Glenn Tamplin

Glenn David Tamplin (born January 1972) is an English businessman, investor, and the current owner and manager of Romford Football Club. Tamplin became known for his time at Billericay Town, of which he was the co-owner, director and manager. He is also the principal owner of AGP Steel.[2]

Glenn Tamplin
Tamplin managing Billericay Town
Born	Glenn David Thomas[1] Dagenham, England
Occupation	Entrepreneur investor
Known for	Owner of Billericay Town F.C. (2016–2019) Owner of Romford F.C. (2019–present)
Spouse(s)	Bliss Tamplin ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	6
Association football career Youth career West Ham United Leyton Orient Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) Barkingside Barking Teams managed 2017–2018 Billericay Town 2019– Romford * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In 2017, he ranked second in the Essex Power 100 list, being named the second most powerful person in Essex.[3]

Early life and personal life

Tamplin was born and raised in Dagenham by his mother and his stepfather. He was briefly reunited with his biological father at the age of thirteen, when his parents decided to rekindle their relationship. This only lasted two weeks, and Tamplin has been estranged from his father ever since. He had a younger sister who died at the age of three (Tamplin claims she died of sudden infant death syndrome, but due to her age, it is likely it was sudden unexplained death in childhood).[1]

Tamplin became a keen follower of football when growing up, and by the age of eleven, he was playing district and county football, as well as for the academies of West Ham United and Leyton Orient. At the age of fourteen, he joined Orient, but was released six months later. Following this, he continued playing district and county football, but gave up his dreams of playing professionally. He played semi-professionally for Barkingside, while working for Rainham Steel.[1] He later played for Barking.[4]

Tamplin has three children with his wife Bliss, who he married in 2015.[5][6] He has three other children from a previous relationship.[5] Tamplin is a born again Christian.

In July 2018, Tamplin spoke about how Muay Thai helped him recover from unspecified addictions.[7]

Involvement in football

Billericay Town

In November 2016, a Tamplin-led consortium had withdrawn their bid to take over Dagenham & Redbridge, after the board of directors removed their support for the offer.[8] In December 2016, Tamplin purchased non-league football team Billericay Town;[9] the initial acquisition which was widely reported was followed by the signings of former star professionals Paul Konchesky, Jamie O'Hara and Jermaine Pennant.[10][11] Tamplin invested over £2,000,000 in the club for improvements and a new pitch.[12] Tamplin showed the unique murals and changes of the changing rooms to Sky Sports, along with match rituals.[13] In the 2017–18 season, Tamplin assumed the manager's position at the club and guided them to the first round of the FA Cup.[12]

On 24 February 2018, Tamplin sacked himself as manager of the club, following three straight league defeats to Leiston, Folkestone Invicta and Wealdstone, and a disagreement with his players after asking them to give up a week's wages following the poor run.[14] However, he rehired himself just two days later.[15] On 4 April, for the second time in two months, Tamplin announced via an interview on YouTube, entitled "Understanding me – Glenn Tamplin", that he would again resign his post as manager.[16] On 2 September, Tamplin released a statement via the official Billericay Town website that the club were now up for sale, citing two incidents where he was reported to police for alleged drug abuse (which he claimed were unfounded) and had led to the police questioning him about the allegations in front of members of his family. Tamplin stated that he could "take the personal abuse but now it has started to affect my health and my family. For me it has now crossed the line."[17][18]

On 18 September 2019, Billericay Town announced Tamplin had stepped down as owner and director of the club.[19]

Romford

In November 2019, Tamplin bought Romford, immediately sacking manager Paul Martin and appointing himself in place.[20]

Philanthropy

In April 2017, Tamplin donated £45,000 to the family of Harry Parker, a 7-year-old with cerebral palsy.[21]

In October 2017, it was reported that Tamplin had given two homeless men jobs after seeing them on his regular commute to work.[22] Later that month, however, one of the new employees stole from the club grounds, with Tamplin publishing CCTV footage of the incident on his Twitter account.[23]

Controversies

Convictions

In September 2016, Tamplin was fined a total of £45,000 and ordered to pay £30,789 in court costs after Manns Waste Management Limited illegally dumped more than 6,000 tonnes of controlled waste on the grounds of his home. The court found Tamplin acted "negligently to a high degree" in committing the offences and the buried household and commercial waste could have interfered with nearby flood defences on the River Roding.[24]

In December 2017, Tamplin was banned from driving for six-months having been caught speeding excessively on multiple occasions.[25]

Threats

In February 2018, Tamplin was under police investigation after alleged "gangster threats" were made by him to Billericay Town footballer Elliot Kebbie.[26]

References

1. "Billericay Town owner Glenn Tamplin shares his fascinating life story". 17 October 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
2. Mann, Sebastian. "Harold Hill's AGP Steel fined for late-night noise". Romfordrecorder.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
3. "Lord Sugar named most powerful person in Essex, but who else made the list?". Itv.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
4. Keating, Ned. "Dagenham & Redbridge confirm investment offers from Glenn Tamplin, John East-led consortium and unnamed individual". Barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
5. Williams, Andrew (31 July 2017). "Property porn: 'I drove a bulldozer through my home'". Metro. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
6. "Billericay Town FC's Glenn Tamplin and wife Bliss welcome twins after difficult birth". Basildon, Canvey & Southend Echo. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
7. Elliott, Sam (10 July 2018). "Glenn Tamplin Talks: Six Week Thai Stay Has Saved Me". The National League. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
8. Keating, Ned. "Dagenham & Redbridge confirm Glenn Tamplin consortium have withdrawn takeover bid". Barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
9. "Glenn Tamplin to take control of Billericay Town after Dagenham & Redbridge takeover falls through". Thenonleaguefootballpaper.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
10. "Paul Konchesky: Gillingham left-back joins seventh-tier Billericay Town". BBC Sport. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
11. "Jermaine Pennant joins Jamie O'Hara and Paul Konchesky at Billericay Town". ESPN. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
12. "I haven't got out of first gear – Tamplin". BBC Sport. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
13. "WATCH: Billericay Town's unique changes to their home ground". Sky Sports. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
14. Jack Wilson (24 February 2018). "Glenn Tamplin QUITS as Billericay Town boss: Real reason why REVEALED". Daily Express. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
15. Tom Bage (27 February 2018). "Glenn Tamplin sacked himself then rehired himself two days later". EssexLive.
16. BTFC official channel (4 April 2018). "GLENN TAMPLIN | Understanding Me".
17. "CLUB STATEMENT". 2 September 2018.
18. "Billericay Town: Glenn Tamplin announces club sale". Phoenix FM. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
19. R, Rob (18 September 2019). "Glenn Tamplin's time at Billericay Town has come to an end".
20. "Glenn Tamplin: Ex-Billericay owner buys Romford and makes himself manager". BBC Sport. 15 November 2019.
21. "This Morning viewers fall in love with boy who took first steps after £75,000 op". Metro. UK. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
22. Lydia Smith (11 October 2017). "Football club owner gives homeless men job after bumping into them on daily commute". The Independent. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
23. "Glenn Tamplin of Billericay Town Football club claims homeless people he gave jobs to 'steal from him and take drugs'". Halstead Gazette. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
24. "Manns Waste Management fined for dumping 6,000 tonnes of waste on grounds of employee's home in Abridge". East London and West Essex Guardian. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
25. "Glenn Tamplin: Billericay Town boss banned from driving". BBC. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
26. "Police investigating Billericay's Glenn Tamplin after alleged 'gangster threats' to former Cheltenham Town trialist". gloucestershirelive.co.uk. Gloucestershire Live. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.