Wardle steps down

It is with the deepest regret that Manchester City Football Club today announces the stepping down of Deputy Chairman John Wardle from the Board of Directors.

Mr Wardle’s resignation brings to an end an eleven-year relationship with Manchester City, a relationship which began at the most turbulent period in the Club’s history but one which culminated in an era of unprecedented stability in the top flight of English football.

>>mcfc.co.uk

Interesting that no specific reason was stated either by Wardle or the club for his departure, but nonetheless it wasn't a surprise given that his role as deputy chairman was merely to help smooth the transition of power last season to the incoming owner.

I don't know the extent of Wardle's power or influence on the club last season, or whether he was merely a presence in the boardroom but you would think this move strengthens the hand of Garry Cook even further - particularly if Thaksin is likely to be away from the club for longer than was perhaps intended as his trial that commenced this week appears to be more serious in terms of its ramifications than was initially believed.

The club spoke warmly of Wardle:

"Our disappointment at John's stepping down is matched only by our gratitude to him for the dedication he has shown on so many levels to this football club. He has been the fabric of this football club and quite simply, without his input in the darkest days of the third tier of English football, we would not be in the position in which we find ourselves today.

"John has stepped down, knowing that the future of the club is in good hands and is heading in a positive direction. "He will always be welcome at this football club and his input will never be
forgotten."

Wardle of course always painted himself as a reluctant chairman, stepping into the breach following the departure of David Bernstein, and whilst he quite rightly points out that we have achieved Premier League stability under his tenure, it has not been without the odd scare.

The gamble if you will in handing Kevin Keegan large sums in the transfer market did not pa off and left us with an ageing and expensive squad which cried out for investment, and whilst the personal loans that both he and partner David Makin provided to the club were invaluable during this time, it was the inability to atteact significant other investment when it was most needed that perhaps left a majority of fans hardly singing his praises.

But, his was an important role - and despite certain aspects appearing to have been done 'on the cheap', he performed well in the position and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that if there was someone at the helm without his passion and commitment to the club then we could well be in an entirely different position to where we currently stand today.

With Wardle's departure on the back of Alastair Mackintosh leaving the club, there has been an almighty changing of the guard over the summer with no one in any doubt that Garry Cook is the man effectively running the show, with Mark Hughes his personal choice as manager.

For better or worse there has been a change at the very top of the club as we head into the new season, but one things is certain is that the direction the club is heading in will make it unrecognisable from how it looked even as recently as five years ago.

UPDATE:

The Guardian ran an article today suggesting the departure was more to do with the growing disillusionment of Wardle at how Thaksin is operatin - even to the extent he was not consulted over the sacking over Sven.

Shinawatra makes formal offer for Manchester City

The good doctor has finally completed his due diligence and has made an offer of £81.6 million pounds for what appears to be 55% of mcfc and clears the debt. I say appears as the official announcement from the club is really too long and complicated for the likes of me !

Here are some of the key points :

The shares to be sold :

Walbrook Trustees (Guernsey) Limited 10,140,461 18.75
John Carruthers Wardle/ John Stephen Riches 5,431,681 10.04
Dawn Elizabeth Makin/ David Martin Makin 5,431,680 10.04
Francis H Lee 3,857,044 7.13
John Carruthers Wardle 3,275,233 6.06
David Martin Makin 2,061,406 3.81
Dennis Tueart 36,258 0.07
Bryan Bodek 10,000 0.02
Alistair Mackintosh 9,100 0.02

The walbrook trustees is The Boler estate (probably!)

Board Changes

· Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra will assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Manchester City and Manchester City Football Club;
· John Wardle will resign as non-executive Chairman of Manchester City and will be appointed non-executive Deputy Chairman of Manchester City;
· Alistair Mackintosh will remain as Chief Executive of Manchester City and a director of Manchester City Group;
· Bryan Bodek will remain on the boards of Manchester City and Manchester City Group as a non-executive director;
· Panthongtae and Pintongta Shinawatra, together with Sasin Monvoisin, will be appointed to the boards of both Manchester City and Manchester City Football Club as non-executive directors;
· Dennis Tueart has agreed to resign from the boards of both Manchester City and Manchester City Football Club;
· Mark Boler has agreed to resign from the Board of Manchester City; and
· David Makin has agreed to resign from the board of Manchester City Football Club.

So surprisingly Wardle stays as deputy whilst Mackintosh and Bodek also remain Makin, Tueart, Boler all go.

Obviously Dannys criticism and calls for the club to terminate talks with Mr Shinawatra stung him into action.

As a voice of the fans I can state as a fact that 71.24536% of City fans are behind this bid.

City Take Over 'Frozen Out'

So 7 weeks on from the initial announcement that the board were in 'preliminary discussions' regarding investment, and 5 weeks since they announced they were in 'advanced discussions' the plug may or may not have been pulled on Dr Shinawatra's potential buy out following the Thai authorities unsurprising move to 'Freeze' his assets held in Thailand.

The Nation - Thai governments 'propaganda' paper

The BBC

According to who you are speaking to this is a 'deal breaker' as he was using city to remove funds from Thailand - was expected and he has already got 1.5 billion out of the country - forces Wardles hand as the 60 day appeal period would take us into the new season.

Add in to the mix the Mysterons , sorry mystery Americans who are reputed to only be bidding for part of the club (Wardle and Makins Share) and the fact that no 'real' reasons were given for Ray Ransons bid getting short thrift and it all becomes clear.

Sorry no it doesn't ! I really don't have a clue whats going and neither do 99.99% of message board users / amateur journo's / bloggers. See the Koeman betting 'spree; from this week as conclusive proof.

What I do know is that Messers Warnock and Souness don't have clubs at the moment.......

More in the mix?

Not long after Ray Ranson was reportedly ready to make a second bid to purchase the club, stories began to emerge that a new American investor was on the scene.

Andrew over at purelymancity does a fantastic job of analysing those currently in the frame to take control at the club, and his research suggests that one of the American bids is likely favoured by the board.

Interestingly, on the back of this weeks events, John Wardle announced plans for a summer spending spree, whilst Stuart Pearce - mindful of earlier comments, announced he was in the dark as regards the takeover.

When was the deadline for season ticket renewals incidentally?

MCFC Supporters Trust - A view from the outside

Following the post below about The supporters trust boys appearing on Radio 5 tonight, and with the impending meeting on Sunday March the 4Th at the University of Manchester’s Renold Building, Sackville Street Campus, Altrincham Street, Manchester, M1 3BB, I would like to give my views on the trust.

Firstly I have had no direct contact with them , I have deliberately kept my distance but will be attending on Sunday and listening tonight. Initially I was very sceptical about three points but have pretty much been won over and look forward top doing my part. I have listed the three points below.

Power Trip : In all honesty probably my biggest initial concern was that the working party were in this for some kind of power trip/ego massage. The cynic in me screamed that they were just attention seekers ! And early doors when they lost control over some of the press stories seemed to confirm this. Interestingly it only took one action to remove this objection - a simple post on there site stating that none of the working party would be standing to be the trusts spokesman on the board

A Fan On The Board : Covered in some aspects by the above post but I was worried that (if it was an ego trip) the representative on the board could make the trust look stupid if they were forever banging on about buying players, certain players are rubbish change the tactics that kind of stuff. Obviously they are looking for somebody with boardroom experience a wise move that should suit both parties.

Conflict With The Board : Probably not resolved in reality !! The trust have stated they want to work with the board, have no intentions of challenging John Wardle and are not a stalking horse. They have made their position quite clear. The board meanwhile have gone coy pretty much refusing to discuss the trust which as I have stated on here before I find bizarre. There can be no greater endorsement than people wishing to put their money into what you are doing ! The boards reluctance is probably down to not wanting too upset potential investors ?

Im sure people have different concerns and hopes about the trust. I implore anybody who says they care about Manchester City to attend the meeting

You have an opportunity to shape the future of your club. Its not everyday you can say that.

Transfer Deadline Day

So will it be , Mido , Collins John, Michael Ball, Paul Konchesky..................

John Wardle has had to dip into his pocket again to fund a transfer (if it happens) personally I think we will just see Michael Ball , as a direct replacement for Ben Thatcher, which Pearce will describe as 'cute' as I am presuming no fee will be involved for the player.

Anybody got any potentially libelous rumors ?

Takeover time?

This story is still shrouded in a little mystery, but seems to be gathering more momentum as the day goes on and I expect more to be revealed over the course of the weekend.

It broke early this morning with an announcement that the club were in discussion regarding serious investment into the club, but gave nothing more away. Could this have been a smokescreen ahead of the AGM to deflect what could have been a tricky time for the board?

Anyhow, as the day has worn on it seems that rather than just an investor coming on board, it could lead to a full takeover with John Wardle stating he could be ready to 'pass the baton on', and the BBC reporting a full takeover - from an individual, could happen with a bid of around £70 million being mooted.

Wardle is still keeping his cards close to his chest, saying "We are not yet in a position to disclose the identity of the possible investor" - although this does appear to back up reports it is an individual rather than a consortium.

There have been plenty of rumours and interest over the past couple of years with nothing of any substance bearing fruit, but although it may be some way off before completion I cannot imagine an announcement of this nature being made without anything fairly concrete already in place.

Expect more on this soon.

John Wardle's speech to the AGM earlier today.

Wardle on the Wigan performance

Chairman John Wardle has spoken out following the Wigan defeat on Saturday, labelling the display 'embarrassing'.

Wardle talked of the 'net £8.5 million' spent on transfers and that they would 'support the manager' in the January transfer window - although without any serious investment to the club any resource available will surely be limited to the bargain basement.

In addition, Wardle also issued a rallying call to fans by saying “Our supporters have always been tremendously loyal and I thank them for that. We must now all pull together and get behind the team in the coming weeks and months.”

It is rare for Wardle to actually publicly comment on matters, and it does strike as more of an attempt to re-assure fans that the board are working towards putting things right.

One thing Wardle didn't touch on was Stuart Pearce - giving neither a vote of confidence or laying out what was expected of him for this season. Personally, I think this was probably a deliberate ploy from Wardle to not add any fuel on the speculation which has again surrounded Pearce following Saturday's heavy defeat.

It wouldn't have helped Pearce whatever Wardle would have commented on as the press would have picked every comment to pieces in an attempt to generate a story.

For all the furore which was raised, and there were a lot of genuine questions raised about Pearce - namely his tactics and motivation abilities, I don't think the board at this stage are seriously considering making a managerial change - for above all alse there aren't any serious 'available' candidates out there (that we know of) who could come in and make a difference.