Relegation-bound Carlisle United are “poised for greatness” and set to become a “regional powerhouse” according to owner Tom Piatak.
The chairman and head of the family who bought the club in November 2023 makes the bold claims in the Blues’ accounts for 2023/24 which have just been filed.
Piatak says United are due to become a club that “inspires pride throughout the football world”.
Yet the businessman’s comments come as United face the strong likelihood of being relegated to non-league amid a disastrous 2024/25 season.
Piatak’s remarks are signed and dated March 26, 2025 but appear to have been written in 2024.
That appears the case given that his words refer to the takeover “last November”. The family bought the Blues in November 2023.
Yet the bold words sit in painful contrast to the woeful campaign Carlisle have endured in the fourth tier this season.
Piatak’s comments accompany the financial figures for the year ending June 30, 2024, when United had just been relegated back to League Two.
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It appears a declaration of confidence in United’s path connected to that time, before the further unravelling on the pitch in the current campaign.
Piatak, in his comments accompanying Carlisle’s strategic report for the year to June 2024, issues thanks to fans, business and the community for their support, and says it was a “privilege” to lead the Blues in the first year of the American family’s ownership via their Castle Sports Group company.
He says that “significant progress” has been made in the bid to realise the vision of “building a sustainable, ambitious and thriving future” for the club.
Piatak said improvement on the pitch was “of the utmost importance”, while he says there are “many things to highlight” in the 2023/24 accounts, such as the increased backing for the football operations at Brunton Park as well as investment in facilities at the club and “improved communication and transparency”.
“These accomplishments represent the foundation of something much bigger,” Piatak writes.
“Carlisle United is poised for greatness, and together we will build the club into a regional powerhouse that truly Owns the North [a reference to the family's slogan which has been part of official branding at the club since the 2023 takeover].
“With our ambitious plans for growth, we are determined to make Carlisle United a club that inspires pride, not just in Cumbria but throughout the football world.”
Piatak added that the future was “incredibly bright”.
Since June 2024, United made a “very significant” rise in player spending in a bid to mount a promotion challenge this season – but the Blues now find themselves at the bottom of League Two, nine points from safety with seven games to go, and 1/33 to be relegated to the National League for only the second time in their history.
