Swann and Gainsborough Trinity

[WonderGoals]

I just found this little piece about his time there….sounded familiar, apart from the fact he left them with do debt.

Trinity has always been a well-run club with a dedicated team of directors who kept the club solvent and, for their size, relatively successful. However, in the spring of 2009 there was a major change in the management of Gainsborough Trinity when Peter Swan, a businessman new to town, bought out his fellow directors and took overall charge of the club. His ambition for Gainsborough and for Trinity was high and fans soon noticed this with the arrival of Luke Beckett; Huddersfield’s Town top scorer who also quickly became Trinity’s top scorer. The pace of major signings continued many with recent Football League/Conference experience.

At the beginning of the next season, it would have been fair to say that there was a real bout of optimism in the town and amongst Trinity supporters. However after very few games in which the lack of success was noticeable, especially at home, the new owner dispensed with the services of the then manager, Steve Charles, and his coaching staff and appointed the very experienced manager, Brian Little, in his place. He brought with him a wide and successful experience as manager; his previous clubs including Aston Villa, Leicester and Hull and it was hoped he would bring the same success to Gainsborough Trinity. As the season progressed it quickly became clear that it was a false dawn – results were not going well for the Blues, this despite the Chairman’s continued investment in experienced players and the past success of the Manager. At the end of the season Trinity narrowly escaped relegation and the optimism at the start of the season had faded into disappointment with results and performances.

This disappointment continued into the next season and it was not long before the manager’s services were dispensed with and his deputy Steve Housham appointed to the post. Steve was known through the respect he had earned playing for Scunthorpe and through bringing success as manager at Brigg Town. The Steve Housham era as manager, together with the investments of the Chairman, began to bear fruit and success at last arrived. In 2011/12 the club finished fourth in the Conference North, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, after beating Halifax Town in the semi-finals, Trinity lost the final 1-0 to Nuneaton Town in front of a Northolme packed to capacity.

Success continued the following season (2012/13) as Trinity reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy for the first time, losing to eventual winners Wrexham. The fact that the away game was televised was a first for the club, though those with limited technical skills found they had to cope with a commentary in Welsh! However, the combination of money and Steve Housham’s undoubted skill at management was not to last. At the end of this season, major change was to come again as the Chairman took his money and moved to Scunthorpe United. Despite the Chair fulfilling his promise of not leaving the club in debt, he did leave a club with the turmoil of finding new directors, new investment and new players on a vastly reduced budget.

I guess this club was in the wrong place at the wrong time with Wharton coming to the end of his tenure and Swann circling.

[SouthYorksIron]

Surely coincidental that he also seemed to lose interest there when a proposed property deal didn’t go the way he wanted it to…

https://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/sport/football/swann-i-have-no-choice-but-to-walk-away-2347020

[Northumbiron]

Now that’s a headline we’re all looking forwards to seeing!

[Cliff Byrne’s Right Peg]

Some interesting articles out there to read up on.

The one that got me was when he spat his dummy out because the Gainsborough supporters wouldn’t sell him the ground and he stated a football club needs it’s ground for him to invest…

[SouthYorksIron]

I always found it curious that a man who told us he “wasn’t a property developer” should buy his shares via ‘Coolsilk Property and Investment Ltd.’, particularly after events at Gainsborough, and that his first communication with shareholders was to ask them to donate their shares so that he’d be able to sell the club more easily in future.

His second move was to abolish AGMs, making it all the more strange that he should now not only want to reinstate them, but to have additional meetings with smaller shareholder groups. It’s hard to believe he’s really that interested in what anyone has to say given past events…

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ferrite

[Ferrite]

“It’s important that everyone understands the situation – I don’t want anything from the ground, I don’t want to sell it, I just want it for the football club.”

2 users thanked author for this post.

alcazar, Sanfran49

[alcazar]

Ferrite wrote:

“It’s important that everyone understands the situation – I don’t want anything from the ground, I don’t want to sell it, I just want it for the football club.”

Aye.
Right.

How did that work for Scunny?

[Author]

Posts