In my view a very sad day for Witton Albion. It’s a all well and good everyone calling for Mike’s head and getting him to resign but who will now take over the work Mike did? In my view a good chairman is far more crucial than a decent manager, without a decent business strategy and financial planning we will be back to the dark days of administration.
Maybe Mike had given all he had to give but surley we could of worked something out allowing him to pass on his responsibilities and experience gradually to a new chairman.
I will be glad to see Jim back if he does take up the reigns again as he is no doubt in the top 3 of all time Witton managers but not at the expense of financial stability.
What we really need is an overahaul of the club we need some young dynamic people in with fresh ideas who can take the club forward along the lines of a couple of local SUCCESSFUL business men to help with the day to day running. Someone for example like Jeff Metcalf would be great asset as he has contacts within the local area and would have great knowledge of how to get the social club up and running again having run the the Thatch.
In my view a very sad day for Witton Albion. It’s a all well and good everyone calling for Mike’s head and getting him to resign but who will now take over the work Mike did? In my view a good chairman is far more crucial than a decent manager, without a decent business strategy and financial planning we will be back to the dark days of administration.
Haven’t commented on the loss of Jim Vince as I haven’t been around for the season but, as many disagreements I’ve had with Mike and the rest of the board in past, I’d like to thank Mike for all of his hard work over the past years and say thanks for helping us keep the club we love. Without him, the club would not exist, nevermind have just had such an amazing few years on the pitch.
Finding a new manager is the least of the club’s worries - finding a man who will give his life up for the club as Mike has done is the highest priority.
Nick and Tonnee, totally agree with you, I don’t mean to insult anyone, but certain people on here believe that JV is the be all and end all, yes I suppose he’s done well to an extent, but failed to win the league on two occasions, despite last year having a very large budget, the only success JV has brought the club is the Cheshire Senior Cup, so don’t lets get carried away. The same people who are having a go a MW are the same people who criticised JV last year for letting Mike Mosely go - correct?
I do not believe for one minute MW would have walked away without having plans in place for the future, I am sure that he has decided he has had enough given the abuse and unpleasantness he has suffered in the past seven days. MW’S departure would have been organised properly with the correct people in place to ensure that there is continuity in the club.
The Club is in turmoil, Mark Harris as acting Chairman, Graham Edgeley away on holiday, Paul Worthington, who knows - so how are the club going to manage to make ends meet throughout the summer.
Perhaps Greenie is stepping in and paying a few bills!
I am sure that he has decided he has had enough given the abuse and unpleasantness he has suffered in the past seven days
you are so correct on that one rob.
Rob, you are much smarter than having to get into a war of words with Greenie or anyone else for that matter. Whatever an individual’s view is you will never get people agreeing all of the time, however the common aim is progress and success for WAFC and this is one area where we should unite.
I think very few people were calling for Mike’s head and the reality is that he will be a very hard act to follow. Hopefully the standard he has set can be the foundation on which we build. Managers will come and go, as will players, however we have benefitted from having one very good chairman for 10 years (which in itself shows how good Mike has been).
We are not in anything like the same position as Halifax and for that matter V*** (where they have no assets and plenty of debt). Mike leaves this club in a very strong position and that fact cannot be disputed.
Any current ‘turmoil’ can be quickly overcome, however for the long term benefit of the club we need to now look at changes that will ensure we move forward and not backwards.
There are lots of people who care about this football club and will be there in support of Mark Harris, GE, Paul W and others to help build on recent success.
Again, rather than parties ripping into each other we would be better using our energy on ways that we can help.
Rob i think you are being plain daft now! Is there anything constructive in asking Greenie to step up as Chairman?! Maybe the better option would be for you to be offering your services rather than those of other people? I’m sure Greenie, myself, Simon, Greg, and whoever else will be doing our part to progress things for Witton Albion in the coming weeks, months, years. Mike has gone, but the Club has to move forward.
Mike has faced criticisim previously during his tenure as Chairman. I remember travlling to lincoln for the opening day fixture about 4 or years ago and losing 4 - 1. There were as many Witton fans screaming for MW’s head that day as there were calling for Benny phillips’. I’m sure there is more to Mike’s decision than the events of the last week or so.
In regards to JV. He has the terrible terrible record of guiding Witton to 2 second placed finishes in consecutive years. The budget in his first season was less than Champions Burscough, and significantly less than 3rd placed Telford. We missed out on the title by 1 goal. This season we missed out by almost as close a margin to a team who budget we again had no hope of matching. However, we did finish above Gateshead, Guisley, Hednesford, and Buxton - all of whom had a larger budget than ourselves - and Ilkeston, who’s budget was the same. I’m sure all but Gateshead would of swapped our season for their own?
If the Witton support sticks togther then there is only a positive future for the Club. Our position is much more secure than that of our neighbours was just prior to Christmas. They stuck together and are now making drastic progress - can we not do the same?
This is simple really, Mike has resigned and wont change his mind, Jim might well change his mind and return, We need to galvanise the shareholders, boardroom, supporters, We need an open meeting with all the remaining board to thrash out the future ( the past has already gone ), eg new chairman,new board members, reappoint mgr, new investment ? and restructuring the club from top to bottom, everyone who has a vested interest in the club should attend ( if you just like to moan about things and not do something to help then simply dont go )and everyone has to do a bit more to help in what ever way they can. Mike was a great chairman saved and ran the club very well but he did upset and alienate lots of people on the way, if his replacement can carry on Mikes good work and bring back those who were alienated and then get everyone pulling in the same direction for the good of the club then we can keep the club going and give the manager the budget he needs to keep most of the players and push on for promotion. Hopefully Mark will set this up asap when all the key people are available.
CJ totally agree with what you are saying. I am annoyed at the personal abuse Mike has had to suffer in the past week from several people, but the Club is bigger than any individual and hopefully everyone can do there bit, myself included over the next few weeks.
It is going to be difficult, we all know that the budget will be less than last year, a new manager or JV need to be in place within the next couple of weeks.
I think we also need a meeting of shareholders. When is the AGM? If its too far off then we need an EGM.
I know of some large shareholders who in the past would have liked to invest or buy shares in Witton, but were put off by Mike or the lack of shares for sale. It would be unfair to mention their names on an open forum, but they may still be interested.
First I would like to thank Mike for everything he has done and achieved at Witton Albion. If it was not for his time and effort i would not be able to watch witton every saturday. What he has done at the club has been remarkable and I wish him the best of luck in the future. Thank you Mike.
Now i just hope the club can pull together and we can retain our exellent team along with Jim and Nige as they will be critical in us going forward next season. I can not think of anyone i would rarther have managing Witton Albion than Jim Vince.
CJ and CHAD talk sense as always. Stuck at work at the moment but I just hope Mike is not lost to the club altogether. OK so he’s not chairman anymore and by the sounds of it his personal life was beginning to suffer. Julie has been involved with him at Witton and it would be a shame to lose them both!
What I would like to see is Mike retain his interest in the club as a Management consultant with maybe someone younger doing the day to day work of Chairman. I’d also like to see Mike as specialiat consultant in charge of our potential ground move. I think once the Raw feeling of the last few days dies down Mike will have a rethink and perhaps still want to be involved in club in this kind of capacity. His talents are too valuable to lose outright.
As for JV yes I’d like to see him and Nige come back but they also need to examine what went wrong in the last 3 or 4 weeks of the season and see if we can improve on anything. I think this is a particularly testing time of the loyalty of our players. Sure some of them will want to go and to be honest if they don’t want to play for the best non league club round here where the fans absolutely idolise all of them then we’ll get a new set of players in who will play for us and we’ll have some new heroes. I personally hope the majority will stay on and accept that money might be a little tighter! If we can’t get Jim back I know who I would like as the new manager and he is not a million miles away. Whether we would get him though is debateable as his team have just come into our league but he’s a similar kind of bloke to Jim in that he seems to act with dignity and some finesse and has built a strong dynasty where he is!!
Lets get something positive out of all this maybe 2 or 3 new younger dynamic board members backed up by those already there plus Mike as a consultant who can provide expertise and ideas when required. It also crucial that Mike stays associated with the club in some capacity because of the contacts he’s bulit up over 10 years. The most important in this will of course be the BANK. They will want to see some continuity and they were proably confident in Mikes finacial management ability. So to lose Mike altogether could be catastophic given the new finacial squeeze. If they think Mike is still around even in a reduced capacity they will continue their confidence in us.
Lets get this meeting off the ground and go from there. I guess the man to act as MC on this would be Simon Westland if he is willing to give this a go. quite impressed with his MC’ing on the Legends night. realise this is slightly different but Simon seems to have a gift at public speaking!!
Mona, an excellent post apart from the last line (I am sure there are many who will disagree)!
I think your suggestion that Mike continues in a consultancy role regarding the relocation has a great deal of merit, especially given the amount of effort that he has put into the activity so far. Of course it is hoped that Paul continues his association with the club as he has been heavily involved in this. When the dust settles this may be a project that Mike is willing to help give guidance on and if he does feel this way it would be fitting that he had the opportunity to finish this off. I equally would suggest that when the next AGM comes around that Mike is also made some sort of vice president of the club that honours his contribution.
Well said Rabbit the least we can do for Mike is that he becomes a vice president alongside Dave Leather another great servant to the club. But its equally important that Mike’s expertise is not lost to the club. he is the man to handle any potential ground move I’m sure of it and he might find that not so encroaching on his time though obviously it will take up some time I’m sure!! We’ve had three really great chairman in my lifetime in Sam Powell, Tom Stelfox and Mike. Sam was a legend in his own lifetime and knew footie inside out. Tom was probably not as ruthless as Mike but equally effective and a really top class bloke instrumental in getting Ken Barnes here. Had many a conversation with him and he was also a very kind man and his wife was an absolute Gem!!
I still think your public speaking skills are top class mate. I appreciate in the context of running an open meeting this is a little bit different but the Legends thing was done brilliant in my opinion. We really need to get together rally round and try and find a compromise as well as getting other people involved while at the same time showing Mike that not everybody is against him even though they support JV. This lind of appreciation just might tip the scales for Mike and at least keep him at the club in some kind of role!!
One thing I’d like to do is thank Mike for the last 10 years and for saving Witton Albion FC. Things have been said this week and although I still stand by my comments about it being the right time for Mike to step aside I think it’s fair to say that plenty of us have been caught up in the emotion of what has been a very turbulent time! The combination of events on and off the field saw plenty of us hurting and I think that was evident from the reaction.