Mr Smurthwaite's games begin........

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

With regards to these threats - does anyone honestly believe that Smurthwaite had (at one time) a love for the club and then began to hate us all when it all went **** up and he started to receive criticism? That is fantasy land.

 

No he’s a businessman pure and simple, he might have loved the prestige of ownership and the joy around promotion but that’s an ego thing, we’d all enjoy that to some degree.

 

Emotional owners in football don’t work, they are a recipe for disaster.

[TheSage]

As we've said previously, what he's doing (as a crafty businessman) is trying to recover everything he's put into the Club, by (a) asking for an inflated price (b) charging rent on the ground and © ensuring that any "extras" like the Hugill money, FA Cup TV revenue, Checkatrade bonus, etc. goes directly to him and pays off his loans. He might spout garbled contradictory rubbish at times but where his money is concerned he's a shrewd operator.

If he can get a very good price for the Club, pocket all these extras (catering too don't forget) and charge rent on use of the ground then he's laughing all the way to the bank.

 

It might well be that we need to consider playing elsewhere for a while because I doubt anyone wants to continue to pay him if he still owns the keys to Vale Park.

 

He definitely isn't daft as far as money matters are concerned.

[Cheeky Cheddy Whites]

No he’s a businessman pure and simple' date='[/quote']

 

Prove it

[Rampant Zebra]

I am not sure I agree with you (The Sage) about money matters. His failure to spend a small amount of extra money on proven players such as Mark Marshall and AJ Leitch Smith cost the club quite a bit due to relegation. They were not unknowns when they were out of contract with us, we already knew how they had performed over the previous season. Our leader just assumed he could get better for less.

[Aussie Rules]

For those who see Norman as a 'good business man' he well and truly shot himself in his 'business foot' with his latest outburst having a very negative impact on Event bookings (his holy grail).

[Cheeky Cheddy Whites]

I am not sure I agree with you (The Sage) about money matters. His failure to spend a small amount of extra money on proven players such as Mark Marshall and AJ Leitch Smith cost the club quite a bit due to relegation. They were not unknowns when they were out of contract with us, we already knew how they had performed over the previous season. Our leader just assumed he could get better for less.

 

That's a football matter. If his end game is ultimately to offload the FC, keep the ground, extract rent and keep the other proceeds it generates then why would he invest?

[Cheeky Cheddy Whites]

For those who see Norman as a 'good business man' he well and truly shot himself in his 'business foot' with his latest outburst having a very negative impact on Event bookings (his holy grail).

 

Exactly. To me he is a landlord, NOT a businessman. Two completely different things.

[TheSage]

Despite his bluster about the size of his budget (that's not a euphemism by the way!) it seems to me that every year since he decimated Rob Page's mid table league one team and refused to match the wages of players like Pope and Dicko, we've signed cheaper and cheaper players of less and less quality.

We spent zilch in January after he'd promised us 400k to stave off relegation.

 

I've thought for maybe 12 months now, possibly longer, that he's had an end game in sight and has prepared his exit strategy very well.

 

But the bombshell news he came out with the other day and the impact it will have on people's jobs and Burslem was nothing short of disgraceful. He surely can't step foot in Vale Park ever again and look these people in the face. What an appalling employer.

[The Zee Bird]

Well if he wants to screw us over on the football side but keep the money making side there is nothing stopping peaceful protests when his events are going on. Peaceful protests don't just have to be match days. If they stop protests happening outside the Lorne Street stand then they can't stop them on the Pavement of Hamil Road right outside the entrance or opposite the entrance as long as there is no deliberate obstruction of the highway. We disrupt his events and hopefully put off potential customers. Feel for the people that work there but the pressure must stay on him until the ground is back with the club.

[Erniemossrules]

Despite his bluster about the size of his budget (that's not a euphemism by the way!) it seems to me that every year since he decimated Rob Page's mid table league one team and refused to match the wages of players like Pope and Dicko, we've signed cheaper and cheaper players of less and less quality.

We spent zilch in January after he'd promised us 400k to stave off relegation.

 

I've thought for maybe 12 months now, possibly longer, that he's had an end game in sight and has prepared his exit strategy very well.

 

But the bombshell news he came out with the other day and the impact it will have on people's jobs and Burslem was nothing short of disgraceful. He surely can't step foot in Vale Park ever again and look these people in the face. What an appalling employer.

 

Yes but he is ignorant and thick skinned and expects as Lord of the Manor his servants will bow down to him or say it’s just Norman and that’s how he works.

He is a real motivator to his staff by threatening to make them redundant and if he sells it before then they will be kissing his feet (or @rse).

The main thing is that with all the publicity his own reputation as a clever business man has gone down the drain and he is now a bumbling clown.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

For those who see Norman as a 'good business man' he well and truly shot himself in his 'business foot' with his latest outburst having a very negative impact on Event bookings (his holy grail).

 

I’m not sure anyone said ‘good’ Barry 😉

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Prove it

 

Cambridge dictionary definition - https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/amp/english/businessman

[Cheeky Cheddy Whites]

Cambridge dictionary definition - https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/amp/english/businessman

 

Seriously? That is supposed to be evidence of NS being a businessman? Shame you are banned - your b3ll3ndary knows no bounds.

[TJHValiant]

Turdwaite is simply bi-polar or has some other form of personality disorder. This idea that if fans had kept him sweet is utter rot. We just don’t know what he is going to do next.

 

He won’t harm himself, we know that and I don’t think he wants the grief of taking the club into admin

 

The protests need to keep going to make sure he has an easy option. Selling.

 

He hopes we will cower in fear and start rattling biscuit tins to save the club from admin.

[JohnJames]

I’m wondering what Stoke Council are thinking about this current shitstorm. Losing Vale could actually kill off a lot of businesses in an already struggling Burslem. Could they find suitable land to build Community Stadium 2 in the area?

Like Burslem Park?