Sparky
Member
- Joined
- 8 Sep 2009
- Messages
- 10,581
- Player
- Chris Greenacre
Lots to digest but 3 interested parties in discussions about the takeover.
Football is a strange game – the ecstatic scenes at Prenton Park at the end of our last home fixture against Crewe were right up there with some of the most emotional moments we have had since coming back to the Club in 2014, and yet we weren’t celebrating a promotion or a cup win, but the avoidance of relegation.
Despite the happiness and relief that was palpable at both the Crewe and Newport games, I can’t gloss over what a disappointment this season has been overall, especially given that we were playing with the largest squad budget that we have had during my time at the Club. We started the season well, averaging 2 points per game throughout August, and we ended it well, with 1.8 PPG from the start of March until the end of the season under Andy Crosby. Had we been able to replicate it throughout the season, that form would have seen us automatically promoted. Instead we suffered a significant drop in form for much of the season and ended up in a relegation fight.
We need to look at what went wrong and how we can avoid that happening again, which needs some honest reflection from all of us. No area will be spared from this review, but a key aspect that we will be looking at closely is why we had so many players out injured for prolonged periods of time – this will mean a review of our processes for the entire medical cycle - pre-contract medical review, pre-hab, injury diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation. For context, almost 20% of our entire wage bill was spent on players who were out injured during the season – this may have been simple bad luck, but it is important that we see if there are areas where we can tighten up and avoid this in the future. Having injured players back for the run-in undoubtedly played a part in our up-tick in form at the latter end of the season, although this does not detract from the great job done by Andy Crosby.
Footballing Staff for 2025/6 Season
I am delighted that Andy will be staying with us. Having him confirmed in situ early gives him plenty of time to shape the squad as he feels it should be during the close season (as indeed he has already been doing over the last few weeks).
As has already been announced, Neil Danns is leaving to take up the manager position at Southport which is an exciting opportunity for him. We wish Danzy the very best and thank him for his contribution to the Club both as a player and as part of the football staff.
Karly Bland, the first team physiotherapist, will be moving on to a new role at another club, and again we thank her for her efforts and wish her all the best going forward. Recruitment for that role is now underway and we have a number of strong applicants under consideration.
Non Footballing Staff changes
Tom Clarke, our Media Manager, will be moving on to take up a new role outside of football during the close season. It has not been an easy season to be in a comms and media role, but Tom has coped admirably with the demands of the job and I am sure he will flourish in his new role.
We have been lucky during our tenure to be supported by a number of Associate Directors who, whilst not paid members of staff, have given and continue to give the Club immensely valuable input on their areas of expertise. One of these Associate Directors has been Alan Thompson who has particular experience in technology and education. Over recent months Alan has been working ever more closely with us, as part of a plan for a smooth transition to new ownership, and I am delighted to say that he has now accepted an offer to become a formal Director of the Club. You can read the full details of his appointment by clicking here.
Club Sale
I am very conscious that everyone is waiting for an update on the Club sale. This time last year we had accepted an offer for the acquisition of our shares and all parties expected completion to take place before the season started. The delays since then, all for circumstances outside of our control, have been the source of enormous frustration for me and Nicky, as I know they have for you all (and for the putative purchasers). The whole process has taken much longer than anyone anticipated, but we are currently in the situation where we have three different groups (including both the party with whom we agreed terms last year, and the party who narrowly missed out at that stage), all of whom have carried out extensive due diligence into the Club and we feel would be able to take the Club forward to the next stage by progressing capital projects that have been lined up, and who are keen to get a deal over the line before the start of the new season.
Non-Disclosure Agreements prevent me from saying any more at this stage but please rest assured that progress is being made and we are making every effort to conclude the matter successfully, with the best possible partner to secure the long term future of the Club, as soon as possible. As I have said before, in the meantime, I would urge people to ignore social media speculation from those claiming to be “in the know” as it is almost always ill-informed click-bait.
Fan Zone 2
Throughout the last 18 months we have avoided making a detailed statement on where the FZ2 project stands, as we were trying to work through a solution that would bring the project to fruition. However given the level of misinformation and speculation that has abounded, I am setting out a short summary of the Club’s view of where the project is up to and what the issues are, from the Club’s perspective.
I would like to make it very clear that the Club has no intention or indeed desire to take over the FZ2 project. The Club remains committed to working with parties to find a solution that will enable full payment of the bond-holders but remains concerned that those running the project have not taken on board advice or assistance from professionals (both within and outside the Club) who are trying to help. The Club has a concern regarding a number of directors who have resigned from the Trust board because of concerns regarding the way the Trust was running the project, and the withdrawal of experts who were appointed by the Trust to assist them, due to these issues.
Golden Share
You will recall that last year the Articles of Association of the Company were amended to provide for the issuance of two Golden Shares which were designed to protect the heritage of the club from any future owners who might seek to change things which are important to supporters. It was always the plan that at least one of these Golden Shares would be held by a supporters’ group. We have been working with Mark Bartley to update TROSC’s constitution so that we can transfer a Golden Share to them. This work is now complete and once the TROSC members have approved the changes, the Golden Share will be transferred to TROSC later this month.
Family Excellence Award
One of the things I set out to do when I came to the Club was to increase the number of young people attending matches, as this had been in decline across most Clubs in the EFL. That led to the SWA2 initiatives, including what we now call Nate’s Tickets, and a focus on improving our facilities to be as family friendly as possible. I am delighted that we have again been awarded the Gold Award for family excellence, and have been placed second most family-friendly Club in League 2. I would like to commend all of the people who have helped us achieve this, including our excellent Supporter Liaison Officers who go out of their way to ensure that families have a great day out at Prenton Park.
Attendances and Season Tickets
Despite the difficult year we have had on and off the pitch, I am delighted to report that over 3,500 of the SWA have signed up for season tickets for the new season, which is slightly up on where we were at the same point last year. I am humbled by the support shown in the circumstances and will do everything in my power to make sure 2025/6 is a season we can all be proud of, whether that is as Chairman or having handed that role on to a successor.
I would like to conclude by thanking those of you who have stuck with us through the difficulties, and in particular the away supporters who continued to travel up and down the country in numbers even when we were struggling for form, and the more than 8,500 of the SWA who turned out to see us secure survival against Crewe. That game against Crewe will be right up there with one of the memories I will cherish from my time at the Club as a player and as Chairman, and shows the huge potential of the Club that is there for the new owners to work on.
As I said at the outset, this has not been an easy year, on or off the pitch but Nicky and I remain fully committed to keeping the Club on a steady course and getting the take-over sorted as soon as we are able.
Football is a strange game – the ecstatic scenes at Prenton Park at the end of our last home fixture against Crewe were right up there with some of the most emotional moments we have had since coming back to the Club in 2014, and yet we weren’t celebrating a promotion or a cup win, but the avoidance of relegation.
Despite the happiness and relief that was palpable at both the Crewe and Newport games, I can’t gloss over what a disappointment this season has been overall, especially given that we were playing with the largest squad budget that we have had during my time at the Club. We started the season well, averaging 2 points per game throughout August, and we ended it well, with 1.8 PPG from the start of March until the end of the season under Andy Crosby. Had we been able to replicate it throughout the season, that form would have seen us automatically promoted. Instead we suffered a significant drop in form for much of the season and ended up in a relegation fight.
We need to look at what went wrong and how we can avoid that happening again, which needs some honest reflection from all of us. No area will be spared from this review, but a key aspect that we will be looking at closely is why we had so many players out injured for prolonged periods of time – this will mean a review of our processes for the entire medical cycle - pre-contract medical review, pre-hab, injury diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation. For context, almost 20% of our entire wage bill was spent on players who were out injured during the season – this may have been simple bad luck, but it is important that we see if there are areas where we can tighten up and avoid this in the future. Having injured players back for the run-in undoubtedly played a part in our up-tick in form at the latter end of the season, although this does not detract from the great job done by Andy Crosby.
Footballing Staff for 2025/6 Season
I am delighted that Andy will be staying with us. Having him confirmed in situ early gives him plenty of time to shape the squad as he feels it should be during the close season (as indeed he has already been doing over the last few weeks).
As has already been announced, Neil Danns is leaving to take up the manager position at Southport which is an exciting opportunity for him. We wish Danzy the very best and thank him for his contribution to the Club both as a player and as part of the football staff.
Karly Bland, the first team physiotherapist, will be moving on to a new role at another club, and again we thank her for her efforts and wish her all the best going forward. Recruitment for that role is now underway and we have a number of strong applicants under consideration.
Non Footballing Staff changes
Tom Clarke, our Media Manager, will be moving on to take up a new role outside of football during the close season. It has not been an easy season to be in a comms and media role, but Tom has coped admirably with the demands of the job and I am sure he will flourish in his new role.
We have been lucky during our tenure to be supported by a number of Associate Directors who, whilst not paid members of staff, have given and continue to give the Club immensely valuable input on their areas of expertise. One of these Associate Directors has been Alan Thompson who has particular experience in technology and education. Over recent months Alan has been working ever more closely with us, as part of a plan for a smooth transition to new ownership, and I am delighted to say that he has now accepted an offer to become a formal Director of the Club. You can read the full details of his appointment by clicking here.
Club Sale
I am very conscious that everyone is waiting for an update on the Club sale. This time last year we had accepted an offer for the acquisition of our shares and all parties expected completion to take place before the season started. The delays since then, all for circumstances outside of our control, have been the source of enormous frustration for me and Nicky, as I know they have for you all (and for the putative purchasers). The whole process has taken much longer than anyone anticipated, but we are currently in the situation where we have three different groups (including both the party with whom we agreed terms last year, and the party who narrowly missed out at that stage), all of whom have carried out extensive due diligence into the Club and we feel would be able to take the Club forward to the next stage by progressing capital projects that have been lined up, and who are keen to get a deal over the line before the start of the new season.
Non-Disclosure Agreements prevent me from saying any more at this stage but please rest assured that progress is being made and we are making every effort to conclude the matter successfully, with the best possible partner to secure the long term future of the Club, as soon as possible. As I have said before, in the meantime, I would urge people to ignore social media speculation from those claiming to be “in the know” as it is almost always ill-informed click-bait.
Fan Zone 2
Throughout the last 18 months we have avoided making a detailed statement on where the FZ2 project stands, as we were trying to work through a solution that would bring the project to fruition. However given the level of misinformation and speculation that has abounded, I am setting out a short summary of the Club’s view of where the project is up to and what the issues are, from the Club’s perspective.
- Work on the project stopped in summer 2023 because the Trust did not at the time have the cash to continue.
- In November 2023 the Trust was asked to answer three fundamental questions: what are the costs to complete? Does the Trust have the funds to complete? Can the Trust provide a credible business plan that shows all creditors can be paid?
- The Trust believed in 2024 that the cost to complete was c£150,000 and focused on raising that sum.
- The expert property adviser brought in by the Trust, who was acting in a voluntary capacity, felt that the costs would be significantly in excess of the Trust’s estimate and raised concerns that even then the building may be unusable in winter due to the lack of heating, or in warm weather due to the lack of mechanical ventilation, and the consequent temperature and condensation issues. He stepped back from the Trust as the Trust Board would not accept his advice.
- Despite the Trust now having increased their estimated costs to complete, these have still not been professionally verified, and the Club still believes it to be an under-estimate.
- As of the date of the recent EGM, it is our understanding that the Trust had not appointed a Quantity Surveyor to verify costs or appointed a Mechanical and Engineering specialist to advise on ventilation. We do not know whether these have subsequently been appointed.
- In Q1 of 2025 the Trust advised the Club that a 3rd party has agreed to underwrite the costs to complete, but no confirmation of this has been provided directly by the 3rd party and inadequate information has been given on the basis on which that financial support would be provided.
- After 18 months of asking for a more robust plan, in January 2025 the Trust shared with the Club a new version which addressed some of the concerns but still had, in the Club’s view, significant flaws or gaps.
- In April 2025, the Club again set out the three issues that the Trust would need to address in order for the Club to agree be satisfied that the Trust could successfully deliver the project: a verified cost to complete; proof of funds; a business plan which shows the ability to repay all creditors. To date, we have still not been provided with credible answers to these fundamental questions. There has been no response from the Trust on these matter since then.
I would like to make it very clear that the Club has no intention or indeed desire to take over the FZ2 project. The Club remains committed to working with parties to find a solution that will enable full payment of the bond-holders but remains concerned that those running the project have not taken on board advice or assistance from professionals (both within and outside the Club) who are trying to help. The Club has a concern regarding a number of directors who have resigned from the Trust board because of concerns regarding the way the Trust was running the project, and the withdrawal of experts who were appointed by the Trust to assist them, due to these issues.
Golden Share
You will recall that last year the Articles of Association of the Company were amended to provide for the issuance of two Golden Shares which were designed to protect the heritage of the club from any future owners who might seek to change things which are important to supporters. It was always the plan that at least one of these Golden Shares would be held by a supporters’ group. We have been working with Mark Bartley to update TROSC’s constitution so that we can transfer a Golden Share to them. This work is now complete and once the TROSC members have approved the changes, the Golden Share will be transferred to TROSC later this month.
Family Excellence Award
One of the things I set out to do when I came to the Club was to increase the number of young people attending matches, as this had been in decline across most Clubs in the EFL. That led to the SWA2 initiatives, including what we now call Nate’s Tickets, and a focus on improving our facilities to be as family friendly as possible. I am delighted that we have again been awarded the Gold Award for family excellence, and have been placed second most family-friendly Club in League 2. I would like to commend all of the people who have helped us achieve this, including our excellent Supporter Liaison Officers who go out of their way to ensure that families have a great day out at Prenton Park.
Attendances and Season Tickets
Despite the difficult year we have had on and off the pitch, I am delighted to report that over 3,500 of the SWA have signed up for season tickets for the new season, which is slightly up on where we were at the same point last year. I am humbled by the support shown in the circumstances and will do everything in my power to make sure 2025/6 is a season we can all be proud of, whether that is as Chairman or having handed that role on to a successor.
I would like to conclude by thanking those of you who have stuck with us through the difficulties, and in particular the away supporters who continued to travel up and down the country in numbers even when we were struggling for form, and the more than 8,500 of the SWA who turned out to see us secure survival against Crewe. That game against Crewe will be right up there with one of the memories I will cherish from my time at the Club as a player and as Chairman, and shows the huge potential of the Club that is there for the new owners to work on.
As I said at the outset, this has not been an easy year, on or off the pitch but Nicky and I remain fully committed to keeping the Club on a steady course and getting the take-over sorted as soon as we are able.
