YourThurrock has received an e-mail which we are taking in good faith as from the Grays Athletic “Board”.
The statement reads:
“If the Trust told the full detail of the conversation with the Vice-Chairman, they would realise the most important part has been missed which was the possiblilty of administration.
“The Vice Chairman had secured sufficient investment to keep the club afloat but the Trust seemed more interested in giving Jamie Stuart his award before the game even though his current club as well as our club (not Vice Chairman) didnt think it was appropriate.
“If the Trust wanted to present the award after the game in the bar, there was no objection as this has nothing to do with Grays Athletic.
“On friday, Martin from the Trust approached the Vice Chairman who agreed they could do what they wanted as long as they sorted things directly with Jamie, they declined this offer and told the Vice Chairman the Trust had declined this offer.
“The Vice Chairman has spoken to numerous fans and only met one person (Martin from the Trust) that didnt agree with his decision. It’s very easy to go on forums and websites but why not speak to the Vice Chairman face to face at homes games as the rest of the fans do.
“The club as nothing to hide on this and stands by their decision, no one player is greater than Grays Athletic FC.”
Good to see that GAFC has responded to the criticism regarding the presentation to Jamie Stuart, at least people can now see both sides of the argument and can make their own minds up.
At this moment in time, I think Jamie Slabber is greater than Grays Athletic FC
Comments like the one fron the Doove is why Grays Athletic is in the state it is in, stupid comments from faceless people
So The Board agrees that the club is in a bad state and think that the fans are responsible for that state. It was a throw away line and should be seen as such.
If you think I am faceless than I suggest you get my email address from this web site so that we can exchange views – I look forward to hearing from you.
we are not getting involved in stupid discussions on a messageboard, we will all be at the game tomorrow and never hide from fans so feel free to chat to us as long its sensible as we have no time for “throw away comments”
Our priority is to keep this club afloat regardless of what division we play in and with the current state of affairs that is not going to be easy
Fair enough regarding stupid discussions on message boards. I just wonder why you chose a message board type site to make your statement. Why not use the official Grays Athletic web site? I was almost convinced that the above was written by a hoaxer designed to stir up trouble.
I do respect what you are trying to do for this club and it’s a great shame that a lot of the effort you put in is not manifesting itself when it comes to building a football team. I appreciate that you must be just as frustrated as the average fan, probably a lot more so, but that is no reason to start blaming the fans for the failure of the team to perform.
We, (the fans), are all looking to the board to provide strong leadership qualities and to work with the fans, via the Trust. Conflict between the board and its fans is never a good idea. The old adage that the customer is always right, (even when their wrong), should be your watchword. Give the fans what they want, if at all possible, then things will start to improve.
My throwaway line was borne out of frustration for which I apologise, I did not mean to cause offence. All I ask is that steps are taken to improve the team’s performance, even if it means having to get a new team manager.
The website is being updated and will launch next week and thet will be the place to have discussions like this, we have nothing to hide and we felt we had to reply to the original comments regarding Jamie Stuart.
We are not looking to blame fans but we need to be united on this otherwise what is the point of carrying on.
Julian works with the board everyday and has read the comments and would like the opportunity to answer:-
This season we have used 64 players from various divisions as i felt and have stated several times the squad i inheireted was nowhere near good enough to survive in this standard, The players were totally money driven and were happy to pick up their money week in week out regardless of the results. We wanted to lose certain players immediatley but as they were under lucrative contracts they were happy to sit in the stands and pick their money up rather tham look for clubs to play football, This in itself is not something i have ever come across before at any level of football as i was only ever football motivated not money motivated. This situation meant that we were unable to sign better players because our budgets were all tied up on these money grabbers.
Our only solution was to bring in lesser experienced players on low money which unfortunatley has led to our current position.
I hate losing and let me tell you i take the results to heart, i didnt come here to fail its not something that im used to.
We are currently looking at plans for next season regardless of where we finish up and it was only last week i agreed with my assistant Kenny Brown to not take a salary until the end of the season to prove our commitment to the fans and directors.
6 more players have signed today of which at least with start the game tomorrow against salisbury.