TerrasBlog EXTRA 09/06/2009 - That Supporters Trust Statement in full...

For those of you who have missed it, here is Connor's statement on the clubs official website regarding the immediate future of Weymouth FC.

From: Connor Kinsella, Terras Trust Representative, WFC Board of Directors

Apologies to non-fans for kicking off this week’s blog with an Apprentice reference, but did anyone else smirk knowingly when one of the big-talking, shoulder-padded, ‘110%’ contestants was revealed as not knowing the difference between net and gross profit? I did, but then I was only being cocky. After all, prior to March when I took over the Terras Trust rep role on the WFC Board, I thought going into administration meant a career choice for people who like organising things and looking at spreadsheets, and liquidation was simply something you did to make a fruit smoothie. Not so now.

There are many of you reading this who will have forgotten more about business finance than I have learnt in the past few months, but it’s been an eye-opener to say the least. But it doesn’t take an accountant to work out how deep is the financial toilet the previous owner and his board have left the club wallowing in. By the time you read this you will probably have read Ian Ridley’s candid description of the club’s challenge in the next few weeks. It’s not pretty reading is it?

I spent a large part of last week working away it was only late last week when I found out about Barclays Bank foreclosing on the club’s overdraft. Just when the Board had managed to pull some pretty massive rabbits out of the hat in the shape of Matty Hale and Andy Tilson, a successful deal with our kit suppliers ProStar, negotiations with creditors and paying-off the playing staff’s wages, the rug had been pulled yet again in what has been a rollercoaster few months.

What Ian Ridley has said in print already today is pretty candid and clear, but for those of us who, like me, need a bit of clarification with these sorts of things once in a while, these are the options.
a) We find an investor willing to loan the club an immediate and significant lump sum at an agreed rate of interest so that we can continue to trade normally through the summer and into the new season. This would prevent any form of punishment being meted out by the Conference next season, and would allow a sensible business plan to be put into operation with realistic attendance and cash flow forecasts in place on the spreadsheet, and regular payments being made to creditors. As Ian says, our problem at the moment is not the long-term finances but the short-term bills during the close season.
b) We don’t find an investor, in which case major creditors can take us to court and potentially have us wound up.
c) Administration has been the word on the lips a great deal over the last few weeks. In many ways, handing over control of the football club to an insolvency practitioner has some advantages. It would grant us breathing space with creditors, many of whom have been owed a lot of money by the club for a long time have become understandably impatient. Unfortunately we are not Woolworths. Going into Administration is (my sources inform me) very expensive and would involve upfront payments the club simply does not have at the moment. Another major pitfall (for WFC at least) of Administration is the onus on the Insolvency Practitioner to find the best possible means of repayment to creditors, which involves the invitation of bids for the business from external parties. Given that the Wessex Stadium now sits as an island in the middle of land now owned by Property Developers, one major concern over Administration is that it would invite offers from people having little or no interest in Weymouth Football Club but a very strong interest in the land it occupies.

It is not all doom and gloom, and once again this week some tyre rubber will be burnt meeting potential investors and looking for other options, some of which look very positive and very hopeful. Before this experience I never really gave a thought to the business plan or the financial position of the club. Just as long as I could get to watch football on a Saturday afternoon I couldn’t give a toss, and I suspect many of you reading this may be thinking the same thing. But this time it’s different. This is serious and anyone with any feeling for Weymouth Football Club needs to know exactly what is happening here and why it is happening.

But before you go and jump off a cliff, the WFC Board is certainly still positive enough to be looking at improving the stadium. I apologise to those who came to the meeting with myself and Shaun Hennessey a few weeks ago, or those who have passed on their contact details about volunteering. Circumstances and work commitments have prevented me getting with this while Shaun has been away, but I will be phoning some of our volunteers to get a ‘chain gang’ together for next Saturday.