Has Norman had enough

[Trentham Lakes Valiant]

Norman will have plenty of advice on the pitfalls of owning a football league club, Torquay could well suit his eventual retirement plans, maybe buy a small boat as well.

 

Like Robert Maxwell?

[Hagrid]

Stupid repeat post.

 

So, Smurf and his wife plan to retire to the South coast.

 

Smurf would like to help Torquay financially.

 

The League say he can't whilst he still owns Vale.

 

Smurf tries to sell Vale.

 

What a top bloke!

[waynes62]

What a top bloke!

 

It seems he's being trying to offload us for a while

[Will.]

http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk

then go on the sport page

 

So selling vale has naff all to do with his health if he wants to go and buy another football club. Why doesn't he just come out and tell the truth that he's just got bored now the novelty has worn off, just like it will do at Torquay if ever he buys them.

[valeparklife]

Smurf - If these scumbags were indeed Vale fans, put the CCTV footage online and we can see if anyone knows them.

 

What makes you sure they were Vale fans? That is a serious accusation to make against a decent set of fans.

[Hagrid]

So selling vale has naff all to do with his health if he wants to go and buy another football club. Why doesn't he just come out and tell the truth that he's just got bored now the novelty has worn off, just like it will do at Torquay if ever he buys them.

 

Thats what I thought too. If the Vale is affecting his health (I presume he wasn't referring to the attack by that) why does he think Torquay will be any different? Even tighter budgets, even smaller crowds.

 

This whole situation is making less and less sense to me. Is Smurf just sick of us and wants a new club?

[Hagrid]

A few quotes about Smurf regarding Torquay:

 

"I got the feeling that it was a foregone conclusion that I was the 'white knight'. "But unfortunately, I can't be."

 

"The League has killed that now, although if someone bought Port Vale, it would be a different situation"

 

"I believe that I could make a difference in other circumstances, but I am sorry that it's not possible at the moment"

 

Is it wrong to assume that Smurf, having got Vale to a point where its losing thousands a month, simply wants to **** off to the South Coast and leave us in the lurch?

[Valiant62]

He's probably sick of unwanted advice from "experts", calls to invest even more, and outright abuse from certain individuals it seems. Thankless task being a chairman of a football club though I'm not sure we're that different to any other.

[Hagrid]

He's probably sick of unwanted advice from "experts", calls to invest even more, and outright abuse from certain individuals it seems. Thankless task being a chairman of a football club though I'm not sure we're that different to any other.

 

Then why invest in Torquay?

[valiant_593]

Stupid repeat post.

 

So, Smurf and his wife plan to retire to the South coast.

 

Smurf would like to help Torquay financially.

 

The League say he can't whilst he still owns Vale.

 

Smurf tries to sell Vale.

 

Think that's about it mate.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Smurf has also denied that he is interested in buying Torquay Utd after being a guest of their board Saturday

 

Could be a good move for him and his family though if he is serious about selling Vale and finds a suitable buyer...

http://m.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/TORQUAY-UNITED-EXCLUSIVE-Port-Vale-owner-Norman/story-28321210-detail/story.html

 

Torquay was a cracking club run by their very own version of Billy Bell (Mike Bateson) in the early to mid '00s when I used to do lots of games there. It would be a cracking challenge for him.

[smithie]

A few quotes about Smurf regarding Torquay:

 

"I got the feeling that it was a foregone conclusion that I was the 'white knight'. "But unfortunately, I can't be."

 

"The League has killed that now, although if someone bought Port Vale, it would be a different situation"

 

"I believe that I could make a difference in other circumstances, but I am sorry that it's not possible at the moment"

 

Is it wrong to assume that Smurf, having got Vale to a point where its losing thousands a month, simply wants to **** off to the South Coast and leave us in the lurch?

 

He may well want to go to the English Riviera, but there's no suggestion he wants to leave us in the lurch. He could have done that at any time in the last 3 years, and has always pledged to leave the club in a better state than he found it. I happen to believe he will honour that pledge.

[Fosse69]

Thats what I thought too. If the Vale is affecting his health (I presume he wasn't referring to the attack by that) why does he think Torquay will be any different? Even tighter budgets, even smaller crowds.

 

This whole situation is making less and less sense to me. Is Smurf just sick of us and wants a new club?

Not so much pressure from a Prem team, a club who would be pleased to be in L2, right sized ground, commercial income more able to support the football budget. Better climate, near the sea. Who knows, at least he should know more about running a football club than he did 3 years ago.

 

But for the present he is at the Vale.

[smithie]

He's probably sick of unwanted advice from "experts", calls to invest even more, and outright abuse from certain individuals it seems. Thankless task being a chairman of a football club though I'm not sure we're that different to any other.

 

We're not that different...but Smurf is different to most club chairmen in getting involved in internet rows with fans.

[Vital Spark]

If you were actively trying to sell the club why on earth would you paint the club in such a bad light. I'm sure potential buyers would run a mile following his tale of being beaten up. Sometimes I really wonder how this chap has managed to make so much money for himself. It's all getting very tedious now biding a Vale fan and I can't see many people having the stomach for another spell of uncertainty and like Norman, they'll walk away from this cursed club for good.