Views and Opinions!

I rarely post on here these days but I have received messages regarding some of the recent posts and debates.

I have to say I still have so much anger about the way GTFC is being run as I mistakenly thought we would ensure the previous errors of judgement would never repeat themselves yet, if anything, the supporter engagement is even worse than it was in 2010. Supporters are treated as idiots with nothing to offer but their admission money.

As others have said, so many long term fans have had enough, you can only be slapped in the face so many times before either walking away or fighting back.

Given that grim choice which one will you do?

Walking away after decades of total commitment sounds easier than I think it will be. Why should the attachment, the cammarederie, the love for what is often your childhood sweetheart  be taken away by someone who many have lost any respect for, primarily because your commitment is not only unappreciated, but laughed at.

Standing up and fighting back takes time, energy and drive and comes with no guarantees of success, however that is measured.

At this moment in time, I don't think I can walk away and desert my club so what can I do?

I, and several others, put in a lot of time and energy into revitalising the Trust. I hold my hands up and tell the world that I had a keen aim to have fan representation on the board of GTFC. I wanted the fans voice to be at heard and I often said that I believed that we were better sat at the boardroom table than stood in the car park throwing stones. I was also of the view that the Trust representative should not be the Trust chair because I felt it more important to retain an independence.

I held the view that we were better off on the club board, even after the time when I left the Trust. The reasons for my departure have largely remained private and that is because I have always believed you don't air your dirty washing in public. I would say that the people who I worked with during my time on the Trust board had my total respect for a thankless task. It is to their credit that some of those stalwarts survive some six or seven years later. Let's just say my reasons were primarily related to the person who is attracting more criticism  than he has ever done!

That leads me to express my dissapointed at some of the posts over the last few days which have, in my opinion, been unnecessary and personal. We don't always agree, that's good and beneficial, but to accuse people who give up significant amounts of time and energy to try and improve our club as being in it for their own interests is terribly unfair, again, in my opinion.

The way forward now is to back the manager and players for the remaining games in the hope we can avoid relegation. Please note I am not telling anyone to get behind the team, that is not my place to do so, but I will ASK everyone who can to support the players because that is all we can do.

Once our fate is sealed then action must be taken. I hope the Trust will canvass their members with the question about giving up the seat on the club board. Whether we stay up or not the fans will demand change and the vechile to do that has to be the Trust. If the members wish to give up the seat then it is likely the bars will be handed back to the club. Sad but necessary in my view

If JF wiil not change then the fans must unite to effect removal.

This course of action is sad and an awful situation to be in but for me, doing nothing and continuing as we are is not an option, unless you wish to walk away without a murmur. That may happen but season ticket sales will slump without boardroom change.

Personally I don't think there is any need for a breakaway Trust, what we may need is to get the people with energy and drive for change to join together to unite the fan base with the aim of being professional and bringing about a brighter future for GTFC. Doing nothing after May 2018 is not an option IMO.

UTM

Given the recent posts from Bax, Dave Roberts and Big Chris it is becoming increasingly apparent that GTFC is approaching a cross roads and the route that is chosen may be bumpy and uncomfortable but will take us to where we want to go more quickly.

In all honesty until the last month the actions of JF has not bothered me, and to come completely clean I personally have no problem with U23’s playing in the Checkatrade as I see it as a way of giving some real competitive football to many younger players completely spoiled and ruined by the premiership Academy system. Plus I never went to those games anyway nor see anyway it will result in those sides taking over league positions currently occupied with teams such as ours.

However, the numbers of people that have had board involvement and shared working relationships with JF are clearly pointing the finger and I like many more are finally accepting that the current regime has to end as soon as the final ball is kicked this season.

I don’t know what the future holds for town but as many have explained, in much better words than I, going to watch town is no longer a pleasure but like staying with the wife for the sake of the kids we go because it feels like the right thing to do. Looking back the real pleasure was enjoyed a long time ago with McMenemy’s glorious season, the Kerr and Buckley eras those magnificent trips to Wembley in 98 and of course that one good day since in 2016.

For my sins I have a lad of 11, season ticket holder, & given where we live, where he goes to school and where his mates go to watch their football I did offer him the chance of becoming a Chimp and I would not be offended. Well he was the one offended and after this season more than any other if I do not back the need for change I will for ever regret having ever taking him to BP and having to endure days at school like today after Saturday’s defeat.

Like so many others without that change we will not be attending home matches next season and the longer we stay away the harder it will be to return. I am incredulous at how truly awful this squad of players is and would never have thought that a guy with Slade’s experience capable of such ineptitude, when he returned I was not gleeful but accepting that at least we had a safe pair of hands for a couple of years.

Well that too was a mistake, backing JF was a mistake and not backing change would be one mistake too many. So I look forward to getting behind whatever change is planned and look forward to a time when once again going to BP is something to cherish and look forward to.

It will never happen. The trust treats its members with the same contempt that Fenty treats his customers. Look at the number of people who have posted that they have heard nothing since paying their membership. Is this ths dynamic inclusive group we need to influence our club? You have had your chance and  blown it

Chris a great post and totally respect the reserve you have shown in not airing the dirty washing , reading thro your post I found myself nodding every couple of lines .....must have looked like one of them dogs in the back window of a car......great to see you post again.

Lincoln ...feel your pain and you put it so well .........mate take it from me once you stop going it is hard to go back ......ex season ticket holder with my lad ....when he hit 18 and started working saturdays i needed an excuse to go .....now when i do i sit there and say right 20 quid spent entertain me........come away disappointed ....then the next time i find  it harder to hand over the £20.......for that can nip to pub saturday afternoon watch soccer saturday and due to the beer leave happy no matter what the score

Will always be proud to be a Town fan .........just a shame the club arent proud of us

I actually think that it wouldn’t harm the club long term to see a bit of dirty washing aired in public.

Far too often those at the club have been able to rubbish and deflect rumours about their shocking behaviour. People still don’t believe the things that happen and the reasons we are in this mess.

Appreciate your contribution and it’s a shame your no longer part of the Trust.

Quoted from BIGChris

I rarely post on here these days but I have received messages regarding some of the recent posts and debates.

I have to say I still have so much anger about the way GTFC is being run as I mistakenly thought we would ensure the previous errors of judgement would never repeat themselves yet, if anything, the supporter engagement is even worse than it was in 2010. Supporters are treated as idiots with nothing to offer but their admission money.

As others have said, so many long term fans have had enough, you can only be slapped in the face so many times before either walking away or fighting back.

Given that grim choice which one will you do?

Walking away after decades of total commitment sounds easier than I think it will be. Why should the attachment, the cammarederie, the love for what is often your childhood sweetheart  be taken away by someone who many have lost any respect for, primarily because your commitment is not only unappreciated, but laughed at.

Standing up and fighting back takes time, energy and drive and comes with no guarantees of success, however that is measured.

At this moment in time, I don't think I can walk away and desert my club so what can I do?

I, and several others, put in a lot of time and energy into revitalising the Trust. I hold my hands up and tell the world that I had a keen aim to have fan representation on the board of GTFC. I wanted the fans voice to be at heard and I often said that I believed that we were better sat at the boardroom table than stood in the car park throwing stones. I was also of the view that the Trust representative should not be the Trust chair because I felt it more important to retain an independence.

I held the view that we were better off on the club board, even after the time when I left the Trust. The reasons for my departure have largely remained private and that is because I have always believed you don't air your dirty washing in public. I would say that the people who I worked with during my time on the Trust board had my total respect for a thankless task. It is to their credit that some of those stalwarts survive some six or seven years later. Let's just say my reasons were primarily related to the person who is attracting more criticism  than he has ever done!

That leads me to express my dissapointed at some of the posts over the last few days which have, in my opinion, been unnecessary and personal. We don't always agree, that's good and beneficial, but to accuse people who give up significant amounts of time and energy to try and improve our club as being in it for their own interests is terribly unfair, again, in my opinion.

The way forward now is to back the manager and players for the remaining games in the hope we can avoid relegation. Please note I am not telling anyone to get behind the team, that is not my place to do so, but I will ASK everyone who can to support the players because that is all we can do.

Once our fate is sealed then action must be taken. I hope the Trust will canvass their members with the question about giving up the seat on the club board. Whether we stay up or not the fans will demand change and the vechile to do that has to be the Trust. If the members wish to give up the seat then it is likely the bars will be handed back to the club. Sad but necessary in my view

If JF wiil not change then the fans must unite to effect removal.

This course of action is sad and an awful situation to be in but for me, doing nothing and continuing as we are is not an option, unless you wish to walk away without a murmur. That may happen but season ticket sales will slump without boardroom change.

Personally I don't think there is any need for a breakaway Trust, what we may need is to get the people with energy and drive for change to join together to unite the fan base with the aim of being professional and bringing about a brighter future for GTFC. Doing nothing after May 2018 is not an option IMO.

UTM

The idea of having a place on the board and influencing things from within seems sound enough, but I am finding it hard to believe it has taken some people this long to realise that working with JF is impossible.

Remaining within the tent is simply giving him complete control and the Trust must surely become the catalyst to remove him. The Trust should simply come out and say they have no confidence in the current board and are actively working to get him to stand down. The membership would increase ten fold I would imagine, and that would include a lot of the people with the skill sets and ambition to effect change.

Amen BigChris.  This has to be post of the year.

What I would give for you to be at the helm of this club.

Great post Chris you have summed up my feeling to a tee, the product served up this season, the way the fans have been treated as left me numb, and at this moment I don’t think I care anymore. What hurts most is that I have a two year old grandson who  a year ago I could not wait till I can take him to his first match to begin that dream of playing for the town like we all did.

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Given the recent posts from Bax, Dave Roberts and Big Chris it is becoming increasingly apparent that GTFC is approaching a cross roads and the route that is chosen may be bumpy and uncomfortable but will take us to where we want to go more quickly.

In all honesty until the last month the actions of JF has not bothered me, and to come completely clean I personally have no problem with U23’s playing in the Checkatrade as I see it as a way of giving some real competitive football to many younger players completely spoiled and ruined by the premiership Academy system. Plus I never went to those games anyway nor see anyway it will result in those sides taking over league positions currently occupied with teams such as ours.

However, the numbers of people that have had board involvement and shared working relationships with JF are clearly pointing the finger and I like many more are finally accepting that the current regime has to end as soon as the final ball is kicked this season.

I don’t know what the future holds for town but as many have explained, in much better words than I, going to watch town is no longer a pleasure but like staying with the wife for the sake of the kids we go because it feels like the right thing to do. Looking back the real pleasure was enjoyed a long time ago with McMenemy’s glorious season, the Kerr and Buckley eras those magnificent trips to Wembley in 98 and of course that one good day since in 2016.

For my sins I have a lad of 11, season ticket holder, & given where we live, where he goes to school and where his mates go to watch their football I did offer him the chance of becoming a Chimp and I would not be offended. Well he was the one offended and after this season more than any other if I do not back the need for change I will for ever regret having ever taking him to BP and having to endure days at school like today after Saturday’s defeat.

Like so many others without that change we will not be attending home matches next season and the longer we stay away the harder it will be to return. I am incredulous at how truly awful this squad of players is and would never have thought that a guy with Slade’s experience capable of such ineptitude, when he returned I was not gleeful but accepting that at least we had a safe pair of hands for a couple of years.

Well that too was a mistake, backing JF was a mistake and not backing change would be one mistake too many. So I look forward to getting behind whatever change is planned and look forward to a time when once again going to BP is something to cherish and look forward to.

It is a conundrum for a lot of us; do we withdraw our labour so to speak in order to force change? Do we temporarily give up a lifetime of commitment and enjoyment for the greater good?

If the Trust could step up to the plate and say they have no confidence in the current regime and want to push for change I would certainly join in a boycott of the club if financial penalties is the only thing he understands. It pains me to say such a thing after urging many on here to keep attending, but it has become so dispiriting I can hardly bear the thought of going if he is still going to hold the all the aces despite the keystone cops approach to running the club.

What is so refreshing is to see individuals who may have been seen as part of the 'establishment' breaking ranks.

Great post Big Chris - I really hope that members of the club's hierarchy take time to read the posts of the last couple of days and realise how much dismay, despair and yes, hurt they have caused.

There are individuals out here who would do a better job - yes, there damn well are.

My only plea to not give up the place on the board is this.....that is exactly what the board want.  

Why give up all those shares and then just to walk away ?  JF would be p!ss!ng himself laughing at how his master plan to maintain a grip had worked. Its a shame that the trust was relatively early into its rebirth when the massive issue of the share vote came about.

Would the members vote the same today to gift JF all those shares for a relatively ineffective seat on the board ?  

I think the trust should be genuinely seeking a resolution to the "benign loan" issue, whether thats through legal advice as to just how and when JF can claim them back legally , or and , tap up the other share holders and oust JF.

Whatever happens over the last few games, it's time for Fenty to go.  How that is facilitated is the problem but if Fenty is half the fan he says he is then he should make the process as easy as possible for the good of Grimsby Town Football Club and not for the benefit of John Fenty.

Chris' post gives me a lot more hope, coming off the back of Bax's comments. I sense we're at tipping point.

I totally agree that a breakaway trust is not the answer. It'd be an unnecessary duplication and be an unnecessary split which would only suit one person.

Some good posts and points raised on various threads. My own views well known, but very much behind the thinking above.

Tired of the debacle, tired of the threats, the alias’, the contempt, the monopoly, the ‘want to go’ but still hold all the cards.

Simply put - if things stay the same then forget it. Season ticket sales would halve.  The bloke who says he’s a fan lets this continue.

Long said reputation goes a long way, and how you treat others. If you don’t - it will bite back at you one day.

Everyone knows the only way forward, apart from the few who will always refuse to acknowledge it.

The time has come to make it happen.

I have a very ambivalent view on JF. I recognise that he was the only one with any decent capital prepared to put his money where his mouth is in the aftermath of the ITV digital shambles. Even if has invested £2m worth of “benign loans” then he has still put £2m worth of his own money into the club. I know he is a wealthy man but I’d imagine that is a very significant proportion of his own wealth. Given that I am inclined to have a reasonable degree of sympathy for him.

Added to that, even when I am vilifying him, I would never question his integrity. He clearly cares about the club and I’m certain he hurt as much as the rest of us when we got relegated out of the football league and spent 6 long years trying to pick ourselves up. He was as excited and giddy as anyone after Nathan Arnold temporarily set us free. Even if it was cringeworthy, his celebrations with Omar during his interview with BT demonstrated his joy at getting us promoted. He then looked ecstatic when Dis held the promotion trophy aloft. He is as much a Town fan as any of us, just with lots more money and had the will to pump it into a leaky bucket of a football club.

I also believe that some sections of the fanbase do show symptoms of what Jose Mourinho would call “football heritage” given that it wasn’t very long ago that we were beating Liverpool in the League Cup and holding our own in the Championship for several years. We were punching above our weight in those days, I saw a Cod Almighty piece about 2 years ago showing that the attendance for the first home game of the season for a 2nd tier game against Port Vale under Buckley was almost identical to the one against Nuneaton, also the first home game of the season back in 2014. Some people didn’t know what they had. We had it really good in those days and probably only appreciate it now it’s gone. JF has overseen our natural reordering and that has worsened our perception of him. It would probably have happened anyway but it happened under his stewardship. Whether an. ownership with better football knowledge would have slowed the regression to a level to make it manageable is unknowable.

For the aforementioned reasons he has built up a great bank of good will and sympathy from me. I recognise his financial contribution is substantial and his love of the club undeniable. I was therefore able to forgive him after our first relegation from the league. However, even my good will is starting to wear thin. This season has exemplified his hugely overinflated ego, his propensity to excerbate already awful situations and hasn’t helped the perception that he treats the fans as just customers rather than actual supporters who need looking after.

I’m not going to go over old ground and fastidiously narrate all of the PR shambles, abysmal managerial appointments and consistently shambolic decision making again but I will mention one. If Ginny and the other poster whose name escapes me are correct, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, and JF did describe Operation Promotion as the worst thing to ever happen to the club then he is either very arrogant, naive or just downright insulting. Operation Promotion brought the fans together. We are often a divided bunch. Take Paul Hurst, Jon Nolan, Lenell John Lewis, Ollie Palmer etc. There have been hundreds of examples in my lifetime that show how we can have vehement disagreements on lots of players and managers but OP brought us all together. It encouraged collective desire and even if it provided the funds to sign Pat Hoban so he could fire that shot that was blocked so Nath could score it was worth it in a footballing sense as well. Even if JF does think that then it shows a huge degree of unintelligence at telling hard working, dedicated fans that he believes it. As people frequently tell me, engage brain before mouth.

The problem as I see it is that JF has spent so long in ultimate control that he believes he has become untouchable and given his financial stranglehold that is a reasonable suggestion to make. As an unparagoned individual he can say, do and think as he likes and it won’t alter his position of relative power in the club. When someone spends so long in a post they tend to think like that, look at Tony Blair and Margerat Thatcher, they both clung to power too long and their respective careers ended in disaster. Witn JF the electorate or his own party can’t boot him out when they’ve had enough of him. We have to suffer until he is ready to leave.

The other issue is the almost complete absence of viable alternatives. Unless there is a secret millionaire out there ready to buy us out then, in all honesty, I agree with JF and the current hierarchy must carry out due diligence and make sure we don’t get some Italian gangster coming in and turning us into his vanity project. I’d rather have JF than someone with no affinity to the club and the same probabe incompetence when it comes to decision making. Likewise, fan ownership is littered with issues. We would still need somebody with the necessary skills and energy to lead such a venture and nobody seems willing to come forward and lead this campaign.

Overall, the problem is almost unsolvable, we have no clear alternative to JF and even if there was one I’d be making every attempt to make sure they absolutely financially and morally capable of running MY CLUB! JF has invested a huge amount of time, money and soul into running this club and he does deserve some slack, the issue is that he has been given some and now all patience has evaporated and there must be an change. This year has plumbed the depths of despair. The Slade appointment was dreadful and the delayed sacking was denouncable. However, we must now show the same collective desire as we did during Operation Promotion to ensure we are in the FL next season.

If BigChris, Bax and Dave Roberts as a trio were to return to the Trust then I would put my unease with its prior decisions to one side and join.

Quoted from davmariner

If BigChris, Bax and Dave Roberts as a trio were to return to the Trust then I would put my unease with its prior decisions to one side and join.

That doesn't seem to be a match made in heaven

Bax :-

"The Trust isn’t representative of the supporters, it is led purely and simply by self interest".

Dave Roberts :-

"To be honest I don’t recognise the description of people in it for their own self interest"

Not much consensus there?

Quoted from arryarryarry

That doesn't seem to be a match made in heaven

Bax :-

"The Trust isn’t representative of the supporters, it is led purely and simply by self interest".

Dave Roberts :-

"To be honest I don’t recognise the description of people in it for their own self interest"

Not much consensus there?

Dave left the Trust board a few years ago before coming back now, and Bax joined after Dave left IIRC, or at least at the tail end of Dave's tenure. So they've experienced different things. Also, without wishing to sound rude, Bax is quite a bit younger than Dave and will have a different response even to the same events. Both perfectly valid positions which with a bit of goodwill on both sides (which I'm sure they have judging by the long term) are reconcilable.

Disagreements and different points of view can be managed by most adults of goodwill. It's only the terminally egocentric who cannot cope with differences.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Dave left the Trust board a few years ago before coming back now, and Bax joined after Dave left IIRC, or at least at the tail end of Dave's tenure. So they've experienced different things. Also, without wishing to sound rude, Bax is quite a bit younger than Dave and will have a different response even to the same events. Both perfectly valid positions which with a bit of goodwill on both sides (which I'm sure they have judging by the long term) are reconcilable.

Disagreements and different points of view can be managed by most adults of goodwill. It's only the terminally egocentric who cannot cope with differences.

I know of Dave Roberts and although he left the Trust board I am sure he was still in contact with them and new them all very well, so I feel my comment still stands otherwise why would he say what he did?

You make some good points, Mariner_09 - some I agree with, some I don't.

I really don't have any sympathy for Fenty just because he's put some of his personal fortune into the club and he's now in 'debt' to the tune of £2m.

It's not our fault he's in that debt. It's his. One bad decision after another has caused that. He (and the board) are the ones that choose the managers, sanction the signings and then agree release fees when they turn out to be rubbish.

If he's now in debt by £2m then that's his doing. All we've done as fans during his time in charge is turn up, pay our money, buy our shirts, pies, pints, programmes, contribute to fundraising initiatives like OP, etc.

So that's why I (and many other fans) take particular umbrage when things like OP are passed off as simply an unwanted distraction (paraphrasing there).

If true, that's a shocking thing to say. He's allowed to think that privately but in retrospect all he needed to say was that £110k allowed us to buy Omar and his goals in the final helped us win promotion.

But that would be giving credit to the fans, and I don't believe he's ever given us credit, sincerely. Ever.

So that's that point.

To be honest, there's plenty more I could talk about but the only other thing I'd raise is the fact that he wants out - but won't go until he's happy the people coming in are fit to run this football club.

That's entirely the right thing to say, but do I believe Fenty can identify a fit and proper person/consortium to run a football club if his track record in appointing managers is anything to go by?

I have zero confidence in him selling to the right person/people, and that's why any solution to this awful predicament we find ourselves in has to involve the fans in some way, because they're the only group of people who truly care about the future of this football club.

Dont want to see like im having a go but when BigChris was on the mariners trust board nothing was exactly different then was it if i recall ? The trust was supposed to be our voice and im afraid no matter who resigns stays or just moves on nothing has changed.

The grip the directors has on this club is suffocating it and yes now is time for action but i agree league survival first.

Quoted from jonnyboy82

Dont want to see like im having a go but when BigChris was on the board nothing was exactly different then was it if i recall ? The trust was supposed to be our voice and im afraid no matter who resigns stays or just moves on nothing has changed.

The grip the directors has on this club is suffocating it and yes now is time for action but i agree league survival first.

Don't think he was ever on the board was he?

It is OK former Trust board members coming on here calling for change at the top, removal of Fenty, but what put Fenty in such a powerful position in the first place? That's right, the Trust's decision to gift Fenty all those shares. Who was on the Trust board at the time? They should have canvassed their members to make the correct decision (ie hold onto the shares!), unless the carrot of a place on the board was too much of a temptation for those who were "self-serving" (not my words...).

Either the Trust board at the time:
1. Welcomed the hand-over of shares in return for the much coveted seat on the board.
or...
2. Lacked the foresight to see what the consequences of the hand-over would be. This should have been made clear to their membership.

Im off for a sit down as i actually agree pizzza.

To be honest I got bored reading the OP.  There is nothing in it I havnt read on here before .  

Quoted from realist

It will never happen. The trust treats its members with the same contempt that Fenty treats his customers. Look at the number of people who have posted that they have heard nothing since paying their membership. Is this ths dynamic inclusive group we need to influence our club? You have had your chance and  blown it

Whs

Quoted from pizzzza

It is OK former Trust board members coming on here calling for change at the top, removal of Fenty, but what put Fenty in such a powerful position in the first place? That's right, the Trust's decision to gift Fenty all those shares. Who was on the Trust board at the time? They should have canvassed their members to make the correct decision (ie hold onto the shares!), unless the carrot of a place on the board was too much of a temptation for those who were "self-serving" (not my words...).

Either the Trust board at the time:
1. Welcomed the hand-over of shares in return for the much coveted seat on the board.
or...
2. Lacked the foresight to see what the consequences of the hand-over would be. This should have been made clear to their membership.

I was thinking the same about the shares ... who made that decision ? Awaits spin and deflection type answer

The whole Trust membership voted in favour of handing over the shares, so it was certainly democratic. Not everyone, but a majority anyway. I think if the vote were done now, there would certainly be a different outcome.

I also think the Trust have drifted for far too long and lost focus. There doesn't appear to me to be anything to rally around, as no matter what the views of the fans, and whichever way the Trust vote on matters, they will always be outvoted by the other board members.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

I was thinking the same about the shares ... who made that decision ? Awaits spin and deflection type answer

IIRC it has been posted on here before that the membership voted to transfer the shares by an overwhelming 86% in return for a seat on the board and JF buying an additional £200k worth of shares.

No spin whatsover the Membership voted in a democratic way.

I doubt they would vote the same way now but we would all like to re-write history from time to time

Quoted from pizzzza

It is OK former Trust board members coming on here calling for change at the top, removal of Fenty, but what put Fenty in such a powerful position in the first place? That's right, the Trust's decision to gift Fenty all those shares. Who was on the Trust board at the time? They should have canvassed their members to make the correct decision (ie hold onto the shares!), unless the carrot of a place on the board was too much of a temptation for those who were "self-serving" (not my words...).

Either the Trust board at the time:
1. Welcomed the hand-over of shares in return for the much coveted seat on the board.
or...
2. Lacked the foresight to see what the consequences of the hand-over would be. This should have been made clear to their membership.

The members voted in favour of the transfer of the shares and has others have put it the seat on the board WAS hugely attractive at the time

Quoted from Cloudy

IIRC it has been posted on here before that the membership voted to transfer the shares by an overwhelming 86% in return for a seat on the board and JF buying an additional £200k worth of shares.

No spin whatsover the Membership voted in a democratic way.

I doubt they would vote the same way now but we would all like to re-write history from time to time

Cheers having never been a member of the trust I was never involved in any voting

Just so were clear when the shares were handed over it coincided with the Trust relaunch. In effect there was no Trust at that point BigChris doesn't need me to defend him BUT I was sat with him when this news reached his/collective Trust members  ears and within minutes he was elected Chairman as I recall this was unanimously. I saw and heard what went on and voiced my disapproval as did others but the Trust were put in an impossible position several felt so strongly about it they walked away from being involved with the relaunch including me.You will recall the last time I made comments on this I was asked to issue an apology by our majority shareholder as he didn`t like what I implied nothing he said to me in private changed my view and I apologised for the tone. Time does muddy the water somewhat but basically had the Trust not given the shares over they had to come up with a large chunk of money very quickly or the alternative would be Town would have to sell a player asset (at the time it was an in form Liam Hearn). The decision to give over the shares was deemed the best available option at THAT time and I might be wrong but thought the trust voted on it? Hindsight is great BUT had the Trust have hung onto the shares Hearn been sold mid season who would have got the blame for that player sale?BigChris and Dave Roberts did a fantastic job in my opinion with the relaunch and they got loads of support from behind the scenes from the many great people who freely give up their time.That great work was carried on and possibly even surpassed with OP but let`s be clear since then the wheels have come off.It pains me to see comments from realist and Moosey and begrudgingly having to nod my head in agreement.A mistake might well have been made with the handing over of the shares but I can tell you 100% that mistake was a very honest one and made for the right reasons at THAT time.I would love to see BC and DR back in tandem because I know they would get things moving and I would happily give up my time to help them.One thing I do know good though it feels moaning on here will not help get our Club back on track but come May it`s the Trust or Bust.

Quoted from Bigdog

Why wait until the end of the season? It will be too late to effect any significant change as the framework for the next season will already be set. Another season of despair and I will imagine the current outrage will turn into downright apathy in a year's time. Surely this is precisely the right time for gathering support and any kind of preparation?  Wait for seven weeks, and it will be another season wasted..

I think it is clear that apathy has already set in. As Civvy pointed out in a post yesterday, the fans at Lincoln just accepted another terrible performance and defeat as par for the course, with barely a whimper. Most of the outrage of a few weeks back was dissipated by the sacking of Slade, but it's clear that nothing has really changed, and it never will. The things that were said at the MJ press conference were said at the MB one and the Slade one. Building for the future blah blah blah.....

Quoted from ginnywings

I think it is clear that apathy has already set in. As Civvy pointed out in a post yesterday, the fans at Lincoln just accepted another terrible performance and defeat as par for the course, with barely a whimper. Most of the outrage of a few weeks back was dissipated by the sacking of Slade, but it's clear that nothing has really changed, and it never will. The things that were said at the MJ press conference were said at the MB one and the Slade one. Building for the future blah blah blah.....

I can assure you it`s gone nowhere it`s been put on simmer.

I was willing to forgive Fenty a lot. Our time in non-league was partly his fault of course, but I always imagined how much it haunted him that that had happened on his watch. I looked at awful owners elsewhere and thought at least Fenty isn't them.

But since coming back to the league his every action seems to have been in direct contradiction to all the supposed lessons I thought we had learnt in non league.

The fans and the club were united, pushing in the same direction.   Wanting to build on the success of promotion. Then there is no push or incentive to drive up season ticket sales, he votes for b-teams then maintains radio silence for as long as possible showing no care for how to communicate with fans. Fails to fight to keep Hurst, and while to be fair I felt Bignot was a good appointment at the time the sacking of hin and subsequent appointment of Slade was handled appallingly. Any pretending to listen to fans goes out the window as this season becomes a catalogue of mistakes, voting for b-teams again and that risible statement blaming the EFL for not explaining it better. After a first decent statement maintaining silence after Stevenage, picking a fight with a local journalist and making a fans forum turn into a farce and a chance to gang up on them. Disrespecting and effectively firing a volunteer SLO that had been one of the few bright spots. Putting out statement after statement backing Slade as he allowed any creative player to be sold off and all the ppl who had any connection with the fans to be sold off and replaced by loanees and useless mecenaries. Now he thinks OP was a burden for the club, well in the nearly 20 years he has been there he talks about his 2 million of 'benign' loans. We in one season put £100,000 into the club with no return demanded, aside frim the money we put in season after season to watch,  buy merchandise and be part of our club. Enough is enough. To go to conference once would be forgiveable.  Twice shows that there is incompetence somewhere and as much as he wants to blame the fans he can't on this one. All his actions sugges he just doesn't think of fans as stakeholders of the club.

It feels like everyone sees it now, I consider myself a latecomer to this conclusion but it seems clear now amd has been for sometime, our club will continue to be stuck in a malaise like this until Fenty leaves, and most of the board with him.

Et Tu Caeser.?

In the time JF has been at the Club he has put in £2-3M and that`s great. In that time though just on home ticket sales the fans have probably put in somewhere in excess of £10M+ so who really bankrolls the Club?T

Quoted from 1mickylyons

A mistake might well have been made with the handing over of the shares but I can tell you 100% that mistake was a very honest one and made for the right reasons at THAT time.

Micky is correct in that Trust members at the time we’re all asked to vote on the issue.

The offer of a place on the board was actually made part way through the voting period and there were calls made on here (Ginny and others I think) to postpone the vote until the end of that season considering that the ‘offer’ from Fenty had changed part way through the process.

The additional 200k injection from Fenty has always been a bit ‘grey’ - was this money already pledged by Fenty anyway in his agreement with Parker which set about the whole Parker issue?

Personally I didn’t like the ‘offer’ ie unless this is agreed the club will have to sell assets - depends how you view this yourself but to me it was tantamount to <will not be putting what I think it was because I don’t want JF putting pressure on Rob to shut the Fishy down again>

My primary issue with the vote was that it was perfectly feasible for JF, his family, the nodding yes men, JF’s cronies to all be Trust members who could influence the vote which would give him 200k worth of shares - that cannot be right.

As such, it would be interesting to see if this share transfer was actually legal and if not, a dilution in Fenty’s share holding by 200k and an increase in the Trust’s share holding by 200k may be enough (when combined with the voting rights of Parker and Mullen’s shares) to call an EGM and vote Fenty and his Yes men off the board.

Quoted from Quagmire

Micky is correct in that Trust members at the time we’re all asked to vote on the issue.

The offer of a place on the board was actually made part way through the voting period and there were calls made on here (Ginny and others I think) to postpone the vote until the end of that season considering that the ‘offer’ from Fenty had changed part way through the process.

The additional 200k injection from Fenty has always been a bit ‘grey’ - was this money already pledged by Fenty anyway in his agreement with Parker which set about the whole Parker issue?

Personally I didn’t like the ‘offer’ ie unless this is agreed the club will have to sell assets - depends how you view this yourself but to me it was tantamount to <will not be putting what I think it was because I don’t want JF putting pressure on Rob to shut the Fishy down again>

My primary issue with the vote was that it was perfectly feasible for JF, his family, the nodding yes men, JF’s cronies to all be Trust members who could influence the vote which would give him 200k worth of shares - that cannot be right.

As such, it would be interesting to see if this share transfer was actually legal and if not, a dilution in Fenty’s share holding by 200k and an increase in the Trust’s share holding by 200k may be enough (when combined with the voting rights of Parker and Mullen’s shares) to call an EGM and vote Fenty and his Yes men off the board.

no idea about the legalities but doubt it was illegal to transfer ownership from from 'body' to another?

As stated previously you are not going to get Mike Parker to involve himself let alone vote, so no chance of voting JF off, he has to go on his own accord. Who knows if he will bow to fan opinion and pressure? He hasnt taken any notice whatsoever in the past!

Quoted from Cloudy

no idea about the legalities but doubt it was illegal to transfer ownership from from 'body' to another?

It’s not the question of transferring ownership from one person / group to another being legal or not as it clearly is.

I’m questioning the legality of the process / vote.

Surely there is a conflict of interest if JF was a member of the Trust and was asked to vote whether the Trust should give him 200k of shares for free.  Add in family members as well and you have a situation where someone stands to gain financially and can influence that vote outcome.  

Quoted from 1mickylyons

I can assure you it`s gone nowhere it`s been put on simmer.

Just wait until we are relegated. There will be hell on, like never seen before. Burton will look like a walk in the park.

The trust running the club would be worse than what we have now. A secretive boys club with limited membership whose board members resign at the slightest disagreement.  At least Fenty had hung in there.
We need to wipe the slate clean and form a new group which is properly run with the support of all the fans without any of the existing trust board members.

Quoted from 75

Just wait until we are relegated. There will be hell on, like never seen before. Burton will look like a walk in the park.

If we're relegated their won't be hell on people are losing interest in the whole thing heartbreaking but true

Quoted from realist

The trust running the club would be worse than what we have now. A secretive boys club with limited membership whose board members resign at the slightest disagreement.  At least Fenty had hung in there.
We need to wipe the slate clean and form a new group which is properly run with the support of all the fans without any of the existing trust board members.

I understand there are several vacancies on the Trust board so lets get all the dissenters together and they can then stand for the Trust board and move things forward.

There must be 10 or more on here alone who can stand for election and if the fans want them, they can wipe the slate clean & have the power to stage a takeover.

Vote realist. You know it makes sense!

The Trust is dead and buried or it should be.
It has achieved very little, due partly to the stranglehold Fenty has over it coupled with the failure to establish any stability on its own board. I used to joke the Trust rep on the club board sharpened the pencils and made the tea, in terms of having any real influence I wasn't far out.
The positives of Operation Promotion (now belittled by Fenty) the improved running of the bars (done to 'buy' a totally ineffectual seat on the board of the club) and the odd fundraising day need to be set against the total lack of organisation and continuity such as the failure to communicate with or issue any form of membership card etc to members once they have parted with their money
The only trump card the Trust held in the struggle to influence Fenty and his gang, the shares, was given away.
I see no meaningful role for the Trust going forward, just more hopeful but equally unachievable ideas and plans. No fans trust is ever going to move this board or out its leader, a plunge in income (with what it might entail league wise) is possibly the only thing that might affect the current dictatorship, a bunch of well meaning amateurs won't

Quoted from realist

The trust running the club would be worse than what we have now. A secretive boys club with limited membership whose board members resign at the slightest disagreement.  At least Fenty had hung in there.
We need to wipe the slate clean and form a new group which is properly run with the support of all the fans without any of the existing trust board members.

I’m all up for criticism and the waving of pitchforks when required - but that’s just patently bullsht, isn’t it?

Not much of a secret club when they publish their minutes on a monthly basis and people are welcomed to come down and sit in to view the discussions before deciding whether or not they fancy joining in. I’m sure a prominent member of this forum plus an esteemed local journalist can attest to that happening within the last month.

And I’ve no idea where you’ve come to the conclusion that membership is limited when almost every single official (and most non-official) utterings from the Trust or their members has included a plea for other people to get involved at all levels. As for the “boys club” comment, it would appear 3 of the 11 people around the table at the last meeting were women - not a perfect gender balance by any stretch but certainly better than the one at Fenty Towers!

Quoted from Ipswin

The Trust is dead and buried or it should be.
It has achieved very little, due partly to the stranglehold Fenty has over it coupled with the failure to establish any stability on its own board. I used to joke the Trust rep on the club board sharpened the pencils and made the tea, in terms of having any real influence I wasn't far out.
The positives of Operation Promotion (now belittled by Fenty) the improved running of the bars (done to 'buy' a totally ineffectual seat on the board of the club) and the odd fundraising day need to be set against the total lack of organisation and continuity such as the failure to communicate with or issue any form of membership card etc to members once they have parted with their money
The only trump card the Trust held in the struggle to influence Fenty and his gang, the shares, was given away.
I see no meaningful role for the Trust going forward, just more hopeful but equally unachievable ideas and plans. No fans trust is ever going to move this board or out its leader, a plunge in income (with what it might entail league wise) is possibly the only thing that might affect the current dictatorship, a bunch of well meaning amateurs won't

Well what do you do Swin?

You post your opinions but let`s be honest how many of them are ever positive be it towards team,trust,fenty personally I have no problem with that and totally get where you come from.

However this post you are rubbishing the efforts of mere fans who give up their free time to try and make things better whilst you yourself are prepared to give what exactly?

You are not alone of course and no more guilty than me of such malaise but come May things will be different.The tone of posts on here the talk in pubs and workplaces all point to intercourse it im done if nothing changes. I have followed Town since 79 and I have never heard so many die hard fans displaying these thoughts.Trust or Bust

Quoted from ska face

I’m all up for criticism and the waving of pitchforks when required - but that’s just patently bullsht, isn’t it?

Not much of a secret club when they publish their minutes on a monthly basis and people are welcomed to come down and sit in to view the discussions before deciding whether or not they fancy joining in. I’m sure a prominent member of this forum plus an esteemed local journalist can attest to that happening within the last month.

And I’ve no idea where you’ve come to the conclusion that membership is limited when almost every single official (and most non-official) utterings from the Trust or their members has included a plea for other people to get involved at all levels. As for the “boys club” comment, it would appear 3 of the 11 people around the table at the last meeting were women - not a perfect gender balance by any stretch but certainly better than the one at Fenty Towers!

Come now let`s not let the truth get in the way...........

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Well what do you do Swin?

You post your opinions but let`s be honest how many of them are ever positive be it towards team,trust,fenty personally I have no problem with that and totally get where you come from.

However this post you are rubbishing the efforts of mere fans who give up their free time to try and make things better whilst you yourself are prepared to give what exactly?

You are not alone of course and no more guilty than me of such malaise but come May things will be different.The tone of posts on here the talk in pubs and workplaces all point to intercourse it im done if nothing changes. I have followed Town since 79 and I have never heard so many die hard fans displaying these thoughts.Trust or Bust

I did not seek to rubbish their efforts merely to point out that they are wasting their time given the stranglehold Fenty and his gang have coupled with the total lack of an organised agreed direction within the Trust itself.
It is as you observed just ordinary fans giving of their time and is therefore, sadly, a totally amateur and toothless group. They do not have a voice or any power and therefore do not and cannot represent the fans as their raison d'etre implies. The club and more importantly its fans would be no worse off if the Trust disappeared (unless of course it is going to mount another Operation Promotion next season to get us back in the league again)  

We have reached the point of no return regarding the running of our great club,

Lets look at what is different now,

Fenty has always come in for some criticism over the years, some rightly some wrongly,

His family and supporters have always come back on here to defend him,

Well that has stopped hasn't it ?

Not one fishy member has come out to defend him for weeks now,

So what happens after this season?

If we go down it could be the end not just for Fenty but for our great club,

Fans had 6 years going round the country competing against village teams most of the time giving them the biggest crowd of the season,

BUT

Fenty and Co did not appreciate the support  because it did not give the club any profit,

I am afraid that will not happen again as once in a life time is enough for most fans,

If we survive things will have to change and that will not happen if Fenty is still in power,

He will have to walk away he past the point of no return.

You only have to look at the likes of Bax and Big Chris who have come on here and said their piece to know there will be something big happening in the summer whether we are safe or not,

So for 8 games that will decide our fate I just agree with others that we should all unite behind Jolley and the team and hope we can get enough points to survive ,

Then the future will be fantastic imo ,

A bright new manager with a bright new board backing him,

A club that is united from the stands to the boardroom,

Wouldn't that be great. ?

If we get relegated I won't be angry.

I was angry in 2010. I've been angry this season. I'm tired of being angry. I haven't got the energy to be angry.

I'm just deeply, deeply disappointed.

Quoted from grimsby pete

We have reached the point of no return regarding the running of our great club,

Lets look at what is different now,

Fenty has always come in for some criticism over the years, some rightly some wrongly,

His family and supporters have always come back on here to defend him,

Well that has stopped hasn't it ?

Not one fishy member has come out to defend him for weeks now,

So what happens after this season?

If we go down it could be the end not just for Fenty but for our great club,

Fans had 6 years going round the country competing against village teams most of the time giving them the biggest crowd of the season,

BUT

Fenty and Co did not appreciate the support  because it did not give the club any profit,

I am afraid that will not happen again as once in a life time is enough for most fans,

If we survive things will have to change and that will not happen if Fenty is still in power,

He will have to walk away he past the point of no return.

You only have to look at the likes of Bax and Big Chris who have come on here and said their piece to know there will be something big happening in the summer whether we are safe or not,

So for 8 games that will decide our fate I just agree with others that we should all unite behind Jolley and the team and hope we can get enough points to survive ,

Then the future will be fantastic imo ,

A bright new manager with a bright new board backing him,

A club that is united from the stands to the boardroom,

Wouldn't that be great. ?

Bit old to believe in fairies aren't you Pete?

From what I can see on here Fenty treats the Trust with the same contempt as he treats the fans. In his eyes he is the only one who deserves any praise, and the club to him is his personal property to do with what he likes because he once put some money in.

The Trust board should resign and add their voice to the clamour for change. Start putting the heat on publicly and give Mr. Fenty the opportunity to say in clear terms what he intends to do.

It is so frustrating for all concerned that he has wasted all the goodwill that generally surrounds the club, but really poor decisions which are getting worse as each year passes means he has exhausted any trust.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

From what I can see on here Fenty treats the Trust with the same contempt as he treats the fans. In his eyes he is the only one who deserves any praise, and the club to him is his personal property to do with what he likes because he once put some money in.

The Trust board should resign and add their voice to the clamour for change. Start putting the heat on publicly and give Mr. Fenty the opportunity to say in clear terms what he intends to do.

It is so frustrating for all concerned that he has wasted all the goodwill that generally surrounds the club, but really poor decisions which are getting worse as each year passes means he has exhausted any trust.

Not sure the Trust board should resign but other than that I am in agreement with putting pressure on Fenty once the season is over.

Some will say why wait but if these issues lessen our chances of survival by 0.05% then it is best to wait

Quoted from Cloudy

Not sure the Trust board should resign but other than that I am in agreement with putting pressure on Fenty once the season is over.

Some will say why wait but if these issues lessen our chances of survival by 0.05% then it is best to wait

Two way sword really by being on the board the Trust are in effect part of the problem.If they resign that position in protest what about all the hard work and money spent in gaining and holding that position? The right person sat on that board could do a lot of good if the time ever came round when real change was embraced. I think they should wait til league position is determined then they need a sit down with the board and seek clear and concise answers on strategy for GTFC going forward.Any hint of BS or delaying tactics get the gloves off and come out swinging the vast majority of fans will back them.To sit and do nothing after this Season even IF we stay up they are in effect condoning the current regime and it`s failings.To me that would be unacceptable.

Quoted from Ipswin

Bit old to believe in fairies aren't you Pete?

Well I believe in you my mate,

Quoted from RichMariner

If we get relegated I won't be angry.

I was angry in 2010. I've been angry this season. I'm tired of being angry. I haven't got the energy to be angry.

I'm just deeply, deeply disappointed.

Same here. Think most are beyond anger now and well into the realms of apathy. I feel no affinity to the club any more and as you say, it's just all deeply disappointing.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Two way sword really by being on the board the Trust are in effect part of the problem.If they resign that position in protest what about all the hard work and money spent in gaining and holding that position? The right person sat on that board could do a lot of good if the time ever came round when real change was embraced. I think they should wait til league position is determined then they need a sit down with the board and seek clear and concise answers on strategy for GTFC going forward.Any hint of BS or delaying tactics get the gloves off and come out swinging the vast majority of fans will back them.To sit and do nothing after this Season even IF we stay up they are in effect condoning the current regime and it`s failings.To me that would be unacceptable.

The "board" is Fenty. That is it. the others are just there to massage his ego and fulfil any legal requirements.

Surely by now we know that Fenty is Fenty; he has nothing to offer other than being himself. There is no sunny uplands around the corner where he takes the club in a new direction, whilst taking on board what other more informed people are saying. There is no chance of any proper investment in the players or the facilities or spectator comfort or being more engaging with the fans.

All his goodwill has been used up, there is nothing left.

He himself keeps saying he wants out, so the only thing to do now is get the Trust to be the catalyst to find a way for him to leave, in a way acceptable to all parties.

I do agree all this should be done at the end of the season, but the club the fans the community cannot go forward if he stays in charge as the atmosphere is too toxic.

Quoted from Mariner_09

I have a very ambivalent view on JF. I recognise that he was the only one with any decent capital prepared to put his money where his mouth is in the aftermath of the ITV digital shambles. Even if has invested £2m worth of “benign loans” then he has still put £2m worth of his own money into the club. I know he is a wealthy man but I’d imagine that is a very significant proportion of his own wealth. Given that I am inclined to have a reasonable degree of sympathy for him.

Added to that, even when I am vilifying him, I would never question his integrity. He clearly cares about the club and I’m certain he hurt as much as the rest of us when we got relegated out of the football league and spent 6 long years trying to pick ourselves up. He was as excited and giddy as anyone after Nathan Arnold temporarily set us free. Even if it was cringeworthy, his celebrations with Omar during his interview with BT demonstrated his joy at getting us promoted. He then looked ecstatic when Dis held the promotion trophy aloft. He is as much a Town fan as any of us, just with lots more money and had the will to pump it into a leaky bucket of a football club.

I also believe that some sections of the fanbase do show symptoms of what Jose Mourinho would call “football heritage” given that it wasn’t very long ago that we were beating Liverpool in the League Cup and holding our own in the Championship for several years. We were punching above our weight in those days, I saw a Cod Almighty piece about 2 years ago showing that the attendance for the first home game of the season for a 2nd tier game against Port Vale under Buckley was almost identical to the one against Nuneaton, also the first home game of the season back in 2014. Some people didn’t know what they had. We had it really good in those days and probably only appreciate it now it’s gone. JF has overseen our natural reordering and that has worsened our perception of him. It would probably have happened anyway but it happened under his stewardship. Whether an. ownership with better football knowledge would have slowed the regression to a level to make it manageable is unknowable.

For the aforementioned reasons he has built up a great bank of good will and sympathy from me. I recognise his financial contribution is substantial and his love of the club undeniable. I was therefore able to forgive him after our first relegation from the league. However, even my good will is starting to wear thin. This season has exemplified his hugely overinflated ego, his propensity to excerbate already awful situations and hasn’t helped the perception that he treats the fans as just customers rather than actual supporters who need looking after.

I’m not going to go over old ground and fastidiously narrate all of the PR shambles, abysmal managerial appointments and consistently shambolic decision making again but I will mention one. If Ginny and the other poster whose name escapes me are correct, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, and JF did describe Operation Promotion as the worst thing to ever happen to the club then he is either very arrogant, naive or just downright insulting. Operation Promotion brought the fans together. We are often a divided bunch. Take Paul Hurst, Jon Nolan, Lenell John Lewis, Ollie Palmer etc. There have been hundreds of examples in my lifetime that show how we can have vehement disagreements on lots of players and managers but OP brought us all together. It encouraged collective desire and even if it provided the funds to sign Pat Hoban so he could fire that shot that was blocked so Nath could score it was worth it in a footballing sense as well. Even if JF does think that then it shows a huge degree of unintelligence at telling hard working, dedicated fans that he believes it. As people frequently tell me, engage brain before mouth.

The problem as I see it is that JF has spent so long in ultimate control that he believes he has become untouchable and given his financial stranglehold that is a reasonable suggestion to make. As an unparagoned individual he can say, do and think as he likes and it won’t alter his position of relative power in the club. When someone spends so long in a post they tend to think like that, look at Tony Blair and Margerat Thatcher, they both clung to power too long and their respective careers ended in disaster. Witn JF the electorate or his own party can’t boot him out when they’ve had enough of him. We have to suffer until he is ready to leave.

The other issue is the almost complete absence of viable alternatives. Unless there is a secret millionaire out there ready to buy us out then, in all honesty, I agree with JF and the current hierarchy must carry out due diligence and make sure we don’t get some Italian gangster coming in and turning us into his vanity project. I’d rather have JF than someone with no affinity to the club and the same probabe incompetence when it comes to decision making. Likewise, fan ownership is littered with issues. We would still need somebody with the necessary skills and energy to lead such a venture and nobody seems willing to come forward and lead this campaign.

Overall, the problem is almost unsolvable, we have no clear alternative to JF and even if there was one I’d be making every attempt to make sure they absolutely financially and morally capable of running MY CLUB! JF has invested a huge amount of time, money and soul into running this club and he does deserve some slack, the issue is that he has been given some and now all patience has evaporated and there must be an change. This year has plumbed the depths of despair. The Slade appointment was dreadful and the delayed sacking was denouncable. However, we must now show the same collective desire as we did during Operation Promotion to ensure we are in the FL next season.

I agree with some of your points 09, its the last paragraph I have issue with. The problems not unsolvable, its a situation which has been managed by JF, he has engineered this catch 22 position where he holds all the cards and makes all the decisions. Decisions where, by in large he's failed. Miserably. Time and time again. He may well have invested huge amounts off time and money into the club but tbf he's done it terribly. Whether he wanted to or not.
If our club is to go forward even just an inch, JF has to relinquish the reins, either by completely removing himself from day to day matters and be a "silent" director/shareholder and let someone else run there club, from top to bottom. I and lots of others have said it before, he has a much better chance of ever regaining any of his money if someone else ran the club even just a little bit more professionally than him.
Or, by clearing out of the club. altogether. A lot of people bang oil about "who's coming in?" "who is there who wants to take over?" An enormous amount of football clubs attract investment in the UK, big clubs and small clubs. I believe the main reason no substantial takeover has happened is because of JF, I wouldn't want to work with him either so I understand if potential investors are put off even enquiring. The last two investors are long gone, the trust were held to ransom when they were perceived as a threat/easy target. The signs are there.
My thinking is that JF is not untouchable, at all. He is 100% totally reliant on a group of people to make his position worthwhile, US. Without us he has nothing except an empty stadium, soaking up more and more of his money. We can force his hand.

Mr fentys regime is coming to an end.Little bird tells me that someone is taken fenty to court and all will come out.If what comes out is true He is finished.

Bentley 1

Quoted from Tell the truth

Mr fentys regime is coming to an end.Little bird tells me that someone is taken fenty to court and all will come out.If what comes out is true He is finished.

Whilst I hope you are correct and would love to know more, I would advise caution on a public domain. !!

Quoted from ska face

I’m all up for criticism and the waving of pitchforks when required - but that’s just patently bullsht, isn’t it?

Not much of a secret club when they publish their minutes on a monthly basis and people are welcomed to come down and sit in to view the discussions before deciding whether or not they fancy joining in. I’m sure a prominent member of this forum plus an esteemed local journalist can attest to that happening within the last month.

And I’ve no idea where you’ve come to the conclusion that membership is limited when almost every single official (and most non-official) utterings from the Trust or their members has included a plea for other people to get involved at all levels. As for the “boys club” comment, it would appear 3 of the 11 people around the table at the last meeting were women - not a perfect gender balance by any stretch but certainly better than the one at Fenty Towers!

Yes I can. I’ve been looking at going down for a meeting since the infamous fans forum and managed to sit in on a meeting a few weeks back. I can say that I did not see anything that would constitute a boys club whilst there.

If you’re going to make a point - or raise something - at least post under a name, or be known by others - posing under these stupid alias’/quotes whatever is bloody stupid. In my humble opinion.

Personally I’m more liable to take note/listen to those who have the interest/passion/talk sense, a forum is for debate,raise topics etc - if you’ve nothing to hide or say anything libellous then what’s the problem?

Apologies, but it does my nut in.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Surely by now we know that Fenty is Fenty; There is no chance of any proper investment in the players or the facilities or spectator comfort

Perhaps he should put some money in and simply increase the 'benign' loan - oh no I forgot, that's not what we want is it?

Quoted from Tell the truth

Mr fentys regime is coming to an end.Little bird tells me that someone is taken fenty to court and all will come out.If what comes out is true He is finished.

It’s not that Walt with an IOU note is it?

All we are asking for is a team that can compete at this level, I think fenty has had enough of it all a bit like the chef who no longer loves to cook, it shows in the end product, sadly it will be the club that suffers in the end and therefore us.
At Lincoln I bumped in a few old faces from the pontoon and it hit home to me just what this club means to people.
It massively frustrates me what is being allowed to happen right now, we won't go down this year but do we really want to put up with this excrement year on year, the fans deserve better. End of rant.

Quoted from pizzzza

It is OK former Trust board members coming on here calling for change at the top, removal of Fenty, but what put Fenty in such a powerful position in the first place? That's right, the Trust's decision to gift Fenty all those shares. Who was on the Trust board at the time? They should have canvassed their members to make the correct decision (ie hold onto the shares!), unless the carrot of a place on the board was too much of a temptation for those who were "self-serving" (not my words...).

Either the Trust board at the time:
1. Welcomed the hand-over of shares in return for the much coveted seat on the board.
or...
2. Lacked the foresight to see what the consequences of the hand-over would be. This should have been made clear to their membership.

Whilst I vehemently disagreed at the time, and still point out from time to time what a strategic error this was by the Trust, the Trust did canvass its members. They voted by quite a large majority to support the motion to give Fenty the shares.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

In the time JF has been at the Club he has put in £2-3M and that`s great. In that time though just on home ticket sales the fans have probably put in somewhere in excess of £10M+ so who really bankrolls the Club?T

JF loaned the club c£2m. And put £8-900k in in shares. He hasn't put £2-3m in. He is still owed c £2m and holds the ground in security against that debt.

Quoted from realist

The trust running the club would be worse than what we have now. A secretive boys club with limited membership whose board members resign at the slightest disagreement.  At least Fenty had hung in there.
We need to wipe the slate clean and form a new group which is properly run with the support of all the fans without any of the existing trust board members.

That's so factually inaccurate as to be almost libellous. It is open to anyone to join and participate. It is a regulated company with publicly declared articles of association and a written constitution. The fact you, or I for that matter, don't agree with all its decisions and strategy doesn't mean its a secretive boys club.

In time honoured fashion: GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT.

Quoted from arryarryarry

I know of Dave Roberts and although he left the Trust board I am sure he was still in contact with them and new them all very well, so I feel my comment still stands otherwise why would he say what he did?

I'm not saying he's right or wrong. Just that it's possible for two reasonable people to draw different conclusions about the same people from their different perspectives, age, experience of those people, the preceding relationship each has with them, and potentially still have enough in common (Bax and Dave) to agree to differ and work together.

Quoted from ginnywings

Same here. Think most are beyond anger now and well into the realms of apathy. I feel no affinity to the club any more and as you say, it's just all deeply disappointing.

Not me I'm fuck1ng furious. If we go down the atmosphere will be toxic especially if our fate is sealed at home. I'm afraid I don't quite buy people claiming they are apathetic when they post on a town forum every day. The first stage of beating addiction is admitting it to yourself!

Wonder if we look like being relegated at final home game if JF will pay for a police presence inside the ground, possibly situated in the Upper Findus?

Quoted from Vance Warner

Not me I'm fuck1ng furious. If we go down the atmosphere will be toxic especially if our fate is sealed at home. I'm afraid I don't quite buy people claiming they are apathetic when they post on a town forum every day. The first stage of beating addiction is admitting it to yourself!

Thanks for letting me know how i feel. I can assure you it's not anger, more like resignation. Can't do anything about the situation, so i'm not going to get het up about it. If you want to be angry, go ahead.

Quoted from ginnywings

Thanks for letting me know how i feel. I can assure you it's not anger, more like resignation. Can't do anything about the situation, so i'm not going to get het up about it. If you want to be angry, go ahead.

I think you'll find that you, amongst many, have said enough to do something. Whether it be now or in the future, this passage of events will force change because the fans/board relationship is irreparable. There is no respect anymore.

Either the GTFC Board, through its appointment of managers, coaches and players, has been totally incompetent  -

Or the GTFC Board plan has been / is to get relegated.

Which ever one it is, Town fans are right to be unhappy by the current 'Freefall' towards the bottom 2 places, and the current Board is ultimately responsible for these circumstances - and there can be no confidence in it.

Not sure that Morecambe deserve as few as the reported 891 attendees tonight, but this GTFC Board deserve fewer.

UTM

If Fenty did say what is rumoured on here about OP then he needs to leave. What a rude nieve outrages thing to say. OP boosted out attendances home and away, it Brought the fans together and most importantly for me it Brought a promotion AND many happy memories for myself and I'm sure 100's of other FANS.

Quoted from lukeo

If Fenty did say what is rumoured on here about OP then he needs to leave. What a rude nieve outrages thing to say. OP boosted out attendances home and away, it Brought the fans together and most importantly for me it Brought a promotion AND many happy memories for myself and I'm sure 100's of other FANS.

I may be wrong but I think it was SHUT UP Marley who rubbished the OP campaign?

Quoted from 1mickylyons

I may be wrong but I think it was SHUT UP Marley who rubbished the OP campaign?

SHUT UP might have said it as well but it was Fenty that said it to Bax,

I could be wrong.

Quoted from grimsby pete

SHUT UP might have said it as well but it was Fenty that said it to Bax,

I could be wrong.

Well Pete what I mean is the first I had heard of OP being dismissed was at the Forum you could hear an audible gasp

Not a good night those on the top table came looking for a conflict never really got what they wanted before the watershed then kicked off with a display of bullying more suited to a playground.Barring the first half hour Slade wasted they had actually got the room more or less onside when SHUT UP lobbed the grenade in the fireworks box.

That fans forum was the turning point for many. The word smug has been used by several people in relation to that night. To think they accused the fans of bullying tactics over the cup that shall not be named.

Quoted from lukeo

If Fenty did say what is rumoured on here about OP then he needs to leave. What a rude nieve outrages thing to say. OP boosted out attendances home and away, it Brought the fans together and most importantly for me it Brought a promotion AND many happy memories for myself and I'm sure 100's of other FANS.

OP didn't just raise the £110k it probably boosted attendances by an average of 1k a home game too which would equate to an extra £350k or so over that season. It was not only offensive to say OP didn't change anything but also a very one-eyed view and short sighted to say its impact cash wise was only £110k. That one campaign led by the Trust directly or indirectly attracted more extra "investment" into the club than the board have done for years. What has been said about it is shameful and from people who have never had to encounter garnering support from the paying public in their whole business careers. Accountants and solicitors exist on needs of the public and are generally business to business and the fish processing industry is business to business too. I don't know what gives them the right to feel that they are best placed to operate what is essentially a retail business to the public based upon entertainment..

Quoted from Bigdog

OP didn't just raise the £110k it probably boosted attendances by an average of 1k a home game too which would equate to an extra £350k or so over that season. It was not only offensive to say OP didn't change anything but also a very one-eyed view and short sighted to say it's impact cash wise was only £110k. That one campaign led by the Trust directly or indirectly attracted more extra "investment" into the club than the board have done for years. What has been said about it is shameful and from people who have never had to encounter garnering support from the paying public in their whole business careers. Accountants and solicitors exist on needs of the public and are generally business to business and the fish processing industry is business to business too. I don't know what gives them the right to feel that they are best placed to operate what is essentially a retail business to the public based upon entertainment..

Couple the above with a distinct lack of football knowledge and there should be no surprise in where we are today..

The OP brought everybody together, suddenly we all felt part of the club, our club. Plus away days were themed again we felt we were adding something, now that many people feel that the club because of various scenarios don't really understand or care about the fans.

Quoted from Bigdog

OP didn't just raise the £110k it probably boosted attendances by an average of 1k a home game too which would equate to an extra £350k or so over that season. It was not only offensive to say OP didn't change anything but also a very one-eyed view and short sighted to say its impact cash wise was only £110k. That one campaign led by the Trust directly or indirectly attracted more extra "investment" into the club than the board have done for years. What has been said about it is shameful and from people who have never had to encounter garnering support from the paying public in their whole business careers. Accountants and solicitors exist on needs of the public and are generally business to business and the fish processing industry is business to business too. I don't know what gives them the right to feel that they are best placed to operate what is essentially a retail business to the public based upon entertainment..

Not far off. Matchday receipts went up by about £200k. Retail/merchandise went up by £125k.

Interestingly the cash position also improved a lot too. Wonder if that was helped by £110k extra being poured into the coffers?

Quoted from Gaffer58

The OP brought everybody together, suddenly we all felt part of the club, our club. Plus away days were themed again we felt we were adding something, now that many people feel that the club because of various scenarios don't really understand or care about the fans.

Pretty sure the theme days were the season before. Kicked off with the Barnet Blow-up Invasion, then Wigs at Woking.

The fans felt the Club was back in their hands and they had a team to be proud of.

Quoted from ginnywings

To think they accused the fans of bullying tactics over the cup that shall not be named.

You see there are upsides to relegation - we won't be in that dodgy cup if we go down, no need for anymore bullying

Quoted from Ipswin

You see there are upsides to relegation - we won't be in that dodgy cup if we go down, no need for anymore bullying

True enough, plus we might actually win a game in the F.A.Trophy.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

The fans felt the Club was back in their hands and they had a team to be proud of.

Fully agree then the rug is whipped from under our feet,

What other board would try and alienate the fans like ours,