Interview with Paul Conway

I am not bothered if we hear from Conman or not. I don't get the obsession to hear what he has to say. We've heard from him in a few years more than we've heard from the Cryne Family in nearly two decades. I don't remember people so obsessed with hearing from a Cryne when they were majority owners for years. Is that because they are fans so naturally trusted more and these are big bad nasty 'for-run-nas' are ruining us? Personally I would like to see every single board member being interviewed at a fans forum together with no pre screening of questions like usually happens so they can get their answers/lies in check first.

 

I think the Crynes chose their words very carefully. "The football club isn't liable for..." is different to "they shouldn't be taking funds out of the club to pay".

Not sure why there hasn't been any denial from the Crynes, or even a peep from them, since Khaled quoted that it was agreed by all parties.

 

Frankly, I don't trust a word that comes out of his mouth either.

 

I’d imagine due to the ongoing court dispute.

 

I don't particularly trust any of them. The 80% the 20% or the CEO. 100% of the board / ownership group are responsible for the mess that we are currently in.

But on this specific point, just because the Crynes have said that the club aren't liable for the payment, doesn't mean that they have not agreed to the 80% taking the 750k loan and subsequently writing it off. I have my suspicions, but there's nothing out there that proves anything one way or another.

 

The thing is, a minority holding (20%) have no say if the other 80% are set on doing something. If 80% of the ownership group say its coming from the club, that's where it's coming from. You could take a line that the "directors have agreed" just because thats how the dynamic is set.

I suspect this has a lot further to run and may well become more complicated before it gets sorted (if indeed it ever does).

 

Not sure if any of significance or relevance but I note that a couple of weeks ago (11/2/22) 100% of the shares in Oakwell Holdings were transferred from the splendidly named Mr Mark Openshaw-Blower, a solicitor, who they were all transferred to on Patrick's passing away. MO-B no longer has anything to do with the company.

The shares are now 100% owned by Jean and James with Jean the majority shareholder. They are now also the only two directors of the company.

 

If you're owed £3.5m, then perhaps your first priority is to get hold of the money. The source might be of lesser importance.

The £750k payment has been wrongly taken from the club's bank account. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it, regardless of what may or may not have been agreed between the various factions.

I'm done on this topic until we see the next set of accounts.

 

Just a simple lapsing of conditions of the Trust I'd assume.

 

Yes, that possibility did cross my mind, and is entirely feasible I guess. (If the owners if Wigan Athletic were able to appoint directors to be able to force through an approach to administrators, then this is definitely possible). But even then, I would expect the Crynes to come out with something, that is suitably bland, without explicitly saying that they disagreed with it, something like "it was a majority decision..." Given that 750k isn't the subject of any court case from what I can see.

Sadly, the club isn't going anywhere until this dispute is resolved. And even then, I think the need for redevelopment at Oakwell is going to hold us back further.

 

We'll have to wait and see what the case actually is, whenever that will be. And I could understand if the Crynes just want to get the money due to them, and a 20% reduction in one amount is a concession they are willing to make. Given they reduced an amount by £2.5m and extended payment terms and have forgone some elements of rental income and have forgone some element of directors salary... it's not out of the imagination.

I do think their silence is the right thing in all this though. Sort in in court, while doing everything they can thats in their power to protect the football club in the meantime.

 

Unless the Crynes have said something else since the article?

 

Untrue patrick was very open with fans and wouldnt go missing when results on the pitch were bad.
With Conway he seemed to disappear after the stendel sacking. At one point when things were good in league one he couldnt do enough interviews and would often be in the away end at games.
I think supporters want answers from the organ grinder rather than the monkey. And are concerned about alot of goings on this season. The west stand, the ground share rumors, the 750k, the terrible manager appointments, the poor player recruitment, the matchday experience which is worse than ever when this was a priority when they took over.

 

I'm surprised at #1 considering what I've read in the public domain, but have no knowledge of the situation and no reason to not trust what you say.
I've been shouting about #2 for pretty much as long as they've been here. Nothing about them added up from warnings on Wikipedia pages to shell websites.

 

Surely Robert Zuk knows the answers to all these shenanigans given he was a director of Oakwell Holdings until the end of August 2020 and has also been BFC Finance Director throughout?