Smurthwaite was raised in Radford, Coventry and bought his own home in the area at the age of 17 after receiving compensation from an industrial accident at Dunlop in 1977.
[10] More worry came in December, when The Sunday People revealed that Smurthwaite had e-mailed agents pleading poverty over the club's finances.
[27] There was controversy However, following the club's defeat to mid-table League Two side Exeter City in the Second Round on 6 December 2015, after which Smurthwaite stated he felt "humiliated, ashamed and embarrassed" and said that plans to sign a striker in the January transfer window would be scrapped.
[31] He continued to reveal that he had been physically assaulted by three Vale supporters in April 2014, though Staffordshire Police could find no record of Smurthwaite's complaint.
[35] Smurthwaite renewed his dispute with The Sentinel by banning the newspaper from attending the club's press conference where the successor to Page was named.
[26] With Vale occupying 17th-place at Christmas, Smurthwaite declared that 'Plan B' had been triggered, meaning the signing of "seasoned, higher grade" players, whilst he admitted he felt "a little bit hoodwinked" as Ribeiro's friends in the game (José Mourinho, Aitor Karanka, and Carlos Carvalhal) had provided him with glowing references but had thus far failed to lend any of their players to the Vale.
[38][39] Ribeiro resigned as manager of Port Vale on 26 December, hours after witnessing his side lose 1–0 at home to Walsall; Smurthwaite put Michael Brown in temporary charge.
[40] He also installed Colin Garlick as the club's CEO, and in January stated that "I'm only really involved now when it comes to prising open the sweetie jar for the money".
[42] He later issued a statement to apologize for his decision to appoint Ribeiro and expressed regret with his own attempts to communicate with fans and "keyboard warriors" over social media.
[43] Brown remained as caretaker manager for the rest of the season, but was unable to save the club from relegation back into League Two.
[44] Smurthwaite issued a statement on 2 May apologising for relegation, and stated that he would be stepping down as chairman and would no longer attend games as he looked to sell the club.
[48] Smurthwaite appointed Neil Aspin as the club's new manager on 4 October, and also brought in John Rudge in an advisory role.
[54] On 31 January 2019, Smurthwaite blamed "logistical challenges" for the deal to bring back former top-scorer Marc Richards breaking down; the club instead signed four youngsters despite having no manager.
[55][56] As the transfer window was closing, the Port Vale Supporters' Club unanimously gave a vote of no confidence in Smurthwaite and elected to begin formal protests against his ownership.
[60] On 1 March, Synectics Solutions owners Carol and Kevin Shanahan revealed that Smurthwaite had rejected their improved offer of £3.5 million for the club.
[68] He enquired for a move for Wigan Athletic, a club in administration, in September 2020, but pulled out after judging it to be too big of a risk and seeing a negative reaction from fans.