Smurthwaite in talks with buyers who want to buy the club while he owns the ground

[Santa]

I've been told a rumour about who it's supposed to be.

[Regal Beagle]

I've been told a rumour about who it's supposed to be.

Ive heard a name too but ive not found any info on them.

[butt lane vale fan]

You mean the flying pigs actually exist or have the rumors come off Baby Smurf lol

[Santa]

Ive heard a name too but ive not found any info on them.

Possibly different to what I've heard then if you can't find any info about them.

[onestepatatime]

Possibly different to what I've heard then if you can't find any info about them.

 

? Mr A N Other, Toytown, Imaginationville, Nowhere?

[Valiant in Brum]

I've been told a rumour about who it's supposed to be.

Any good ?

[bookworm]

they are a figment of normans imagination, purely hypothetical.

[Santa]

? Mr A N Other, Toytown, Imaginationville, Nowhere?

Well, you hear bits all the time and a lot of it turns out to be rubbish so I'm cautious about it.

 

It might not even be the same person who Norman has in mind. They could be two different things.

 

I've heard of the person though, they are real.

[flipster]

I've heard it is a Mr Anthony Fradley Esq

[Essex Vale]

When you look at the age profile of our support I suspect a considerable number of them have never heard of Facebook!!

 

 

Sadly this is correct. I fear for our future because we do not have enough new fans coming through in sufficient numbers. Our heartland areas of support comes from the North of the city, Burslem, Tunstall and their surrounding districts, like Norton, Smallthorne, Chell, Chell Heath, Fegg Hayes, Packmoor, with some from the Porthill Wolstanton area. Those areas have more and more people living there with no interest in football and/or a limited income stream which they cannot really afford to spend on football.

 

I believe that many of the current fans grew up in those areas but don't necessarily live there now. I am one of them. This decline in growing our own new young supporters started in the Bill Bell era. We need any new owners to address this serious issue. There is more competition now for the time and money of youngsters, and Port Vale is not such an attractive proposition for youngsters. Put aside our myopic loyality for the club that we love because it is in our blood, but try to see things through the eyes of others.

 

Change is needed if we are to survive and prosper in the future. Any new owners must quickly grasp that fact and make it so.

[butt lane vale fan]

I've heard it is a Mr Anthony Fradley Esq

With Jackson and Bratt set to invest lol

[Regal Beagle]

Possibly different to what I've heard then if you can't find any info about them.

 

Maybe, its a fairly common name so I couldn't really narrow it down

[smithie]

Sadly this is correct. I fear for our future because we do not have enough new fans coming through in sufficient numbers. Our heartland areas of support comes from the North of the city, Burslem, Tunstall and their surrounding districts, like Norton, Smallthorne, Chell, Chell Heath, Fegg Hayes, Packmoor, with some from the Porthill Wolstanton area. Those areas have more and more people living there with no interest in football and/or a limited income stream which they cannot really afford to spend on football.

 

I believe that many of the current fans grew up in those areas but don't necessarily live there now. I am one of them. This decline in growing our own new young supporters started in the Bill Bell era. We need any new owners to address this serious issue. There is more competition now for the time and money of youngsters, and Port Vale is not such an attractive proposition for youngsters. Put aside our myopic loyality for the club that we love because it is in our blood, but try to see things through the eyes of others.

 

Change is needed if we are to survive and prosper in the future. Any new owners must quickly grasp that fact and make it so.

 

There's absolutely no chance of anything like that happening with the current encumbent in charge. We make NO effort in marketing ourselves and now we're seeing the consequences.

[Seamus O'Wye]

Or perhaps NS is just floating the idea of him selling the football side whilst keeping the ground to himself, so as to judge how much of an adverse reaction that would cause. Many fans have thought that renting the ground back to the Club was Smurthwaite's eventual intention all along.

It wouldn't be hard for NS to set up a company as a front for himself. They could then 'buy' the football business and pay NS the rent.

...And yes, I do believe in conspiracy theories!

[Fosse69]

Or perhaps NS is just floating the idea of him selling the football side whilst keeping the ground to himself, so as to judge how much of an adverse reaction that would cause. Many fans have thought that renting the ground back to the Club was Smurthwaite's eventual intention all along.

It wouldn't be hard for NS to set up a company as a front for himself. They could then 'buy' the football business and pay NS the rent.

...And yes, I do believe in conspiracy theories!

There is nothing to stop him charging rent now, purely an accountancy transaction, although I am not conversant with any tax angles. Renting depends on the terms, it suits sometimes, but both sides have to agree, but an internal transaction is a different matter.