The Nantwich revelations
Perry Deakin reneges on Nantwich agreement: copies of documents showing that Port Vale reneged on a pre-existing contract with Nantwich Town.
Editorial Note:
The original article and images is reproduced below. The publication of this article led to Vale withdrawing its challenge and paying the unpaid bill in full.
Perry Deakin reneges on Nantwich agreement
Nantwich Town Chairman Jon Gold has allowed OVF to display correspondence between Nantwich and Port Vale, which shows that Port Vale CEO Perry Deakin’s recent statement on the official Port Vale FC website contained a number of factual errors.
Specifically these are:
1. Vale were not informed of the charges
Port Vale CEO Perry Deakin’s statement claims at “no stage were Port Vale ever informed that they would have to pay for the artificial pitches” yet OVF has a copy of a letter sent to Port Vale on the 31st Dec 2010.
A copy of this is below:
2. Vale never requested a purchase order
Mr Deakin’s statement claims that “a purchase order was never requested ” but OVF has a copy of a request from Port Vale’s accountant for an invoice on the 26th January 2011
Here is the email trail:
Nantwich business manager emails the Vale with the bill
Vale’s PA forwards the email to the club secretary and club accountant
The club accountant asks for an invoice
Mr Deakin’s statement claims that Port Vale’s summer friendly was part of a “gentleman’s agreement” between the clubs but we have a copy of a letter sent by Nantwich Town that explains in detail that the friendly was arranged to compensate Nantwich for the transfer of Ritchie Sutton.
Here is the letter:
In light of this evidence, we call on Mr Deakin to correct his earlier statement, to ensure Nantwich receive the monies they are owed and to apologise to both Nantwich Town and Port Vale fans for this humiliating and embarrassing mess.
It would be very disappointing and unhelpful if he didn’t do these things straight away.
More information:
MOLD - the board which nearly killed Port Vale
Peter Miller, Glenn Oliver, Mike Lloyd and Perry Deakin (the first letter of their surnames spelling “MOLD”) led the football club into administration after a number of highly controversial decisions notably Deakin and Miller’s ascent to the board despite not paying for their shares (the so-called “nil-paid shares” affair), failed financial link-ups with two US companies Ameriturf and Blue Sky International (their £8m deal was described as “pure fantasy” by the firm’s CEO), a secret remortgaging of Vale Park which broke the terms of the club’s loan agreement with Stoke-on-Trent council and being sued by former club sponsors Harlequin Properties.
On 9th March 2012, the club entered administration for the second tie in its history after HMRC issued a winding-up petition.
To date, Deakin and Miller have failed to pay for any of the shares they “purchased” in Port Vale football club. The Port Vale Supporters club are continuing legal efforts to reclaim the money from the pair and reimburse many Port Vale fans who, as shareholders, lost money when the pair illegally joined the Port Vale board and mismanaged the club.