Grimsby Town chairman, John Fenty, issued a statement on the club`s official website in response to the resignation of vice chairman Mike Parker.
Parker resigned on Tuesday, after a board meeting held the previous evening, saying :
‘There is not the appetite for change at board level which I had hoped for and been led to believe existed.
‘For some time I have been pressing for other changes to be made in the club’s board structure and believed that these changes had been agreed, but they were voted down by a board majority at the meeting.
‘During this discussion I felt that my personal motives were being questioned, which I find unacceptable”.
Fenty`s full statement is as follows :
Obviously the board are hugely disappointed Mike Parker has decided to stand down as director.
Mike and I believed there was an appetite for some changes and that there was an agreement to do just that.
His support for this football club, which he joined in November 2009, has been terrific. We have been side by side both financially and in decision making so this is a bad day as the club needed his stability.
He`s been absolutely terrific to work with, we`ve enjoyed each other`s company, and we`ve always ended up on the same sheet.
At last night`s meeting of the directors there were two main items discussed relating to the club`s next manager and the chairmanship. Beyond that, we moved to any other business. The two further items discussed related to structure and finance.
Basically, what was thought to be an agreed done deal couldn’t be pushed through by Mike and I alone. So in other words, it is quite clear that the majority on the board were not in support.
The club is a democracy, shareholders have appointed the directors and the directors elected the chairman, which is normal. Whilst there wasn`t a show of hands or official vote it was quite clear the motion could not be carried.
When all is said and done we (Mike and I) are not only joint funding the club but also have a controlling interest and shareholding. I was rather thinking patience would prevail and these objectives could be achieved over time.
I spoke to Mike on the phone after the meeting and we shared disappointment. I understand Mike`s frustration over this, however, I didn’t expect the bombshell of him deciding to resign the next morning. Naturally we had several discussions during the day in an effort to persuade otherwise.
It has not happened, the majority of the board clearly won the day on that one. What it has left is a situation where Mike feels he can no longer remain as a director.
Mike has kindly reiterated his intention to maintain the financial support that he had previously indicated, in terms of the projections through into next season. That is just a measure of the man.
He’s been absolutely terrific to work with; I would like to reiterate my thanks and that of the boards to Mike, for his enormous support and financial commitment.
Mike has expressed a desire to remain involved in some way. I think he`s worked terrifically well with Robbie Stockdale with regards youth development and on lots of other initiatives. When the dust settles I will pick this up with Mike.
I hope he will remain a visible part of the boardroom, irrespective of standing down today.
For now, we have got to move on. The club is bigger than all of us, and we have a key decision to make.
On that front I think we`ve made some progress and hopefully in the very near future we will be appointing Grimsby Town`s next manager. That`s got to be the focus right now. It is important that we don`t destabilise that process. It is important that the new manager recognises that we still have a stable foundation.
I genuinely hope that we can get that football fortune that we are all craving for, and put this issue behind us as soon as possible.
Please, I am asking everyone to now unite behind the team and the new manager when appointed and to show him what a great club he has chosen.
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