It seems the fan-empowerment message of Leeds United’s famous terrace chant – Marching on Together – is being extended to fan ownership of the club, with the news that Massimo Cellino has agreed “in principle” to sell the Elland Road outfit to a supporters’ organisation. Leeds will comfortably become the biggest supporter-owned football club in England if Cellino makes good on his published intentions in a move that could revolutionise the way British fans view stake-holding in their teams.

Details of the Leeds Fans United bid are yet to emerge, but in outline it appears to mark a rejection by supporters of their traditional role, that of humbly waiting for wealthy saviours to rescue their clubs and rejects even the status of majority private owners. Leeds have suffered the effects of a lack of fan input since the era of financial implosion under former chairman Peter Ridsdale, with the Ken Bates stewardship doing little to reverse the trajectory of a club in decline. Finally, the current 75% Cellino family stake has taken the club to 18th place in the Championship.

Leeds Fans United’s potential takeover comes at a time when the father of the fan-ownership movement, Brian Lomax, is seriously ill. “Don’t accept tin-pot saviours and two-bit conmen believing it’s them or oblivion, because it’s not,” declared a Lomax-penned speech read out by his daughter before last Saturday’s home match at Northampton Town, where he organised the first ever Supporters’ Trust. Northampton are currently facing a winding up petition over an unpaid HMRC bill and dealing with the small matter of repaying a £10.25m council loan for stadium works.

It’s understandable, then, that Leeds fans have turned their back on such tin-pot rescuers and are taking things into their own hands. Often fans include better qualified and professional personnel than the boards of their own teams, with the power of crowd-funding offering added potential for club ownership. Leeds Fans United, formed in December 2014, has received hundreds of thousands of pounds of free assistance, including pro-bono legal advice, thanks to the inclusive appeal of their cause.

Leeds have suffered from lack of fan input since the era of financial implosion under Peter Ridsdale

Indeed, this DIY ethos is being echoed in fan-owned clubs all over Europe. “Making friends not millionaires” is the mantra of FC United of Manchester, a member-owned club that has recently taken on the FA over cup matches moved for TV. Portsmouth FC, another substantial fan-owned club, looks set for promotion after being pulled into shape by Pompey Supporters Trust.

Meanwhile, in Germany, the spiritual home of fan ownership, HSV Hamburg fans have split from their club to form HFC Falke, dismayed at seeing their club ruled by its marketing department.

At home, doing without the false hope of mega-rich saviours has been accompanied by a realisation of the shallowness of conventional football ambition. Competing for meaningful silverware in the Premier League means going up against a powerful minority of super-wealthy clubs, bankrolled by multi-billionaires. Sustainability is now the watch-word.

Where Leeds Fans United tread, supporters of top flight teams such as Everton, Newcastle United and Aston Villa should follow. All are trapped within the contradictions of modern free-market football, sacking managers while their fans scan the directors’ box for any signs of visiting sheiks.

Regulars at Elland Road, home to Leeds, will now have to map out the finer points of their bid for the club, be it 100% fan ownership or, perhaps, the 51% stake standard in Germany.

Whatever the outcome, we may be seeing the start of a decisive shift away from market-forces football to clubs returning to their original role: as sporting clubs anchored in their communities. It can’t come a moment too soon.

Tom Reed is an activist with the Football Action Network