The Argyle Fans Trust has announced that Warren Bowden has stepped down as Chair and as a Board member with immediate effect. Following Wozzer’s resignation on Monday as a response to some well-publicised issues relating to posts made on Internet message boards, the Board unanimously agreed that:

• It was appropriate that Wozzer step down as Chair, but;
• That he could and should continue on the Board to which he has devoted time and his skills

On Monday night, we wrote to Wozzer outlining this decision and refusing to accept his resignation. We outlined an option whereby Wozzer could, if he wished, take a break from the Board until our AGM before resuming his role as a Board member. Wozzer has declined this option and has reinforced his desire to resign from the Board. Under those circumstances, the Board feels it has no option but to reluctantly accept his resignation.

A Trust spokesperson said: “It’s with a very heavy heart that we accept Wozzer’s resignation from the Board of the Trust. We want to put on record our thanks for the time and effort he has put in to the Trust from the beginning, and his commitment to Argyle in times good and bad is unrivalled. We are proud to represent Trust members like Wozzer.”

“Wozzer has made it clear that the Trust should focus on growing its membership and especially on James Brent’s offer of a 20% stake in the club. We will be meeting James next week to discuss the offer in more detail and will provide more information to members when we are able. They will decide how the Trust carries the offer forward, and we are grateful to many members for their recent messages of support.”

The Trust will not be electing a Chair to replace Wozzer. Tim Chown has stepped down as Vice Chair to allow the Trust to run as a collective, only electing a Chair on a rotating basis to lead meetings. We will otherwise rely, as we always do, on the work of our Treasurer and Secretary to provide advice and guidance, manage the organisation of the Trust, and to execute Board decisions as necessary.

Finally, the Board would like to comment on certain potentially defamatory posts made on Internet message boards over the past week. We want the Trust and its members to be involved in debate about the club and how it can better serve its fans. We want to embrace the both the online and offline Argyle community, spread as it is across the country and beyond. We want to be responsive and be led by our members as well as providing leadership ourselves. But baseless accusations from individuals with either a personal grudge or who want, for whatever reason, to destabilise the Trust or see the Trust fail, are not welcome. We encourage open, honest and fair debate to allow us to provide the challenge function that we want and need. That’s what we’ve been doing and that’s what we’ll continue to do, with our members’ support.

The Trust will be making no further comment at this time.