Port Vale saved

[El Presidente]

Port Vale's immediate future has been secured following a major investment from a consortium led by Peter Jackson.
The consortium will purchase 30,000 shares at £5 a share to provide the club with an immediate injection of £150,000 to stabilise finances.

Jackson, a life-long Valiants fan, had to overcome a rival bid for Vale from Italian football agent Gianni Paladini.

"The investment ensures the future of the club is safe," chairman Bill Bratt told BBC Radio Stoke.

He added: "I believe the best decision has been made for the club and its supporters.

"We now have a solid foundation on which to build for the future and achieve our aim in progressing Port Vale both on and off the field."

The consortium - which will have a minority shareholding - will also take up an option to buy the remaining shares and have two seats on the board.

Jackson said: "We believe the club has great potential and we are confident we can introduce the right business management to enable the club to realise that potential."

The club is currently the subject of a Football League transfer embargo because its a shithole.

 

[GUNTER]

Good to see w**ker Williams stumping up some of his 80 odd million to help them.

He can hang his head in shame, calls himself a fan, what a fuc*ing tosser!

 

[Yorkie]

Lol at the last line El Pres

 

[MRRF 10]

what a suprise another club saved just when it's about to go out of business.

like the last line el presidente

 

[Beach Hut]

The club is currently the subject of a Football League transfer embargo because its a shithole.

Classic BBC quote

 

[Blackadder]

Good to see w**ker Williams stumping up some of his 80 odd million to help them.

He can hang his head in shame, calls himself a fan, what a fuc*ing tosser!

Brian Horton was saying more or less the same thing on "Goals On Sunday" a couple of weeks ago. You could tell that he wasn't impressed with the "Take That" boy who, I believe, often goes to Chelsea these days. (Could be another prem club?? )

Having been to Port Vale (with 1,000's of others) I fully concur with El P's last line!

 

[Northstander]

Same old last minute saviour comes in.....



Leeds will be next!!!

 

[Lush]

Here's an article from a footie website...

Robbie Williams was close to tears as he spoke candidly about his love for his home city and the football club he claims is in his blood. The Tunstall-born singer telephoned The Sentinel because he wanted to set the record straight about him buying a box at Chelsea and reassure the Potteries public he has not forgotten them - or his beloved Port Vale.

Robbie revealed he splashed out on the corporate hospitality facilities at Stamford Bridge as a gift for his manager, but said it cost nowhere near the £10m figure reported in national newspapers.

And at 29, the multi-millionaire claims he can't afford to throw money at the Vale and said all his spare cash goes to charity.

Robbie scotched rumours he had whipped out his cheque book on the spot during a visit to Chelsea with his showbiz pal Jonathan Wilkes.

He said: "My manager is an ardent Chelsea fan and has been all his life. With the new record deal everything is going well for me and I wanted to get him a present.

"I don't even own a cheque book and I definitely can't afford £10million for a box at Chelsea. It didn't even cost £50,000.

"There are eight seats in the box and if I'm in London then I might go to one of the matches because I live not too far away from the ground.

"I got a good deal and a very, very nice gift for my manager.

"Me and Jon had 10 minutes on our hands the other day and decided to have a look at the stadium because we love football - we are both football fans.

"But the present was bought before that, about three weeks ago. It was very well received and it was the best present my manager had ever had."

Robbie was keen to reassure Vale fans his heart is still with them and said he had agonised for a month over whether he should bail the Burslem club out of its financial crisis.

He said: "My heart strings have definitely been pulled hearing about Port Vale's problems and I gave much thought to putting some money into the club over a month-long period.

"The truth is I've been a Port Vale fan all my life. When I was younger I was in the Railway Paddock and I used to dream about sitting in the chairman's box. But when I actually saw what it was like behind the scenes it wasn't what I thought.

"I'm going to lose a lot of friends by what I'm saying and put a lot of noses out of joint. I went to Port Vale when I was in Take That and saw behind the scenes.

"The people around it had no interest in football, it was all about social standing in the community.

"I felt like no-one at the club gave a sh1t about Port Vale when I was 18 or 19. But it didn't really put me off the club because of my love for it.

"When I was growing up my nan used to give me £2.50 from her pension to go to the matches and then the price went up to £5. I think about all the other children whose grandparents gave them money out of their pensions. That money could have gone somewhere else.

"They were just putting money into the coffers of people who I think didn't deserved to have it. I have followed the story about Port Vale and its financial troubles all the way through. I've read when people have said 'If Robbie WAS a Port Vale fan then he would come in and help'.

"So far I have put £3million into my Give It Sum fund. Do you want me to buy a left-back or help to save children's lives? I'm not going to do both.

"It would have cost £2million to help Port Vale. £2million. That's a lot of money. And how much money I have is no-one else's business."

Last year, Robbie signed an album deal reportedly worth £80million with EMI - the biggest deal in the label's history.

But the singer, who was recently ranked joint 62nd in the Sunday Times Pay List of Britain's top 500 earners with estimated earnings of £10million this year, says the profits he will make from the EMI deal have been grossly exaggerated.

Robbie appealed to the people of Stoke-on-Trent to be patient while he "grows up" - and spoke of his dream of one day playing a key role at Port Vale.

He said: "One thing I never want to be again is poor. I'm 29, give me a chance to grow up a bit. I can't afford to keep giving £2million here and there - the club might need another £2million after that. Any spare cash I've got I give to the charity and that's just going to grow and grow.

"Are people dying as a result of Port Vale's troubles? No. Get people to go down to the Donna Louise Trust, go into that hospice and have a look at the kids - that's where my money is going.

"I'm sorry if the club is in trouble and, believe me, it's breaking my heart when I hear about it. It is part of me, it's where I come from and gave me a sense of belonging. I belonged to it.

"I have been going around the world all year and wouldn't have had the time needed to dedicate myself to the club that I love. I would end up having to be just the silent man who invested the money.

"It makes me really upset and angry. People believe everything they read in the tabloids. If you watch any behind-the-scenes music programmes on TV all you ever see is people having success making records and then taking a massive dive for one reason or another and it all goes wrong.

"I'm from Tunstall - people in Tunstall aren't stupid with their money and I'm not either.

"Just let me weather my own storm. I don't know where I'm going to end up, who I'll be with or how many divorces I'll have, because there are bound to be a few. I don't know where I'm going or who I'm going to end up with.

"I'm very, very happy at the moment, I'm the happiest I've ever been. Who is to say what will happen in the future? I would love to be a director of Vale.

"Yes, I would have to be based in Stoke-on-Trent for that role and yes, I would do that. That's another reason why I can't become an investor right now - I'm just not around.

"I'm in London for three weeks of the year and then I'm all over the place. I get really, really emotional about this and the situation angers me - especially when I wake up in the morning to read these reports about me turning my back on Vale."

Robbie said he believed the rivalry between supporters of Stoke City and Port Vale was "silly" and said he always enjoys football, irrespective of which teams are playing.

He said: "I'm a Port Vale fan and I like Stoke City too and it is important for both teams to do well - it's good for the Potteries. I'm not a Stoke fan, but I would say I'm pleased when they do well. I don't have this feeling that when you support one club you're supposed to hate the other. All this animosity between the clubs is a bit silly."

Robbie said he takes gossip about his private life in his stride, but drew the line when it questioned his loyalty to the Vale.

He said: "I feel I'm being made to look like the villain for something completely out of my control. The papers can print whatever they want about me. I don't care whether it's the truth or not, but in this instance I have made an exception to speak out because I love Port Vale. The papers can talk about my personal life or whatever - but don't mess with me and the Vale."

He added: "I don't want to be a scapegoat for people's anger over what is happening to a lovely club. At the end of the day, I'm a Port Vale fan and I just happen to be Robbie Williams."

 

[berkshire seagull]

Yep same old story at every struggling club and shows just how many saviours are out there to save clubs hint hint.

 

[the right footed denilson]

that is a disgrace

what a cock

80 million he has!!!!!!!!

anyway- who is peter jackson??

 

[Icy Gull]

The Elton John/ Watford connection is similar to the Robbie Williams/ Port Vale scenario. Both massive stars at their peak. One did what he could for his favourite down at heal childhood football team, the other is a complete wanker.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

hes the bloke that directed lord of the rings isnt he

 

[El Presidente]

Complete wanker who gave £2 million to charity

We had a chairman and a director in Archer/Stanley who between them are worth over a billion, fat lot of good they did

 

[GUNTER]

The guy loves nobody or nothing but himself. Two million out of an estimated £80m fortune is nothing. He uses the club for publicity for himself.

Now take Fatboy Slim. Unlikely to be worth 1/10th of what Robbie is worth but chucks £500,000 into Brighton for a "car parking space". He's a real fan and I for one am proud he supports our club.

Robbie - go eat the prawn sandwiches at Chelsea - your sob story is breaking my heart.

 

[Icy Gull]

Complete wanker who gave £2 million to charity

Harsh I admit, would "generous but complete wanker" be more acceptable

 

[GUNTER]

Harsh I admit, would "generous but complete wanker" be more acceptable

He counts his time for charity functions in that figure. It is not £2m he has donated, more £2m he has raised.

A pal o' mine met him at a small gig in London a couple of years ago. He was drinking at the bar and flatly refused to give him an autograph for his wife saying it was his "day off".

I really cannot stand the guy.