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Hereford United chairman David Keyte has released the following statement after the club failed to pay the players earlier today:
"As the players have now finished attending the club, manager Martin Foyle used a group text message to inform all the players this morning, whilst I personally met with the other club employees. We believed it best not to promise payment on a date we could not guarantee whilst the cashflow crisis continues. Once again we will manage any emergency situations as they arise.
At this time we have an immediate cash requirement of approximately £135k to meet Wages; PAYE and football creditors and VAT (due 7May).
In the medium term we will seek shareholders agreement to launch a Share Issue and also a Debenture scheme where supporters can purchase a seat for the next five years with accompanying facilities.
Ground development continues to progress with a realistic timescale for further cash injection into the club being April 2014.
Keyte added, "we have completed a season where we knew our FL funding was to be £500k less than in League 2. We have also recorded gate money approx £240k less than the previous season. We knew also that the ten FL contracts that run to 30 June 2013 would stretch us and all in all we have fallen three months short of the date when the necessary adjustments can be made.
In addition, we now also have to manage through the loss of the £215k 'parachute payment' which ends this June.
At this time we have an immediate cash requirement of approximately £135k to meet Wages; PAYE and football creditors and VAT (due 7May).
In the medium term we will seek shareholders agreement to launch a Share Issue and also a Debenture scheme where supporters can purchase a seat for the next five years with accompanying facilities.
Ground development continues to progress with a realistic timescale for further cash injection into the club being April 2014.
Keyte added, "we have completed a season where we knew our FL funding was to be £500k less than in League 2. We have also recorded gate money approx £240k less than the previous season. We knew also that the ten FL contracts that run to 30 June 2013 would stretch us and all in all we have fallen three months short of the date when the necessary adjustments can be made.
In addition, we now also have to manage through the loss of the £215k 'parachute payment' which ends this June.
We are now a non-league club with outside funding of just £50k for the 2013-14 season, when League 2 clubs are now receiving approx £800k funding from the Football League.
Our revenue will have fallen from £1.8M in 2011-12 to a budgeted £900k in 2013-14 based on an average crowd of 1,800. We are therefore assessing all lines of expenditure with the player wages budget likely to reduce by at least £100k from last season and £700k less than our league 2 budget in 2011-12.
The picture is one where we have short term cash problems with a brighter future twelve months ahead.
Next season will be another tough year but in Martin Foyle and Andy Porter we have a management team with the necessary experience to work through this period and I have every faith in them to produce a team to punch above its weight again next season."
