Norman Smurthwaite has put £3.7m of directors loans into Port Vale FC
Port Vale owner Norman Smuthwaite has issued a range of answers on the club’s finances on the OVF forum.
Posting on the OVF forum he claimed that:
- He confirmed that at present, the directors loans granted to the club are “up until the end of January around £3.7m.”
- He is not quitting commenting that: “I will not be walking away. If I was really going to quit that would have been on August 13th.”
- Over a million pounds of the club debt was due to former Chairman Paul Wildes. He added: “£1.25m of the debt was incurred in seven months prior to myself running the club day-to-day by the marketing genuis PW “
- He admitted he had made mistakes adding that: “The mistakes I have made cannot be shifted to anybody else. The decision to go down a different route I accept with hindsight has put us where we are but I felt something different was needed.”
- He is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the club and has faith in CEO Colin Garlick. He commented: “Since October I have not been involved day to day and I guess that should have been broadcast. In Colin Garlick we have a man who has engineered a lot of good financial fortune for Rochdale and hopefully will do for us.
- He is determined to improve the club adding: “It takes a lot to undo ten years of neglect and some shortcomings of my own but it will improve. My end game is to leave with the Club in a better place than when I started.”
Note: these quotes were taken from multiple answers on several forum threads. They are not one single answer but formed from several answers to questions about the sale of the club.