[expatriate]

Reading through the comments of the past few days, I feel awkward at times when people have mentioned Eric Whalley in the context of the Club's current problems.

I have had to think hard about whether to post this message - but in the spirit of transparency and open-ness that this forum seems to encourage, and also in the hope that my email is not misunderstood, I would like to speak up for Mr Whalley, or at least say something that might explain his position. I certainly dont wish to defend or vindicate him, but given my rather unique perspective over many many years as a co-shareholder and Stanley fan, I do think I can add some balance to the debate.

Let me say first off that when ASFC was sold by John Alty, we (that is all true fans) should be thankful that Eric Whalley (EW) stepped up to the plate when I was not able to do so. I often think back to that pivotal time and wonder if I could have achieved the success that Mr Whalley was to attain, and in all fairness, I have to say that I believe Eric was better positioned, and in the end achieved exactly what we all craved - a return to the football league.

We all clearly owe a huge debt of gratitude to EW for getting us there.

At this point I have to make an admission. I was very negative about the way in which Eric ran the club at that point (by which I mean the time of the promotion to the conference). He made no allowances to other stake holders, he ignored shareholders, and in my view, did not differentiate between the club's money and his own pockets. I made these feelings clear, and in fact had a public spat with EW. However, equally, very shortly thereafter, I made a very conscious decision to move on and accept that despite EW's faults, he had delivered the holy grail, and therefore deserved some respect.

In the years that followed I was an active contributor in financial terms to the club. These donations were made entirely gratis. I never made them as a loan, and I never asked EW if the cash was used in the way that the club had committed. In fact you are all aware (or at least those with a good memory will be aware) of the time when the cash for the sophia khan stand and renovations and roof somehow got mislaid. Even then I kept quiet, and never challenged EW - despite being told that my money ended up at times in his pocket. I could never prove that allegation, nor do I wish to make it, but I use the episode to explain that I felt that EW on balance was doing more good than harm to the club, and to be perfectly honest, I just loved the way our club was being taken seriously in football terms. I remember with great joy that FA Cup game against Huddersfield that seemed to mark the apex of that time.

The worm turned, as they say, about two years ago when I became, shall we say, disenchanted with EW's continuing lack of accountability, and my growing suspicions about his true ability and willingness to support the club in its new environment. When it became clear that EW was actually trying to sell his shares, and cared more about the cash he would pocket, I stopped making donations. I would also say that a contributing factor was my experiences at the club, when EW was, in all honesty, a less than welcoming host. I started to feel as if I was being taken advantage of. And that is not a pleasant feeling, even if it might be untrue.

So, turning to the present, what do I make of the man and how should we, in my view, treat him ? I actually feel quite sorry for him as I believe he is acting (or trying to act) in his own best interests, and that sadly, for him, these interests have slowly but surely become different from the interests of the club. However, I do urge all of us to try and remember that its very easy to criticise someone from the outside. I do believe EW tried very hard to walk away from the club by selling his shares, and that a confluence of unfortunate circumstances conspired against him. In this regard he is the victim of an awful business situation, and in my honest opinion, I believe he truly loves and adores the club.

Notwithstanding the above, it is clear that some of you will be wondering just what the hell I am trying to say here by defending, or appearing to defend EW. I myself wonder if this message is worth the effort - but the fact you are reading it means that I decided to go ahead. And the reason, as best I can articulate, is that in my view Eric was right for the job, and was equipped (financially and in other ways) when ASFC was a different proposition. Even though at times I question EW's good faith, I still think the club should thank him for his efforts. For the past year or two, however, EW is clearly, in my view, not equipped to take the club forward. His way of dealing with and recognising this situation, was to try and sell his shares, and when I refused to buy them at the price he offered, he scrambled and found someone else (Mr O neil). The rest, as they say, is history, and not worth repeating.

Going forward therefore, I hope that we can avoid personalising the situation against Mr Whalley. I believe he is simply trying to protect his interests, and its just sad that those interests now work against the club. As noted above, in his own way EW has actually realised this truth.

I will close by repeating that I am an optimist, and by nature a very positive person. I believe that the current situation will be sorted out, and we will all end up with a smile on our face. Our club will survive. and this episode too will be history. Please come along on Friday to Stanhill Hall if you want to continue the discussion about how to constructively move forward. I look forward to seeing as many fans as possible.

with my good wishes, and my hope that I did not end up confusing you !!