Takeover

If you go down the list of the 92 EFL and Premier League clubs there's only around a dozen left that have got old facilities and would benefit greatly from a new stadium. Out of the rest most have got new stadiums, upgraded what they already had or are awaiting planning permission. One or two like Rochdale, Bury and Yeovil for example are still poor but have upgraded to satisfy their demands. We're becoming one of the few not one of the many.

After three decades with nearly 90% of all clubs upgrading here we are. What about investment? "We've put a statement out on our club website. If anyone wants a conversation, we'll have one." What about the new stadium? "Peaks Parkway is still on the table although it looks impossible to fund it with an enabling project as there's no demand for housing and retail in the area." What about Freeman Street five months on from the council statement? "We still don't know what the council is offering."

Hardly inspiring stuff and a distinct lack of urgency shown. My question would be.. are we just going to bimble along as we are patching up BP until JF gets his investment back or is the club making a concerted effort and actively exploring every avenue possible to find the necessary investment to push the club forward and being a willing partner in current discussions with the council to get the new stadium project going?

I can't work out whether we're in a holding pattern until JF gets the rest of his money back or the club is trying to push forward. All available evidence at the minute seems to be that we're in a holding pattern with JF quite willing to explain how BP is being maintained and says absolutely nothing of any consequence re the new stadium or how the club are going to attract investment other than they tried something very low key a few years back. The club is not openly up for sale to a wider audience and they don't seem to have had any meaningful discussions with the council. You'd think by now there'd be a continuous open dialogue and shouting from the rooftops for investment.

It would be a crying shame if in a few years time it became evident that we had been in a holding pattern whereby our owner ended up getting paid all of his money back (so his net investment would be zero) and no progress had been made on a new stadium or external investment. Twenty odd years would have gone by and for what? It's not what I want to happen but it's what I'm most fearful of. Just hoping we'll actually see some positive action off the pitch in the next few months to put many minds at rest..

My question is, who actually owns GTFC, as I own my house, if it requires a new garage roof I pay to have it repaired, if I then decide to sell my house 3 years later I do not expect to charge any prospective owner the cost of these repairs on top of the value of the house. So why do the current shareholders expect that any money they spend, whether on players or infrastructure they get back.

Quoted from Bigdog

If you go down the list of the 92 EFL and Premier League clubs there's only around a dozen left that have got old facilities and would benefit greatly from a new stadium. Out of the rest most have got new stadiums, upgraded what they already had or are awaiting planning permission. One or two like Rochdale, Bury and Yeovil for example are still poor but have upgraded to satisfy their aims. We're becoming one of the few not one of the many.

After three decades with nearly 90% of all clubs upgrading here we are. What about investment? "We've put a statement out on our club website. If anyone wants a conversation, we'll have one." What about the new stadium? "Peaks Parkway is still on the table although it looks impossible to fund it with an enabling project as there's no demand for housing and retail in the area." What about Freeman Street five months on from the council statement? "We still don't know what the council is offering."

Hardly inspiring stuff and a distinct lack of urgency shown. My question would be.. are we just going to bimble along as we are patching up BP until JF gets his investment back or is the club making a concerted effort and actively exploring every avenue possible to find the necessary investment to push the club forward and being a willing partner in current discussions with the council to get the new stadium project going?

I can't work out whether we're in a holding pattern until JF gets the rest of his money back or the club is trying to push forward. All available evidence at the minute seems to be that we're in a holding pattern with JF quite willing to explain how BP is being maintained and says absolutely nothing of any consequence re the new stadium or how the club are going to attract investment other than they tried something very low key a few years back. The club is not openly up for sale to a wider audience and they don't seem to have had any meaningful discussions with the council. You'd think by now they'd be a continuous open dialogue.

It would be a crying shame if in a few years time it became evident that we had been in a holding pattern whereby our owner ended up getting paid all of his money back (so his net investment would be zero) and no progress had been made on a new stadium or external investment. Twenty odd years would have gone by and for what? It's not what I want to happen but it's what I'm most fearful of. Just hoping we'll actually see some positive action off the pitch in the next few months to put many minds at rest..

If BP is being "patched up" I must have missed it! Filthy exterior, rusting floodlights, cracked and missing windbreak panels on the Findus, poor facilities in general for the 21st century.

I actually love BP - the memories, the atmosphere when its rocking and I would be happy for the club to stay there if even a modicum of improvements could be funded. A new main stand, new floodlights, something done with the open corners, new bars under the new stand -  willing and eager ball boys(!) in club tracksuits, a new sound system and a paint job from top to bottom.        

Would it be impossible for the much vaunted "conference facilities" to be away from BP? Could not we have a GTFC hub (for want of a better word) within the regenerations starting in Grimsby?

In any event, Mr. Fenty reminds me of a neighbour of mine. "Everything will be different when we get a new place - I will suddenly start doing all the things I want to do when I get the new place." The trouble is the neighbour cannot afford to move, so he sits there dreaming of what life might be like. Even if he did move, he would not change the way he operates (the neighbour that is) and I suspect if a miracle occurred and we got a new stadium GTFC would not be able to change sufficiently under Fenty to make anything of it.

If Fenty cannot fund basic repairs at BP, and has ruled out any improvements to BP to bring it up to date and cannot deliver a new stadium, why is he there?

Quoted from chipsandgravy

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

Threads about takeovers will stop when we have investors who are looking to improve the club rather than past investors holding the club back. Maybe someone with no political interest that's interfering with community involvement, someone who isn't looking for the return of his loan or someone who puts the fans at the heart of the club.

As Bigdog says, we have had the thick end of two decades of this. And it shows now sign of ending. And it needs to.

I agree totally with you Bigdog.  A very good post.  

We (very reasonably) complain when there is no progress or news about a new stadium.  Then after a number of years there isn’t any progress.  Very frustrating. Explanations from JF on why there is little or no progress on a new stadium then annoy fans even more.

JF then goes very quiet in communicating with fans.  This is until somebody comments that he has been very quiet for some time.  Then he pops up and makes up for his silence in one outburst.  Trouble is that there is still no progress to talk about.  The only definite is that there is no positive news about moving to a new stadium.  And there is no timescale when there might be any news or progress.

This cycle of inaction is a perfect storm for the club stagnating and killing any hope for the club to move forward and modernise.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

If BP is being "patched up" I must have missed it! Filthy exterior, rusting floodlights, cracked and missing windbreak panels on the Findus, poor facilities in general for the 21st century.

I actually love BP - the memories, the atmosphere when its rocking and I would be happy for the club to stay there if even a modicum of improvements could be funded. A new main stand, new floodlights, something done with the open corners, new bars under the new stand -  willing and eager ball boys(!) in club tracksuits, a new sound system and a paint job from top to bottom.        

Would it be impossible for the much vaunted "conference facilities" to be away from BP? Could not we have a GTFC hub (for want of a better word) within the regenerations starting in Grimsby?

In any event, Mr. Fenty reminds me of a neighbour of mine. "Everything will be different when we get a new place - I will suddenly start doing all the things I want to do when I get the new place." The trouble is the neighbour cannot afford to move, so he sits there dreaming of what life might be like. Even if he did move, he would not change the way he operates (the neighbour that is) and I suspect if a miracle occurred and we got a new stadium GTFC would not be able to change sufficiently under Fenty to make anything of it.

If Fenty cannot fund basic repairs at BP, and has ruled out any improvements to BP to bring it up to date and cannot deliver a new stadium, why is he there?

I think I know your neighbour. Is he the one who wants a property out of town with space for a building alongside to run a business from so that he can afford a bigger, better house?

It'd be a fantastic plan, if only he could persuade the money men that his business will be profitable enough to enable him to pay for the house. Oh and persuade those nincompoops at the council (who he put in their place the last time he spoke to them*) to approve his plans.

* And that twerp from the parish newsletter who keeps sticking his nose in where it's not wanted. And his whinging customers are not much better - he's had to set them straight a few times too. As for his last, useless business partner (loads of money but no nouse) and the other bloke (made his money in some big company). Saw them off sharpish!

Not read the majority of this thread, but only thing I say is, that Fenty genuinely is a fan of the club, and will only do what is right.
We have seen takeover's go very wrong in this country in the past, and he is doing everything to avoid that, and i respect him for keeping us afloat and running, until the right person comes in.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

Not read the majority of this thread, but only thing I say is, that Fenty genuinely is a fan of the club, and will only do what is right.
We have seen takeover's go very wrong in this country in the past, and he is doing everything to avoid that, and i respect him for keeping us afloat and running, until the right person comes in.

Right for who? Himself, the club or both.  I believe he's out for himself the way he's held his "benign" loans over the club like a hangman's noose.

JF's appaling track record suggests he is not the right person to judge who is best to run the club.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

Not read the majority of this thread, but only thing I say is, that Fenty genuinely is a fan of the club, and will only do what is right.
We have seen takeover's go very wrong in this country in the past, and he is doing everything to avoid that, and i respect him for keeping us afloat and running, until the right person comes in.

He doesn't put any funds in to keep us afloat. The fans pay for most of it.  He presides over how the income is distributed and makes a poor job of everything else.

The biggest problem, in my opinion only, is that not only has  he single handedly presided over the worse times on the pitch in our proud history he also has held back the club from moving forward into the 21st century....
Huddersfields chairman made a great statement recently about "not letting the club sleepwalk into relegation" and proactively did something to arrest that slide...What has JF ever done to stop us from "sleepwalking into the football abyss and becoming a bottom feeder in the football league"...nothing, in fact I do not believe he even kniws the meaning of acting proactively!!
And he optimised everything that his wrong in his actions on Saturday by trying to put himself back in the limelight by presenting MJ with MOM award...
That should've been presented by someone from either one of our sponsors or better still, one of the mascots.....