MARK PALIOS FACTFILE

Born: Liverpool, 1952 (Age 62) Playing Career: A midfielder and occasional striker, Palios was signed for Tranmere by Liverpool legend Ron Yeates at the age of 16 and made his debut in 1973. He would spend the next seven years at Prenton Park, scoring 29 goals in 209 games in a side that included the likes of Steve Coppell, Ray Matthias, Ray Stubbs and Ronnie Moore. In 1980, Palios left to spend three seasons with basement division Crewe, scoring 23 goals in 118 games for the Railwaymen and becoming a popular figure at the club. Aged 31, he returned to Tranmere in 1983 and spent a further two seasons under John King before joining Bangor, captaining the Welsh parttimers in a European Cup Winners’ Cup match against Atletico Madrid. He retired in 1986. Later Career: Having trained as an accountant with Deloitte, Palios was made a partner at accountancy firm Arthur Young in 1986 before joining London-based powerhouse Price Waterhouse Cooper as a turnaround specialist in 1989. In 2003, he was named chief executive of the FA and tasked with stabilising the organisation’s finances in the wake of the cash-sapping construction of Wembley. This was largely achieved, with borrowing stemmed, new commercial and TV partners acquired and – briefly – the building work running ahead of schedule. After resigning in 2004 due to revelations about his affair with Faria Alam, Palios returned to the accountancy business and has since held several directorships. He bought a controlling stake in Tranmere Rovers from Peter Johnson in August 2014.