No Confidence in Laurence Overend as Trust Chairman

[Bittners a Legend]

On the basis of his comments reported in the WMN this evening and his attempts to push through a change in the Club Articles to remove any remaining power the Trust has I am sorry to say I have no confidence in him to act in the best interests of the Trust going forward.

Hopefully a vote of no confidence will take place on Friday and the Trust will start fighting for its members rather then maintaining a cushty status-quo that has led us to the bring of administration and insolvency.

Do others out there agree or disagree?

 

[Shabba]

When Laurence first took over, I had high hopes mainly because of how much his mum did for the club. I even PM'd him, wishing him luck and telling him that should I see a positive change in the running of the club, I would then reinstate my Trust membership.

I am still waiting and agree with Bitts, LO is not the man for the job.

 

[sumner7]

Agreed. He's shown his true colours with the WMN quotes and proposing to relinquish trust powers over the club board.

It's unforgivable IMO.

 

[Thames Valley Red]

We should remember we are a community club and he is a human being and a fan. We should treat people with the respect they deserve. That said it is time to go Laurence as you have failed to protect the ideals of the Trust and the ethos of the loan rather than a donation. Time for change. UTC TVR (CU on the terraces as a fan mind!)

 

[Adrian Holloway]

Very little respect shown on these boards recently for someone who has the club's best interests at heart.

 

[Bittners a Legend]

We should remember we are a community club and he is a human being and a fan. We should treat people with the respect they deserve. That said it is time to go Laurence as you have failed to protect the ideals of the Trust and the ethos of the loan rather than a donation. Time for change. UTC TVR (CU on the terraces as a fan mind!)

I agree and have no wish to conduct a witch hunt. Nevertheless I have zero confidence in him as Trust Chairman and both his words and actions suggest he is not the man for the job. In my opinion we are in a perilous position and if he is not prepared to take tough decisions and accept reality then he should depart for his own reputation as well as the well being of our Club.

 

[feverpitch]

I think judgement should be reserved at least until the Trust have had chance to meet. They are certainly now aware of the strength of feeling on the issue. The relationship between the trust and the club is a complicated one and I think Laurence's approach has been softly, softly in the past. But the current financial predicament demands a change in strategy IMHO.

Just because people have different opinions does not equate to a lack of respect being shown. The key question is whether the Trust has been doing its job as major shareholder re: ensuring good governance and the long-term security of the club.

 

[Saint James]

Very little respect shown on these boards recently for someone who has the club's best interests at heart.

Very little evidence though that he is acting in the best interests of the Trust. He is the Trust Chairman and whilst I don't doubt his sincerity and qualities as a nice guy he isn't a man for a crisis.

 

[Edward]

I have posted elsewhere that Mr Overend should resign. That said, I think it should be remembered that he is a volunteer. For that reason alone, he should be granted some consideration. I have no time for the other fools who have been taking a salary whilst presiding over this entirely predictable and avoidable mess but Mr Overend has done his best. He has shown poor judgement, and a lack of control and governance, but I don't doubt he tried his best and committed a huge amount of time to the effort. Sadly, a surfeit of appetite rarely compensates for a lack of ability.

 

[Bittners a Legend]

I have posted elsewhere that Mr Overend should resign. That said, I think it should be remembered that he is a volunteer. For that reason alone, he should be granted some consideration. I have no time for the other fools who have been taking a salary whilst presiding over this entirely predictable and avoidable mess but Mr Overend has done his best. He has shown poor judgement, and a lack of control and governance, but I don't doubt he tried his best and committed a huge amount of time to the effort. Sadly, a surfeit of appetite rarely compensates for a lack of ability.

I do agree and as I said I don't want to personalise it but his comments to the WMN suggest an inclination towards maintaining the status quo (and that he simply doesn't understand the issues) and I felt that should be highlighted. Happy for the mods to move it to the other thread if they wish though.