Tony Wrathall set to return to Plymouth Argyle's board of directors

Tony Wrathall looks set to return to Plymouth Argyle's board of directors...

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Disgusted by this. I don't care if he wasn't a main protagonist.

He was still part of the tenure that brought my club to it's knees.

I wonder what Wrathall is paying for his 5% in a net-assetless, loss-making, 4th-tier Argyle? And also whether he gets a vote or not? What was Brent previously trying to mug the AFT for? Of all the previous board members I had genuine sympathy for Wrathall - he was mugged for millions by Stapleton and Co. You'd have thought he'd learnt his lesson by now.

Absolutely numb with shock.

Just when we look like we're getting something close to back on our feet as a club and not a catastrophic entity that veers from one PR catastrophe to the next, we re-appoint this man to the board and moreover sell a share of the club to him. The man who was part of a regime that brought the club to the verge of extinction and stopped its staff from being paid for nigh on a year. This is like an April Fools like come early.

This one will run for weeks- just when we needed a feel good vibe going into the play-off push. The cynic in me would wonder if this mightn't have been 'well timed' to avoid dissent.

I actually cannot quite believe what I've just read.

If he's actually paid any money to Brent then he's simply been mugged again. On the surface and even after scratching it, it seems a wholly dimwitted move. Then again he's a local guy who loves his club and wants to say and show he's still a part of it. A vanity exercise if you will, governed by ego rather than commonsense.

Is it April 1st?

Blimey and crikey. 5% might well increase to more of a share once the HHP development is done/half way through.

Popcorn at the ready. I wonder how many of the local celebro-fans have said things on forums that they're going to regret. It does prove something quite clear; the myth is a myth. The myth that we're all in this together, fans and board together as one. I'd be surprised if this doesn't attract some very negative press. Football fans have very long memories.

If he was, in part, responsible for the debt we are currently paying off, how can he rejoin the board? Isn't that a conflict of interest?
Graham Clark over the 'other side' has put it better than I can (as usual).
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Quote :

Secondly, I understand the staff element of the football creditor debt has yet to be fully repaid despite the splendid accelerated debt payments by the GTs and others. What that means is that Tony Wrathall, who was jointly and severally liable for the debt and unpaid wages of these staff members who went unpaid for months, will be injecting cash into the football club rather than settling those debts in advance. This is an untenable position and in my view represents a major misjudgement by the Board and the Chairman. This situation needs to be addressed and urgently.

I have never met Tony Wrathall. I understand that he put a lot of his own personal wealth into the football club and unlike others he did so on an unsecured basis. As a consequence he lost a lot of money and no doubt 'wants to put something back'. That is commendable but this 'buying his way back' into the football club at this time when debts remain unpaid is unacceptable.

I don't dislike Wrathal in the way I dislike the others but this is a nonsensical decision.

Shows utter disregard to the fans that ALL played their part in stopping the club from dying.

Exactly. Can we have our bucket money back and how did Nikkkkkkkkk not get a little slice in return for all the cash he put into the club?

It's never dull on planet PAFC - it's a bit like Eastenders when an old face of notorious repute arrives off the train, bag slung over shoulder with a steely look in their eye. Some fallout inbound.
Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh!

hairy j wrote:

Blimey and crikey. 5% might well increase to more of a share once the HHP development is done/half way through.

Popcorn at the ready. I wonder how many of the local celebro-fans have said things on forums that they're going to regret. It does prove something quite clear; the myth is a myth. The myth that we're all in this together, fans and board together as one. I'd be surprised if this doesn't attract some very negative press. Football fans have very long memories.

I can't see how this is possible. The HHP development won't affect the club's balance sheet at all will it? It's nothing to do with the club other than being built on land once owned by it. Any new mini-grandstand won't actually be owned by the club. Unless Brent/PAFC buys the freehold back of course!

Well this is something for Martyn to discuss at the Senior Greens meeting today...

Where does this leave the other directors who I assume have never been offered any opportunity to buy into the club.....what will be expected of Wrathall as a 5% share holder on the board.....does that give him rights that the others, other than Brent don't have......certainly doesn't give him any voting clout against Brent's 95% holding....will this cause problems on the board....why now, is there a reason ?....maybe something to do with the late starting development who knows.

Things had become quite quiet with the teams improving performance....this will give the anti-Brent brigade some fodder to start attacking again......I must admit it was getting rather boring on here without the usual subjects being at their most vilest.

Not that your statement itself would be vile, eh Zyph?

Its obvious what this is all about..

Argyle - meaning Brent - need money.

Wrathall will have minority shareholder's rights. He will also have one vote on the board along with his co-directors. From memory, I believe we were told at the time of Brent's takeover that, Brent aside, the new directors were 'not walleted'.

Rickler wrote:

Not that your statement itself would be vile, eh Zyph?

Its obvious what this is all about..

Argyle - meaning Brent - need money.

The bleedin obvious still needs pointing out to Avivas   

Why has he done this as opposed to paying towards the debt he helped to create?

Hitch wrote:

Wrathall will have minority shareholder's rights. He will also have one vote on the board along with his co-directors. From memory, I believe we were told at the time of Brent's takeover that, Brent aside, the new directors were 'not walleted'.

And that 'we' [meaning the Windsor Boys and chums], would be allowed to help run the village show, in return for keeping the natives quiet.

Han Solos Other Ship wrote:

Why has he done this as opposed to paying towards the debt he helped to create?

If the money he has paid for his shares actually goes into the club and not the pocket of the person (Brent) who is selling him the shares then there is an argument to say that at least part of that money will actually be going toward the repayment of historic debt.

Why now ? Because we started winning some games ?

Why not 12 months ago. ? When it was a relegation battle ?

Don't know what to make if this if I'm honest

Dane. wrote:

Why now ? Because we started winning some games ?

Why not 12 months ago. ? When it was a relegation battle ?

Don't know what to make if this if I'm honest

I would imagine talks have been ongoing for sometime. There is absolutely no doubt that, but for regular cash injections/loans and 'a plan going forward', the club is once again trading insolvently and has been for a while.

Ffs fcol walos

Mock Cuncher wrote:

Ffs fcol walos

Is this welsh?

If the club valuation is the same as it was when the offer was made to the AFT, and when Holliday and Vaughn invested, then the 5% is 'just' £100k.

That's a huge decision for such a sum.

Obviously the AFT board will be discussing this today.

That this wasn't run past the PASB also speaks volumes for the club's desire to listen to the fans on such a major decision, which is very disappointing.

Tim

Well I will leave people with far more time than I to dig through posts made by "super fans" but this just leaves me numb and for exactly the reasons outlined by Graham Clark.

Let's see how this is "managed" today.

Tim - as a Trust member the fact that we still have a debt to pay, notwithstanding the fact that local businesses will not see 99% of the money they were owed by the club, makes this decision unethical and one that I cannot support. I don't care if TW has just won the Euromillions and has £20 million to invest. Some things in life are just plainly wrong.

It seems when one source of 'money for virtually nothing' dries up, (nikkk) then Baby James has to look to the next available revenue stream, with a total and utter disregard for anything that has gone on historically.

The fucker is your classic wolf in sheeps clothing. Utterly ruthless.

As Jessie J said, it's all about the money money money.