Carlisle United directors: why Piataks are right for Blues

The new American owners have been in charge of the Blues for just over a week as a new era begins to unfold.

The Piataks, via their Castle Sports Group family, took 90 per cent control of CUFC Holdings and have set out their plans to drive United forward on and off the pitch.

It followed a process of several months which culminated in a change of control at the top of Brunton Park for the first time in 15 years.

Suzanne Kidd, United’s finance director, is confident the club has been passed into the right hands.

“I think it comes down to their values,” she said.

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“The first conversation we had with them…their values were clear.

“Their approach is very family orientated, as we’ve seen. The way they run their businesses are like an extension of their family.

“We’ve said before, there are lots of people with money that might like to run or own a football club but it’s about understanding the emotional connection, not just the financial connection – the emotional side, and knowing what it means to the community, to staff involved in the club, to the wider fanbase, the businesses that are part of it.

Nigel Clibbens and Suzanne Kidd talk to the News & Star about the takeover (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“Quickly, really early on, they got that. For me especially that was the point where you were like, ‘These people are on our wavelength’.

“The focus and approach was different. They’re great people to talk to, they’re engaging, they learned really quickly, they pick things up really fast. It’s been enjoyable.”

The family from Jacksonville, Florida, are backing manager Paul Simpson – whose team are not in action this weekend – with an improved budget to bolster the squad in January in an attempt to save their League One status.

Other short and long-term plans include improvements to Brunton Park and the creation of a modern new training facility for the club.

“It’s really exciting,” added Kidd. “Obviously it’s a lot of responsibility being part of that, finding the right people and what’s best for the future of the club. The whole process has been lengthy, it’s been done in detail, and we’re all certain these guys are the right people to take the club forward from where it is now.

"It’s really exciting to be talking about the future, beyond this year and the year after.

“They [the Piataks] have the capabilities to put the club in a position of security that it’s not been in in its recent history.

“We’re not in bad shape financially as it is, but [it’s important] just to be in a position that secures a longer-term future, and having the ability to support that future, and build from the position we’re at to make things better, and take that next step, and another, and another, without impacting the day to day stability of the club.”

The Piataks on the pitch before the Charlton game (Image: Barbara Abbott)

Tom Piatak snr confirmed this week that Castle Sports Group had bought the club’s £2.6m debt from Purepay Retail Limited, and said that it would soon be “disposed of” in a “tax-efficient” way.

United’s chief executive Nigel Clibbens, meanwhile, said the club’s new owners have the wherewithal to unlock the Blues’ potential.

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“For anyone who’s been around the club and knows a bit about it, they can see the untapped potential’s been there a while,” he said.

“Even the outgoing owners knew that and it was as frustrating for them not to be able to release that as anybody else. It was one of the reasons they knew they had to hand over to someone with the capability to unlock this.

“They tried so hard for so long to try and make it happen.

“When you see how the gates have risen – a lot of that is clearly due to winning and improvement, from a very low point – you see it was always there, it just needed to be unleashed.

“You have to give a reason for it to be unleashed. You can’t just say ‘Come on’ – it has to come from within, and it’s come from within with the football side initially, and then now we’ve got another impetus off the field.

“Hopefully the two can come together, and it’s super powerful.”