SHAREHOLDERS in AFC Bournemouth will meet Friday night to make a crucial decision on the ownership of the club.

They will be asked at an extraordinary general meeting to cast their votes on whether a two-man consortium can gain a controlling interest in Cherries.

Hampshire-based businessman Jeff Mostyn and lifelong Cherries supporter Steve Sly are hoping their take-over will be rubber-stamped.

Mostyn, a 61-year-old financial broker, has already said publicly that the consortium offers Cherries "the last known hope for this football club".

His claim will be put to the vote when stakeholders decide the consortium's fate at the EGM which takes place at Dean Court (7pm).

The meeting, which is only open to shareholders, will be chaired by Cherries chief executive Laurence Jones, while the club's board will also be in attendance. Mostyn and Sly have also been invited to attend.

Jones said: "The shareholders will be asked to vote on the fixed resolutions that have been put forward.

"Some have voted already by proxy because they are unable to attend and these will not be declared until after a vote has been taken at the meeting.

"In a straight vote, if 75 per cent plus one vote in favour then the resolutions will be accepted. It is possible for a shareholder to say they would like a poll.

"If the resolutions are passed as accepted then we would have a board meeting on Monday and Jeff Mostyn would become chairman."

Cherries have around 1,400 shareholders, who, between them, own in excess of 1,800,000 ordinary £1 shares.

However, with the club in debt to the tune of around £3.5m, the shares are largely worthless and a number of shareholders are likely to skip the vote.

Around 1,000,000 shares were bought between 1997 and 2003, while the remainder were later issued under the Cherryshare I and Cherryshare II schemes.

The club's three major shareholders are local businessman John Piper, former president Stanley Cohen and ex-chairman Tony Swaisland.

Their sizeable holdings amount to around 150,000 each and could play a key role in the outcome of the meeting, should they decide to vote.

The Daily Echo canvassed all three for their thoughts ahead of the EGM but have decided not to publish their opinions to avoid the possibility of influencing other shareholders.

Current board member Phil Hordle, who is based in Japan, owns around 100,000 shares, while the Community Mutual, a supporters' organisation, has a similar stakeholding. The CM has already made public their support for the consortium.

Other shareholders include former boss Mel Machin, Nick Hayward, whose family founded the club, and recent chairmen Abdul Jaffer and Peter Phillips.