We need an asterisk next to his budgets and an explanation that Smurthwaite also had a habit of signing his own players. Port Vale chairman claims his wife 'fears for her life' at Crewe Alex Smurthwaite was raised in Radford, Coventry, and bought his own home in the area at the age of 17 after receiving compensation from an industrial accident at Dunlop in 1977. [7], In October 2013 Smurthwaite controversially banned local newspaper The Sentinel from all press events after taking objection with the newspaper's reporting a lengthy delay in producing specially presented third-kit shirts to fans who had pre-paid for the items in May. "[61] He went on to claim that fans protests against him had cost the club a 500,000 stadium sponsorship deal, that he had never received a "formal offer" for the club and that he would put the club into administration if no new owner was in place by 5 May. I'm not sure many would describe Smurthwaite as a people person during his Vale reign, but the club's decline and his decisions turned fans against him. After promotion from League Two to League One was secured, Smurthwaite said that Ive never had any hobbies to speak of, but buying Port Vale has given me a passion. Mind you, he and supporters were irreconcilable by that point anyway. Supporters' Club chairman Mark Porter's reports a heated debate with Smurthwaite after the group threw their weight behind those protests against him. He is currently single. The Shanahans, both long-standing Vale supporters, who own Potteries-based firm. PVFC Limited, the clubs holding company, was hit with a winding-up order by HM Revenue and Customs in July 2014; Smurthwaite insisted this would not affect the club and that a funding error caused the problem and expected the order to be withdrawn. Smurthwaite was part of the investment group, led by Paul Wildes, that took Port Vale out of administration in November 2012. [35] Upon appointing Portuguese manager Bruno Ribeiro, the club's first manager from outside Britain, Smurthwaite stated that: "It has been a long, extensive process but I'm absolutely certain we have the right man for the job. He took over as chairman of Port Vale i Personal touch and engage with his followers. Smurthwaite then improved the club's budget to allow over ten new, mostly foreign, signings, and stated that he expected Vale to be challenging for the top six and warned his staff that he would enact "plan B" if the club were not in the top six by Christmas. Vale's player budget for this season was the tenth highest in League Two. When the couple told Smurthwaite they were planning to go public about their offer he texted them to say "sorry not interested. . We've recruited players from those clubs and of course we want them to do well. He took over as chairman of Port Vale in 2013, having been a key figure in the boardroom as the club secured promotion out of League Two in 201213. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. In cookbook, Miranda Lambert reveals recipes that fed her Former Port Vale owner Norman Smurthwaite has spoken publicly about his efforts to buy crisis club Bury FC. Despite plenty of criticism of him personally, he will generally pick up the phone, often with an opening gambit of 'you must be desperate to fill space in your rag'. On Friday morning Dale called on fans and other interested parties to pledge a total of 2.7m to save the club. Smurthwaite bought the Vale from the administrators for 1.25m but sold to Carol and Kevin Shanahan for more than 4m in May. 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The funds the EFL wants to see are to cover the club's debts to their current and former players and other clubs of just over 700,000, and the almost 1million they are obliged to pay unsecured creditors, such as the taxman, to meet the terms of July's CVA, as well as working capital for the season. The third. [10] He later issued a statement saying that the wage bill budget set by the club in the summer was over-ambitious and that he had been forced to meet the 1 million budget deficit out of his own pocket. Port Vale Football Club is officially up for sale, owner Norman Smurthwaite has confirmed. now please get back to your day job and continue the sterling work in the community. He went on to claim that fans protests against him had cost the club a 500,000 stadium sponsorship deal, that he had never received a formal offer for the club and that he would put the club into administration if no new owner was in place by 5 May. Aspin resigned five days later following a run of poor results. His plan, however, depended on Bury being allowed to start the season - with a small squad and skeleton staff - and the English Football League handing over the club's share of its central income. Despite not wanting him to resign, once Adams left the club Smurthwaite initiated a policy of experimenting with young players in the hope of turning a profit from player sales in the future. He resigned as chairman following relegation back to League Two in 201617. Mike Baggaley looks back on Norman Smurthwaite's reign at Port Vale, Sign up NOW for your daily Port Vale newsletter straight to your inbox. He later claimed that he had considered appointing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager, but decided against it partly because he believed that a racist minority of the clubs supporters would make appointing a black manager a bad idea. Smurthwaite denied Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis's claim that Smurthwaite threatened to close the club down during the dispute, but retracted his threat to bar police officers from entering the ground during the match. Vale can move on and so can he - as far away as possible would be a popular option. [63], Smurthwaite was reported to have made a bid for National League club Notts County in June 2019, but denied having done so. Aspin steered the club away from relegation by the end of the 201718 season, and in June 2018 Smurthwaite revealed that he had rejected another offer to buy the club from an unnamed bidder. Norman Smurthwaite (born 8 August 1960) is an English businessman and former football club chairman. He was hospitalised after being struck by a car whilst walking outside Vale Park on 25 January 2019. Maybe you would be better off growing potatoes on it? That combative style was also evident in a couple of dramatic supporters' meetings in which, to Smurthwaite's credit, he's taken unvetted questions from the floor for close to three hours. [18] He later claimed that he had considered appointing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager, but decided against it partly because he believed that a racist minority of the club's supporters would make appointing a black manager a bad idea. Aspin resigned five days later following a run of poor results. Norman Smurthwaite (born 8 August 1960) is an English businessman and former football club chairman. [33] Some of the club's biggest name players rejected new contract offers and left Port Vale after Northampton Town paid compensation to Port Vale to sign Page as manager in May 2016; Smurthwaite claimed that he purposely set a low wage budget so as to drive Page and the players out of the club, thereby leaving room in the 201617 budget for a new manager to sign his own players. Norman Smurthwaite at Port Vale's 1-1 draw at MK Dons, Port Vale - the Smurthwaite years in 20 pictures, Port Vale fans protest about owner Norman Smurthwaite before the Forest Green game, Protests against Norman Smurthwaite after the home game with Mansfield, Norman Smurthwaite has his say at a Port Vale Supporters' Club meeting. But forget hindsight, there were times when you could only shake your head and wonder 'what on earth is he doing?'. [57] Smurthwaite went on to issue a statement to condemn "disgraceful abuse" he had received and to urge supporters to not to use "inappropriate language" during protests and to consider the effect of protests on the club and the players; he stated that he was only involved in "major" decisions at the club and left day-to-day decisions to CEO Colin Garlick. On 31 January 2019, Smurthwaite blamed "logistical challenges" for the deal to bring back former top-scorer Marc Richards breaking down; the club instead signed four youngsters despite having no manager. The stadium has been under the ownership of Coventry-born millionaire Norman Smurthwaite since June . He went on to invest in dozens of properties and retired at the age of 50. Port Vale chairman Norman Smurthwaite claims his wife 'fears for her life' when she visits Gresty Road. He was hospitalised after being struck by a car whilst walking outside Vale Park on 25 January 2019. It was revealed that Smurthwaite had funded the initial takeover, and that the pair had a disagreement following defeat to Bristol Rovers in March, with Smuthwaite insisting on a more public approach to take pressure off the manager and players. Speaking in July 2016, Smurthwaite was still angry about the defeat to Exeter City seven months previously. [1] He sold the business two years later and moved to Nottingham, where he bought a chain of estate agents that he later sold on to the Halifax. In February, the home game with Doncaster Rovers was put into doubt after Smurthwaite refused to pay extra policing costs that Staffordshire Police had demanded following intelligence that there would be troublemakers instigating violence at the game. He is seen as one of the most successful Business executive of all times. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Three days later he received a bid of 1.25 million for the club, matching his original purchase price in 2012. He appointed Adamss former assistant Rob Page as first team manager in October. And if Dale finds some novice to take it on, Bury will be back in this mess next year.". With Smurthwaite at the helm, that's rarely been an issue.