Archived News from February 2010
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CONFERENCE BOARD RECOMMENDS EXPULSION FOR CHESTER
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Danish consortium agrees deal for Chester City FC
21 February 2010, Dennis Wall http://www.chesterfirst.co.uk/sport/85361/danish-consortium-agrees-deal-for-chester-city-fc.aspx STEPHEN VAUGHAN JUNIOR today revealed that a deal had been struck in a with a Danish consortium to save Chester City Football Club. The Blues club owner, who attended a meeting in London last week where the Conference board recommended that Chester City be removed from the competition after pleading guilty to breaching five league rules, is hopeful that the crisis-hit club can earn a last gasp reprieve. Vaughan said: "A deal has been done with a Denmark-based consortium, Chester projekt.dk, subject to legal issues being agreed. "I was one of three people from Chester City who met members of the Conference board at a meeting in London on Friday where the club presented cash forecasts and funding projections in a bid to safeguard the club from being expelled from the league. "The club admitted it had breached five rules including rule 8.6 which mentions expulsion, and the Conference board have now recommended that member clubs of the Conference Premier Division will vote to expel Chester City from the competition. "The Vaughan family will today contact the Football Conference and inform them that we will defer full payment until June 2011 and ensure that full funding will be made available to pay all of our outstanding creditors, i.e. rent, revenue and all players wages and players arrears, and other football creditors. "We will make an application to the Football Conference for them to reconsider their position so that we can fulfil the remainder of our fixtures." Vaughan added: "In the meantime, the Vaughan family and Gary Metcalfe met a Denmark-based consortium at the Deva Stadium on Saturday to strike a deal for the sale of the football club. "The deal entails a 100 per cent buy out of the Vaughan family's shareholding. "The Danish consortium was headed by Palle Rasmussen who was representing a group known as Chester projekt.dk. "We shook hands on a deal which is now the subject of legal issues, but I feel confident that the Danish consortium can now be the new owners of the football club subject to an agreed sale through our solicitors Brabners, and the Danes solicitors who will stage talks today. "I feel a deal can be done between now and March 6th if the funds are put in place. They need to satisfy everyone that Chester City Football Club has a future. "I now believe that Chester City Football Club does have a future and I hope the Football Conference and it's Premier Division clubs can save the club from expulsion and safeguard 125 years of history at the club." The Danish consortium were introduced to the Vaughan family by former Chester City manager Mark Wright who now has his own public relations company. Vaughan added: "Both Mark Wright and his former Liverpool team mate, Jan Molby, have both been involved in the sale of Chester City Football Club through Mark Wright's PR company, and we are now hoping the sale can go through." -------------- The Non-League Paper, Sun Feb 21, 2010 : Each of the other 23 BSP clubs has one vote, with the Blue Square South and North teams allowed eight between them. It means the league require 24 votes out of 31 to end the sorry saga, providing everyone who is eligible turns up and has their say. The NLP has conducted a straw poll of clubs and discovered the Conference board could be overruled. Four clubs told us they will be voting to keep debt-ridden Chester in the league with some still undecided. Two will put it to their members this weekend and there is little way of knowing the outcome of the complex North and South vote. Some Premier clubs with vested interests in the expunged points City's expulsion would bring ominously refused to show their hand. And two chairmen are furious that the decision has been left to the clubs, with one saying: "We will not vote. It is not proper that one football club should cause the death of another. We refuse to have the blood of Chester on our hands." ---------------- Chester - Board Recommend Expulsion http://www.footballconference.co.uk/news/2823/Chester_-_Board_Recommend_Expu.html The Board of the Football Conference today (18th February 2010) met with representatives of Chester City (2004) FC, when the club pleaded guilty to all five counts with which they were charged. These included those in respect of failing to fulfil fixtures, non payment of Football Creditors, failing to attend satisfactorily to competition business and bringing the competition into disrepute. At the conclusion of a lengthy meeting, the representatives were advised that the Board failed to be convinced with their presentation that the club were able to demonstrate the club's ability to fulfil future fixtures in the competition and as a consequence informed the club of their finding in relation to Conference Rule 8.6. In compliance with Article 5.2 of the Football Conference, the Board will recommend to its Member Clubs that Chester City (2004) FC should face expulsion from membership. To facilitate this recommendation the Board are now legally mandated to convene a General Meeting of Member Clubs to, receive, deliberate and vote on the said recommendation to expel in consideration of Rule 8.6 and Article 5.2. Until the meeting is held the club will remain suspended from the competition and their representatives suitably advised as to any future plans or presentations they may well wish to pursue against the recommendation of the Board to its Member Clubs. The date and venue of the meeting is subject to final clarification. --------------- Andy Perry's twitter, Sat 20 Feb 2010: We are voting to keep Chester in the BSP. Also if needed we will loan Chester some players for free! -------------- Sat 20 Feb 2010 Crawley assistant manager Paul Raynor told BBC Surrey (audio not available) that clubs will be voting whether or not to support the Conference Board proposal to expel Chester, and meeting the Board next Friday. Raynor said that he expected clubs who have done well against Chester this season to vote against, and other clubs to vote in favour of Board's proposal. Two of BBC Surrey's clubs, Crawley and AFC Wimbledon stand to do very well if Chester are expelled. ------------- from our resident legal expert: I have been reading the Articles of Association of The Football Conference Limited for 2008-2009. I assume they have not changed for 2009-2010. Article 7.1 requires an extraordinary general meeting to pass a special resolution to be called by at least 21 clear days notice otherwise 14 clear days notice is required. Article 5.2 provides "The members in a general meeting by a resolution passed by a THREE QUARTERS' MAJORITY OF THOSE PRESENT AND VOTING may on the recommendation of the Directors expel a member from the Competition." Resolutions requiring a three quarters' majority are normally described as special resolutions. Therefore, the earliest the Conference could hold a meeting to consider expelling Chester City is, by my calculations, Monday 15th March. This is assuming that the notices convening the meeting were sent out today. Mansfield will have played a further six games by this stage and will only have 8 games left. Assuming all 24 teams attend and vote at the meeting then 18 clubs will need to vote in favour of expelling Chester City from the League. This means that if seven teams vote against the resolution to expel Chester City then the resolution will be defeated. Possible teams who could object include Mansfield (6 Points), Stevenage (6 Points), Tamworth (6 Points), Cambridge United (6 Points), Salisbury (4 Points), Altrincham (4 Points), Ebbsfleet (3 Points), Forest Green Rovers (3 Points) and Chester themselves!! ------------- Stags chairman Andy Perry told the CHAD that the loss of any points would be a bitter blow to the Field Mill club. "There is still a meeting about the current situation so nothing has been finalised about points being wiped out yet,"he said. "It is a difficult situation, but who is to say that Chester may not be in a position to fulfill their fixtures in the next two weeks. Maybe there is time for them yet. "It is a sad situation having to vote on this situation and the fate of a fellow member club. "It is new to me and new to other chairman. I have spoken to two chairman so far and got different views both times. "I think the situation will divide the league because some teams will gain and others will lose from Chester being thrown out. "If we lose points we will just have to get on with things. Clubs have got to adhere to the rules and regulations of the league." ------------- EARLIER STORY: Thursday 18 Feb 2010 From an interview with Chester City Managing Director Bob Gray on Sky Sports News on Thursday night, Chester have a further 7 days to come up with money to rescue the club, to convince the conference that it is viable and should continue in the league. They have another meeting with the Conference Board at Nene Park next Thursday at 11.00. ------------ EARLIER STORY, 17 Feb 2010: Chester were been handed five separate charges by the Football Conference last week and face being thrown out of the league when discussions resume on Thursday. by Martin Shaw Here is the league table as it stands and with Chester's results expunged. Formatting is messed up, but the columns are Old played, Old points, New played, new points. Old pos. Team Old pl Old pts New pl New pts 1 Oxford Utd 30 66 29 63 2 Stevenage 31 63 29 57 3 York 31 60 30 57 4 Luton 30 56 28 54 5 Rushden & D 31 55 30 52 6 Mansfield 32 53 30 47 7 Kettering 30 51 30 51 8 Wimbledon 30 50 29 50 9 Kidderminster 30 46 29 43 10 Crawley Town 30 45 30 45 |
Latest | February 2010