"I'm in some discussions" - South Shields FC Chairman Geoff Thompson opens up about selling club

South Shields Football Club Chairman Geoff Thompson has opened up about his process of selling the football club while claiming he is in active discussions regarding transferring ownership of The Mariners.

Talking to North East based podcast Podyssey, the 62 year old spoke about his hopes for the club’s future and gave fans an update on discussions regarding the sale of the club, which was put up for sale in October 2023 after Thompson announced he had been fighting cancer.

“If I was 20 years younger and my health was in a better place you’d need to drag me out the place quite frankly. I’m emotionally attached to it given my North East and South Shields background. 

“Everything has a beginning, a middle and an end and my tenure at the club is kind of nearing that end point, not only because of my age but predominantly my health. 

I was diagnosed with cancer just over a year ago, I had surgery last March and I’m still being tested regularly. I hope I’m through it, there's no guarantee unfortunately that is the case.

“But without labouring that point too much, everyone will deal with those things differently but for me, I’m 62 years old, I’ve had this scare, I’ve got my family, children, grandchildren, my wife and it would be irresponsible for me not to think about the club’s future and football because if something does happen to me and things to deteriorate further I’ve got to make sure the club is in the right hands.”

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Thompson took over the club in 2015 and has seen them work their way from the Northern League to the National League North, the second tier of non league football in England.

“We’re approaching 100 years since the last time the club was in the EFL so I always harboured this lovely idea of getting the club back within the 100 year window, and it’s these stories and ambitions that I’d love to see the new owners have” he added.

“Historically the club has been loss making but I’ve been about that knowingly, [after null and void seasons and narrowly avoiding promotion to the National League North] I decided that I would invest significantly in the playing squad to almost guarantee promotion into the National League system, that was an important step, getting there. But it needed investment, we’re now at that important watershed where the club is in a great place financially but it hasn’t been easy, it’s been a lot of hard work.”

Focus is now on the future and Thompson claims the club is in a good place for potential owners with solid foundations in place, saying: “We have no debt, we have no freehold. The ground is owned by the club.

“It’s bittersweet to be honest because if you look at the club through a profit and loss point of view, you think about all the infrastructure investments, the club is so well placed and forecasts we now have for the growth of our international academy and the grown of other revenue streams, the club is incredibly well placed.

“It’s hard to list the specifications you’re looking for [in a new owner] but it’s about the chemistry, the importance of the strategic fit and the individual needs to embrace the journey they club has been on.

“We’ve already had some approaches and I’m in some discussions currently and we’re having some great conversations with a few parties but we’re still in the early stages.

“The legacy is a sustainable football club, a part of the community and club which will play in the EFL. We’re a big down, smack bang between Sunderland and Newcastle, I think we’re a club big enough to play at that level. We’ve got our charitable foundation, and a club which is adding value in that sense. 

“The message to fans is that I’m going to act very responsibly and that we’re going to find the right owner. We’ll do it the right way. I’m going to take my time to find the right group of people and for the fans, they will enjoy that new ownership safe in the knowledge I’ve found the right people who can take the club forward. 

“I’ve said to the people we’ve been talking to, if they want me around for a time during that transition, I want to make sure the transition is managed effectively but there’s nothing to worry about. We’re going to make sure that transition is seamless.”

Thompson gave no time frame for selling the club during the interview, which can be listened to online.