Earlier this month, co-chairman of Burnley FC, Mike Garlick made a club statement regarding rumours that there might be Russian investment in Burnley FC. In effect he said no chance but also made an intriguing statement regarding former Operations Director Brendan Flood. Garlick said :
“‘The club cannot comment on the involvement of Mr Brendan Flood in any negotiations as he is not permitted to be a director of Burnley Football Club due to Football League regulations”
On the face of it perhaps not a controversial statement but it seems to have brushed Flood up the wrong way to such an extent he felt obliged to come out publically and reveal some of the behind-the-scenes disagreements at Board level. Speaking to the local media this week he indicated that the Board were split over his situation and the interpretation of the Football League regulations. He also made it clear that he did not get on with two of the board directors and would not come back if they were still on the scene. The two names he specifically mentions in his personality attacks are surprise, surprise Mike Garlick which makes the Russian statement he gave more poignant and also Clive Holt.
Flood stepped down from the board in January and he gave the reason at the time as ‘personal` but now that seems to have been translated by the man himself into ”I was forced out of Turf Moor’
Flood`s financial problems with his Modus Group companies eventually led to the Rossendale-born businessman taking out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to settle out of court a long-running multi-million pound legal battle with bailed-out bank Anglo Irish. It is that action which appears to have split the Board leading to Flood eventually leaving the club. This is where it gets a bit technical and complicated but basically an IVA does not usually affect a director`s position within a public limited company, but Football League regulations are different and they have a` Disqualifying Condition` stated in Section K which includes: “Being subject to an IVA (in accordance with the provisions of Part VIII of the Insolvency Act)`
The Board seem to have fallen out interpreting those regulations with Flood caught in the middle. Flood believes he could have held onto his position at the club subject to receiving permission from the Football League; a belief supported by fellow directors co-chairman John Banaszkiewicz and former chairman Barry Kilby who were both in favour of this proposal. However, two directors clearly tried to block the proposal namely Garlick and Holt. Flood became a Burnley director in December 2006 and he was influential in helping get the club promoted to the Premier League in under three years but clearly there were personal conflicts on the board and these now seem to have come to light. Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph this week, his anger against the two directors is clear :
“I didn`t get on with Clive Holt and Mike Garlick,
“I don`t quite understand their agenda.
“In settling with the bank, I got an IVA for a few months while we got the money in. There was no other way around it. I just wanted an end to it.
“I knew it would be a risk to us personally (the family) but I couldn`t have it hanging over us any longer.
“I tried to clear debts in personal terms. I explained this to the board in January.
“I spoke to the Football League before the board meeting in January and they said: ‘It`s possible that you can stay on the board. If you come and see us and we can maybe have a hearing of the conduct committee and you can stay on the board`. That was a suggestion from them to me.
“In the real world you don`t have to resign from directorship. You can still operate as a company director with an IVA. But I could go to see the ‘conduct committee` and they might allow me to stay on the board. I said I`d like the time to do that, so I arranged a meeting with the Football League the following week.
“But that opportunity wasn`t supported by everybody. Mike Garlick and Clive Holt took it upon themselves to force me off the board there and then.
“John B and Barry supported it, but Clive Holt and Mike Garlick didn`t.
Although it seems clear that Flood could come back at some stage since he is still a major shareholder, it would appear he would not be prepared to do so if Garlick and Holt were still on the board:
“My love of the club is slightly blighted. That`s why, if I was to go back in, it would be subject to the board being different. I`m sure they (Garlick and Holt) would say the same of me – that they wouldn`t want to work with me again.
“I don`t want to work with them. I won`t work with them again, whatever happens.”
This is all pretty depressing stuff and I am not sure this public in-fighting, blood-letting and venom being displayed is good for the club in the long run. It certainly supports the impression that the club is drifting and appears to be rudderless. If there are splits on the Board and we have potentially lost a key director because of it, this is not good news. Let`s be honest since our brief sojourn in the Premier League, our progress has been non-existent and with money running out we seem to be less competitive every season. We are now even embroiled in a relegation dogfight to avoid the drop to League 1, a sad reflection on the state of affairs at the club. Of course if you have to blame someone, then Flood is not totally exempt since he only left this January but something does not seem right at the club and I remain unconvinced that this dual co-chairman idea is really working. I looked at the Directors Box at the Bristol City game and it was noticeable how many seats were left vacant. How many times have you seen the two co-chairmen at home games this season? Barry Kilby had his critics, me included at times and he presumably still has some influence being a director but he would always be at the home games apart from the odd exception until of course he was fighting his illness.
I just sense a lack of direction at the club. Where are we going? What is the vision? Do we really think we have much chance of getting back to the Premier League or realistically with FIFA Fair Play and parachute money running out is League One more our fate? We are drifting and nobody seems to be saying anything or doing anything to reassure the increasingly bored and apathetic fans. It would help if the football improved on the pitch but let`s be honest that`s been mainly dire since Coyle left.
Let`s just hope we survive and can remain in the Championship for at least one more season but we can`t carry on much longer like this punching above our weight without any change of direction. Although to be honest it would be nice to know what direction we are taking. A few seasons ago we used to have three-year, five year plans etc. You never hear about those anymore? Is that because they don`t have any?
Share this article
