Wardle - the wilderness years

[fbloke]

Im not being flippant here but I reckon John Wardle needs to be given some recognition for the efforts he put in over the years.

I know things werent the plushest and most fantastic under his chairmanship but he certainly whacked a few quid in when others wouldnt.

Bailing the club out to the tune of £2m when he'd sold up says a lot about the guy.

He was no Swales or F H Lee as he kept out of the press and yet his love for the blues most likely cost him millions.

His only failing was not having billions when it was billions that are needed.

John, thanks mate.

 

[Nicholas van Whatsisface]

Agreed mate. I thought it was piss poor the way the Club treated him in the end after everything he'd done for us - during particularly difficult circumstances, when no one wanted anything to do with City.

He ploughed money in when he knew it wouldn't really get us anywhere, but the important thing about his tenure as Chairman was that he kept us in the Premier League - it wasn't pretty, it wasn't glamorous, and it wasn't always much fun, but we stayed up - ensuring we remained an attractive proposition for someone like Thaksin, on the lookout for a bit of self-publicity, which in turn led to Sheikh Mansour and the truly amazing, enviable position we find ourselves in now. If Wardle had bailed on us, we would likely have been relegated, and would have kept on going - like the late 90s all over again - doing a Leeds and dropping like a dead weight through the leagues. And who would you rather be with now, Sheikh Mansour or Ken Bates?

Mr Wardle - for that reason, I salute you!

 

[bumbleblue]

Agree 100% his chairmanship (??) probably cost him millions he knew he would never see again, i doubt anyone else would have lobbed their cash where their gobs are .... Anyhoo kept us afloat just and then having to loan money back to the club to pay the wages , Jesus i shudder when i realise how close we probably/allegedly came to a winding up order or whatever . Fuck Leeds the way i see it we could have just ceased to trade .. I wonder if he ever comes to games now ?? Anyroad thanks Mr Wardle.

 

[Wooderbeen]

I'd be willing to bet that he got all his money back and then some. Nevertheless the sentiment of the OP is bob on. Fair play John.

 

[kinkladze96]

john wardle, david makin and david bernstein all deserve credit for helping to get the club back from the brink.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I wonder if he ever comes to games now ??

He was in the Darwen End at Blackburn with the rest of us.

There are some criticisms you could make about his chairmanship. He forced Bernstein out over Fowler when there's little doubt Bernstein was right. He went for Pearce when most around him told him not to and once again he was in the wrong. He wasn't a good chairman as he provided very little leadership and let Mackintosh run the show.

But he put a lot of money in that he could never be sure he would get back and there's no doubt he loves the club. He's also a bloody decent bloke, which is more than you can say for some of the people he had around him.

 

[spamalot]

Absolutely correct........

his most important decision was to choose Thaksin over Ranson's bid.........Thaksin led to Sheikh Mansour.......

Ranson would have led to Championship.....look at Coventry where he is now.........

 

[twinkletoes]

The guy ran the club into the ground and left us almost bankrupt he deserves no credit whatsoever.

 

[blu4life]

The guy ran the club into the ground and left us almost bankrupt he deserves no credit whatsoever.

Rubbish! If it wasn't for Mr. Wardle, we would have been relegated and probably ended up bankrupt! He didn't put the amounts of money in that Thaksin or Sheikh Mansour did for obvious reasons but he did all he could for the club with the little resources he had.

 

[fbloke]

The guy ran the club into the ground and left us almost bankrupt he deserves no credit whatsoever.

He almost ran the club into the ground when nobody else was in the frame. He put his hand in his pocket when he could have said no.

As far as I am aware he didnt mortgage the future TV revenue for a short term gain unlike Thaksin.

Things were bad, we all agree that but I personally think it would have been a lot worse if it hadnt been for him.

Peter Swales is the perfect example of a Chairman running a club into the ground (our out of it if you pardon the pun)