Statement from Day

https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2020/december/a-statement-from-the-chairman/

I am aware of certain inaccurate statements that have been circulating on social media in the last few days. I wish therefore to advise fans of the true position.

First, the Board is as disappointed as everyone with the recent results. Ollie has gone on record as to how he intends to make changes in January. The Board fully supports him in this, and funds will be available to enable him to do this. We have to bear in mind that we do have a salary cap this season and we are already not far short of the maximum we can spend. Notwithstanding this we will fully support Ollie in his decisions on squad changes.

There is no truth whatsoever that any player has been told to get a second job whilst on furlough. I do not know where that rumour emanated from, but it is completely fictitious.

Another statement is that John Fenty takes £50,000 a year out of the Club. Totally untrue. He takes nothing. Three years ago, there was a part payment of his loan when the Board agreed that there were sufficient funds to do this. Since then, there have been no repayments.

The Club does not operate with a Bank overdraft or Bank loan facility and should there be a shortfall this or any other season then the directors remain available to plug any gaps as they always have been.

There has also been a suggestion that the Board have turned down an offer from Mr. Tom Shutes to acquire the Club. Again untrue. I refer to the statement in the press I made several months ago. The door is always open and if Mr. Shutes wishes to speak to me and put forward proposals which satisfy the requirements of the EFL (as recently amended following the fiasco of the Bury and Macclesfield clubs) with regard to ownership then I will be pleased to talk to him.

No one wants to censor social media but there is a difference between legitimate criticism and unfounded and untrue statements. The unfounded statements I have referred to above fall into the latter category.

I wish the players all the best in the games to come and assure them that we are all behind them in their efforts. I hope fans will soon be back in the ground to cheer them on.

UTMM

Philip

Doubt it will make any difference but good to get the facts rather than endless rumours.

Quoted Text

We have to bear in mind that we do have a salary cap this season and we are already not far short of the maximum we can spend

God help us

Why has Mr. Fenty taken money out of our club when we haven't finished in the top of half of Div. 4 for 14 years? (under his leadership)

I’m a bit worried that we’re close to the salary cap with the players we have.

So everyones wrong apart from JF....

so, are the players on 100% salary or not? if not they should be!

"The board is as disappointed as everyone else with the results".

A phrase I have heard countless times in the past 15 years.

How the intercourse is this inept and undoubtedly the worst squad in recent history... close to the salary cap?

Quoted from Henryscat

https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2020/december/a-statement-from-the-chairman/

There is no truth whatsoever that any player has been told to get a second job whilst on furlough.

That’s not the accusation though, is it?

Quoted from ska face

That’s not the accusation though, is it?

Here we have the crux of it, the players are no longer on furlough, so is Day being careful with his phrasing to deflect from the truth ?

The club’s Directors Loan account has reduced from 2.209 million to 2 million to 1.8 million to 1.55 million in the last four sets of published accounts according to the Companies House website. This year’s accounts are yet to go live.

Quoted from ska face

That’s not the accusation though, is it?

Well it is isn't it? All those that had "been told" about it said Max was asked to find another job back in the summer, when the players were on furlough.

Quoted from Ruston AT

so, are the players on 100% salary or not? if not they should be!

It was put to the players after the Tranmere game that they would be paid according to performances So far they have paid in £3000 and three others have yet to set up direct debits

‘The door is open to Mr Shutes’ provided Mr Shutes stumps up the money to pay for Fentys disastrous tenure by paying him back for his own mistakes and provides detail of the ‘rainy day fund’ that we don’t actually have ourselves.

They always mention they are there to "plug the gap" as needed.

There is no gap to plug, there haven't been any gaps to plug for years, have they? The fans pay over their hard-earned money. The board sets a budget based on that and divide  it out for various expenditure. There is no gap. When things got tough due to covid, we put a clause in the contracts to ensure there would be no "gap."

All he (Fenty) is there for is to plug a fictitious gap which never arises. Nice work if you can get it.

Not a word on how we are going to move forward. Not a word about seeking new investment apart from hoping Shutes might turn up with eye-watering amounts of money to pay Fenty off which no business-minded person would entertain.

It's all smoke and mirrors. Why doesn't Fenty just do us all a favour and sodomist off and let us pay him back in instalments? Put a premium on season tickets with that premium going directly to a pre-agreed fund  (much less than the full amount of his loans for obvious reasons) and let us start again without somebody willing and able to fill a non-existent gap.

He is there for a reason that does not exist. Let's get someone to do the same job, but who has vision, expertise, contacts and a plan.

In other words  if we get 1 mill handout or what ever you call it  only £7.57p is going on players  

Is Day seriously saying that we’re close to paying our first team squad 1.5m, an average of £56,700 per year, per player (this includes Grist etc.)?

I’m stuck between not believing him and believing that we’d really be so stupid as to pay this shower of shite that much.

I am worried that we have the quality (and reliability) of players that we have, are close to the salary cap,  AND are still in a perilous league position.  In the FAC we were beaten by 2 goals by a team at the bottom of the league below us and who had struggled to score any goals this season.

By any standards, these results are way below minimum acceptable performance levels.

Quoted from pontoonlew

Is Day seriously saying that we’re close to paying our first team squad 1.5m, an average of £56,700 per year, per player (this includes Grist etc.)?

I’m stuck between not believing him and believing that we’d really be so stupid as to pay this shower of shite that much.

That’s roughly £1,000 a week. I imagine a lot of the more “senior” pros are on double if not treble that. I personally think it’s in this upper region where we aren’t getting VFM.

Quoted from Boris Johnson

How the intercourse is this inept and undoubtedly the worst squad in recent history... close to the salary cap?

Because there are so many of them.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

The club’s Directors Loan account has reduced from 2.209 million to 2 million to 1.8 million to 1.55 million in the last four sets of published accounts according to the Companies House website. This year’s accounts are yet to go live.

Currently 4 red crosses for quoting facts and figures from a public website. Come on guys, you can do better than that!

Quoted from Henryscat

https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2020/december/a-statement-from-the-chairman/

I am aware of certain inaccurate statements that have been circulating on social media in the last few days. I wish therefore to advise fans of the true position.

First, the Board is as disappointed as everyone with the recent results. Ollie has gone on record as to how he intends to make changes in January. The Board fully supports him in this, and funds will be available to enable him to do this. We have to bear in mind that we do have a salary cap this season and we are already not far short of the maximum we can spend. Notwithstanding this we will fully support Ollie in his decisions on squad changes.

There is no truth whatsoever that any player has been told to get a second job whilst on furlough. I do not know where that rumour emanated from, but it is completely fictitious.

Another statement is that John Fenty takes £50,000 a year out of the Club. Totally untrue. He takes nothing. Three years ago, there was a part payment of his loan when the Board agreed that there were sufficient funds to do this. Since then, there have been no repayments.

The Club does not operate with a Bank overdraft or Bank loan facility and should there be a shortfall this or any other season then the directors remain available to plug any gaps as they always have been.

There has also been a suggestion that the Board have turned down an offer from Mr. Tom Shutes to acquire the Club. Again untrue. I refer to the statement in the press I made several months ago. The door is always open and if Mr. Shutes wishes to speak to me and put forward proposals which satisfy the requirements of the EFL (as recently amended following the fiasco of the Bury and Macclesfield clubs) with regard to ownership then I will be pleased to talk to him.

No one wants to censor social media but there is a difference between legitimate criticism and unfounded and untrue statements. The unfounded statements I have referred to above fall into the latter category.

I wish the players all the best in the games to come and assure them that we are all behind them in their efforts. I hope fans will soon be back in the ground to cheer them on.

UTMM

Philip

So did I dream Philip Day saying in a RH interview a few weeks ago "We are nowhere near hitting the salary cap this season"?

Someone can't keep track of their lies......................................

Got to love a GTFC statement. They never really answer or clarify anything, just turn the phrasing of certain things around.

Nobody asked if players were furloughed, the comment was regarding professional players being told to get a second job.

They’re still peddling this narrative about Shutes which is tiresome and then more words about results. It was one step away from the dreaded vote of no confidence.

Still, nice of Fenty to help Day out...especially with him taking such a backward step recently...

Quoted from Henryscat

That’s roughly £1,000 a week. I imagine a lot of the more “senior” pros are on double if not treble that. I personally think it’s in this upper region where we aren’t getting VFM.

How many of those seniors do we have realistically? Scannell, Rose, Hendrie, Macca, Hanson, Williams, Waterfall and Green? 5 of those were here last season so do not count towards the salary cap (wonder if the EFL have advised Mr Day that this is the case).

So taking into account all of that, I’m amazed it averages out at over 1k pw.

Quoted from aldi_01

Got to love a GTFC statement. They never really answer or clarify anything, just turn the phrasing of certain things around.

Nobody asked if players were furloughed, the comment was regarding professional players being told to get a second job.

They’re still peddling this narrative about Shutes which is tiresome and then more words about results. It was one step away from the dreaded vote of no confidence.

Still, nice of Fenty to help Day out...especially with him taking such a backward step recently...

The comment about professional players being told to get a second job, though, where is the source for that? Even if it's true if someone is the first person to introduce the "fact" into the public domain then they have to justify it.

Quoted from pontoonlew

How many of those seniors do we have realistically? Scannell, Rose, Hendrie, Macca, Hanson, Williams, Waterfall and Green? 5 of those were here last season so do not count towards the salary cap (wonder if the EFL have advised Mr Day that this is the case).

So taking into account all of that, I’m amazed it averages out at over 1k pw.

I don’t know the intricacies of a player’s contract but let’s assume it’s for 52 weeks. 1.5m divided by 52 is 28.8k. If those 8 you’ve mentioned are on 2.5k a week each that is 20k leaving 8.8k left for the other 20 players (or £440 pw each) - of course I’m under the assumption they all count towards the cap in my maths.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

The club’s Directors Loan account has reduced from 2.209 million to 2 million to 1.8 million to 1.55 million in the last four sets of published accounts according to the Companies House website. This year’s accounts are yet to go live.

I don't know if those numbers are correct, but some of that debt was written off rather than repaid. There was a significant amount of debt to the Mullens that was cleared as part of the settlement for the court case.

Quoted from pontoonlew

How many of those seniors do we have realistically? Scannell, Rose, Hendrie, Macca, Hanson, Williams, Waterfall and Green? 5 of those were here last season so do not count towards the salary cap (wonder if the EFL have advised Mr Day that this is the case).

So taking into account all of that, I’m amazed it averages out at over 1k pw.

Minor point, but I think players that were already here do count towards the salary cap, but at the divisional average rather than their full salary (wherever this is higher than the average). Someone correct me if I’m wrong on that.

That point aside, the standout issue for me is that we have massively prioritised quantity of players over quality.  If we define senior players either as those who have made more than a couple of league appearances or were new signings, we have by my count 26 of them, supplemented by kids (who are low cost, but not ‘free’ by any stretch).

That’s a huge squad, in fact it’s bigger than Premier League sides are allowed to register to play in league games.

I don’t think it’s that difficult to believe that we are averaging around £55k a year across those, putting us close to the cap. And therein lies the rub for me - an average of c. £1k per week for your senior players feels more in line with our budgeting in the conference days than with a League Two side heading into 2021.

To put it into context, every time we have 11 senior players on the pitch, we have 15 not on it. Not affecting the game. Not scoring goals. Not winning matches.

I felt throughout the summer that much of our recruitment felt bizarre in how we went about it. I get the impression that we anticipated that Covid would have a far more disruptive effect on player turnover than has played out. As it stands, that’s looking like a serious miscalculation.

I said in a separate thread that after tomorrow night’s game we have a run of six fixtures which look more conducive to winning points, given the current league positions of the opposition. I will reserve my judgement until after those games, however should we fail to pick up more than a handful of points then we are in a real pickle.

Quoted from pen penfras

I don't know if those numbers are correct, but some of that debt was written off rather than repaid. There was a significant amount of debt to the Mullens that was cleared as part of the settlement for the court case.

“I don’t know if those numbers are correct?”

I suggest that if you know about that debt being written off and the Mullen repayment then you should recognise the numbers from published accounts.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Currently 4 red crosses for quoting facts and figures from a public website. Come on guys, you can do better than that!

Demonstrates the paucity of the Fentyist supporters, have the courage of your convictions and state  your case.

Quoted from pen penfras

I don't know if those numbers are correct, but some of that debt was written off rather than repaid. There was a significant amount of debt to the Mullens that was cleared as part of the settlement for the court case.

Could someone just draw up a table of who was owed what at the end of each year? I'll stick it on an FAQ thread, it's debated ad nauseum as it is.

Quoted from Poojah

Minor point, but I think players that were already here do count towards the salary cap, but at the divisional average rather than their full salary (wherever this is higher than the average). Someone correct me if I’m wrong on that.

That point aside, the standout issue for me is that we have massively prioritised quantity of players over quality.  If we define senior players either as those who have made more than a couple of league appearances or were new signings, we have by my count 26 of them, supplemented by kids (who are low cost, but not ‘free’ by any stretch).

That’s a huge squad, in fact it’s bigger than Premier League sides are allowed to register to play in league games.

I don’t think it’s that difficult to believe that we are averaging around £55k a year across those, putting us close to the cap. And therein lies the rub for me - an average of c. £1k per week for your senior players feels more in line with our budgeting in the conference days than with a League Two side heading into 2021.

To put it into context, every time we have 11 senior players on the pitch, we have 15 not on it. Not affecting the game. Not scoring goals. Not so winning matches.

I felt throughout the summer that much of our recruitment felt bizarre in how we went about it. I get the impression that we anticipated that Covid would have a far more disruptive effect on player turnover than has played out. As it stands, that’s looking like a serious miscalculation.

I said in a separate thread that after tomorrow night’s game we have a run of six fixtures which look more conducive to winning points, given the current league positions of the opposition. I will reserve my judgement until after those games, however should we fail to pick up more than a handful of points then we are in a real pickle.

I think our Board have a lot to take account for but my assumption is IH gets a budget and decides how to spend it. He was/is clearly obsessed with Sat/Tue rotation something that IMHO putting a squad together so late was always going to be risky in terms of on the pitch cohesion.

All that said I wish they’d just STFU and get on or get out.

What, this court case?

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.c.....own-director-3402806

” Former Grimsby Town director Lee Mullen has dropped the claim brought against the club – and will now have to pay £20,000.”

Quoted from GrimRob

The comment about professional players being told to get a second job, though, where is the source for that? Even if it's true if someone is the first person to introduce the "fact" into the public domain then they have to justify it.

a plausible suggestion was made on Facebook; a letter would've gone out to all furloughed employees explaining what was happening, what it meant and what they could or could not do. In many organisations it was pointed out that an employee could take another job whilst on furlough, so long as they made themselves available to return to their main place of work

Quoted from Cricklewoodmariner

Why has Mr. Fenty taken money out of our club when we haven't finished in the top of half of Div. 4 for 14 years? (under his leadership)

Probably because he put in over £2 million of hos own money to keep us afloat.

Quoted from Azimuth

Probably because he put in over £2 million of hos own money to keep us afloat.

It didn't stop us sinking into Non League.

Regarding the 2nd job rumour for one of my players. Has a part-time fan read Shaun Pearsons article regarding him delivering takeaways in the lockdown and still think he plays for us OR is it just complete boulderdash made up in an attempt to further infuriate supporters.

Being a full time club why on earth would we ask what is now considered a senior member of the squad to get a part time job??

On 2 other notes i would like to add from both sides of the spectrum......

1. Why do certain fans think they need to know, understand or make up stories about the running of the club, decisions made, finances of, or boardroom decisions. Its none of our business.

2. Why does the chairman feel it necessary to have to explain himself and the club everytime one of these Chinese whispers is plastered on social media. The majority of this rubbish is untrue and should be ignored.

Quoted from Azimuth

Probably because he put in over £2 million of hos own money to keep us afloat.

And how many millions of £s has his mismanagement cost us?

Quoted from Stew0_0

Regarding the 2nd job rumour for one of my players. Has a part-time fan read Shaun Pearsons article regarding him delivering takeaways in the lockdown and still think he plays for us OR is it just complete boulderdash made up in an attempt to further infuriate supporters.

Being a full time club why on earth would we ask what is now considered a senior member of the squad to get a part time job??

On 2 other notes i would like to add from both sides of the spectrum......

1. Why do certain fans think they need to know, understand or make up stories about the running of the club, decisions made, finances of, or boardroom decisions. Its none of our business.

2. Why does the chairman feel it necessary to have to explain himself and the club everytime one of these Chinese whispers is plastered on social media. The majority of this rubbish is untrue and should be ignored.

You're right. We should just keep forking out money every year to be constantly disappointed and let down by the incompetence of the current board. In their defence, they've only had almost two decades to get to grips with running a football club, I'm sure they'll get the hang of it soon.

Quoted Text

should there be a shortfall this or any other season then the directors remain available to plug any gaps as they always have been.

This is another part of the statement which seems odd to me, unless I'm missing something. Which director other than Fenty has the funds to plug gaps?

Hasn't two of them stuck in like only £500 for a place on the board?, the Mariners Trust members? presumably not. Day himself? who knows?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I think our Board have a lot to take account for but my assumption is IH gets a budget and decides how to spend it. He was/is clearly obsessed with Sat/Tue rotation something that IMHO putting a squad together so late was always going to be risky in terms of on the pitch cohesion.

All that said I wish they’d just STFU and get on or get out.

Very much so, I can only specuate but I'd imagine it was almost certainly Holloway's idea. For all their many faults I don't think this board has ever been 'controlling' when it comes to deciding how budget is used; Marcus Bignot's mad January is good evidence of that.

In fairness, I can understand the logic. This season's fixture list is far more condensed than most, and the possibility of major fixture disruption with a combination of Covid and the usual bad weather needed thinking about. I just think we've gone too far down the rotation rabbithole.

The board had previously stated that they set a self imposed salary budget of £1.5m irrespective of the salary cap, and I can see how we’ve reached the £1.5m figure quite easily.

A 2 year contract for Hanson would not have come cheap, nor would raising McKeown’s pay to match that of Welsh and keep him as the highest earner. Whilst Green is no longer the player he once was, his reputation and goal scoring record wouldn’t have come cheap either. You can probably add Scannell to that list too.

Quoted from Stew0_0

Regarding the 2nd job rumour for one of my players. Has a part-time fan read Shaun Pearsons article regarding him delivering takeaways in the lockdown and still think he plays for us OR is it just complete boulderdash made up in an attempt to further infuriate supporters.

Being a full time club why on earth would we ask what is now considered a senior member of the squad to get a part time job??

On 2 other notes i would like to add from both sides of the spectrum......

1. Why do certain fans think they need to know, understand or make up stories about the running of the club, decisions made, finances of, or boardroom decisions. Its none of our business.

2. Why does the chairman feel it necessary to have to explain himself and the club everytime one of these Chinese whispers is plastered on social media. The majority of this rubbish is untrue and should be ignored.

Regarding question 1, Grimsby Town FC is a public limited company and many hundreds of fans are shareholders. On top of that, many more are fans and are paying stakeholders and, as such, have the right to know how their attendance money is being spent.

Quoted from blundellpork

The board had previously stated that they set a self imposed salary budget of £1.5m irrespective of the salary cap, and I can see how we’ve reached the £1.5m figure quite easily.

A 2 year contract for Hanson would not have come cheap, nor would raising McKeown’s pay to match that of Welsh and keep him as the highest earner. Whilst Green is no longer the player he once was, his reputation and goal scoring record wouldn’t have come cheap either. You can probably add Scannell to that list too.

This still doesn't explain Philip day saying either on the OS or RH  "We are not even close to hitting the salary cap and have plenty of  headroom should we need to add to the squad in Jan"

This was a month ago, tops.

Quoted from Azimuth

Probably because he put in over £2 million of hos own money to keep us afloat.

i think the definition of "put in" is key here....the overall perception is, that in effect,  he has put very little in as the majority of his outlay is "loaned" and is having that repaid over time.  

If JF had put this money in , without strings, in a non returnable way then i think he would be thought of somewhat very differently. As it is he hasnt and therefore he isnt.

Ie ... The commonly understood way that Mike Parker was "welcomed" aboard with a promise of pound for pound investment leading to Mike Parkers investment becoming shares , Fenty's a loan .....instant fallout and Parker walking away gifting shares to the Trust.. ....JF then convincing  the Trust into handing over said shares with his "non control of his investment so was going to take his ball home" approach.
So he now gains extra shares for potentially no overall outlay if he is hoping to have his loans back anyway.  If that is how you treat a fellow genuine supporter of the club then no wonder we are all sceptical about how any other investors may either be put off or treated.

Could be so different , but it just isnt or wont ever be. Bangs on about being a custodian but does so much to actively undermine any of the good things he may or may have done.  

Quoted from moosey_club

i think the definition of "put in" is key here....the overall perception is, that in effect,  he has put very little in as the majority of his outlay is "loaned" and is having that repaid over time.  

If JF had put this money in , without strings, in a non returnable way then i think he would be thought of somewhat very differently. As it is he hasnt and therefore he isnt.

Ie ... The commonly understood way that Mike Parker was "welcomed" aboard with a promise of pound for pound investment leading to Mike Parkers investment becoming shares , Fenty's a loan .....instant fallout and Parker walking away gifting shares to the Trust.. ....JF then convincing  the Trust into handing over said shares with his "non control of his investment so was going to take his ball home" approach.
So he now gains extra shares for potentially no overall outlay if he is hoping to have his loans back anyway.  If that is how you treat a fellow genuine supporter of the club then no wonder we are all sceptical about how any other investors may either be put off or treated.

Could be so different , but it just isnt or wont ever be. Bangs on about being a custodian but does so much to actively undermine any of the good things he may or may have done.  

How much were the Parker Shares worth ? 250k ?
So really we can actually scrub that from the Fenty loan already plus whatever he’s taken out , the club owes him quite a lot less than 2 million

Quoted from Stew0_0

Regarding the 2nd job rumour for one of my players. Has a part-time fan read Shaun Pearsons article regarding him delivering takeaways in the lockdown and still think he plays for us OR is it just complete boulderdash made up in an attempt to further infuriate supporters.

Being a full time club why on earth would we ask what is now considered a senior member of the squad to get a part time job??

On 2 other notes i would like to add from both sides of the spectrum......

1. Why do certain fans think they need to know, understand or make up stories about the running of the club, decisions made, finances of, or boardroom decisions. Its none of our business.

2. Why does the chairman feel it necessary to have to explain himself and the club everytime one of these Chinese whispers is plastered on social media. The majority of this rubbish is untrue and should be ignored.

Is it just the fans that are making up stories?

This recent statement seems a rather mammary for tat response. We’ve seen it before; it’s sold as a clearing the air or providing some Arita when in truth it’s just the club responding like a petulant child to some comments made on social media and setting their own narrative.

Even the statement isn’t the truth, as many have said, Day himself said we weren’t close to the salary cap limit yet here he is saying the very opposite.

The club continue to paint a picture of Shutes which seems a pointless waste of time. Fundamentally, whatever they claim, he simply didn’t want to play their games and now they’re doing the very thing they blame fans for.

Again, there are digs at fans and the use of social media etc. This statement wasn’t needed, it hasn’t cleared anything up and if they’re going to respond with a defensive, we know best response every time someone says something they don’t like they’ll be releasing one every week...

Quoted from psgmariner

Doubt it will make any difference but good to get the facts rather than endless rumours.

Yes exactly.

Quoted from 140067

Yes exactly.

Day contradicting himself and not actually clarifying the second job thing isn’t exactly presenting facts...

Quoted from aldi_01

Day contradicting himself and not actually clarifying the second job thing isn’t exactly presenting facts...

I think the fact that the statement came out at all is the most telling. It's straight from the John Fenty playbook.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

“I don’t know if those numbers are correct?”

I suggest that if you know about that debt being written off and the Mullen repayment then you should recognise the numbers from published accounts.

That was mentioned by somebody on the board, probably Day, one of the other many times that Fenty gets accused of taking money out every season.

I don't know how much has gone where, or why the numbers don't actually match what Day said. But if they're saying that Fenty hasn't taken money out each season, then I don't think they're lying. Maybe go to an AGM and ask these questions rather than jumping on a message board and making accusations when you have zero knowledge of what has actually happened.

Quoted from pen penfras

That was mentioned by somebody on the board, probably Day, one of the other many times that Fenty gets accused of taking money out every season.

I don't know how much has gone where, or why the numbers don't actually match what Day said. But if they're saying that Fenty hasn't taken money out each season, then I don't think they're lying. Maybe go to an AGM and ask these questions rather than jumping on a message board and making accusations when you have zero knowledge of what has actually happened.

I haven’t made any accusations. I’ve stated figures that appear in the club’s accounts. Nothing more. I don’t care where the money goes, I care about the future of a football club that has lost it’s mojo.

I don't for a second believe we're close to the salary cap.  You don't need to look at any figures to work out that we've gone cheap.  A big chunk of our squad is loan players and young kids.  Yes, they won't all come for nothing and collectively they add up.  But not to the levels to put us at the top of the salary cap.  

In the summer we saw experienced players who would have been on decent money leave the club.  We haven't replaced them all.  Far from it.  

Interesting that Fenty Day doesn't reference the fact that the salary cap is the EFL one.  Again, more 'clever' wording.   Wouldn't surprise me if it's a self-enforced salary cap.

Staggering that the statement says Fenty hasn't taken money out the club.  If this is the case, who the hell do we owe money to and why have the last few financial statements shown we've paid someone?  

The bit about the directors and plugging any shortfall if needed just sums it all up for me.  Sat on their hands this summer, cut the budget down to the bare bones and let the fans chuck into the begging bowl.

This years financial statements, which I understand are overdue(?), will make interesting reading.  Next years, well...

Quoted from aldi_01

Day contradicting himself and not actually clarifying the second job thing isn’t exactly presenting facts...

If only he knew you have to get your facts right  

Quoted from pen penfras

That was mentioned by somebody on the board, probably Day, one of the other many times that Fenty gets accused of taking money out every season.

I don't know how much has gone where, or why the numbers don't actually match what Day said. But if they're saying that Fenty hasn't taken money out each season, then I don't think they're lying. Maybe go to an AGM and ask these questions rather than jumping on a message board and making accusations when you have zero knowledge of what has actually happened.

The board are slammed if the debt goes up and slammed if it goes down. I haven't looked at the accounts but if all they say is a total figure for every year because that's the regulatory requirement, then I am sure a more detailed breakdown would be provided if someone were to ask. Why wait for an AGM though, an email would probably be forthcoming?

I'm not an accountant so I'll happily be corrected.  

My interpretation of the most recently published figures show that our debtors column reduced by £250,000 from the previous years figures.  

I don't think it's unreasonable to think (given that Day himself in that statement has made reference to the loans, the man himself has previously gone to great lengths to stress their benign status and the fact it mentions such loans in the papers itself) that such payment was made to Fenty.

Day is saying that's not the case.  As fans who are putting money into the club this year, last year, every year...I think we're entitled to at least ask the question as to who that money was paid back to and indeed who is the club indebted to.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

They always mention they are there to "plug the gap" as needed.

There is no gap to plug, there haven't been any gaps to plug for years, have they? The fans pay over their hard-earned money. The board sets a budget based on that and divide  it out for various expenditure. There is no gap. When things got tough due to covid, we put a clause in the contracts to ensure there would be no "gap."

All he (Fenty) is there for is to plug a fictitious gap which never arises. Nice work if you can get it.

Not a word on how we are going to move forward. Not a word about seeking new investment apart from hoping Shutes might turn up with eye-watering amounts of money to pay Fenty off which no business-minded person would entertain.

It's all smoke and mirrors. Why doesn't Fenty just do us all a favour and sodomist off and let us pay him back in instalments? Put a premium on season tickets with that premium going directly to a pre-agreed fund  (much less than the full amount of his loans for obvious reasons) and let us start again without somebody willing and able to fill a non-existent gap.

He is there for a reason that does not exist. Let's get someone to do the same job, but who has vision, expertise, contacts and a plan.

Seeing the as we don't have an overdraft then it's quite possible the ' gap to plug' could mean temporary cash-flow problems. I am not an accountant but cash-flow, especially in their football industry with no gate money, could cause temporary cash shortfalls.

Quoted from diehardmariner

My interpretation of the most recently published figures show that our debtors column reduced by £250,000 from the previous years figures.  

Do you mean creditors?  Debtors are people who owe the club; they're most likely other clubs who are still to pay outstanding transfer fee instalments.  Not trying to be a pedant, honest.  

The clear plan is to slowly reduce the directors' loans through the spoils of any footballing success.  I'm not sure why the club have reacted badly to that being suggested.

In regards to the part-time job rumour: clearly we need to be careful with gleefully sharing random theories that confirm our biases about the competence of the board.  Very difficult to manage on social media, of course.

Quoted from rancido

Seeing the as we don't have an overdraft then it's quite possible the ' gap to plug' could mean temporary cash-flow problems. I am not an accountant but cash-flow, especially in their football industry with no gate money, could cause temporary cash shortfalls.

That is a fair enough point, but I think that actually makes the overall situation worse!

One man has complete control of every aspect of the club because many moons ago he helped us out, is now gradually taking the money back without any reference to the damage his tenure has caused (or any rebate as far as we know) and is there as a back up in case we can't pay the milk bill.

If he really, really wants every penny back then that is fair enough, as there is nothing we can do about it. We could however, set up overdraft facilities to pay the milk money if required and continue to rely (as we do now) on the fans money providing the budget, whilst he takes a well-earned rest far away from the football club and we send him a cheque in the post every month till he is paid off.

I guess he thinks he is "protecting his investment " by continuing to be the main man.  

However you cut it, anti Fenty, very anti Fenty or off the scale anti Fenty we will never go anywhere whilst he pulls the strings.

Quoted from MarinerDevil

Do you mean creditors?  Debtors are people who owe the club; they're most likely other clubs who are still to pay outstanding transfer fee instalments.  Not trying to be a pedant, honest.  

The clear plan is to slowly reduce the directors' loans through the spoils of any footballing success.  I'm not sure why the club have reacted badly to that being suggested.

In regards to the part-time job rumour: clearly we need to be careful with gleefully sharing random theories that confirm our biases about the competence of the board.  Very difficult to manage on social media, of course.

Yeah, that's what I meant!  

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

That is a fair enough point, but I think that actually makes the overall situation worse!

One man has complete control of every aspect of the club because many moons ago he helped us out, is now gradually taking the money back without any reference to the damage his tenure has caused (or any rebate as far as we know) and is there as a back up in case we can't pay the milk bill.

If he really, really wants every penny back then that is fair enough, as there is nothing we can do about it. We could however, set up overdraft facilities to pay the milk money if required and continue to rely (as we do now) on the fans money providing the budget, whilst he takes a well-earned rest far away from the football club and we send him a cheque in the post every month till he is paid off.

I guess he thinks he is "protecting his investment " by continuing to be the main man.  

However you cut it, anti Fenty, very anti Fenty or off the scale anti Fenty we will never go anywhere whilst he pulls the strings.

I see your point but surely having an overdraft, which I assume would be with a bank, leaves an outside "force" with some control over the club. Fenty, for all his faults which are many, would be hard pressed to call in his loans or 'plugs', which could jeopardise the club. A bank is just a financial institution and to them "it's just business so they can would have no qualms about calling in what they were owed, regardless of the consequences.

Quoted from psgmariner

Doubt it will make any difference but good to get the facts rather than endless rumours.

Here are some facts. From the published company accounts - taken from the Notes to the Financial Statements. This year it is note 12 on page 19. It's a similar note number most years. Year stated below is the financial year ending May 31st.

Directors Loans
2020 £1,550,000 - no change
2019 £1,550,000 - down £250,000
2018 £1,800,000 - down £200,000
2017 £2,000,000 - down £209,700
2016 £2,209,700 - down £34,800
2015 £2,244,500 - up £184,800
2014 £2,059,700 - up £75,000
2013 £1,984,700 - no change
2012 £1,984,700 - down £50,000
2011 £2,034,700 - down £357,100
2010 £2,391,800 - up £601,800

Highest point for Directors Loans was 2010. Since then the amount owed to directors has fallen £841,800

Now if this isn't money that John Fenty has been repaid, who has it been repaid to? A small about to Lee Mullen maybe around 2016.

I think Mr Day should get his facts right!

Incidentally, in 2003 Directors Loans totalled £100,000.

Quoted from grimps

How much were the Parker Shares worth ? 250k ?
So really we can actually scrub that from the Fenty loan already plus whatever he’s taken out , the club owes him quite a lot less than 2 million

Think he gifted the Trust 500k and they handed 200k over to Fenty.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Here are some facts. From the published company accounts - taken from the Notes to the Financial Statements. This year it is note 12 on page 19. It's a similar note number most years. Year stated below is the financial year ending May 31st.

Directors Loans
2020 £1,550,000 - no change
2019 £1,550,000 - down £250,000
2018 £1,800,000 - down £200,000
2017 £2,000,000 - down £209,700
2016 £2,209,700 - down £34,800
2015 £2,244,500 - up £184,800
2014 £2,059,700 - up £75,000
2013 £1,984,700 - no change
2012 £1,984,700 - down £50,000
2011 £2,034,700 - down £357,100
2010 £2,391,800 - up £601,800

Highest point for Directors Loans was 2010. Since then the amount owed to directors has fallen £841,800

Now if this isn't money that John Fenty has been repaid, who has it been repaid to? A small about to Lee Mullen maybe around 2016.

I think Mr Day should get his facts right!

Incidentally, in 2003 Directors Loans totalled £100,000.

Of that 841k, 659k was in three years.

Dont believe a word Phillip Fenty-Day says.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Here are some facts. From the published company accounts - taken from the Notes to the Financial Statements. This year it is note 12 on page 19. It's a similar note number most years. Year stated below is the financial year ending May 31st.

Directors Loans
2020 £1,550,000 - no change
2019 £1,550,000 - down £250,000
2018 £1,800,000 - down £200,000
2017 £2,000,000 - down £209,700
2016 £2,209,700 - down £34,800
2015 £2,244,500 - up £184,800
2014 £2,059,700 - up £75,000
2013 £1,984,700 - no change
2012 £1,984,700 - down £50,000
2011 £2,034,700 - down £357,100
2010 £2,391,800 - up £601,800

Highest point for Directors Loans was 2010. Since then the amount owed to directors has fallen £841,800

Now if this isn't money that John Fenty has been repaid, who has it been repaid to? A small about to Lee Mullen maybe around 2016.

I think Mr Day should get his facts right!

Incidentally, in 2003 Directors Loans totalled £100,000.

I honestly believe that the board think we’re too stupid to understand balance sheets.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I honestly believe that the board think we’re too stupid to understand balance sheets.

At the very least they believe we’ll accept their spin

A fellow directors, I think Dave Roberts and Jon Wood ought to request PD makes a clarification to his statement.

If not John Fenty, which director has been paid £660k in 3 years.

New statement from Day tonight:

“Gottle o’ geer, gottle o’ geer, mind that hand John!”


No wonder he was so angry with other teams being potentially bailed out - it’s becoming clearer by the day that the club gambled on there being at least two clubs going out of business. Just the kind of ambition we’ve become accustomed to.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Here are some facts. From the published company accounts - taken from the Notes to the Financial Statements. This year it is note 12 on page 19. It's a similar note number most years. Year stated below is the financial year ending May 31st.

Directors Loans
2020 £1,550,000 - no change
2019 £1,550,000 - down £250,000
2018 £1,800,000 - down £200,000
2017 £2,000,000 - down £209,700
2016 £2,209,700 - down £34,800
2015 £2,244,500 - up £184,800
2014 £2,059,700 - up £75,000
2013 £1,984,700 - no change
2012 £1,984,700 - down £50,000
2011 £2,034,700 - down £357,100
2010 £2,391,800 - up £601,800

Highest point for Directors Loans was 2010. Since then the amount owed to directors has fallen £841,800

Now if this isn't money that John Fenty has been repaid, who has it been repaid to? A small about to Lee Mullen maybe around 2016.

I think Mr Day should get his facts right!

Incidentally, in 2003 Directors Loans totalled £100,000.

A sorry lesson in how to destroy a football club and shirk any personal responsibility or ultimate financial consequence.. just put everyone else through decades of agony and pain until you get every penny of the money you squandered on extremely poor decisions back..

Quoted from Bigdog

A sorry lesson in how to destroy a football club and shirk any personal responsibility or ultimate financial consequence.. just put everyone else through decades of agony and pain until you get every penny of the money you squandered on extremely poor decisions back..

If we get relegated, this club is dead. It probably is already.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

If we get relegated, this club is dead. It probably is already.

Yes I have just been musing - if we go down then I won't be going back and that is after 60 years of fanatical support.

I guess some others will feel the same. We will always survive in some form but we are becoming a music hall joke. Surely it is not too much to ask given our support to be at least competitive in division 4?

If the club gets relegated I would think a significant percentage of the fans who stuck by the club during this awful last 18 years would call it a day. The club may still exist but it will never get back in to the FL in it's current guise and certainly no chance of ever getting back to the FL if Fenty and his board of yes-men have anything to do with it.

The CA view of the statement.

http://codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=7740

The club has been on life support since it re-entered the league.

Anyone left genuinely supporting the regime has to be close and personal friend or just deluded surely?

People can use the nonsense excuse of ‘but look at bury’ but that simply doesn’t make it alright.

As stated throughout this thread, in truth what we’ve seen is a fantastic example of how not to run a football club. For the sake of some minute profit that is never reinvested we’ve found ourselves being a club that literally exists, nothing else.

I don’t know about anyone else but that’s boring, plain, uninspiring and makes you question whether it’s worth wasting the money. Playing to exist can’t be fun for the players either. Nobody is saying we should be storming the league but some gumption and at least a positive attitude and attempt to at least improve would be nice.

Perhaps if as much effort was put in to the club as is with a roundabout, a palm tree and whatever other bizarre ideas he’s supporting then we may see some change.

It’s easy supporting a palm tree etc when it’s the taxpayer who’s paying for it

Looks like we could be the first team for years  to drop out of the league and still make a few bob this season.
Surely this is a success story for a business owner ?
I think Fenty has worked out that Finishing in the bottom 4 every season while paying non league wages is a great way to make his money back., he’s hit the sweet spot For what he has to pay and what he can get back .

As someone said earlier not finishing above half way in league two for 15 years is an absolute disgrace for a club of our size and history.

Quoted from grimps

Looks like we could be the first team for years  to drop out of the league and still make a few bob this season.
Surely this is a success story for a business owner ?
I think Fenty has worked out that Finishing in the bottom 4 every season while paying non league wages is a great way to make his money back., he’s hit the sweet spot For what he has to pay and what he can get back .

As someone said earlier not finishing above half way in league two for 15 years is an absolute disgrace for a club of our size and history.

It’s an absolute disgrace but, to put it into some context, it’s even worse when the man presiding over the shitshow tells us how much of a fan he is.

Really?

Quoted from ska face

New statement from Day tonight:

“Gottle o’ geer, gottle o’ geer, mind that hand John!”


No wonder he was so angry with other teams being potentially bailed out - it’s becoming clearer by the day that the club gambled on there being at least two clubs going out of business. Just the kind of ambition we’ve become accustomed to.

Incredibly harsh.  This type of approach worked perfectly well in 2008/09 and look how we went from strength to strength the following year.

Quoted from mariner91

If the club gets relegated I would think a significant percentage of the fans who stuck by the club during this awful last 18 years would call it a day. The club may still exist but it will never get back in to the FL in it's current guise and certainly no chance of ever getting back to the FL if Fenty and his board of yes-men have anything to do with it.

I think you're right.

Easy to forget all the previous 'I've had enough' type moments.  But it really feels like the majority of the feeling is either disillusionment or even worse, sheer apathy.

It's always the apathy that's the most dangerous.  Personally Day's statement dragged me from apathy to anger but after years of getting kicked in the teeth, my passion and interest in this particular incarnation of the club is dwindling fast.

I suppose day could claim that his statement is technically true - the club does not repay fenty 50k per year. The figures seem to show it varying between  0 and a couple of hundred thousand, unless I'm mistaken?

Surely this is the sort of thing the trust needs to clarify - Has the club repaid any loans to fenty or Not?

Quoted from toontown

I suppose day could claim that his statement is technically true - the club does not repay fenty 50k per year. The figures seem to show it varying between  0 and a couple of hundred thousand, unless I'm mistaken?

Surely this is the sort of thing the trust needs to clarify - Has the club repaid any loans to fenty or Not?

Well, they have said he has not in this statement, to be fair. But the details of who is owed what on a year-by-year basis is not published so all we have to go on is the total debt to all indivduals.

Money no issue according to PD

“Financially, there will be whatever support Ollie needs to restructure in January. Finance will not be an issue."

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/money-no-issue-grimsby-town-4781671

He said it was “1 out, 1 in” a fortnight back...

and according to day's statement we are nearly at the salary cap anyway, so it doesnt matter if moneys available

It's not very clear is it, we're not near the cap, we're near the cap, we'll spend whatever is necessary. Which is it or am I missing something?

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

It's not very clear is it, we're not near the cap, we're near the cap, we'll spend whatever is necessary. Which is it or am I missing something?

I suppose to give more budget might mean paying off some players early a la Mohsni and Ohman, perhaps that's what it means. It's an expensive way to do business, but it was clearly very wrong in the summer.

I see amongst the "unlikely to include covid clauses" wording is also a "hopefully we will be in Tier 2 and crowds can return" ...... as at best we will be Tier 2 and capped at 2000 given you already have had the money for  1400(?) of those seats then potentially 600 extra seats (if the club plans to sell additional seats on a match day )  isnt going to boost the coffers by a massive amount is it , after expenses of opening up a full ground have been taken off.

We’re the club that learns nothing, or that’s how it often seems.

Whilst there may be good reason for paying players off, we’ve been here before and eventually the inevitable happened...it’s not a good habit to get in, especially for a club that pleaded poverty for nigh on 6 months this year...