E-Mail from the Trust

As someone who believes in openness at all times I have no difficulty in sharing my entirely personal views on why I support the strategy that has seen the current stand point negotiated with Mr Fenty accepted by a majority of Trust board members to be put to a vote of the members.

If I'm entirely honest I've never been really enthused by the idea of one day GTFC being run by the Mariners Trust. It has always had an element of "Pie in the Sky" for me and evidence suggests that it has only ever really worked when there has due to circumstances, been no other alternative.

I have however been motivated by the belief that a strong Trust can help to ensure that the club cements it's place in the community it lives and works within. Far more important to me has been a desire to see improvements in the match day experience for ALL fans.

The achievement of such aims requires any Trust to have a good working relationship with those who run a football club.

A lot has been said in this thread about bluffing by the club's owners around the funding issue. I believed at the time that I was asked to make my decision that I couldn't call any bluff in the absence of the wherewithall to step into the funding "shoes" should the worst case scenario come to fruition. Others have recently put money into GTFC and walked away and I couldn't reconcile myself to the probability that it couldn't happen again. Hindsight is a marvellous gift but at the time of my decision there was no "Bennett Legacy" only the very real possibility that our biggest asset could be sold to ensure the club continued to function. Much has been said about how well things are going on the pitch but this cannot IMO be divorced from the fact that the money to support the day to day running of the club was close to drying up. I suspect there aren't too many out there who would have been happy to see our current squad weakened.

I cannot and will not speak for the other board members but family decisions aside the decision to back the recommendation that members have before them was the hardest decision I've made for a long time.

Personally I hope that the issue resolves itself and that the Trust can get on with ensuring that the still sizeable share holding we possess can be used to further the aims of our mission statement.

Quoted from barralad

As someone who believes in openness at all times I have no difficulty in sharing my entirely personal views on why I support the strategy that has seen the current stand point negotiated with Mr Fenty accepted by a majority of Trust board members to be put to a vote of the members.

If I'm entirely honest I've never been really enthused by the idea of one day GTFC being run by the Mariners Trust. It has always had an element of "Pie in the Sky" for me and evidence suggests that it has only ever really worked when there has due to circumstances, been no other alternative.

I have however been motivated by the belief that a strong Trust can help to ensure that the club cements it's place in the community it lives and works within. Far more important to me has been a desire to see improvements in the match day experience for ALL fans.

The achievement of such aims requires any Trust to have a good working relationship with those who run a football club.

A lot has been said in this thread about bluffing by the club's owners around the funding issue. I believed at the time that I was asked to make my decision that I couldn't call any bluff in the absence of the wherewithall to step into the funding "shoes" should the worst case scenario come to fruition. Others have recently put money into GTFC and walked away and I couldn't reconcile myself to the probability that it couldn't happen again. Hindsight is a marvellous gift but at the time of my decision there was no "Bennett Legacy" only the very real possibility that our biggest asset could be sold to ensure the club continued to function. Much has been said about how well things are going on the pitch but this cannot IMO be divorced from the fact that the money to support the day to day running of the club was close to drying up. I suspect there aren't too many out there who would have been happy to see our current squad weakened.

I cannot and will not speak for the other board members but family decisions aside the decision to back the recommendation that members have before them was the hardest decision I've made for a long time.

Personally I hope that the issue resolves itself and that the Trust can get on with ensuring that the still sizeable share holding we possess can be used to further the aims of our mission statement.

That shareholding is still 27% until the membership votes otherwise

Quoted from barralad

Personally I hope that the issue resolves itself and that the Trust can get on with ensuring that the still sizeable share holding we possess can be used to further the aims of our mission statement.

I feel for the situation you were faced with and what you will go through in this process.  

There are a few niggling problems with this, the fact the trust has agreed not to accept any more shares from MP and also that the shares the trust has left are not free from being pillaged again should JF take his fancy at free shares.

JF said he wouldn't be buying any more shares yet here he is buying more shares.  He could have done what I said some time ago and convert benign debt into shares to gain control.  The timing of this deal and all it entails stinks of a one sided deal with an ultimatum.

Quoted from LeightonMariner

Sorry about the delayed response, I had to go and sanitize 'grill parking 1'.
Toilets are next.

Anyway, beware the voices "kill LeightonMariner".

Not hearing them mate, my auditory hallucinations are mood and knowledge congruent. . . . you are irrelevant!

Quoted from barralad

As someone who believes in openness at all times I have no difficulty in sharing my entirely personal views on why I support the strategy that has seen the current stand point negotiated with Mr Fenty accepted by a majority of Trust board members to be put to a vote of the members.

If I'm entirely honest I've never been really enthused by the idea of one day GTFC being run by the Mariners Trust. It has always had an element of "Pie in the Sky" for me and evidence suggests that it has only ever really worked when there has due to circumstances, been no other alternative.

I have however been motivated by the belief that a strong Trust can help to ensure that the club cements it's place in the community it lives and works within. Far more important to me has been a desire to see improvements in the match day experience for ALL fans.

The achievement of such aims requires any Trust to have a good working relationship with those who run a football club.

A lot has been said in this thread about bluffing by the club's owners around the funding issue. I believed at the time that I was asked to make my decision that I couldn't call any bluff in the absence of the wherewithall to step into the funding "shoes" should the worst case scenario come to fruition. Others have recently put money into GTFC and walked away and I couldn't reconcile myself to the probability that it couldn't happen again. Hindsight is a marvellous gift but at the time of my decision there was no "Bennett Legacy" only the very real possibility that our biggest asset could be sold to ensure the club continued to function. Much has been said about how well things are going on the pitch but this cannot IMO be divorced from the fact that the money to support the day to day running of the club was close to drying up. I suspect there aren't too many out there who would have been happy to see our current squad weakened.

I cannot and will not speak for the other board members but family decisions aside the decision to back the recommendation that members have before them was the hardest decision I've made for a long time.

Personally I hope that the issue resolves itself and that the Trust can get on with ensuring that the still sizeable share holding we possess can be used to further the aims of our mission statement.

An excellent post, different to my admittedly more militant views but logical and very well reasoned.

Quoted from LeightonMariner

An excellent post, different to my admittedly more militant views but logical and very well reasoned.

Someone more militant than Barralad? Stone the crows!

Quoted from pontoonlew

I've had a season ticket since 98 and watched my first game in 97, not bad for a 20 year old! So basically my entire time supporting Town has been under Fenty, I do understand that mistakes have been made but running this club in particular must feel like an impossible task at times. There is a pressure from the fans who in fairness think we should be higher. We've had some rotten luck in and amongst bad decisions and at times Fenty should be given the benefit of the doubt. The Woods decision was his chance to save us from relegation and the wrong choice was made, let us not forget however that a lot of know all's on here told us Slades football was 'not easy on the eye' and ignored his impressive history to have kittens at the thought of him dragging us out the League 2 relegation zone. It's easy for fans to come on here and say what he's done wrong but it's the same fans who were happy to have Newell and Woods and in return not have Slade and wanted to sack the current two. Fenty is in a lose lose situation at times and I think on this one he's taking the bull by the horns by saying this IS the best way for the club.

I for one was never happy with the decision to appoint Woods and said so on may an occasion and also complained when he was never sacked despite that dismal run of games without a win.

I know lots of clubs are in financial difficulties but I would ask you how many clubs have sunk from what was effectively the Championship to non league in 10 years.

I would also ask you how is it that clubs such as Macclesfield, Accrington, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, much smaller clubs than ours are still Football League Clubs.

For me it just shows that GTFC has been badly run for the past 10 years or more and none more so than the decision to appoint someone who had only managed kids to save our Football League status and even then still giving him the job despite his appalling record as caretaker manager.

Quoted from Chris

That shareholding is still 27% until the membership votes otherwise

Indeed it is. I apologise unreservedly. I was trying not to pre judge. Seems I've failed monumentally...

Quoted from Marinerz93

There are a few niggling problems with this, the fact the trust has agreed not to accept any more shares from MP and also that the shares the trust has left are not free from being pillaged again should JF take his fancy at free shares.

I see it at these issues are interlinked aren't they? If the trust were to accept more shares from MP, his entire shareholding say, then we are back in a similar position where the majority of the shareholding lays away from the major benefactor. I don't expect the trust to give away any more shares, but selling them for a cash injection is hardly out of the question.

Quoted from Dan

I see it at these issues are interlinked aren't they? If the trust were to accept more shares from MP, his entire shareholding say, then we are back in a similar position where the majority of the shareholding lays away from the major benefactor. I don't expect the trust to give away any more shares, but selling them for a cash injection is hardly out of the question.

I see your point about the whole of MP shares being passed on but I doubt the trust would ever take the lot considering how the last lot of shares given went down.

If the trust are doing well in supporting the club and they needed to sell shares to raise money they could sell some that they already own to 'others'.  MP see's this and thinks I'll give them x amount that they sold from my shares so they are still in the same position but with money raised.  This block stops that and it also slams the door in MP's face, it can be seen as a bit of an insult to someone who put over £1 million pound in to GTFC in one year.