Developing MCT/GMFC Board Situation

[TRVMP]

MCT Board just issued a statement. I received this in an email, presumably it's on its social platforms too:

Quote

The board of Morton Club Together noted with serious concern the statement which was issued by GMFC following last week's media coverage of the registration ban imposed upon it by FIFA.
 
We have a duty to be transparent to our members, and regretfully we must make it clear that the club did not inform Morton Club Together, as its owners, about this ban from the governing body.
 
The MCT board shares the disappointment that many members and other supporters have expressed regarding this situation.
 
The handling of the matter was also particularly frustrating at a time when MCT and its directors have been proactively engaging with the board at Cappielow and working hard on a number of fronts to try and improve the working relationship between the two and the running of the club.
 
These efforts had included regular dialogue, a commitment to collaboration and engaging in a number of joint meetings, yet important information was still not divulged to MCT. 
 
Following the failure to notify the club's owners about the FIFA registration ban, Morton Club Together can confirm that on Monday evening it formally asked its representatives on the GMFC board, Graham Barr and Sam Robinson, to both stand down from their positions, and it awaited their responses to that request.
 
The board of MCT has subsequently been notified officially that the continued backing of GMFC sponsors Dalrada is dependent on those representatives, and the current club chair, remaining on the board at Cappielow.
 
We appreciate and acknowledge that members and the wider fanbase have been anxious for information over recent days regarding these matters, as well as other ongoing areas of concern reported recently.
 
However the board of MCT believes that it was important to attempt to resolve the situation in an appropriate fashion privately before then updating everyone fully and moving forward. It has therefore been deeply disappointing that other unknown parties have instead chosen to breach confidentiality and deliberately put information into the public domain online which has caused anxiety for everyone connected with the club.
 
Morton Club Together has always been committed to forming a productive partnership with the other key stakeholders involved with the club and it plans to hold talks with its counterparts at the earliest opportunity to make progress collectively in a way that serves the best interests of the football club as a community-owned asset.
 
We would meantime like to thank all of our members for their patience over the past week and their continued support of MCT, something which has put it on track to soon reach the milestone total of £1 million invested into Greenock Morton FC.

Power struggle well and truly underway, then.

I have no ITK knowledge here but to take this at face value:

MCT Board upset that its two representatives on the GMFC Board did not tell them about the transfer embargo.

MCT Board told the two representatives to stand down from the GMFC Board as a result of this.

MCT Board then learned, after the fact, that the two reps' place on the GMFC Board is a necessary condition for continued Dalrada support, as is the place of John Laird on the GMFC Board.

MCT then tried to 'resolve the situation' behind the scenes but the GMFC Board is leakier than the Belgrano.

(Whether or not that resolution took the form of reversing the request for resignation, or talking to Dalrada, or something else, I have no idea, but reading between the lines of the last two paragraphs, I'd guess the former is closer to the mark.)

Edited May 7 by TRVMP

[TONofmemories]

Why was G Barr dismissed? Is it because he free-loaded? 

[irnbru]

1 minute ago, TONofmemories said:

Why was G Barr dismissed? Is it because he free-loaded? 

MCT representative on the board that was part of a group that didn't update MCT about something they should have. Can kind of see the point of the mail but there's better ways to handle that - either a member vote or earlier comms to say. 

Assuming the Dalrada guy is close to Robinson since he said he brought them in and was a risk there but MCT had to go with both. 

It is a bit concerning though that the board majority shareholder, rightly or wrongly, doesn't seem to have any influence at all. 

[TRVMP]

2 minutes ago, TONofmemories said:

Why was G Barr dismissed? Is it because he free-loaded? 

From reading The Statement it seems the MCT Board were unhappy that their two representatives on the GMFC Board, Barr and Robinson, didn't share the news of the FIFA embargo, and saw this as disappointing at a time when MCT says it's trying to improve the working relationship between the two bodies.

Absolute clusterfuck, this. Something similar was playing out at Albion Rovers very recently and it's not ended well for them at all. Egos need to be put aside and everyone needs to come together to resolve this.

[SpoonTon]

It's a little bit worrying, if not surprising, that Dalrada have so much power in this that the club owners can no longer appoint their own board. 

It's also worrying that the most anyone higher up at the club have tried to communicate with the fans has been the leak which started this thread - which was terribly written and not at all helpful. 

And it's worrying that the relationship with MCT is so poor that MCT took this action with their eyes closed instead of being able to talk things through. 

No-one's winning in this at the moment. 

On a side note, I'm also worried for Andy Millen, who hasn't been seen since Dale slapped him about with an envelope. 

[TONofmemories]

8 minutes ago, irnbru said:

MCT representative on the board that was part of a group that didn't update MCT about something they should have. Can kind of see the point of the mail but there's better ways to handle that - either a member vote or earlier comms to say. 

Assuming the Dalrada guy is close to Robinson since he said he brought them in and was a risk there but MCT had to go with both. 

It is a bit concerning though that the board majority shareholder, rightly or wrongly, doesn't seem to have any influence at all. 

Hinger on, loves a suit, pics in directors box etc etc confirmed. 

 

[irnbru]

2 minutes ago, SpoonTon said:

It's a little bit worrying, if not surprising, that Dalrada have so much power in this that the club owners can no longer appoint their own board. 

It's also worrying that the most anyone higher up at the club have tried to communicate with the fans has been the leak which started this thread - which was terribly written and not at all helpful. 

And it's worrying that the relationship with MCT is so poor that MCT took this action with their eyes closed instead of being able to talk things through. 

No-one's winning in this at the moment. 

On a side note, I'm also worried for Andy Millen, who hasn't been seen since Dale slapped him about with an envelope. 

I can kind of see the MCT point - if they aren't getting satisfactory answers from the club board members then something has to be done. Assuming they've maybe been asking about Millen, etc too and the lack of transparency from the club on top of the transfer ban.

Barr and Robinson could have stood down and avoided this so would be interesting to hear their side of the story. I'd be very surprised if Dalrada would have left if they stood down but can see why they might not like people being forced out. Do they think they are representing MCT well, was there something stopping them working with the MCT board, etc? 

[Tubes]

If thats written into the contract that Dalrada are only providing financial support if these 3 said people are on the board then that is wild. We absolutely should not be over a barrel here. (Easier said than done) but find other funding and let Dalrada pull out. 

We can’t have 3 people on that board who are basically untouchable for the duration of the deal due to the potential of Dalrada pulling funding. 

[TONofmemories]

The board of MCT has subsequently been notified officially that the continued backing of GMFC sponsors Dalrada is dependent on those representatives, and the current club chair, remaining on the board at Cappielow.

Get this in the fucking bin.

[port-ton]

The last time we were forced in to pleasing a sponsor we ended up with Alexander Easdale starting up front. 

[TONofmemories]

Proof that folk with not much more than a passing interest in Morton, as was the case with G Barr, should NEVER be allowed a position of any authority. A nice Buckleys meal every second week must get boring. 

[vikingTON]

4 minutes ago, SpoonTon said:

It's a little bit worrying, if not surprising, that Dalrada have so much power in this that the club owners can no longer appoint their own board. 

Great post. 

My view on this - and where I think there are genuine grounds for passionate disagreement - is that *if true*, then Dalrada nor any other sponsor should not have any effective veto over the club board's composition. A sponsor is not an owner.

Now, the owners may wish to promote effective links between a sponsor and the club, but we also might not want to piss off our excellent manager by giving a letter to his assistant 0.2 seconds after the final game too. In either case, what might be the most sensible judgment does not change what the actual lines of authority and accountability should be. 

There was a GMFC for fully 140-odd years prior to Dalrada's involvement. There must be a GMFC after Dalrada's involvement. I personally hope that the space in between will be quite long and productive, but the tail cannot be wagging the dog. 

[JWC]

It’s been a few years since I’ve posted but if we’re all being honest , the conduct of Barr and Robinson in regards to the transfer ban being kept away from MCT is unforgivable and if they are real Morton fans they should have stepped down. We all make mistakes but this is a massive one and should be owned by them . It now seems we are in a position where we are held to ransom that these two now remain in post or there’s no sponsor from Dalrada. Maybe both can prove for once  that they are real fans , and not in it for the club tie , and do the decent thing , step down but encourage Dalrada to support the club . If Dalrada pull the plug , then that’s a sad way to end , Brian Bonars dad stood on the terraces we were told and that’s said if that’s how it ends. Barr and Robinson will be pariahs like others before them if indeed their reluctance to step down for the greater good , which I think MCT should demand , proves they are in it for their own reasons and not ours . If we need to rebuild them we’ll do it at whatever level we can . 

 

 

[TONofmemories]

1 minute ago, JWC said:

It’s been a few years since I’ve posted but if we’re all being honest , the conduct of Barr and Robinson in regards to the transfer ban being kept away from MCT is unforgivable and if they are real Morton fans they should have stepped down. We all make mistakes but this is a massive one and should be owned by them . It now seems we are in a position where we are held to ransom that these two now remain in post or there’s no sponsor from Dalrada. Maybe both can prove for once  that they are real fans , and not in it for the club tie , and do the decent thing , step down but encourage Dalrada to support the club . If Dalrada pull the plug , then that’s a sad way to end , Brian Bonars dad stood on the terraces we were told and that’s said if that’s how it ends. Barr and Robinson will be pariahs like others before them if indeed their reluctance to step down for the greater good , which I think MCT should demand , proves they are in it for their own reasons and not ours . If we need to rebuild them we’ll do it at whatever level we can . 

 

 

Free nosh up and a suit on of a Saturday. Easy life, eh. 

[vikingTON]

Some further ranting (tl;dr above). 

The common thread among the leaked claims (evidently now from one faction in this farce) is the argument that Dalrada are essential to the club's financial survival. That's a distortion based on the figures available in the public domain, because football clubs do in fact still operate on a less than full-time basis.

The Tele is disgracing itself yet again by reporting otherwise - either because their 'journalist' doesn't understand or is too lazy to grasp basic financial books, before jeopardising a business's credit reputation in the public domain based on unnamed 'sources'. If it weren't for the total binfire behind the scenes, I'd be showing either that organisation or the individual journalist the door for some time to come. 

Now if our recently stood down Finance Director - leaving as scheduled AFAIK - offered a counter argument about the club's actual financial viability then I'd be minded to reconsider that view. That's someone whose track record in achieving break even and profits lends authority to their judgments. But I'm certainly not buying such claims from some of the time-honoured headbangers that @TONofmemories has rightly identified at the centre of this farce, whose credibility is non-existent. 

Edited May 7 by vikingTON

[dunning1874]

If it is the case that the GMFC board was aware on 17 March that a transfer embargo was in place and the MCT board were kept in the dark by their own representatives on the GMFC board on that, only finding out along with the rest of the support on 1 May, then it's impossible to see how they couldn't ask for the resignation of those representatives. If that's the case they are not representing MCT on the board and can't remain on it in that capacity.

The cloak and dagger stuff and previous failure to communicate with their own members leaves a lot to be desired and we have more questions than answers here, with an extremely pertinent one being why exactly the shirt and stadium sponsor want those directors to remain on the board, and also why they feel it's appropriate to dictate who three members of the board (including the Chair) are when they already also have a representative on the board. If the MCT board have just gone ahead with an attempted purge without really thinking what the next steps are or what Plan B is if they have to back down for whatever reason - such as the main sponsor threatening to walk, having no alternative sponsor to plug that loss of income and not being willing to take the commercial risk of needing to quickly find another when this presumably has immediate implications on the budget for next season when the manager needs to be offering contracts - this is also extremely not good.

[Chicken_Soup]

Hopefully a resolution can be reached, but an insistence by Dalrada that those three particular players remain on the board is unsustainable. That this particular registration issue has broad it to light has only hastened what was already an inevitable discussion. 
 

Dalrada investment is clearly important, but they are not the owners of this club. If the MCT reps on the board are withholding information, they should not remain in position and Dalrada should accept this. Leaking of information and digging in of heels benefits no one. 

[Hej]

So if the MCT statement is be believed, the majority shareholder is essentially being blackmailed by a sponsor as to who it is allowed to appoint to the board?

How can anyone be OK with this? I don't see any option other that telling Dalrada thanks, but TTG

Why was MCT not made aware of the FIFA issue? Again, this is the majority shareholding we are talking about. Its completely unacceptable. Wanting to keep it schtum from the fans and media is at least understandable from a reputational damage control perspective. I'd love to hear the justification or reasoning that made them decide not to disclose to MCT. Astonishing thing to do.

[TONofmemories]

Makes you wonder why things have been kept quiet? G Barr and Robinson clearly puppets for someone. 

[cmontheton]

11 minutes ago, Hej said:

So if the MCT statement is be believed,

I see where you're making your mistake.