Archived News from April 2008
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MAYOR EGGINTON IS NEW CHAIRMAN!
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Audio interview with new Mansfield Town chairman Tony Egginton, from Radio Nottingham, here ------------------- Mansfield Mayor is new Stags chairman By John Lomas and Tim Morriss, CHAD.co.uk, 31Mar2008 MANSFIELD mayor Tony Egginton has agreed to become Mansfield Town's non-executive chairman - and says he hopes he can influence a decision on the club's protracted takeover. He replaces James Derry, who resigned on Friday, admitting his position has become 'untenable' after his third bid to buy the club in recent weeks failed. Full story at CHAD website here Mr Egginton - in place at least for the last seven games of the season -told Chad: "I was asked this morning if I would step in and I said yes straight away. "I hope this will give the club some credibility and shows how important it is that we retain our League status. "That is the most important things right now - that the fans come back to the club and support the players in these vital games. "Having a League club means so much to the town and the fans. It is worth millions to the economy of the town." He repeated chief executive Stephen Booth's plea earlier today for the fans to repeat their passion from the Notts County game on Saturday in the remaining matches at Field Mill this season. "Fans need to put behind then any differences with Keith Haslam and boycotts. The players need your support, they are playing their hearts out for Mansfield." Denying that their would be any conflict of interest with his role at Mansfield District Council, he added that he hoped his presence would help ensure 'the right, new owners' come to the Stags in the future. The mayor told Chad: "Maybe I can oversee a deal that goes through in the best interests of the club, the fans and the town. "It is important the new owners have the club and the fans at heart. "I will NOT be chairman of Harchester United, you can be assured of that." Mr Egginton spoke out strongly on Friday against the news that would-be owner John Batchelor wanted to rename Mansfield Town as Harchester United - the fictional team in Sky TV's soap Dream Team. The mayor, who has been interviewed by Sky TV on Monday about the Harchester idea, added: "That story and idea has not done the club any good at all. And what must the players have thought when they were trying to prepare for the vital game at Notts County on Saturday." Mr Booth, who said the appointment had nothing to do with the takeover talks at the club, said he hoped Mr Egginton would be a unifying voice for the club as a whole. He told Chad: "I felt it was important that we have a chairman with strong local connections who is not allied to any particular group." When asked why the club needed a non-executive chairman, he replied: "There are a number of reasons why I believe we do and I am delighted Tony has agreed to join us." Mr Booth told the club's official website mansfieldtown.net: "I am delighted to announce that, following James Derry's resignation, the mayor of Mansfield, Tony Egginton, has agreed to become non-executive chairman of Mansfield Town Football Club. "I trust the people of Mansfield in general and the supporters of the Stags in particular will view this as a very positive appointment and will join me in wishing Tony every success in his new role. He added: "The team has seven matches left to secure its Football League status. "All seven are very winnable and I urge the people of Mansfield to turn out in force for our remaining home games, starting with Wrexham tomorrow, and roar the team home to safety." ----------------- Would-be Stags owner slams decision to make mayor Stags chairman By Tim Morriss, CHAD.co.uk, 31Mar2008 THE man bidding £4.25m to buy Mansfield Town has reacted angrily to Monday's shock appointment of mayor Tony Egginton as the new Stags chairman. The club moved to install the mayor after James Derry's resignation on Friday - saying it was an interim appointment. But controversial businessman John Batchelor, who says he has made both Stags owner Keith Haslam and chief executive Stephen Booth aware of his bid 'on more than one occasion', sees the appointment as a deliberate snub. And he warned them that the club will be missing out on his various commercial ideas if they do not accept his takeover offer. Full story at CHAD website here Mr Batchelor - whose idea to rename the Stags as Harchester United after a fictional TV team created a furore on Friday - wants the buyout to be completed quickly to give him a chance of influencing the club's relegation fight. He told Chad: "The club is aware that there is a deal there to be done and that I want to do this quickly for the good of the club, to try to keep us in the Football League. "They know of my plans for a pre-season tournament involving European teams and for a rock concert - all commercial opportunities that the club could cash in on. "That, together with the interest I have generated in this club in just two weeks, shows what I can do. "What will the mayor bring to the club? "I have other clubs wanting me to do this elsewhere. "Then there comes this stupid idea to appoint the mayor and they didn't even have the courtesy to tell me about it. "How to win friends and influence people is not a book Stephen Booth should write." --------------------- Mansfield mayor handed Stags role BBC.co.uk, 31Mar2008 Mansfield have named the town's mayor Tony Egginton as their non-executive chairman - a move which casts doubt over John Batchelor's takeover bid. Batchelor last week revealed plans to re-name the club Harchester United after the team in the Sky TV football soap series 'Dream Team'. But Egginton has branded the scheme "bizarre" and told BBC Radio Nottingham it is no more than a "publicity stunt". Egginton's appointment comes just three days after James Derry left the post. ------------- |
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