By Tom Fairhurst: Port Vale shareholder and leading fan Rob Fielding has accused the club’s board of ‘below the belt tactics’ over the timing of upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting.

Details of the EGM were revealed on Thursday (May 5). It will take place on June 1 at 10:30am.

Shareholders will have a chance to remove the current board in a ballot after the meeting was requested by supporters’ group North London Valiants.

The time set for the meeting has angered many fans and shareholders.

Founder and editor of fansite ‘One Vale Fan’, Rob Fielding, is unhappy as he believes the early start time is a tactic by the club’s board to discourage shareholders attending.

He told StaffsLive:  “I do think it’s another below the belt tactic from the board to make it as difficult as possible for shareholders to turn out in person.  However, because there is the ability for shareholders to proxy vote, I don’t think it’s going to dissuade the shareholders from having their say and voting against the board.

“I think the board have consistently shown that all they want to do is protect their own privileged position, so I think they will fight to the bitter end.  They must know in their heart of hearts they don’t have the backing of the fans and so they won’t survive in their positions in the long term.”

Pop star Robbie Williams is a majority shareholder at the club but has already declared he will not be voting.

Fielding claimed Williams should be doing more to help decide the future of the club. He said:  “He [Robbie] has claimed he is too far removed from the club affairs to do anything other than abstain but as a fellow shareholder I can’t really accept that as an excuse, he is the club’s major shareholder and with that comes certain responsibilities.

“There are other shareholders who live abroad who are able to remain well enough informed to take a viewm, so why shouldn’t Robbie?  If he does abstain, then that action could, in effect, put the very future of this club in doubt.”