By Malcolm Nugent - CUOSC

It was hard not to be a little bit emotional as Tom Piatak laid out his exciting vision for the Blues at CUOSC members’ meeting on Sunday.

Fans believe the club have found a potential new owner who has the financial clout to help make their hopes, dreams and ambitions come true.

The American businessman and his family want to make the Blues a ‘powerhouse’ in the EFL after falling in love with the club and the city.

And the CUOSC board are hoping they get the opportunity to try.

The meeting was called to give our members the chance to decide for themselves and also ask them to vote on a resolution to help move the takeover forward.

By the time you read this the result should be known. A vote in favour would mean CUOSC’s shareholding dropping from 25.37 per cent to 10 per cent.

But despite the dilution we believe CUOSC could have an even greater influence under the Piataks.

Having talked to them over the last few months we know they understand the importance of the club’s relationship with its supporters and the community. They want to be as accessible to fans as possible and to strengthen the club’s bonds with the city and Cumbria.

Florida-based logistics businessman Tom was joined by his wife Patty, son Tom II, his wife Alice, and their daughter Jenna and her fiancé Nick DeMasi at the meeting in The Halston in Carlisle.

He spoke for over an hour and a half and left fans convinced the club is on the brink of a new era – one that many of us thought we would never see.

It is an era that will involve staying at our Brunton Park home. He revealed: “We took a tour and thought this is beautiful – this is an absolute gem.

“We can handle the flooding. We are used to hurricanes in Jacksonville. But we need to modernise it – we need to make it the place to be.

“We love its history and tradition. Let’s be clear Brunton Park is the future of the club.”

He also promised the family will invest, without putting the club into debt, and will look to provide new training facilities while building an infrastructure to make the Blues financially sustainable and viable.

But perhaps the biggest applause came when Piatak described Paul Simpson as “the best manager in the EFL”. Having spoken to him they believe their views are ‘aligned’ and they would like to keep him for the long term.

To fans that makes it a ‘dream ticket’ and the sky really is the limit.