Liam Dooley addresses Shrewsbury Town's ownership stalemate
Liam Dooley has reaffirmed chairman Roland Wycherley's desire to sell Shrewsbury but confirmed they have not made the progress they would have liked with regards to a takeover.
The Salop chief executive faced a barrage of questions from Town fans on Monday evening as he was speaking at the club's most recent Supporters' Parliament.
The question on everyone's lips was, is there any progress in Shrewsbury's search for succession, with Wycherley searching for a successor after almost 30 years at the helm of the Shropshire club.
But Dooley said 'nothing is imminent'.
"The part that lots of supporters will be waiting for," he said. "Is there an update on the takeover? The answer is no, not at this moment.
"Our chairman has been in charge for a long time, and is desperate to find the right people to take the football club on.
"Right now, there are still active conversations ongoing, but there is nothing imminent and as I have always said to everyone, if there is an update, I will tell you.
"We will always be as transparent as we can, legal issues apart."
Wycherley has been trying to sell the club for some time, and earlier this year, Shrews saw a deal with an American businessman fall through after six months in exclusivity.
Since then, other clubs around the country like Cheltenham and Leyton Orient have received outside investment, and that has led to Salop fans wondering why Town are finding it so challenging.
And questions were put to the CEO if any of the conversations the club are now having are meaningful.
"If you mean am I speaking to people for hours on end, then yes, these conversations are happening and are meaningful," he responded. "Whether these things are going to come to fruition, you never know.
"We are constantly having these conversations. The challenge you have out there right now is that there are more football clubs for sale than there are people who want to buy them.
"The conversations, if they are legitimate, we will always entertain. I spend a lot of time talking to people because the ambition is still to bring this football club on and to bring in new investors.
"Right now, that work continues, as well as everything we are doing around the football club.
"There is not a day that goes by that we do not try and move something on. From the chairman's perspective, he remains committed to selling the club as soon as we have the right people.
"We had what we thought was the right person, but unfortunately, due to things outside of our control, it did not happen. That deal was done and agreed, which is why we went into a period of exclusivity.
"All we can do is keep looking, speaking to everyone we can, and putting our best foot forward.
"But in regards to the chairman, you are not going to work so hard for something, give your life to it, build a foundation for this football club, to just sell it to any bidder that comes in and have a fire sale when there is no need.
“Look at all of the things we have progressed and improved as a football club this summer, the fundamentals of this football club are strong.
"So we have got to find the right people for the future to keep building on this and conversations continue with that in mind."
