Statement of the Norwegian GTFC Fan club

1. We are saddened by recent events that ultimately may lead to unrest among the players and managers of Grimsby Town.
We hope, above all, that they as professionals will show the necessary determination, and try their very best to remain as unaffected as possible until matters outside of the playing field are resolved.

2. We appreciate the fact that there is no immediate financial crisis at the club until after the new year, and while we are eager to get the situation resolved a.s.a.p., we feel that this also represents an opportunity to look into how this club is run in a broader perspective.
This may also represent a chance to come strengthened out of what seems a desperate situation.

3. Whoever will be running the club in the future, actually needs to listen LESS to the fans, and trust and take responsibility of their own judgement. As is clear from some comments by Mr. John Fenty, the fans have had too much of a say in key decisions, and the fans on the very active and respected forum of The Fishy will always be divided in their view. The politics of doing as half of the fans on the Fishy wants, also puts the blame on one or the other side when decisions are wrong. This promotes a divison among the fans instead of a unity.

4. We would have liked to have BOTH Mr. Parker and Mr. Fenty on the board of Grimsby Town FC in a long-term position. As this does not seem to be possible at the moment i.e. Mr. Parkers statement that he is “not prepared to commit financially beyond the end of this season”, we feel we have no other choice than to fully back Mr. Fenty in his bid to make Mr. Parker clarify his positon within the club.
Whatever faults Mr. Fenty have been accused of, no one can deny the fact that he has been putting his money into this club for a much longer time than Mr. Parker. He is a true fan of the club, and it is only natural that he wants to be a majority shareholder if he is to remain as chairman of the club. We believe Mr. Fenty when he says that he only wants what is best for the club, and we truly believe that no one else will come forward and put the same amount of money into the club in the future.

Looking forward to the televised game on Tuesday, and as always: UP THE MARINERS!

Best regards,

Geir Myklebust,
Spokesman for the Norwegian supporters of Grimsby Town FC
http://www.grimsbynorge.com/

Well said. UTM

Well said mate.

Teams with boardroom problems last season preformed quite well in the end Kiddy and Wrexham spring to mind.

Well said Geir mate thats what you call a statement GTST :P :P

If both parties are true Grimsby Town fans, as well as hardended business men, they must meet up and not fight through mails and interviews where the other is not present.

All this does is put up fan barriers where fans take one side or the other, and achieves nothing at all to protect the long term future of Grimsby Town F.C.

Why is it so hard for them to meet up on either side of a table, with their personal advisers, if they feel challenged in any way, and just thrash out what each wants out of the club, along with what each is prepared to offer the club in terms of long term financial security.

If it means a third party is Chairman, appointed by either party, then so be it - GTFC's future needs to be protected, not two business egos, here !!

Parker cannot find time or inclination to be a figurehead at this time, Fenty does not have enough shares to be the current figurehead as he would like to be, and the other Directors still have unequal voting rights in relation to their shareholdings and can out vote a 54% majority shareholder in favour of Fenty.

What a ridiculous business setting up within a public company - is it any wonder that the investigation is ongoing ?

Sadly, all of this is being starkly played out in the public eye, and other teams and fans must be thinking how stupid it all is, whil we all hope we're not the next Rushden!

The many vagories of rich men and their pastime playthings, in this case, the football club we all love to support !

The fans are treated as serf minions and are left until the masters and lords have fought their squabble in order to find what slim pickings are left to savour!

They just haven't grasped what a town wide feelgood factor is achieved from a Town win, the pride of going to other parts of the country and being able to say that you support Grimsby in conversations.

That's all us poor peasants have to offer, not fortunes of spare cash, most of us are struggling to put money away for our retirements.

Please, for all of our sanities and to bring some business acumen back into negotiations, meet up and sort it, you two !!

I can honestly say that , that is one of the most sincere posts I have read on here for ages.Having met Geir, even though he is a supporter from outside the area, he always has the best interests of the club at heart and he represents a totally impartial view without the local "politics". Well done mate - look forward to seeing you at a game soon at BP ! All the best - UTM !

Didn't realise we had so many Scandinavian fans! On the members list, are they fans because their real name is 'Grimsby'? Quite unusual haha. Even Knut Anders Fostervold is a member!

Quoted from geir

We hope, above all, that they as professionals will show the necessary determination, and try their very best to remain as unaffected as possible until matters outside of the playing field are resolved.

Interesting because when everyone seemed to be wondering whether the players might be affected by the goings on pre-Kettering, I was wondering if it might be the "kick up the @rse" they needed after Stockport.

In general I think you make some excellent obsevations Geir, well done !  :)

Good stuff Geir!

UTM

Thanks to all for all your nice words! We hope that our statement is read by people close to the affairs of Grimsby Town. We think it is important that they know that this isn`t "just" an local issue. Fans from all over the world are watching and hoping for the best. Not just those living in close proximity to Blundell Park.

ponnyfan: Would be really nice to go to a game again with you! Hope to travel to Grimsby at least once this season. Still hoping for a play-off final at Wembley, so I will look at where we are around christmas!

Shiver: Yes, a lot of fans may have joined the Grimsby supporters because their last name is Grimsby. 112 people in Norway are lucky enough to be born with the name Grimsby. I also think it is interesting for you to know that no one is named Scunthorpe or Lincoln in our country. This shows you what place in your region that has had the most impact here.
Besides Fostervold we also have some "famous" fans like one tv-host and one participant in a reality show among our members. And then, of course, there is me and Jostein Jensen (Chairman of the supporters and the all-knowing expert on all things Grimsby). So we are quite an interesting bunch of people!  ;)

UTM

Good stuff.

I wonder the Grimsby Evening Telegraph might be interested in what you have to say ?
I'd love to see it in there.  :)

Geir, do you think you could get a Scandanavian consortium to buy GTFC or part of the club.

Strong links with Norway,Denmark and Sweeden oth historically and industrially as comapnys trade and use the Humber ports.

We could be part of a youth set up to bring Norwegian players to the UK and creating potential Premier League stars.

Oh one can only dream  :-/

80sglory: It would be an honor for an  "outsider" like me to be referred in the GET. Do you really think they would be interested? Feel free to tip them off and use my post in any which way you will.  :)

Marinerian: If someone working in marketing would help me make a sales package that I could present to companies here - you can be sure that I would do anything in my power to try to achieve all of those dreams that both me and you share!

Lol beat me to it marinerian.

Quoted from geir

80sglory: It would be an honor for an  "outsider" like me to be referred in the GET. Do you really think they would be interested? Feel free to tip them off and use my post in any which way you will.  :)

Marinerian: If someone working in marketing would help me make a sales package that I could present to companies here - you can be sure that I would do anything in my power to try to achieve all of those dreams that both me and you share!

I would be happy help anyway I can, I have little experience in marketing but would help anyway I can. I have a degree in Journalism if that is of any use?

It is a serious offer, please feel free to PM me.

I never understood why we never seemed to go in for Norwegian players further up their leagues.
Bet there's some diamonds to be found. Just seems like one advantage we could possibly have had over other teams.
I know we've had a few Scandinavian players, but I mean scouting out there more intensely and regularly.

I have said for many years we should be looking at Scandinavian players, their build, physiques and strength suit the English game. An area we failed to utilise

Loaning players during their Winter break would make sense too, meaning they keep their fitness during the long harsh Winters.

Quoted from geir

80sglory: It would be an honor for an  "outsider" like me to be referred in the GET. Do you really think they would be interested? Feel free to tip them off and use my post in any which way you will.  :)

No idea.
Guess unlikely but you never know ?

I'm happy to try and let me know if you'd like me to, but would it not be better if the request came from yourself ?
Simply because they might ask me "Does the owner give you his authority to represent him ?" ?
Might get complicated....

Anyway up to you no pressure and I can try if you like, but here are the contact details:

sport@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk
01472 372245

http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/people/Grimsby%20Telegraph/profile.html