Sproson Statue.

[deanleese]

JEZZ ,talk about witch hunting... Cannot beleave what am reading on here,so 150 people gave £100 each to help finish the statue and are not happy were their names are going to be put ,well I remember well before the campaign starve em out and other groups Vale fans were helping the club to stay afloat by buying shares of which we new we would get Nowt back,and what's the point in dragging old stuff up,it seems some of you lot have still got unfinished vendetta against Dave which is disgusting .for ****s sake grow up

Jezz... As in Kyle?

Grebo... As usual you take a few snippets of what you think you know and offer your pearls of wisdom... You know **** all! If your grow up comment is aimed at me then I suggest you refrain from such generalising comments until you know at least a few facts.

[Memphis]

[video=youtube;FONN-0uoTHI]

[deanleese]

My last comment on this....

I've been in touch with Pete Williams who has been a true gent and apologized. He said in retrospect they should have put out a press release at the time explaining the changes.

 

I've had to explain that because of Dave Felsted's involvement at the time and his comments on this thread one of the people who I purchased a name on the plinth for is adamant they now do not want their name on the wall. Pete was fine with this and explained that the names are going up today and Monday and so could we make a decision before then.

[the old bycars tea bar]

Thanks for the info dean

 

And as such I feel the thread should be closed

[deanleese]

Last, last comment... It might be best left open for all to see before Monday.

[the old bycars tea bar]

Fair comment mate

[Jimmy]

I have just been up to Vale Park to visit the shop and i had a peek and a word with the young guy who was fixing names the to the Wall....I noticed Dean Lease was already attached next to Melv, i also notice Ray O'Shaughnessy among others....The young man had attached about 20 and he has he thinks about 100+ to fix......Quite impressive.

[Ben]

I have just been up to Vale Park to visit the shop and i had a peek and a word with the young guy who was fixing the to the Wall....I noticed Dean Lease was already attached next to Melv, i also notice Ray O'Shaughnessy among others....The young man had attached about 20 and he has he thinks about 100+ to fix......Quite impressive.

 

Nosey.

[Jimmy]

Nosey.

 

Checking the workmanship Uncle Ben.........

[bobbymanc]

Just seen this thread.

 

Perhaps if I give you a timeline it will help ...

 

During the time I was Chairman of the Sproson Fund we took the fund from circ £20,000 to circ £50,000 this enabled the statue to go from a mould framework to completion.

 

During this time my mate suggested how he, and he thought many other Vale fans, would like to be associated by name to the statue and what it stood for - and he came up with the excellent idea of having names on the statue plinth.

 

As such we advertised it and also gave the option of a photo of the semi final team lining up for kick off.

 

(I need to point out that at this time the architects drawing for the statue was not to have a 'base that spread out from the bottom' but simply lean and going straight into the ground. - that 'base that spreads out at the bottom was an expensive last minute concession to the Vale's safety officer who would not let the statue be erected in its original form as he was concerned at the possibility of children banging their heads on the outstretched boot.)

 

At the time of the appeal to have names on the plinth no wording had been agreed for the plinth sides other than it would represent brother and nephew on one side each too so there would be one side for names.

 

The success of the appeal exceeded our expectations but brought a problem in that as only one side of the plinth would be available for names there became not enough room to accommodate them all.

 

At this point it became a question of resolving the issue and the suggestion to use the back wall with names engraved on granite the same as the statue was deemed an enhancement of the original idea and we had to make a decision whether to write to everyone who had donated, explain the issue, try and explain what the wall plaques would look like, and get permission to continue. Or to just press on in the belief that all Vale fans would want above all else the statue completing and that the concept of name plaques on the wall would still achieve the original concept of linking names with the statue and the ethos it stands for.

 

Whilst in a perfect world with unlimited time and money it would have been great to consult all 100 plus people individually - However, it was not a perfect world, - far from it -we were not only involved in the myriad of logistical issues that come up with a project of this size where money was incredibly tight and financial goalposts being forever moved. But also embroiled in a war to try and win our club back from the original V2001, a fight that a number of posters involved in the war at the time will empathise with when I say it practically took over my life just as it did theirs.

 

So a unilateral decision was taken by the committee, of which I was Chair, that we would simply press on and try and complete the project.

 

So back to the timeline ....

 

During my custodianship the statue was cast (and displayed at an Open Day at Vale Park, and as if that was not enough ensuring that before resigning as Chair of the SC we (i.e. all the protest groups) were part of the team that finally won the victory to remove Bill Bratt and the original V2001 Board.

 

Subsequently, Pete Williams (who had been both Deputy Chair and Treasurer) along with his wife Liz who continued as Secretary took over the reigns of Chair of the SC supported by his new committee.

 

During their reign Pete and his committee not only completed the fund raising for the statue, but along with fantastic help from Chris Bailey and his team of builders, also enabled a long held dream to come to fruition i.e. the erection of the statue. - And along the way not only brought the removal of V2001 Mark 2 (MOLD) but also were at the centre of an incredibly fraught and stressful time for the club that could have seen our club disappear which, subsequently, IMHO contributed to Pete Williams ill health.

 

So that brings us to the present where a new SC committee is now in place. However one thing Pete has insisted on is that he would ensure that the statue project is completed in its entirety and to the highest specification. So (as Ally the new SC Chair rightly reported) the original offer from Nettlebank was to help to keep costs down by using 'off cuts' of granite. Pete vetoed this and insisted on a complete piece of new granite being sourced that matches that on the statue and that this be used for the inscription plaques - that is why there has been a delay.

 

Pete has telephoned me today, as he is aware of the nature of the posts being put on here, and has asked me to report that the plaques are complete and are being placed on the wall commencing within the next few days.

 

So there you have it ...

 

So did the SC, as Vale fans, create arguably the finest footballing statue in the country? Yes

Did the SC help to remove the original V2001 and its successor in the process? Yes

Did the SC achieve the concept of putting fans names on the statue plinth? No

 

but in all honesty perhaps the wording that is on that fourth side of the statue is a better tribute as it recognises the contributions over the years by all Vale fans to the project.

 

To those who are upset that the original concept was not achieved I say sorry, but please wait until the plaques have been erected and perhaps then you may not be so upset.

 

And the photo of the semi-final line up? I honestly can't see that being honoured - the unforseen costs (particularly the additional plinth alteration) and the much higher cost of purchasing new granite for the plaques rather than a simple inscription of the plinth will have drained the coffers.

 

Rightly or wrongly that's it as I see it.

 

Lol. What a weapon. There's so much wrong with this post it beggars belief.

[Santa]

i also notice Ray O'Shaughnessy among others....

Ray won't be too impressed if they've spelt his name wrong. :)

[deanleese]

Ray won't be too impressed if they've spelt his name wrong. :)

 

Nor me if they have put an 'a' in my surname!

 

It's bad enough being put next to Melv!

[Trentham Lakes Valiant]

safest thing to do is knock it down

[deanleese]

How does that work Trant?

[ONLYWAYISUP]

I am "Andy Jones" legendary "my mate" and I suppose I represent 1% of the people who donated to this scheme. When I made the suggestion for the scheme I did not have any desire to gain kudos from being associated with the statue. I simply wished to see the statue erected in honour of both an amazing Vale hero and also those who did so much to keep the project alive when everything seemed against it coming to fruition. I believed that would also be the motivation for those Vale fans able to contribute. I, for one, do not care if my name is displayed on the plinth, on a nearby wall, or forgotten altogether because I am happy that the statue now stands proudly at the entrance to Port Vale.