Takeover

OK. This thread are more than long enough, but I thought I`d like to chip in with some information that I got elsewhere that is not directly in relation to Grimsby Town, but may be relevant regarding a possible takeover at some time in the future.

First of all - I can completely understand why Mr. Fenty may be reluctant to give over control of the club to just "anyone" that may be interested to invest in/buy the club. That is a very BIG decision to make, and if he gives over control to someone who doesn`t run the club the "right way" he will always be remembered as the man who destroyed the club for all future to come. I imagine that is a legacy he doesn`t want to leave behind in regards to the club that he, in spite of all opinions to the contrary, care about and love.

Now, back to what I started this post with - I recently talked to someone who is on the "inside" of a club in the top half of the "Norwegian Premier League" - Tippeligaen. He told me that there have been several requests to many clubs recently regarding the possibility of buying them. Among these there have been several requests from China. All have been denied. He didn`t know the details, but I imagine there have been good reasons for not accepting their offer.
Before you say - "yeah, yeah, but this is in Norway where you have enough money" - the facts are that most Norwegian clubs are very poor and that with the possible exception of Rosenborg and Molde - they are constantly looking for funds to secure the daily running of the club.
There have also been requests of a buy-out from the  American MLS (Major League Soccer) that may have been accepted by one of the clubs in our league. The others have denied their request because the intention of the buy-out is to use the club as a farmer club. And personally, I can understand why most clubs reject such a deal.
So, I believe that if you want to set a club up with new owners, and most importantly - with the RIGHT owners, the process may be more complicated than most of us here on the Fishy realises. I believe Fenty is doing the club a favour in the long run by not accepting every offer he is given. This should be given careful consideration, and for now I am very happy to have John as a caretaker in that regard.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Trouble is at the minute from a fan`s point of view anything to do with takeovers or new ground just throws up more questions and it leads to further frustration because we don`t get any REAL answers. If someone ever got things right here off the pitch Grimsby Town have the potential to be a real success story regular crowds of 15k are obtainable but it requires a lot of work and vision. JF in his tenure to date has shown glimpses of being on the right track but for whatever reason he only gets a very small way down the path. The Club is crying out for new blood and he should be actively pursuing it JF and MP (possibly Lee Mullen) apart what have the other board members contributed financially?

Maybe not a lot but Philip Day is a considerable asset for his legal expertise, Mr Marley clearly advises on financial matters & adds his considerable charm and Mr Chapman offers......horse racing tips?

Quoted from geir

OK. This thread are more than long enough, but I thought I`d like to chip in with some information that I got elsewhere that is not directly in relation to Grimsby Town, but may be relevant regarding a possible takeover at some time in the future.

First of all - I can completely understand why Mr. Fenty may be reluctant to give over control of the club to just "anyone" that may be interested to invest in/buy the club. That is a very BIG decision to make, and if he gives over control to someone who doesn`t run the club the "right way" he will always be remembered as the man who destroyed the club for all future to come. I imagine that is a legacy he doesn`t want to leave behind in regards to the club that he, in spite of all opinions to the contrary, care about and love.

Now, back to what I started this post with - I recently talked to someone who is on the "inside" of a club in the top half of the "Norwegian Premier League" - Tippeligaen. He told me that there have been several requests to many clubs recently regarding the possibility of buying them. Among these there have been several requests from China. All have been denied. He didn`t know the details, but I imagine there have been good reasons for not accepting their offer.
Before you say - "yeah, yeah, but this is in Norway where you have enough money" - the facts are that most Norwegian clubs are very poor and that with the possible exception of Rosenborg and Molde - they are constantly looking for funds to secure the daily running of the club.
There have also been requests of a buy-out from the  American MLS (Major League Soccer) that may have been accepted by one of the clubs in our league. The others have denied their request because the intention of the buy-out is to use the club as a farmer club. And personally, I can understand why most clubs reject such a deal.
So, I believe that if you want to set a club up with new owners, and most importantly - with the RIGHT owners, the process may be more complicated than most of us here on the Fishy realises. I believe Fenty is doing the club a favour in the long run by not accepting every offer he is given. This should be given careful consideration, and for now I am very happy to have John as a caretaker in that regard.

He won't sell till he gets his money back he feels he is owed. No one will do that, because they will be paying for all his mistakes, while he has had next to no risk. It is poor business sense to pay that money out which would be better spent on future plans for the club.

Neither is he willing or seemingly able to attract and keep any new investors; furthermore, he seems unwilling to see the club in any terms other than his own.

A succession of managers has tried and failed to bring us success, which is proving impossible because the investment in better players and infrastructure is not there.

We have got a loyal fan base, without whom the club would go under, but without new owners and/or investment we are destined to bob along in the lower reaches of league 2, or worse, for the foreseeable future.

It could and should be so much better, and as some other posters have said, I would like to think I would see a resurgence of the club before I am too old to appreciate it.

I take your point Geir that we don't want to hand control of the club to just anyone. But that doesn't mean JF is spotless as Lew CC has just pointed out.

It's really hard to run a football club so much more to it than most realise , I read posts all the time and its all very unrealistic people just don't have the knowledge.
They think they do but don't people can hear whispers about how it should be run but unless you are involved you just won't know.
To be honest Fenty does not do a bad job your accounts were quite good for a L2 side, attracting in investment is really hard especially being a mid table L2 side.
Apart from Slade he was really bad.

For us its easy at the moment sell out crowds ,team doing well ever since the conference the Cowleys have put us on the map we have become fasionable when in the past we were Little Lincoln.

It should be Fenty taking his time getting in the right people in, in the past alsorts of clowns tried to get into Lincoln.
That would have been a disaster for the club.

Quoted from Helgy

It's really hard to run a football club so much more to it than most realise , I read posts all the time and its all very unrealistic people just don't have the knowledge.
They think they do but don't people can hear whispers about how it should be run but unless you are involved you just won't know.
To be honest Fenty does not do a bad job your accounts were quite good for a L2 side, attracting in investment is really hard especially being a mid table L2 side.
Apart from Slade he was really bad.

For us its easy at the moment sell out crowds ,team doing well ever since the conference the Cowleys have put us on the map we have become fasionable when in the past we were Little Lincoln.

It should be Fenty taking his time getting in the right people in, in the past alsorts of clowns tried to get into Lincoln.
That would have been a disaster for the club.

You miss the point completely.

Fenty has no intention of getting "the right people in." Most people are very restrained on here in their condemnation of his tenure, which by every measure has been an unmitigated disaster.

I am sure it is very difficult to run a football club as it is difficult with any business. It is even more difficult when you don't invest in it, insult your customers, insult the media who are trying to promote it and drives away anybody that offers to share the burden.

PS I am pleased for little Lincoln that they are enjoying a modicum of success in league 2. Don't let it go to your head.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Trouble is at the minute from a fan`s point of view anything to do with takeovers or new ground just throws up more questions and it leads to further frustration because we don`t get any REAL answers. If someone ever got things right here off the pitch Grimsby Town have the potential to be a real success story regular crowds of 15k are obtainable but it requires a lot of work and vision. JF in his tenure to date has shown glimpses of being on the right track but for whatever reason he only gets a very small way down the path. The Club is crying out for new blood and he should be actively pursuing it JF and MP (possibly Lee Mullen) apart what have the other board members contributed financially?

Why would they be? We have only had 5 incidences of this happening since 1925. If we got a new stadium, the attendances would probably double at most,

15k average crowds is a pipe dream, I’ve not seen us get anywhere near that in 40 years of supporting town.

We might be able to fill a new 12,000 seater stadium during a purple patch.  In order to sustain anything above that  we would require Championship status as a minimum and unprecedented investment in local, national and international outreach, ie not very likely.  The sky's the limit with some imagination though; if we can replicate the enthusiasm for away games on home turf we could achieve more than we think.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Trouble is at the minute from a fan`s point of view anything to do with takeovers or new ground just throws up more questions and it leads to further frustration because we don`t get any REAL answers. If someone ever got things right here off the pitch Grimsby Town have the potential to be a real success story regular crowds of 15k are obtainable but it requires a lot of work and vision. JF in his tenure to date has shown glimpses of being on the right track but for whatever reason he only gets a very small way down the path. The Club is crying out for new blood and he should be actively pursuing it JF and MP (possibly Lee Mullen) apart what have the other board members contributed financially?

It must be time to stop this now. When we have a thread that has Bryan Huxford, Lee Mullen and possible 15k attendances in it it has to be enough for now until a real takeover comes along!