on e-Bay with a reserve price of £6m. The attention of potential purchasers was drawn to the club’s potential for growth, ‘historic brand’ and the chance to ‘upgrade the fan experience’ (whatever that means). The listing was apparently placed on the site by Dornoch Capital Advisers, a North Carolina-based company appointed this year by Peter Johnson, the Tranmere chairman, to find a buyer for his shares. The club has been on the market since last year.
League 1 club Tranmere Rovers are furious after a company they hired to find a buyer for the Wirral club put them up for sale on e-Bay with a reserve price of £6m. The attention of potential purchasers was drawn to the club’s potential for growth, ‘historic brand’ and the chance to ‘upgrade the fan experience’ (whatever that means). The listing was apparently placed on the site by Dornoch Capital Advisers, a North Carolina-based company appointed this year by Peter Johnson, the Tranmere chairman, to find a buyer for his shares. The club has been on the market since last year. Johnson was ‘absolutely appalled’. He emphasised that it had been done without his permission, pointing out ‘it’s not a second-hand bike we’re selling.’
In all my years of going to away grounds, Tranmere was one of the most welcoming clubs I have visited and I was able to park outside the ground. Although they are the only club on the Birkenhead side of the Mersey, the attractions of Everton and Liverpool just across the water offer tough competition. Moreover, the area has suffered a major economic decline, first of the shipbuilding industry and now with the Vauxhall Motors plant at nearby Ellesmere Port facing a doubtful future. The Wirral peninsula, which is known for its golf courses, at one time had another league club, New Brighton, in what was then a seaside resort. New Brighton gained election to the Football League in 1923. Apart from their first two seasons, attendances were always below the Northern Section average. They were the worst supported league club in three of the early post-war seasons before eventually beaten by Workington in the 1951 re-election vote. The club eventually folded in 1982-83. Not surprisingly, their record home attendances were against Tranmere Rovers. Post-war attendances at Tranmere have fluctuated considerably.
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