Lloyd: I am sorry, but it’s not the board’s fault
Mike Lloyd has become the first Port Vale board member to talk to the press following the news that the club is set for administration.
In an interview with BBC Radio Stoke’s John Acres, Lloyd says he is “desperately sorry about the club’s financial position” but unsurprisingly adds that “I don’t think the current situation is just down to the board.”
It will come as little surprise that Lloyd also says that the club’s desperate financial situation can also be attributed to “cash flow”, “lost ticket sales,” investors being put off “because of protests” and fans “asking sponsors not to invest in the club.”
Lloyd told BBC Radio Stoke: “I am desperately sorry about the club’s financial position. It has needed resolution for many, many years.
“I don’t think the curent situation is just down to the board, there are many reasons why the club is in this position.
“Before I was involved it came out of administration and started off with a £1m loan, so it doesn’t come as any surprise that the club was under-capitalised.”
Lloyd denied that any money from the Port Vale youth team was being used to fund any part of the football club and claimed the club’s finances were current and correst saying: “We don’t hide anything, the books are kept up to date. On the admin side the club is run very well.”
The interim chairman also denied that the controversial salaries of CEO Perry Deakin and former Chairman Peter Miller had contributed to the club’s decline adding that: “Take the salary levels that were there before – Bill Bratt and Graham Mudie’s combined salaries were the same as Perry Deakin’s – there’s no difference there. Peter Miller was only paid for two and a half months and that’s not a fortune. Of course any costs can take you over… but the costs of just one player can be expensive too. We’ve previously taken six players on loan and have just taken two until the end of the season and that is far more expensive than Mr Miller.”
OVF finds this last comment interesting as we have it on good authority that the two new players (Shuker and Marshall) have received no payment from the club, not even travel expenses, so it is interesting that Mr Lloyd thinks that “expense” is equivalent to Mr Miller’s two and half month pay-out of around £20,000.
Lloyd also suggested that administration “utterly and completely rests with the council, unless someone comes along and wants to fund admin, such as an individual or a local businessman… Mo Chaudry could go out and fund the administration if he wanted to. I haven’t spoken to him about it.”
Lloyd repeated his apologies saying he was “concerned for players and admin staff… and desperately sorry for shareholders and supporters alike.”