Desperate. The situation at my club, Hartlepool United, can’t be described any other way.
We’re at the beginning of March, I’m guessing when it gets to pay day later this month there won’t be any way of paying the wages of anybody at the club. So we are two or three weeks away from administration and all that means.
We’ve had so many people declare an interest in taking over at the club and yet nobody has been willing to take it forward, which makes you feel a bit despairing really.
A Teesside businessman and myself have put together – him principally – a plan. He’s put in a lot of money and I’ve put in a little bit, but it’s not enough. We’ve had promises from USA, Canada and England, but when you ask people to show their money it falls silent.
We need to guarantee the future for years to come, not just one year. Out of desperation I spoke out this week because it is now or never.
I’ve had a response from someone who may be willing to put more in, but whether that comes to anything, I don’t know. It’s difficult to see the way forward at times.
I hope people aren’t sitting back thinking they will come in when the club is in administration
– the rules state football debts have to be repaid in full. There’s no gain waiting for that. We’d have a points-deduction, almost certainly be relegated and be a level lower.
If we go into administration my belief is we will be liquidated. Then we’d be looking at a phoenix club and all that entails. Although there are great stories of clubs who have done just that and risen again, nobody wants to be in that position. It’s no easy journey.
Frankly, this season has been disgraceful. I’m not pointing fingers at anybody because I don’t know who has been responsible, but the mess we’ve got into is despairing.
Shambles
It’s well-documented we had a huge playing staff on ludicrous contracts, a managerial team with a huge support staff on ridiculous contracts – way more than a club at our level can support – players on long-term contracts with clauses that would kick in, so it’s been a total shambles.
I don’t know who advised those moves, but whoever it is incurs a great deal of responsibility for where we are. Some bad, bad decisions have been made on and off the field.
I have a lot of sympathy for Craig Harrison, who was sacked last month. To take your first management job in this league with everything that’s going on was very difficult indeed. Although he did have a high-quality playing staff.
Then we had a situation last week where, after Craig had left, the No.2 was missing for family reasons and the goalkeeper coach wasn’t there – leaving Matty Bates alone on the touchline. I won’t pretend to know Matty well and he was a good footballer, but I know he is quiet and understated.
That’s why last Saturday at 5pm, when the game against Ebbsfleet finished – and everyone there tells me we could have been 5-0 down inside 20 minutes – I texted the football club’s chief executive and said, ‘Bring in Ronnie Moore to help Matty’.
Not to take over, but help him. It would give everyone such a huge lift and the experience we need. A big voice in the changing room. I said I’d pay his wages until the end of the season.
A week on, here we are. This has been one of the problems throughout. Whether it’s fighting to stave off administration, sell the club, appoint someone else as manager or assistant, it’s all been done at a snail’s pace. It’s like watching Arsenal – there’s no sense of urgency!
Ronnie would crawl back. When I said I’d pay his wages, Ronnie said, ‘Look son, I’d do it for nothing’. I wouldn’t ask him to do that, but I’m frustrated and bewildered why they’re dragging their feet. What have we got to lose?
You do see the positive side of football in these situations. A lot of our ex-players have come up with donations and things for auction.
Blackburn Rovers striker Danny Graham who never played for us, put £5,000 in the kitty – I’d love to meet him one day and shake his hand. He’s the sort of person we need more of in the game.
Prudent
We’ve put out there we need £2m – there’s a three-year plan to be breaking even. That’s a worst-case scenario that doesn’t allow for any success, an FA Cup run or selling some of our talented young players.
It’s not impossible to make a lower league football club not just viable, but successful. It just needs prudent management. It can happen for us, but it needs to happen quickly. And anyone who comes on board will be getting involved with a wonderful football club and brilliant fans.
Join in! We’re on the march again
A big part of my day job is about stats and this is one that is quite scary – one man will die from prostate cancer every 45 minutes.
Over the last two years I’ve joined up with the team at Prostate Cancer UK and walked around the country. Dubbed ‘Jeff’s March’, in year one it was ten marathons in ten days before last year upping that to 15.
Because of everyone’s hard work, awareness of prostate cancer has really improved, which is fantastic. The Man of Men pin-badge that is worn by so many managers from the Premier League right through the game we all love has also given great visibility to the charity.
On July 22, an army of walkers will set off for Wembley in ‘The Football March for Men’. There are four starting points, including Sutton United – which takes in AFC Wimbledon and Brentford – and St Albans City, with stops at Watford and Barnet on the way.
Leyton Orient are featured on the route that starts at West Ham United, while the fourth leg begins at Millwall. It’s a fantastic thing for people to get involved with and a manageable marathon.
I would just say, don’t think one day is going to be easy – make sure you prepare! Trust me, it’s not just a little stroll. So put the miles in beforehand, but get involved because you’ll really enjoy it.
As we recently saw with Stephen Fry, who has always been a big supporter of our walks, that prostate cancer can affect anyone. And not just men – wives and families too. It’s a silent killer but we can all help kick it into touch.
To sign up to a March for Men or find out more information go to: https://www.prostatecanceruk.org/footballmarch
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
