Clubs in Trouble

[SteveW]

It's really difficuly trying to keep track of the clubs that are in a mess this close season let alone how it will affect us, if at all.

Here are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.... maybe we can keep this thread updated as news comes in of what is going on out there as it's all quite interesting (I think so anyway!)...

Boston United: the Conference plan to expel Boston from the Conference North as they were still in administration on the second Saturday in May The club say they will appeal to the F.A.

Worksop Town: have been locked out of their Sandy Lane ground by the leaseholders and are looking at a possible groundshare. The UniBond League say the situation must be resolved before their AGM. It is rumoured that the supporters club have agreed to play Sunday league matches there to fulfill the lease requirements. All very odd.

Nuneaton Brough: have gone pop and will be relegated probably into one of the UniBond Division Ones. This will mean a reprieve for Vauxhall Motors although Weston-s-Mare in the Conf South say that with a higher finish and 9 more points than Vauxhall THEY should get the reprieve so expect appeals etc etc

Halifax Town: have gone pop, if they manage to reform it will probably be at UniBond Div One level

any others?

[dave jarvu, mystery man]

Cambridge City have been expelled from the Conference South after not doing work to bring their ground up to the required standard.
They have appealed and I think it gets heard this week.

[Perton Pitman]

...and the commone denominator has to be financial mis-management. Nuneaton must have made a shed load of money from their games against 'Boro a couple of years ago so where has it all gone?

It's a shame that so many clubs with long and proud histories are 'going pop' - those in charge don't seem to remember the responsibility that they are carrying and seem intent on chasing the dream whether they have the money to do it or not.

[Adam Hill]

Chasetown may have to transfer to the Unibond because of this situation.
Apparently Chasetown were allowed to stay in the southern league originally because Rushall and Willenhall have better access to the motorway network. No-one seemed to notice that the Birmingham Northern Relief toll road runs behind Chasetown's ground. I seems unfair that Chasetown were allowed to stay in the southern league originally when they are north of Rushall and Willenhall. I think it is because Chasetown kicked up a fuss before at the prospect of a move to the Unibond.

[Buster4England]

Chasetown are certainly not a club in trouble though.

http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?&newsmode=FULL&nid=50236

[wyre forest red]

As a relative newcomer to the non league scene I find this all amazing, add Crawley, Northwich, Lancaster, Scarborough to the pile in the last 12 months, some, thankfully, with positive outcomes ( for the moment). Even at this level the wages bandied about for players seem ridiculous. OK the players are not millionaires, but how some clubs can afford to pay several hundred pounds a week to a player, given their attendances, is beyond me.

Most of you on here will be much more long standing followers of non -league football. Is the situation getting worse with regards to clubs in trouble.. or has it been like this for a while, with so many relegation issues decided in the boardroom or banks after the season has ended? This despite the money from Sky then Setanta TV deals which has meant fixtures being mucked about... without clubs seeming to end up much more financially stable.:mad:

[Glyn]

Don't have any detail yet but an Atherstone-follower contact of mine tells me there are problems there, despite having just gained promotion - again ground-related I think...??

[Glyn]

... and here's another one....

http://www.welsh-premier.com/news.php?ID=6727

:D

[Perton Pitman]

As a relative newcomer to the non league scene I find this all amazing, add Crawley, Northwich, Lancaster, Scarborough to the pile in the last 12 months, some, thankfully, with positive outcomes ( for the moment). Even at this level the wages bandied about for players seem ridiculous. OK the players are not millionaires, but how some clubs can afford to pay several hundred pounds a week to a player, given their attendances, is beyond me.

Most of you on here will be much more long standing followers of non -league football. Is the situation getting worse with regards to clubs in trouble.. or has it been like this for a while, with so many relegation issues decided in the boardroom or banks after the season has ended? This despite the money from Sky then Setanta TV deals which has meant fixtures being mucked about... without clubs seeming to end up much more financially stable.:mad:

It's a relatively new thing at conference national level. If you ask me Rushden and Diamonds are to blame. They threw massive money at it, wnet full-time and many others tried to follow them

[terrymc]

It's a relatively new thing at conference national level. If you ask me Rushden and Diamonds are to blame. They threw massive money at it, wnet full-time and many others tried to follow them

The thing is PP, if you look back ten years, our club was very much at the vanguard of throwing cash at the playing squad. You only have to take a look at the squad photographs for the 1997/98 and 1998/99 seasons to confirm that.
Time has proven that this strategy is totally unsustainable and if it had not been for the continuous support of our often maligned former Chairman in the interim period, I am pretty sure that we would not have got to this point intact.
The leaner last few seasons have coincided with a more austere period but we have now the potential to see additional resources come into the club and, if we use these wisely, we could well see the good times start to return to Keys Park.
Accuse me of being the 'eternal optimist' if you wish but I think that our club has learnt the financial lessons well and we will not fall into that same trap again, like some of our contemporaries.

[Glyn]

Don't have any detail yet but an Atherstone-follower contact of mine tells me there are problems there, despite having just gained promotion

My pal must have known we were talking about them, this via email this morning

they have spent beyond their means and sadly things look grim

unfortunate since the impending relegation of Nuneaton Borough from the Conference would see the return of our favourite local derby

[dave jarvu, mystery man]

Cambridge City's appeal was turned down today so they've been relegated (presumably to the BGB Premier or whatever it's called) and Weston Super Mare have been re-instated to BSS.

[Glyn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/gretna/7426281.stm

UEFA Cup last year

Scottish Div 3 next year, if they survive

Could they end up back in the Unibond?!

Salutary lesson about going too far too fast with one man's money....

:tape:

[Glyn]

How sad is this??

http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/gridsindex08-09.htm

There isn't a single non-league league, if you know what I mean, where Tony can yet confirm the teams line-up for next season

:doh:

[rodh]

Glyn as per a previous posting that I made. The line ups cannot be confirmed until the AGM's have been held. Conference is next Saturday with NPL & SFL on the 14th, The IFL hold theirs on Monday 16th then the next level will hold theirs. It is a domino effect also with the AGM's. The next level cannot hold theirs until the previous level have confirmed their line up.

[Glyn]

Ah, yes, thanks Rod, I take your point.

This from a pal who follows local NL football almost too closely....

Oldbury United have been saved from extinction by signing a 2-year deal to groundshare with Tividale.

Oldbury got kicked-out of their ground by their own Social club who had taken over the ground...last season Oldbury were groundsharing with Pelsall Villa

The question is...If Tividale and Oldbury are groundsharing...where are Bartley Green going to play, as they were playing at Tividale last season?

Have to confess I'm not unduly worried about where Bartley Green will play next season, but it's a bit of a trek from there to Tivi anyway!! (and ditto from Oldbury to Pelsall, while we're at it!!)

:rolleyes::doh:

[Hallo]

All confirmed then, from their official site:

STATEMENT BY THE BOARD OFDIRECTORS NUNEATON BOROUGH FC 2.00PM MONDAY JUNE 2ND 2008

The new Board of Directors of Nuneaton Borough Football Club wishes to announce that due to the club’s serious financial problems the decision has been taken to take the club into Liquidation. The Directors have spent several weeks exploring every option available to them but have accepted professional advice from insolvency experts that there is no alternative but to liquidate the club’s assets. This decision has not been taken lightly and the board wishes to stress that had this route not been taken there was every likelihood that the club could have folded and there was a serious prospect of Nuneaton losing its football club. We did explore the possibility of going down the route of Administration of a CVA (Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement) but this would have involved going before a judge with our insolvency expert and, as there were no funds, our application simply wouldn’t stack up so Liquidation was the second option. Detailed discussions have been ongoing with the Football Association to determine the future of the club. We are still awaiting clarification as to which league Nuneaton Borough will be playing in next season but it is likely that we will be dropping two divisions and will be members of the Football Association Southern League Midlands Division. We have no choice but to move out of the Football Conference. Their regulations stipulate expulsion from their leagues whether a club goes into Administration, a CVA or Liquidation. The Football Association rules state that clubs in our position will be relegated by a minimum of two divisions. We did put two proposals to the FA in the hope we could go into the Southern League Premiership Division rather than the Midlands Division. If we had agreed with the 14 shareholders and the creditors with substantial debt we could have gone down the route of Administration or CVA and gone into the Southern League Premiership but we could not reach agreement with them. We will have the FA’s final decision on June 9th but our expectation is that we are likely to go down two divisions. This will not be the news that the club’s fans will want to hear and the position is not popular with the board, senior management or players who wear the shirt of Nuneaton Borough Football Club with pride. However, we have to realise and accept that we are in a serious financial predicament. A predicament that we have inherited and now have to deal with in the best possible interests of the future of the club. If we drop two divisions so be it. We have to draw a line in the sand, move on and create a new future for this club. We also have to be positive. We must look to a new chapter, a new era for ‘the Boro’! I have been personally working night and day to resolve this situation. I have not only put in many days and hours of my time, my company has guaranteed the players wages and we are now committed to investing in excess of £1 million in order to get the club back on its feet, develop new facilities, build the new stand and help the manager develop the playing side of the club. We have to manage this club as a business. As I have said many times before, the fundamental problem has been that too much money has been going out and not enough revenue coming in. That is a recipe for financial disaster and is the reason why Nuneaton Borough Football Club is in the position it is in today. The former Board of Directors has no further involvement with the club. That said I am totally confident and committed to the future of this club so much so that, after considerable thought, I have accepted the Boards invitation to become the club’s Chairman. I trust the fans will accept that by becoming Chairman I am personally giving my 100 per cent commitment to the future of Nuneaton Borough FC. The club is in safe hands. I am Nuneaton born and bred and have the interests of the club and town at heart. Today is a historic day albeit not a popular one for the fans. It is a milestone and the beginning of a journey to get this club back to where it belongs, challenging for honours and chasing dreams such as the FA Cup ties we had against Middlesbrough. That is what football is all about and where Nuneaton Borough must be again. I can assure the fans as Chairman I will do everything in my power to bring the good times back. But first we must lay new foundations, rebuild and create a sustainable business. It will not be an overnight job – we have a long journey ahead and the fans must be patient. Together we can take this club forward to a great future. And I stress together as it will be a team effort – from the fans and the Chairman including my Vice Chairman Paul Roberts and director Ian Brown. This will be the new board which will take the club forward. We want to bury all the bad news today and now move on to a new future. And I sincerely believe it will progressively be an exciting future with our new board, a committed manager and some exiting news which will hopefully be able to announce later in the week.



Ian Neale

[the lawyer]

Inevitable but sad given recent press coverage.Not sure fans will move forward without details of how previous board were able to put the club in that position.Chasetown for Unibond second time of asking?A reason why they have been signing former Unibond players perhaps?

[Perton Pitman]

Did Nunny ever move into their new ground? If so, what happened to the proceeds from the sale of the old ground?

[Glyn]

Did Nunny ever move into their new ground? If so, what happened to the proceeds from the sale of the old ground?

a) Yes

http://www.nbafc.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=28 (interesting if you go to the Home Page that they've already got some friendlies lined-up ..... and that they're still showing the BSN logo :tape::doh:)

b) Don't know, can I phone a friend??


:confused:

[Bob C]

I am sorry to say this kind of situation has occurred many times before at Nuneaton. yet they continue to overspend

[SteveW]

Nuneaton Borough have been placed in the Southern League Midland Division where they will now be known as 'Nuneaton Town'

Halifax have apparently been offered a place in UniBond Division One North as long as the two factions that are vying to resurrect the club come together and only one application is submitted

[the lawyer]

Alsager have had their challenge against relegation turned down.The owners have indicated they will not fund them in the lower league and the manager has left with players doing the same.Dave Whitaker gone to Nantwich.A sign that no club should over stretch their resources at any level.

[Glyn]

Alsager have had their challenge against relegation turned down.The owners have indicated they will not fund them in the lower league and the manager has left with players doing the same.Dave Whitaker gone to Nantwich.A sign that no club should over stretch their resources at any level.

That's a crying shame.

I said, when the news first broke that their ground hadn't met the criteria, that I've seen far worse.

I already have major fears for the future of non-league football, but this sort of nonsense will see the nails being driven into the coffins a lot quicker

:(

[the lawyer]

The pre -season friendly gave the impression that they were a club in need of a boost but chasing the impossible is not worth it if it means the end of their existance.I hope they can survive in their lower setting