Tonight’s the night to ease your EGM fears
In his latest column, OVF founder Rob Fielding says that he’s not surprised that Vale fans are worried that the board may still have some dirty tricks up their sleeves.
And with that in mind he urges fans to contribute to tonight’s meeting: to raise questions and concerns and also to show the Supporters’ Club just how many fans of all ages are backing them.
Tonight’s the night to ease your EGM fears
For some fans, the fact that the EGM will happen at all comes as a relief.
That may seem like a strange thing to say, as it’s clear that the Supporters Club had more than enough shareholders’ support to force this extraordinary meeting. Nevertheless, the fear remained that the board would somehow ‘wriggle out of it.’
Not so. ongratulations to the Supporters Club for ensuring sharholders now have a chance to oust what is undoubtedly the most reviled board in the club’s history.
I only hope that the board don’t have more ‘dirty tricks’ up their sleeve. And I would imagine it is a fear that many other fans will share.
So, let’s try and ease some of those fears and at the same time do all we can to help the Supporters’ Club.
We need to ‘cover all our bases’ so all the fears are addressed, all the rumours are out in the open and all the questions get a chance to be answered. And with an open meeting (7.30pm at Smallthorne Victory WMC) scheduled for tonight, there’s an ideal opportunity to do just that.
It’s to everyone’s advantage to contribute to the meeting. You may find your concerns are addressed by what the Supporters’ Club have to say and you may be able to come up with a suggestion that helps them in their fight to oust the board.
But what if, like me, it’s not possible to physically attend the meeting? For instance, I don’t get back home to Aylesbury until 7pm, so I cannot make the meeting. In that case, you can still make a contribution. Why not email the Supporters Club? They’re available at [email protected]
On a personal level, I am profoundly grateful to the Supporters Club for their efforts so far.
Speaking on behalf of the Fielding family, I am proud to have a Supporters Club fighting for every single Vale fan like me and my brother (the current generation), or like my father (of an older generation – a fan for 65 years) and perhaps most importantly fighting for my children (the potential Vale fans of the future and who given current circumstances may soon be in danger of being lost to another club or another sport, forever).
If the club is to survive it needs to have all existing fans on its side and also start attracting a new generation. It cannot do this under the current regime.
To attract those fans, old and new, we need to ensure the Supporters Club have every chance of ousting the board.
Let’s help them tonight by getting along (or contributing) to the meeting, raising sensible suggestions and asking sensible questions whilst also making sure that the Supporters’ Club are aware that Vale fans of all ages are behind their efforts.
Rob Fielding has been a Port Vale fan for thirty years. He founded the award-winning onevalefan.co.uk website in 1996. These are his personal views and he welcomes your comments on them.