Peter Miller Thread

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Peter Miller is being paid $25,000 a month - So will he now pay for his Port Vale shares.
onevalefan.co.uk

The Inside World Football website claims that former Port Vale chairman Peter Miller was handed a $600,000 (Trinidad dollars) contract for a marketing role which is “yet to deliver a paying sponsor partner.”

In a series of allegations which it labels as a “comedy of corruption and financial malpractice” the website shows a copy of Miller’s Trinidad and Tobago FA salary which backdates Miller a whopping $25,000 salary for “services since on or about 25th November, 2019.” The contract guarantees the $25,000 per month salary until January 2022 despite, the website claims, Miller having failed to deliver a “paying sponsor partner.”

The huge salary will raise questions about whether Miller should be pursued for Port Vale shares he has still failed to pay for…

The huge salary will raise questions about whether Miller should be pursued for Port Vale shares he has still failed to pay for. Miller was appointed Chairman on the strength of those unpaid shares and his spell in charge saw the club plunge into administration shortly after his departure. It will also raise questions about what, it any, due diligence the Trinidad and Tobago FA took before taking on someone who played a huge role in Port Vale entering administration and nearly going out of existence.

With many fans, who properly paid for their shares, out of pocket, the Port Vale Supporters Club are still pursuing Miller and fellow director Perry Deakin for money owed to the club, but with Miller not resident in the UK any prospect of recovering the money is unlikely.

Miller was a member of the infamous Port Vale “MOLD” board of which there is more information below:

Peter Miller, Glenn Oliver, Mike Lloyd and Perry Deakin (the first letter of their surnames spelling “MOLD”) led the football club into administration after a number of highly controversial decisions notably Deakin and Miller’s ascent to the board despite not paying for their shares (the so-called “nil-paid shares” affair), failed financial link-ups with two US companies Ameriturf and Blue Sky International (their £8m deal was described as “pure fantasy” by the firm’s CEO), a secret remortgaging of Vale Park which broke the terms of the club’s loan agreement with Stoke-on-Trent council and being sued by former club sponsors Harlequin Properties.

On 9th March 2012, the club entered administration for the second tie in its history after HMRC issued a winding-up petition.

To date, Deakin and Miller have failed to pay for any of the shares they “purchased” in Port Vale football club. The Port Vale Supporters club are continuing legal efforts to reclaim the money from the pair and reimburse many Port Vale fans who, as shareholders, lost money when the pair illegally joined the Port Vale board and mismanaged the club.

You can read more details on Miller’s current salary at this link – CLICK HERE

About Peter Miller

When Peter Miller was ousted as chairman by fellow board members at the end of 2011 he had presided over one of the most controversial spells in the club’s history.

Miller and fellow board members Glenn Oliver, Perry Deakin and Mike Lloyd led the football club into administration after a number of controversial decisions notably Deakin and Miller’s ascent to the board despite not paying for their shares (the so-called “nil-paid shares” affair), failed financial link-ups with two US companies Ameriturf and Blue Sky International, a secret remortgaging of Vale Park which broke the terms of the club’s loan agreement with Stoke-on-Trent council and being sued by former club sponsors Harlequin Properties.

RELATED NEWS

Further legal advice about Deakin and Miller action to be taken.
Sept - 2016.

In their latest update to shareholders, administrators of the former Port Vale regime, Begsbie Traynor, say they are approaching new solicitors to discuss action against Perry Deakin and Peter Miller.

Bob Young and Steve Currie are the joint liquidators in charge of Port Vale (Valiant 2001) Football Club Limited and issued a report to update shareholders – which include many Vale fans who purchased shares in the club.

One of the main greivances of shareholders was the actions of former board members Perry Deakin and Peter Miller who both acquired £350,000 of shares without paying for them. In January 2013, after the company had been liquidated it was announced that there was the possibility of beginning bankruptcy proceedings against Deakin and Miller. The action would be in light of neither person apparently making any effort to pay for their ‘nil-paid’ shares.

Sadly, any action against the Deakin and Miller still looks very unlikely – as one firm of solicitors has already advised the group that they do not believe it would be “commercial” to “pursue a claim.”

However, the report does state that after the initial firm of solicitors said a successful claim was unlikely that “we have therefore held meetings with a different firm of solicitors who have carried out an initial review of the records available and are willing to act on a contingent basis in relation to their costs in respect of potential actions against directors and former directors.”

The report adds: “Furthermore the new firm of solicitors has called a meeting with their Counsel in order to seek their opinion on the likelihood of any successful claims against any of the parties. This meeting will take place in late September 2016. We shall update creditors in our next report.”

So while any action does still appear unlikely to succeed, aggrieved Vale shareholders can at least hold a slim hope that the new firm of solicitors will decide that a claim does have a chance of success.

Ex Port Vale chairman Peter Miller and financial dispute in Trinidad and Tobago
By Michael Baggaley (stokesentinel.co.uk)

Peter Miller was part of the nil-paid shares scandal at Port Vale

Former Port Vale chairman Peter Miller is involved in a dispute about the finances of the game in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ex Trinidad and Tobago FA president William Wallace is accused of signing deals without the approval of his FA board.

That includes a deal with marketing representative Miller, who was chairman at Vale Park in 2011.

Wallace’s executive was removed in March by FIFA, after a fact-finding mission, and replaced by a normalisation committee.

Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reports that Miller was contracted for two years at $25,000 per month as marketing director.

Miller was chairman of Port Vale for two months at a troubled time for the club. He and chief executive Perry Deakin were elected to the Vale board of directors after shareholders were told they had personally invested £250,000 and £100,000 respectively into the club.

Miller was put on a salary of £100,000 a year, plus perks, including accommodation, a car and flights abroad.

But it emerged that neither he nor Deakin had paid for the shares which they used to vote themselves on to the board. That also, effectively, devalued the shares owned by more than 900 fans before the club went into administration in 2012.

Miller did set up a mortgage for the club, worth £277,000 with a Gibraltar based company, using Vale Park as security. But that breached the terms of a £2.25m loan agreement with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

He was sacked by his fellow directors in December 2011.

The club’s former administrators, Bob Young and Steve Currie, filed a bankruptcy petition against Deakin but he subsequently made himself bankrupt.  Action against Miller also proved to be prohibitive because he was believed to be living in the United States.

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Wallace: I lied about Peter Miller; TTFA president admits giving contract to controversial Englishman
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president William Wallace lied to his vice-presidents, the board and the media about the relationship between controversial English marketing man Peter Miller and the local football body—because Miller asked him to.

Two months after Wallace told Wired868 that Miller was not the TTFA’s marketing officer, the besieged official admitted yesterday he had not been honest.

His confession came amidst a stream of leaked internal TTFA documents to regional programme, SportsMax. The controversial contracts were handed over by general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan to normalisation committee chairman Richard Hadad last month.

Was a Miller contract among the SportsMax-bound treasure trove?

Wired868 asked Wallace if such a document existed and, after more than a month of denials, the TTFA president admitted that it did.

“There is a Peter Miller arrangement and it is one I didn’t want to talk about, due to him asking me not to disclose it at a particular point in time,” Wallace told Wired868. “His arrangement was that monies to be paid to him would come directly from sponsorships, so it was contingent on what he brought in.”

Wired868: Was it a flat monthly figure—and not a commission as previously suggested?

Wallace: “[It was] flat numbers and the flat numbers were supposed to be worked out based on monies collected from sponsorships. For instance, the Arima deal alone would have been TT$50 million. We were supposed to be getting TT$10 million per year over the next four years; and that was cash.

“[…] So he sent something pointing to specific numbers and he sent a document that we signed—and that is our arrangement with Miller and his team of people.”

(The Arima Borough Corporation did not accept the TTFA’s pitch to redevelop the Arima Velodrome.)

Wired868: Is it true, as has been suggested, that Miller’s contract was for US$20,000 (TT$135,000) per month plus commission?

Wallace: “The figures I can’t remember off the top of my head because that is not money I have to find to pay him. The TTFA is not liable to pay him. His payment was contingent on what what he brings to the TTFA. It is based on the whole roll out of sponsorships with Miller who then has to pay his other people from that.

“If you didn’t bring anything then you have nothing to get. I had no problem with the numbers. The arrangement was based on the monies coming in and his payment would have been based on how hard he worked.”

Wired868: Why did you tell us there was no contract? And why did you not declare it to the TTFA Board?

Wallace: “I gave him my word because he didn’t want his contract revealed to the public. In due course, it would have happened but I gave him my word.

“[…] I am of the belief that the president is responsible for commercial deals and finding sponsorships. The board is not finding us any sponsorship. So my position is if you are bringing $1,000 to the table and you want $500 from it, then I have no problem with that—because I have $500 more than I started with.”

Incidentally, the TTFA Constitution does not include sourcing sponsorship among the responsibilities of the football president. Instead, article 54 says the board should activate a marketing committee to: ‘advise the board of directors with regard to drafting and implementing contracts between TTFA and its marketing partners and analyse marketing strategies that have been devised’.

Miller’s first job in Trinidad, almost 20 years ago, was at the W Connection Football Club, owned by former TTFA president David John-Williams. He then took up an executive role at the Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FCoTT) under Jack Warner.

In both cases, Miller is believed to have delivered considerably less than he promised. His departure came after an unflattering two-part series on his record as a salesman by this reporter for the Trinidad Express newspaper.

Miller was subsequently accused of more of the same—and much, much worse—further afield, including at English lower league clubs: Northampton, Luton Town and Port Vale.

Wallace did not get independent legal advice for Miller’s contract or show it to his board or vice-presidents. Incidentally, the Englishman was involved in the TTFA’s deals with Nike and Avec Sport and represented Men’s National Senior Team head coach Terry Fenwick in his salary negotiations—all of which ultimately caused headaches for Wallace’s administration.

When Wired868 asked about Miller on 6 April, Look Loy said the Englishman was involved in the United TTFA’s electoral campaign and he believed that he was working on commission.

“I obviously know that he was involved in organising some of these promised sponsorships that were unveiled when the United TTFA ran its [election] campaign, like the Nike deal,” Look Loy said then. “And when that fell down, he played a part in the Avec Sport contract. He never held a TTFA post but he might have been doing marketing work.

“My position to the board was that we should outsource [marketing and sales] to more than one entity on a commission basis, so if you bring a dollar you get 10 cents…”

Up to the time of publication, Look Loy said he knew nothing about any contract to Miller.

Three months ago, Wallace insisted that Miller’s signature as ‘marketing director’ on a document with British developers, Lavender Consulting Limited, was an ‘error’.

“We did discuss outsourcing marketing at the board but we have not yet signed off with any individual or entity,” said Wallace. “Peter [Miller] worked with us before the elections and continued work after the elections; and I am sure when the pre-elections plans started to unfold, he would have been considered and proposed to the board.

“[…] It was originally ‘United TTFA’, so [his signature as TTFA marketing director on a Lavender document] is an error that carried over. The discussion [regarding the Lavender] deal started before the elections.”

Wallace admitted yesterday that he was less than truthful. However, he hopes for the chance to put his view across to the membership and insisted that his actions did not put the local football body at risk.

Last week, Wallace’s United TTFA slate, which included vice-presidents Clynt Taylor, Susan Warrick-Joseph and Sam Phillip, Northern FA president Anthony Harford and Look Loy, said they were stunned to learn that the president signed a deal with Fenwick that included crucial terms not agreed to by the board.

It was the second time that something of that nature occurred, after he kept them—and the board—in the dark about agreeing a deal with Avec Sport in March.

On the weekend, Wallace and his colleagues held a virtual meeting on the Zoom online platform and the president was asked whether there were any other secret contracts that they should be aware of.

He allegedly responded ‘no’.

So, on Monday night, Look Loy hit the roof when SportsMax revealed that Wallace also unilaterally changed the terms of his general secretary’s contract.

Yesterday, the United TTFA fired back by comparing Wallace’s behaviour to that of his predecessor, John-Williams—a broadside that Harford felt went too far.

Today, however, Wallace reveals another skeleton, in the form of a clandestine Miller deal with terms that remain unclear. He said it is his last secret.

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Miller unpaid: Marketing director hired by Wallace in limbo
By Stephon Nicholas (T&T Newsday)

T&T Football Association (TTFA) marketing director Peter Miller says he has not been paid a cent of his US$600,000 two-year contract, which took effect on January 1.

The contract, signed by ousted TTFA president William Wallace, assured the Englishman a salary of US$25,000 a month, with options to extend for a third and fourth year.

Also mentioned is a US$30,410.95 payment to the “marketing executive” for services provided by Miller “since on or about November 25, 2019.”

Speaking with Newsday, on Thursday, Miller said he has received neither the US$30,410.95 payment for those services nor his salary.

“I haven’t been paid at all,” he said.

Miller said the US$30,410.95 payment was for services rendered after the TTFA election and before January 1, 2020.

The TTFA executive led by Wallace,was removed by FIFA on March 17 after a fact-finding mission found poor overall financial management methods and huge debt.

FIFA said the TTFA was facing a very real risk of insolvency and illiquidity.

The TTFA normalisation committee, headed by businessman Robert Hadad, not only has to find a solution for the enormous debt left by the TTFA’s past administrations and the contracts signed by Wallace without board approval, but their task has been stymied by a High Court case initiated by Wallaces’s team challenging FIFA’s intervention.

Miller was expected to play a key role in revitalising the TTFA’s finances and was instrumental in the local governing body securing an apparel deal with Avec Sport after a proposed Nike agreement fell through.

According to the contract, Miller’s role would be extensive in rebranding the organisation and securing income to service its enormous debts.

The contract said the marketing director’s duties were to provide “an objective reasonable standard of care” in handling all aspects of the TTFA’s commercial and marketing operations including securing local and international sponsorships and partnerships; assisting in securing friendlies; assisting overseas training camp facilities and international strategic partnerships; restructuring TTFA’s communications, including social media platforms, website, domestic and international communications and PR; establishing and managing broadcast and digital rights partnerships; and being responsible for special projects to clear TTFA’s historic debt.

Clause 25 (b) of Miller’s contract allows the TTFA to cite “gross misconduct” to terminate the contract without pay for any “inability to complete obligations under this agreement for whatever cause.”

Contrary to claims made by Wallace, the contract refers to Miller as TTFA marketing director throughout its entirety.

Miller, who has been involved in local football for the past two decades, told Newsday a clause he insisted on was that he should train a local understudy.

“My contract was to take someone under my wing, introduce to my contacts...Any overseas person should pass something on to a local person,” he said.

Wallace originally denied knowledge of any contract with Miller, then claimed the Englishman had asked him to keep the deal secret.

Miller has denied any clandestine arrangement with Wallace and expressed dismay at that assertion.

Asked about the relationship between him and the United TTFA before the group won the November 24, 2019 elections, Miller said, “I felt we were moving in a common name, establishing a good structure.”

Miller, a long-time friend of national coach Terry Fenwick, also agreed to give US$2,500 of his US$25,000 salary to Fenwick for six months, to ensure Fenwick and the TTFA came to an agreement.

The local association had only been willing to offer the former England international a US$17,500 deal, no more than predecessor Dennis Lawrence earned.

Miller has been based in the US for the past 15 years and recently moved to Ireland.

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Miller time: How controversial Englishman ‘made mas’ with new TTFA.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president William Wallace and his United TTFA slate spent much of the past three months railing against the Switzerland-based pair of Fifa and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

At present, the TTFA’s elected officers, Wallace and vice-presidents Clynt Taylor, Susan Joseph-Warrick and Sam Phillip, are asking the High Court to help them resist removal by a Fifa-appointed normalisation committee—having declared their lack of faith in the fair-handedness of the CAS.

But time will tell whether the scheming of the English duo of Peter Miller and Terry Fenwick did far more damage to the Wallace-led administration.

A financial breakdown of the TTFA’s expected expenditure for 2020 tells its own tale of how highly Wallace valued the pair:

1. Salaries for roughly a dozen office employees: TT$2 million;
2. Salaries for roughly 40 technical staff members: TT$2.8 million;
3. Salaries for Terry Fenwick and Peter Miller: TT$3.6 million.

Fenwick’s job was to match Stephen Hart by taking the Soca Warriors back into the top 50 nations in the world and the top six—at least—in Concacaf. Miller promised to find the money to erase the local body’s debt; and, simultaneously, to bankroll its revamped technical plans and a three-tiered local league.

The jury is out on Fenwick, who is months away from his first competitive international. But Miller has already offered enough to be judged on, even if one generously overlooks his chequered past.

Miller, according to Wallace, promised to bring in TT$40 million over four years—exclusive of a fanciful Arima Velodrome development scheme, valued at an additional TT$50 million for the TTFA.

So, Miller calculated 20 percent of that sponsorship largesse at TT$8 million and, according to the Newsday, presented Wallace with a contract which guaranteed he would be paid that figure as a flat salary—irrespective, it appears, of whether he actually delivered the big bucks.

Any seasoned businessman would have tossed Miller out on his ear. Wallace apparently asked: ‘Where do I sign?’

Take the Avec Sport deal for instance. No really, take it please—anywhere!

If you didn’t laugh, I can’t blame you. Too soon.

The bare essentials of Trinidad and Tobago’s mooted four year sponsorship from unheralded British apparel company, Avec Sports, was that it would offer the TTFA roughly TT$5.2 million in kit—but only once the local body purchased, or had its sponsors buy, TT$10.25 million in merchandise.

Wallace described the deal as ‘unprecedented’ with ‘unrivalled terms for the supply of kit’ and the start of a ‘completely fresh and exciting partnership which sits perfectly as part of the new era for Trinidad and Tobago football’.

He was right on every count, although perhaps not in the way he expected.

Clause 5.6 of the Avec contract states that the TTFA will only get its free gear or ‘gifted pro allowance’ on the proviso that:

a) the approved retail partner (in this case, Sports and Games) purchase a minimum of 7,500 replica shirts in each contract year from the company; and

b) the Association’s sponsors will purchase in each contract year a minimum of 125,000 pounds (TT$1,046,000) worth of other products at wholesale values…

And in the event that [Sports and Games] or the Association’s sponsors fail to reach the minimum purchase requirements, the Association agrees to pay Avec Sport the full value of the gifted pro kit allowance already received by the association.

Avec priced its adult replicas at US$29.65 (TT$201) while the retail price for Soca Warriors replicas under the previous sponsor, Joma, was US$44 (TT$300).

With a profit split of 80-20 between the TTFA and Sports and Games, Wired868 crunched the figures to find out how many replicas the local body must sell to get their uniforms for ‘free’.

If Sports and Games sold 37,000 replicas over four years, the pay-out would be:

S&G (TT$740,000), TTFA (TT$110,000 plus kit), Avec Sport (TT$10.25 million).

The TTFA claimed the deal was worth TT$25 million in cash and kind. Since they get TT$5 million in kit, we also worked out how many replicas must be sold to match their valuation—bearing in mind the TTFA still has to spend over TT$10 million to get the uniforms.

If Sports and Games sold 110,000 replicas over four years, the money would be shared:

S&G (TT$2.2 million), TTFA (TT$30.8 million) and Avec Sport (TT$10.25 million).

So what’s a realistic target for replica sales?

“Once the team is doing well, we can sell about 100 replicas a month,” said Fan Club operations director Mario Singh. “So, we could sell 1,200 comfortably in a year—but it depends on how well the teams are doing.”

The Fan Club has one store in Trincity Mall. Sports and Games has nine nationwide. If each branch sells as well as the other over the next three years, with some help from the Warriors’ overseas fans (and minus a lost year due to Covid-19’s impact on the football calendar in 2020)…

The TTFA could feasibly sell enough to ensure they don’t pay for their own uniforms. But there is little doubt about which party stands to benefit most from this deal.

Clause 5.5 states: ‘all invoices [for the replicas and merchandise that the TTFA must accept along with the free kit] must be paid by the Association before the company will ship the products’.

And clause 5.7 reiterates: ‘the approved retail partner, the other retail partners and Association’s sponsors are required to pay for the products that they purchase and the shipping costs of those products in advance of shipping, and it is the Association’s responsibility to ensure [compliance]’.

Wired868 sent the contract to two companies with vast experience in multi-million dollar clothing deals. Both agreed to offer feedback on the condition of anonymity, so as not to criticise a possible business partner or rival.

The first source is an administrator with regional experience securing sponsorship deals including Adidas and Puma.

Wired868: What are you thoughts on the Avec Sport sponsorship?

Anonymous administrator: “I ran it past my attorney for his take and his words are it is not a sponsorship at all. It is a sales contract.

“The TTFA has to pay for the stock that it gets, so in that context it is a sales contract. A sponsorship contract looks very different to this.”

Wired868: Would you have signed?

Administrator: “I would not have signed this and I would never advise anyone to do that. The main reason I say that is clause 5.5-7.

“You are basically telling us if 125,000 pounds worth of merchandise and 7,500 replica is not taken and paid for, then you have to pay for goods you have received. This is not a sponsorship contract, this is a sales contract—and that is not our core business.

“Also having to pay for the shipping and send that payment in advance is unusual. We have done a lot of deals with companies like Adidas and Puma and normally they pay for shipping and you pay the duties.

“It is either the contract was not read or vetted; but it was not intended to be favourable to TTFA. And there is no ambiguity. It uses words like ‘shall’, ‘will’ and ‘must’ and holds the TTFA responsible for all payment. I have never seen that in a sponsorship contract.”

The second person to share his thoughts is a North America-based sport agent.

“There is no schedule of bonuses for Gold Cup or World Cup qualification and given the new qualifying format that is a still a possibility,” he said. “That seems very strange and potential money is left on the table. Also the four year deal takes you to about halfway through the qualification for the 2026 World Cup; and there is nothing about a chance to extend, based on performance of the team either.”

And what about issues with what actually is in the contract?

“In clause 5.3, it says the TTFA is responsible for shipping costs—this is a red flag,” he said. “Also clause 5.4 says extra items need to be paid for and shipping paid in advance while 5.6 says the free items given to TTFA are given on the condition the retail partners buy 7,500 replica shirts per year and sponsors buy 125,000 pounds worth of products.

“I’d say clause 13.1 is very vague about termination of the contract. And there are no specified delivery dates for the products! Another red flag! My take here is that this was not closely reviewed by a contract attorney.”

Clause 13.1 states either member can terminate agreement based on: ‘distress or executive levied upon its goods or effects’, ‘winding up or insolvency proceedings commenced against it’ or ‘material breach of its obligations [which] continues un-remedied for 30 to 90 days’.

Curiously, clause 14.3 states that: ‘until such time as the property in the goods passes to the Association, the Association shall hold the goods as the Company’s fiduciary agent and bailee and shall keep the goods properly stored, protected and insured’; while 14.4 states: ‘[…] the Company may at any time require the Association to deliver up the goods to the Company and, if the Association fails to do so forthwith’ enter on any premises of the Association or any third party where the goods are store and repossess the goods’.

Wired868 confirmed with a senior TTFA source that the Avec Sport contract, which was publicly unveiled on 26 February, was not vetted by an independent attorney or anyone with experience in the sponsorship field.

Wallace depended solely on Miller.

Wired868 noted the concerns about the contract by our sources and was told that Wallace and general secretary Ramesh Ramdhan also had misgivings. These were apparently assuaged after an explanation from Miller, which was forwarded to us.

So here is Miller’s complete explanation as to how he valued the Avec Sport deal at TT$25 million to the TTFA and why the local football body has nothing to worry about.

“Hi William/Ramesh. As promised earlier for your reference here is a rough break down of a ‘commercial valuation’ for the purposes of press release to media and not reflective of a cash-only value specific to a formalized contract between two parties.

“Example: Avec. Gift of Kit (over 4 years) US$1,400,000.

“Annual requirement to sell replicas 7,500 replicas x 4 years = 30,000 replicas x US$70 (being the full retail price sold to the general public) = US$2,100,000.

“Annual merchandise requirement 125,000 pounds (US$163,000) x 4 = 500,000 pounds (US$652,000) x average retail mark up to market 50% = US$978,000

“Total US$4,478,000 = TT$30,274,674.”

Two things. First, Miller uses a retail valuation of US$70 (TT$470) for the Soca Warriors replicas. Based on our checks, that overstates the value by US$25 (TT$170) per jersey.

And since the ‘merchandise’ due to the TTFA and its wholesale prices are unknown, it is impossible to calculate whether his ‘average retail mark up’ is accurate. (Wired868 put the entire stock of 125,000 pounds into replicas, so as to work out a costing.)

So Miller’s figures can neither be proven nor disproved.

Second, Wired868 worked out the cost of each piece of equipment provided to the national teams barring caps and bags, since Avec Sport did not offer wholesale prices for those. The TTFA will get roughly US$740,000 (TT$5 million) worth of jerseys, pants, socks and track suits over the four year period.

For Miller’s figure of US$1.4 (TT$9.5) million to be accurate, it would mean that Avec Sport are sending US$660,000 (TT$4.5 million) worth of sport bags and caps for Trinidad and Tobago’s national teams over the next four years.

But do continue your explanation, Mr Miller.

“Obviously there are costs within this valuation; purchase of equipment/merchandise, shipping costs and import duties, profit share percentages to retail outlets (Sports & Games) or international online eCommerce partners—but also arguably there are other costs that could be included that are more difficult to calculate such as perimeter advertising boards, branding rights, media/PR values etc.

“Additionally, one must consider and appreciate additional spend of partners such as Sports & Games who will spend their own money to advertise, promote and market TTFA product to ensure that our expectations of them are fulfilled.

“For differing levels of sponsorship deals, we will utilize more sophisticated third parties to evaluate these multiples however, in doing so, there is obviously a cost to that and as such we would only use those services when the overall cash value of a deal warranted such expense.

“Likewise commercial deals can be valued based upon where a rights holder (TTFA) is currently positioned and where that rights holder may be in the future. Example: we have negotiated a deal worth $25,000,000 whilst ranked #104 in the world and only having won one game in years.

“What value would be placed on our same rights in three years if we have qualified for Gold Cups and World Cups at differing levels etc? How many replica jerseys would we be selling then? How much will we be charging for perimeter boards then?

“So, as you can see, ‘press release valuations’ have many moving parts—this is not because we are fabricating the truth, it is because these valuations have differing meanings depending on how you are assessing them—from a perspective of a ‘kit deal’ this is standard, nothing untoward.

“However, the issue here is that unfortunately no one in T&T has ever negotiated a proper kit deal since 2006 (and aside of that one JAW deal going to a WC) no one before that with the exception of me in 2000!!!

“It should also be reiterated that sponsorships can only be truly valued based upon their viability—without the proper infrastructure it wouldn’t matter what the value was, the deliverables would not be possible.

“With specific regard to Avec, this is why securing the Sports & Games partnership is so important. Far more important than a cash up front deal from S&G, as this provides the TTFA with a gateway to sell its contractually obligated numbers. From this point we will add online sales, international eCommerce sales specifically to T&T demographics globally (Miami, New York, Toronto, London etc).

“Why we will now seek to establish (in partnership with S&G and without cost to TTFA) retail outlets in Piarco and Tobago International Airports duty free areas; all of this without a TTFA salaried marketing/commercial staff or a budget to work with.

“Clearly over the past four years, the DJW administration didn’t have the experience, contacts or expertise to deliver just a kit deal alone (let alone an entire marketing and commercial strategy). Likewise neither does someone like, say, Brent Sancho, with his track record of failures in this regard. This is not being petty or flippant, it is merely stating the facts.

“We have a plan which I have never erred from. Now with three months just gone, we have the necessary platform to deliver the cash sponsors we said we would and are already starting to do so.

“I hope this makes sense and please don’t hesitate to ask for any further clarity you may need in this regard.

“Sincerely, Peter.”

If you cannot convince, goes the cliche, then confuse.

Based on a Newsday article, Miller not only charged the TTFA US$25,000 per month for bringing deals like Avec Sport to the twin island republic; but he also included a bill of US$30,410.95 on 25 November 2019—a day after the election.

Was Miller billing Wallace for work done during his electoral campaign, when he got letters of commitment from the would-be sponsors?

Had Wallace, as TTFA president, agreed to dip in the local football body’s coffers to pay Miller for campaign work done for the United TTFA?

Had Miller gotten the local football body to agree to pay him US$30,410.95 for getting a host of mostly obscure companies to promise to do business with the TTFA and then an additional US$25,000 to persuade the said sponsors to follow through—all with no guarantee that the would-be sponsors would ever sign on the dotted line?

Miller’s deal is in stark contrast to the standard sales contract, in which a salesman gets between 5 to 15 percent of the value of the secured deal when the sponsor actually delivers on his or her promise.

One other thing: Miller’s ‘explanation’ to Wallace and Ramdhan on the contract was sent via email on 8 March—eight days after the TTFA unveiled the Avec deal.

Arguably, the TTFA president and general secretary had signed off on a ‘multi-million dollar contract’ that they did not fully understand.

On Friday, Miller, who is now trying to get the normalisation committee to recognise his contract, told the Newsday that he was ‘genuinely disappointed’ in Wallace.

“I had faith in William before [the] election,” said Miller. “I thought he was a man that stood for honesty, integrity and accountability.”

If Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s implementation of a normalisation committee was a blow to the midsection for the fresh-faced TTFA president, exactly where Miller’s about-turn pained Wallace might be best left to the imagination.

When the Switzerland-based body pulled the sheets away from the TTFA, two Englishmen had Wallace in an uncompromising position. And, whether the board consented or not, local football is likely to pay the price for the unholy indiscretion.

[asylumseeker]

$600,000 two year contract?

[Deeks]

“I had faith in William before [the] election,” said Miller. “I thought he was a man that stood for honesty, integrity and accountability.”

That is rich coming from one of the men who convinced Wallace to sign these contracts. He and Fenwick, now they disappointed in Wallace. This is one of the reason Wallace is in trouble. F---k off, dude.

[Flex]

Flashback: Peter Miller Unplugged; how Essex salesman struck gold in T&T football.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).

The following article on then chief executive officer of the Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FCoTT), Peter Miller, was written by Lasana Liburd and first published in the Trinidad Express on 10 March 2002:

(FCoTT, at the time, was the sponsorship and marketing arm of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation.)

It is a tumultuous time for the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) and, indeed, world governing body, Fifa, who have both been forced to go public with contrasting financial difficulties.

But only calm seems to reign at the office of Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FCoTT) chief executive officer Peter Miller.

It is Miller’s job to ensure that the accounts of local football are ticking over and—on the evidence of a February 28 interview—he is pleased as punch with his work so far.

“I can’t really want for anything more in life,” said the Englishman. “I’m very lucky. I get paid to do a job I like. I live in what to me is the best country in the world…

“I can’t honestly think of anything I’d rather have at the moment.”

Miller swivelled in his chair throughout the interview. Intermittent flashes of a bright smile, regular interjections of humour, and cool, calculated responses rolled easily from the 42-year-old who lists his profession as marketing manager.

The man from Essex seemed to be in his element.

“My goal is to establish FCoTT as the company it was set out to be,” said Miller. “To run the marketing and commercial affairs of football and to adequately fund the development of the game at all levels.”

The interview is littered with such grand quotes, which served as testimony to his seemingly immense self-belief.

Miller assured the Trinidad and Tobago public, for instance, that there was no financial crisis in local football and the national football team was in no danger of losing its Brazilian coach, Rene Simoes.

Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) president Oliver Camps publicly pleaded for sponsors to step up and pay a monthly sum of US$50,000 to keep Simoes and his three-man Brazilian entourage last December.

But Miller insisted that it was much ado about nothing and FCoTT was fulfilling its financial obligations. Simoes, he claimed, had not missed a payment.

That was not only news to the Sunday Express, but to the national coach as well, who publicly stated that he would offer his services to the T&TFF free of charge until 1 June 2002, by which time they must source the necessary funds to pay his salary.

“No, that’s not true,” said Simoes yesterday, when asked if he was being paid. “They paid [for] January… They said they had the money to pay [me for] January, but after, I don’t know. If he says everything has been put in place, then I’m very happy.

“I gave him until the 1st of June… But if [Miller] says that everything is in place, then I’m glad to hear that.”

It is not the first contradictory report that emerged from the interview at FCoTT, or following background checks on its CEO. Miller’s tale is a remarkable one—particularly depending on who is telling it.

The Englishman could not immediately satisfy a request for his résumé, while his promise to have it faxed later from FCoTT did not materialise as it was not readily available.

But Miller mentioned no university background and admitted he held no marketing degree or qualification. By his own admission, he is a self-made man around football.

“I’ve always been involved in sport, or rather football, in one way or another,” he said. “The representation of players and so on. Always on the commercial side, never good enough as a player to make it, I’m afraid…

“I played football at a very good standard, but not professionally.”

In the birthplace of football, Miller worked—unknown to Fifa, as he was never registered—as a sports agent. It was, he said, his only source of income. He also claimed to have been attached to famous English Premier League club, Newcastle United.

“I was their authorised representative for the Caribbean,” he said.

Miller could give the names of just two players under his wing in England who would be known to the local public. One is Vibe CT105FM W Connection striker Earl Jean of St Lucia and the other, England-born ex-Soca Warriors international Ronnie Mauge—both of whom he met at English Division Two club Plymouth Argyle.

It was on Jean’s recommendation that Miller went to St Lucia in 1998 to work as the marketing manager for the St Lucia Football Federation.

Miller claimed to have represented Jean for ‘five or six years’, although the striker said he did not stay at Plymouth for even two years before he returned to the Caribbean to join W Connection.

Jean’s recollection of Miller’s role in England also differed from what was obtained by the Sunday Express at the FCoTT office.

The talented St Lucian international recalled he was in the middle of his two-year contract at Plymouth Argyle when he was approached by a man who claimed to be the joint-owner and manager of one of his preferred restaurants.

The same gentleman, at the time, dabbled in the music industry, as far as the promotion and recording of CDs, and peddled Phat Farm clothing. His name was Peter Miller.

“Ronnie [Mauge] and I were both playing for Plymouth at the time,” said Jean. “And we went to a restaurant for lunch and he came up to us. That was more or less how it happened… He started giving us ideas and said he would like to market me.”

Miller’s wheeling paid immediate dividends as the smooth talker was able to get a printing firm in the area to sponsor a Mazda 323 for the striker. The pair became fast friends and the shoe was soon on the other foot, as the Englishman turned to the St Lucian for help.

“His business ran into problems,” said Jean. “So I advised him to go to St Lucia for a holiday and to clear his head… I said that I’d hook him up with Stuart [Charles-Fevrier] to see if there was anything he could do.”

Miller and his family—which included wife of 14 years, Penny, and sons Joseph (9) and Jake (7)—never looked back.

“We love it here,” said Miller. “In actual fact, this weekend (March 2) is the first time I’m going back to England in three years.”

Miller was scheduled to fly through England en route to a football finance conference in Madrid, Spain on official FCoTT business.

It seems a far cry from the story of a broken businessman who went to St Lucia just over three years ago, allegedly uncertain about his next move.

In St Lucia, Miller met Connection coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier who—impressed by his work—brought him to Trinidad some months later to join the newly-formed Connection team, who were preparing for the inaugural Professional Football League (PFL).

It was enough time, according to Miller, to create history.

“I received the biggest sponsorship in (their) sporting history with Heineken,” he said. “There were also various other sponsorships that I developed.”

Once more, Miller’s memory differed with that of the other parties involved.

“[Miller] stayed for about three months in St Lucia,” said Fevrier. “He had some good ideas but nothing materialised. Maybe because he didn’t really stay around.

“One was for Heineken to give the football association enough beers, so that if you sell the beers you would get a million dollars over three to five years. The stock would be equivalent to that money. They agreed, but it didn’t happen.”

The Sunday Express was unable to confirm either story as St Lucia Football Association president Mark Louis was out of the island on a two-week vacation and did not respond to several e-mails.

Still, Fevrier offered a sympathetic ear to the Englishman when he asked him to tag along on his trip to Trinidad and W Connection.

“He felt he couldn’t do anything positive in St Lucia without me being there,” said Fevrier. “So he asked if I could speak to the owners of W Connection for him.”

In St Lucia, Miller received an allowance and was to be paid on commission from what he brought to the Football Association. There was no accommodation, travel or vehicle at his disposal.

Things would improve greatly for Miller in Trinidad and Tobago. Not at W Connection, though.

The south-based club made an impressive start, clinching the FA Cup in their first season of competitive football, before winning the league title in 2000, which they successfully defended last year. Their remarkable record led to Charles being awarded the Medal of Merit (silver) by the St Lucian government.

Miller didn’t do nearly as well.

“I was sacked,” said Miller. “Ask [club owner David] John-Williams why. Personally, I thought I did a very good job.”

Williams declined to speak on the record, but an executive member of the club, who preferred to remain anonymous, had much to say.

The WCFC source claimed that the club was initially disinterested in Miller and the St Lucia Football Association was less than satisfied with his work, but they hired him to appease Fevrier. It proved to be a disaster. Within three months, Miller was fired, only to be reinstated to protect the new club from potentially-damaging publicity.

Eight months later, he was dismissed for good.

“There were real haphazard sloppy presentations and plenty talk, but he was never producing,” said the source.

The last straw came after Miller failed to submit a budget for a visit by the England FA CEO, despite repeated requests. Miller was terminated immediately after that workshop.

But the Englishman is made of sturdy stuff and it was not long before he was back on his feet and even better off than before.

RELATED NEWS

Flashback: Wheelers and dealers; how Miller and Fenwick got stuck in to T&T football.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).

The following is the second of a two-part series on then chief executive officer of the Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FCoTT), Peter Miller, and was written by Lasana Liburd and first published in the Trinidad Express on 17 March 2002:

Three years can seem a particularly long time in the world of football.

Ask Trinidad and Tobago’s Dwight Yorke, who went from English Premier League giant Manchester United’s hotshot to surplus product, or Brazilian superstar Ronaldo, who slipped from global enigma to cameo appearances through a persistent knee injury.

Or maybe you can speak to Football Company of Trinidad and Tobago (FCoTT) chief executive officer Peter Miller.

In 1999, Vibe CT 105FM W Connection president David John-Williams sacked the Englishman in the inaugural season of the local Professional Football League (PFL). But, in 2002, it was Miller who looked set to play an important role in keeping the competition on track after the pull-out of chief PFL financier, Fifa vice-president and Joe Public club owner Jack Warner.

Miller indicated to the PFL teams his willingness to officially market the league and agreed to present a marketing plan within a two-week time frame. That promise was made more than a month ago and, up to Friday evening, the PFL clubs still waited.

Williams, who now occupies the role of interim PFL chairman, told the Sunday Express the PFL was now considering putting out an advertisement inviting an independent marketing firm to do the job.

He did not say whether his appreciation of the 42-year-old Miller’s marketing and organisational talents had risen or fallen. Regardless, the Englishman is busier than ever before.

In mid-February, he was granted his third work permit by the Ministry of National Security, which is mandated to ensure the foreign worker is suitably qualified and providing a service that could not be adequately done by a local.

By his own admission, Miller has never studied marketing and did not hold a similar position in England, where his alleged job titles ranged from co-restaurant owner to small-time football agent.

National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee claimed ignorance of the case and said he merely acted on the recommendations of the Work Permit Advisory Committee.

That committee includes Permanent Secretary Trevor Percival and Allison Yorke (Work Permit Division). Yorke told the Express she was unwilling to speak about the case without the approval of Percival. And Percival, according to Yorke, said only he ‘would think about it’.

His high-profile job at FCoTT is not Miller’s only noteworthy position, as he is also linked with advertising firm Collier Morrison Belgrave (CMB) Limited, PFL club CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, the University of the West Indies—as a guest lecturer—and sports promotion company Pro Sports Caribbean Limited.

His role with the respective corporations, though, depends on whose opinion one chooses to believe.

In a February 28 interview, Miller said he was a paid consultant for CMB, although he declined to give financial details. Efforts to contact CMB founding partner Clive Belgrave for further clarification did not bear fruit.

Miller admitted one of his first acts as FCoTT CEO was to hire CMB to handle the football advertising campaigns—with the Englishman being paid by both parties.

“The standard of advertising for the T&TFF (Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation) was pretty sub-standard,” said Miller. “[…] It’s like a coach who comes into a new team and brings players he knows. There is nothing untoward [about this].”

The move did generate some success as CMB won an award at the Advertising Association of Trinidad and Tobago’s annual gala function for their television and radio commercials done for the T&TFF.

Jabloteh and Pro Sports are much trickier issues, though.

“I work with them in the [same] sense that I work with all the clubs,” said Miller, when asked about his position with the San Juan outfit.

Does he receive a salary from Jabloteh?

“No, I don’t.”

The same question was posed to FCoTT marketing manager Paula Chester, who also denied being paid by Jabloteh.

Jabloteh chairman Jerry Hospedales and manager Kirk De Freitas said otherwise. Both men told the Express that the FCoTT pair were paid members of the Jabloteh staff.

“Miller does the brain-thrusting, planning and organisation,” said Hospedales. “[…] Paula Chester is also trying to implement things to help us. She’s just started. I don’t have an employed [marketing] staff, just them.”

Some within the PFL argue that if Miller indeed held dual roles, it presented a potential conflict of interest.

The man responsible for soliciting sponsors for local football—in its entirety—could, in the opinion of more than one source, easily persuade a potential client to do business with the club.

Hospedales agreed, but did not think it was an issue at present.

“The potential is always there for a conflict of interest,” said Hospedales. “But so far he has been managing all right… I think the larger doors he has opened will help all clubs.”

Miller admitted during the course of the interview that he held a soft spot for Jabloteh. It was the Bourg Mulatresse outfit who helped the Englishman to stay in the game after he was dumped by Connection.

According to another PFL source who requested anonymity, Miller showed up at Jabloteh’s doorstep claiming to have many football contacts and the ability to make the club lots of money.

In return, he requested a monthly salary in the range of $20,000, as well as a cellular phone, vehicle and other perks.

The Englishman promised two massive undertakings at Jabloteh. The first was a proposal to bring English Premier League team Newcastle United and Division One outfit Sheffield United to Trinidad and Tobago for a mini-tour.

“He said we should make $2 million from the matches,” said the PFL source. “Instead we ended up about $500,000 in debt… He then said, don’t worry about that [financial] loss as Newcastle would sponsor a football academy at Jabloteh to the value of close to $2 million.

“Again it never happened.”

His second big deal came after he had begun working with FCoTT. It was the introduction of former England international and Portsmouth manager Terry Fenwick.

Fenwick was a young manager whose first and only notable job in England ended quickly, as he and Portsmouth director of football, Terry Venables, were sacked in their second year at the club in the 1997/1998 season.

Fenwick replaced Ron La Forest at Jabloteh’s coaching helm for the 2001 PFL season and cost the club almost 20 times as much as the former Trinidad and Tobago international.

In terms of statistics, Fenwick was not immediately as successful as La Forest, failing to defend back-to-back First Citizens Bank cups won under his predecessor and ending outside the top-four PFL teams for the first time—19 points adrift of champions, W Connection.

(Editor’s Note: Fenwick went on to lead Jabloteh to Pro League titles in 2002, 2007 and 2008.)

But Jabloteh’s on-field fortunes were not Fenwick’s sole consideration. In late 2001—as Trinidad and Tobago prepared to host the FIFA Under-17 World Championship—Fenwick and Miller combined to form Pro Sports in Anguilla.

“It has been a thought of mine since I’ve been here,” said Miller. “I’ve been appalled by the treatment of players in this country and in the region generally […] from administrators and agents.”

Miller hesitated—for the first time during the interview—when asked about the choice of Anguilla as their company’s headquarters.

“No particular reason,” he said finally, with a smile.

Miller admitted he had never visited Anguilla before forming the company but he knew the Caribbean island was famous for its offshore banking and was often used as a tax haven and for protection from lawsuits and prying eyes.

Did Miller value the privacy of the company that highly?

“No, not at all,” he said. “If it is good for offshore banking, I am sure it’s got its advantages. I think you would need to speak to Terry [Fenwick] about it. If I remember rightly, he recommended it.”

Fenwick refused to answer any questions over the telephone, insisting on a face-to-face interview. He then explained he was too busy to make time for such an interview.

Pro Sports Ltd was responsible for arranging trials for young national footballers Nkosi Blackman, Jerol Forbes and Kenwyne Jones with Manchester United, earlier this year. But, again, it raised the eyebrows of a few local football authorities, concerned with the many hats being worn by Miller and Fenwick.

Using his post at the helm of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation’s financial arm, couldn’t Miller escape with promoting only players signed by the company? What is to stop Fenwick from using Pro Sport as a recruiting incentive?

Their respective employers did not seem overly concerned by their different involvements, though.

“I am happy with Miller’s work,” said T&TFF president Oliver Camps. “I have no problem with any [possible] conflict of interest.”

Camps was also unperturbed by Miller’s apparent lack of formal education or experience.

“We have had enough to evaluate him from his jobs in the Caribbean,” said Camps.

Hospedales also insisted he would not be left with the short end of the stick.

“As long as it don’t conflict with my business,” he said. “[…] As long as my team is being promoted.”

Warner’s retirement has left local football struggling to retain its balance and in need of leaders willing to step forward and direct or redirect its path.

Miller has stepped up as one such leader. The direction in which he has chosen to lead, though, is a contentious issue—depending on who you speak to.

UWI cut ties with Peter Miller—who worked as a part-time lecturer in sport marketing. Then TTFF special advisor Jack Warner shut down FCoTT next, while San Juan Jabloteh fired Miller in that same year and he did not get his work permit renewed to stay in Trinidad.

Terry Fenwick went on to become one of the Pro League’s most successful coaches, though. And, in 2019, Fenwick paved the way for Miller’s secret return to local football. Miller created the marketing plans used by William Wallace in his successful campaign for the presidency of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA), and negotiated Fenwick’s salary as Men’s National Senior Team head coach.

In the process, the English salesman had Wallace agree to pay him US$25,000 per month over an initial two year period. Click HERE to read more on Miller’s influence within Wallace’s United TTFA slate.