HAYES & YEADING may only have three months to come up with £300,000 or face closure, but manager Phil Babb is refusing to walk away from the ailing club.
Vanarama Conference South United require the six-figure sum just to move into their part-build new Beaconsfield Road home – and another £1.2m to complete the structure of their main stand.
Hayes sold their Church Road stadium to Barratt Homes in a multi-million pound property deal in 2010 but fans are asking serious questions about where the money went and why their new home, on the site of Yeading’s former Warren ground, is still not fit for football.
The clubs merged seven years ago and after leaving their west London home they have shared at Woking and are currently playing out of Maidenhead United. Disputes with builders regarding cash flow means they continue to be in exile.
Chairman Tony O’Driscoll has warned that the club are on the verge of extinction. They must secure investment by February at the latest or they will be forced shut, possibly throwing the league into chaos.
He told The NLP: “It’s not fair to be scaring supporters but the reality is that we face a race against time to keep the club alive.
“We need £300,000 just to move into the ground. It won’t finish anything, but we can work with the bare bones. From there at least we can start creating some revenue of our own and re-invest, but a lot more money is needed to finish the job. I think £300,000 can get us back on our feet.
“We’re talking to people about investing but we’re a long way away. We need some help if we’re going to keep going. We’ve got three months maximum, it might be less than that. I have had some people offering donations which is brilliant but it doesn’t scratch the surface. We are surviving week to week.
“Simply, we have run out of money and the plan has not worked, there is little point in saying anything else. When I took over I may have been a little naive but I was under the impression the money was there to carry on building. It’s not, it’s gone and now if we are going to survive we need people and the local community to come to the rescue and quickly.”
At least the club’s manager, former Liverpool defender Babb, has confirmed his commitment despite the off-field concerns.
“Phil has been brilliant, and under the circumstances he deserves a tremendous amount of credit,” O’Driscoll said.
“Most would have probably walked away but he has been fantastic. He says he won’t give up on us because of the money issues and that speaks volumes for him and his players.”
