NEXT HOME GAME - TBC
NEXT AWAY GAME - SUPPORTERS XI ARE PLAYING WORCESTER AT MALVERN ON SUNDAY AUGUST 3rd AT 3.00pm

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Brady Organised Players Meeting

After extra training on Sunday, Jon Brady gathered the players together on Monday to hold their own inquest over recent performances without the management present.

Whilst the game produced a much stronger performance, the noticable difference was a pre-match "huddle" of all the players.

The players continue to build their bonds by going off to Birmingham tonight for a Christmas night out - their only chance without a midweek game.


Stansfield stakes his claim

Adam Stansfield came off the bench and scored an excellent goal with only his second touch of the ball for the Bulls this afternoon. Looking fully fit he has probably staked a good claim for a starting place in next weeks Trophy game at Bognor.

Reporting for BBC Hereford and Worcester, Keith Hall suggested that after Stansfield had scored his instant reaction was to come to the bench and point out that he was a goalscorer, put me in the team.

Stansfield replied that it was because his wife was watching!

"You have to respect the decisions of management. What they say goes. You've just got to try and prove that you can put yourself in contention for next week," he said.

The York manager, Billy McEwan, spoke well of Stansfield in an interview for BBC Radio York.

"They brought their sub on, he's a good player, showed a bit of class. That's why he has played for Yeovil, he's got League experience, quality finish.

"Just their luck that they brought him on!"

Jeannin, Brady and Ipoua were all booked this afternoon. Brady now has five cards and will probably miss the Trophy Game next Saturday.


Super Sub Sinks City

Adam Stansfield came off the subs bench and made an immediate impact as Hereford United claimed all three points in a scrappy encounter against York City. Graham Turner made several changes, five in total, to freshen up the side following last weeks unacceptable performance against Stockport. There was still no place for Simon Travis and Tony James, Jamie Pitman, Andy Williams and Craig Mawson were all dropped to the bench. Danny Carey-Bertram was not even amongst the substitutes.

Craig Stanley had found Graham Evans early on but he mis-hit his shot and it flew harmlessley wide. James Dudgeon headed narrowly over for York before Guy Ipoua showed some fantastic skill to help himself past three defenders but he fired over. The Minstermen's top scorer Clayton Donaldson was the most threatening player to the United goal and almost broke the deadlock with a shot from thirty yards, but Wayne Brown managed to tip it inches over the bar.

Jon Brady and Ipoua linked up well to win a first in a spell of four successive corners. Tamika Mkandawire came closest from the third, which he met well with his head but 'keeper David Stockdale managed to get a hand to it. Levent Yalcin shot just over as York ended the first half with the better of the goalscoring chances.

Andy Ferrell mis-cued soon after the restart as did Rob Purdie before Mkandawire beat the 'keeper with a header, from a free kick, but couldn't find the target as The Bulls began to look dangerous. Ferrell should have given United the lead but headed over from close range having got on the end of Brady's hooked cross while at the other end stand-in-skipper Mkandawire gave the crowd a scare when a through ball evaded him and Joe O'Neil chipped just over the bar.

Hereford finally broke through with twenty one minutes remaining when Stansfield netted for the first time this season. Just two minutes after his introduction he controlled Stanley's cross on his chest and, with his back to the goal, unleashed an awesome shot into the far top corner leaving Stockdale helpless. Stansfield was again involved just minutes later when Hereford should have put the game beyond doubt. He nodded the ball on to Ipoua, who beat his man, before seeing his low shot saved by the legs of the goalie. Purdie then hit the rebound wide with just a couple of defenders covering the goal.

Andy Williams came on to give the hosts a whole new-look strike force with ten minutes to go as York put the United defence under some pressure, which was dealt with well. Dean Beckwith and man of the match Ferrell stood out in the defensive roles. Hereford were able to break away more often now and almost got a second as a result of a break down the left which started and finished with Stansfield as he turned Purdie's cross over from close range. There was one last scare for the majority in the crowd of 1,950 in injury time though. Mark Convery struck the foot of the post following a centred ball from the right, much to the frustration of the 127 in the travelling army.

Graham Turner will be much more happy with his sides performance this week, having slammed his team following their F.A. Cup exit. His changes paid off and he will also be delighted that Stansfield had an immediate impact when he came on. Despite the game being a scrappy one, not helped by a card happy referee, United will be much more content after this game.

HUFC: Brown, Green, Beckwith, Mkandawire, Jeannin, Purdie, Stanley, Ferrell, Brady, Ipoua, Evans. Subs: Mawson, James, Pitman, Williams, Stansfield.

YCFC: Stockdale, Andrews, McGurk, Dudgeon, Bertos, Yalcin, Barwick, Dunning, Horwood, O'Neill, Donaldson. Subs: Hotte, Price, Porter, Convery, Stewart.


Conference Results Round Up

Accrington now have a four point lead at the top after beating Kidderminster 2-0, while second placed Grays lost 3-0 at Morecambe (4th). Exeter are third after edging past Scarboro 1-0. Halifax grabbed a late winner at Canvey to stay fifth, and Stevenage beat bottom side Forest Green 2-1 after being behind for half the match. Woking (9th) found their shooting boots to put four past Altrincham, and Gravesend (10th) slip a place after a goalless draw at Burton. Crawley pulled away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Tamworth, and Aldershot's fine run continues after a 2-0 win over ten man Southport who had loan signing Chris Brass dismissed. Dagenham beat Cambridge 1-0 for their first win in seven.

Today's results lift the Bulls to seventh, moving above today's opponents York.


Shot Shy Bulls Edge Past York

Adam Stansfield came off the bench to score inside two minutes of his introduction to give the Bulls all three points in a scrappy encounter.

Graham Turner made several changes but there was again no place in the 16 for Simon Travis, who confirmed that he was fit. The changed side failed to get a shot on target until Stansfield's strike but certainly showed more effort and passion than last week's match.

The crowd had voted with it's feet after two dismal home defeats - with an attendance of 1,950 showing a loss of home supporters of over a thousand.

Full Report Later


Coverage of today's game

There is no internet coverage of today's game by BBC Hereford and Worcester.

However the Official York City Website says that every York game is covered by BBC Radio York.

Assuming that is correct go to: http://www.ycfc.net/live-coverage.php


Friday, December 09, 2005

Exeter change their minds about seats

Exeter City have decided to allow Aldershot some seats for their game at St James on Boxing Day.

Yesterday it was reported that the Grecians had told the Shots that no seats would be available and that prices would rise. It was also thought that these conditions would apply to the Hereford game.

ShotsWeb have reported:

Further to discussions with Exeter City throughout Friday, a small amount of seats have now been made available to Shots Fans for the Boxing Day match.

Following the reversal of Exeter's position on seat allocation, Aldershot Town has stated that it will make every effort to provide seats for all Shots Fans requesting them on Boxing Day. The club fully appreciates that Senior Citizens would prefer to be seated for matches and every effort will be made to assist these fans.


It is not known whether the price rise has been dropped.


New Bulls Book out Tomorrow

The new book about Hereford United is launched tomorrow. Written by Denise Powell and David Edge it is called 50 Greats of Hereford United Football Club.

Late this afternoon Denise was interviewed by BBC Hereford and Worcester. She was asked by Trevor Owens how she narrowed the list down to just fifty players.

"There were several players we could have included and perhaps should have included but it was our choice. It's 50 greats not the 50 greatest.

"We chose about 35 players each and about 30 of those were the same and we spoke to a couple of loyal supporters to see who they would put in the book."

A few of the players in the book include Charlie Thompson, Ray Daniels, John Charles, Peter Issac, Billy Meadows, Brian Owen, Stuart Phillips and Steve White.

"There were several we left out. We went for the ones who were great as far as we were concerned.

"Three current players are in and we went for Tony James, Tamika Mkandawire and Jamie Pitman."

The launch is at the club shop tomorrow and several former players are expected to attend.

"We definitely got Tony Byrne, Dudley Tyler Peter Timms and Stuart Phillips, and hopefully Peter Issac, Colin Addison, possibly Ricky George, and Roger Griffiths, and Tommy Hughes."


It will be a tough match says McEwan

Both Graham Turner, the Hereford United manager and York City manager, Billy McEwan, has been talking to the media about tomorrow's game.

McEwan watched the Bulls last Saturday when they lost to Stockport but is taking nothing for granted.

"It will be a tough game. They are a good footballing side and it has the makings of a good match. If we allow them to play, they will cause us problems," he told This is York.

Graham Turner thinks York are dangerous opponents.

"On paper it's a decent game for us. It's one where they're above us in the League so players will look at that," Turner told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"For me it's deciding what the side will be, what the system will be and making sure players are ready to go out and do the job better than we did last week.

"If we give York a start they could do exactly the same as Stockport did to us. Sit back, sit deep, soak up any pressure and break occasionally.

"So we've got to make sure we're right on song against York"

Turner also spoke about the return to training of goalkeeper Wayne Brown.

"He had his plaster removed. He started with some light goalkeeping at the start of the week and built it up and he's looked okay.

"He's recovered very quickly."


Team News: Bulls vs York City

The Bulls welcome Wayne Brown back to the squad after completing a full week of training, leaving only Stacy Coldicott on the sidelines. Both Ryan Green and Craig Stanley were reported to have picked up knocks against Stockport, but are fit. Changes are likely to be made after two straight home defeats, with Simon Travis and Adam Stansfield pushing hard for starting spots.

York come to Edgar Street without Emmanuel Panther, who missed a midweek reserve match for personal reasons. The Minstermen have gained only one draw in six games without the influential Scot. Mark Hotte, who has missed the same games after both players were injured at home to Canvey, played the full 90 minutes in the reserves and will be in contention for the first time in nearly two months after a dislocated shoulder.


Weymouth Report Loss Close To £1million

Weymouth have reported a loss of £886,277 for the year to May 2005, trebling the loss made in the previous year.

Chairman Martyn Harrison told the Dorset Echo: "We paid out somewhere in the region of £300,000 to pay off the contracts of a number of players during last season, but their departures, coupled with the arrival of manager Garry Hill, chief executive Gary Calder and coach Kevin Hales have allowed us to move forward."

The £300,000 figure includes an estimated £200,000 paid out to former manager Steve Claridge.

Total outgoings rose by more than £500,000 to £1.29million, but income fell by £15,000 to £561,871. A £300,000 bank loan was also taken out during the season. Gates at the Wessex Stadium are averaging just over 1300, despite the side being top of Conference South.

The club do, however, have assets of just over £2million with the prime asset, the Wessex Stadium, earmarked for development.


Only Coldicott remains unfit

Out of the Hereford United squad only Stacy Coldicott remains injured and will definitely miss tomorrow's home game against York City.

Graham Turner has told BBC Hereford and Worcester that he has no new injury concerns and confirmed that Wayne Brown is back in training.

Brown is unlikely to feature tomorrow but could be in contention for a start in the Trophy game at Bognor Regis assumimg Chester have not cup-tied him.


Conference News Round-Up

Aldershot striker Roscoe D'Sane has again broken down in training after a fifteen month injury nightmare. D'Sane will again see a specialist over ongoing problems and has shelved plans for a first outing for the first team since October 2004. Cambridge winger Courtney Pitt has returned to light training after a medial ligament injury six weeks ago. The winger will spend next week at Lilleshall and aims to be back in contention by the end of the month. Cambridge have released non-contract defender Tommy Laws, who played five times for the reserves but failed to make a first team appearance. Accrington want to make Wigan loan player Phil Edwards a permanent signing in the January window. The 20 year old has played in five straight league wins to take Accrington top of the Conference.


Ross County Hit Novel Plan To Fight Debts

Scottish Second Division side Ross County will cease to employ a football team in a novel plan to fight their way out of £850,000 debts.

Ross County Ltd will become a property company owning and operating primarily their Dingwall stadium, while the football club will be franchised out to Global Highland Management Services - a recruitment and management services company operated by former County chairman Roy MacGregor.

A budget will be allocated to the football side, with a Director of Football appointed to oversee the team. The franchise agreement lasts for three years.

However, the club have urged supporters to help raise £70,000 to help solve a short term financial shortfall. Manager John Robertson resigned along with his assistant in October over planned cuts and the club have consistently lost money.


Chester City On The Move?

Ever controversial Chester City Chairman Stephen Vaughan has applied to the Football League to stage the December 28th derby with Wrexham in Widnes - and the move could become permanent if Chester Council don't give Vaughan what he wants.

Vaughan, who has previously been linked with both Tranmere and Everton, purchased shared in Widnes Vikings Rugby League club recently and claims that Halton Council, who took over operation of their 14,500 capacity stadium in 1999, want a Football League side to share the ground.

Vaughan told the Chester Evening Leader: "I've had enough, Chester City brings in over £2m of revenue to the economy of Chester annually and gives regular entertainment to 3,000 of the ratepayers. I have ploughed in excess of £4m into Chester City and have had little help from the council during that time. You have to ask yourselves whether they want a football club in the city.

"The Halton council does all it can for Widnes Vikings. They want a Football League club and we are giving the idea of moving serious consideration."

Vaughan has previously complained about the restrictive clauses on the lease for the Saunders Honda (Deva) Stadium, limiting the possible income from non-footballing activities to help fund the club. However the Council have, so far, refused to alter the leases.


Thursday, December 08, 2005

Bookies back Bulls against York

Hereford United are in with a good chance to defeat York City if Skybet is to be beleived.

However most bookies made Hereford likely to defeat Stockport County last weekend in the Cup and they were proved wrong. And the week before they also fancied Hereford to defeat Exeter.

Skybet are quoting:

Hereford 10/11 Draw 9/4 York 5/2

Meanwhile Ladbrooks have the Bulls at 14-1 to top the Conference. Most others quote 10-1. Probably a safer bet is for Hereford to be promoted. Currently Bet365 are quoting 4-1.

In the Cup competitions, Hereford are at 14-1 to win the Trophy and 33-1 to win the LDV, both with Skybet.

The chances of a Hereford player scoring the most goals in the Conference now seems unlikely. Danny Carey-Bertram is at 33-1 and Guy Ipoua at 66-1.


Barnet could bid for Carey-Bertram

Paul Fairclough, the Barnet manager, is reported to have 100k to spend in the transfer window and is said to want to improve his strikeforce.

According to the Barnet Times, the Bees missed a host of chances last Saturday against Bury which has prompted Fairclough to look for a new player.

"We are losing games because we are not scoring. We are looking for new players but we won't just spend what money we have got on something for the sake of it. It's got to be what's right for us," he said.

Compared with the free-scoring last season, finding the net this campaign has proved difficult. In ten home league games, the Bees have scored only ten times. Even Grazioli has only scored five in the league to date.

Fairclough is known to be keen only on recruiting young players and, with limited funds, it seems inevitable he will shop in non-league circles.

The paper suggests that strikers Andy Bishop (York City), Craig Mackail-Smith (Dagenham & Redbridge) and Danny Carey-Bertram (Hereford United), all of whom have been picked by Fairclough in the past to represent the England U23 side, will invariably come into the frame.


Exeter Raise Prices Again To Cover Police Costs

Exeter City have again raised admission prices to cover Police costs.

Aldershot Town have announced that admission prices for the game at St James' Park will be £1 higher than usual, and that no seating will be available for away fans for the Boxing Day clash. The Police had wanted an earlier kick-off, but accepted a 2pm time after negotiation.

It is likely that the game four days later with the Bulls will also operate under the same conditions, with terrace prices rising to £12. Details will be confirmed when available.


Turner still hopeful of play-off place

Graham Turner, the Hereford United director of football, is convinced of at least a place in the play-offs.

He told the Hereford Times of his disappointment at losing the Cup game last Saturday, but reaffirmed his philosophy about how he wants his squad to play.

"The aftermath of it all was a Sunday morning training session. In training after a defeat like that, the tendancy is to go back to basics.

"We have tried to sign players who are comfortable on the ball. We have tried to pass the ball and aim to get the ball into areas to have a strike at goal or get a cross in.

"We will not change from the philosophy of passing the ball, that is our best way and is suitable to the players we have got.

"That method of playing has seen us finish as runners-up in each of the last two years and I am convinced it will see us in, at least, the play-offs.

"The responsibilties lie with me and coach John Trewick but, in particular, with the players to respond to the defeat, respond to the critism."


Burton To Stage Man Utd Tie At Home

After discussions with the Police and local authorities, Burton will play their FA Cup Third Round tie against Manchester United at their Pirelli Stadium.

Derby County's Pride Park was muted as a venue after the draw was made on safety grounds, but the decision has been made to move the tie to Sunday to avoid clashing with Derby's home match with Burnley.

The FA ruled out switching cup ties on financial grounds three seasons ago after Farnboro moved their game with Arsenal to Highbury. Only a couple of matches have been switched since, with local venues to the home club being used where crowd safety issues have been prominent.


Kandol Jeopardises Move To Darlington

Dagenham striker Tresor Kandol has jeopardised his £50,000 move to Darlington by going missing for three days.

Kandol, who is on loan at Darlington until the deal is finalised in the January window, was given permission to attend a christening with the Quakers having no game on Saturday. However, he failed to return for a Sunday training session in preparation for Tuesday's game at Shrewsbury and failed to attend the match either.

Kandol, who is yet to score in three games for his new club, is believed to have been in a minor road accident but Quakers boss David Hodgson is unhappy with the striker, and has scheduled a disciplinary meeting for today. Dagenham boss John Still has insisted that the £50,000 transfer is a done deal with no get-outs.

In other Conference news, ex-Halifax winger Dean Howell is back with the club after being told by Colchester that his six month deal will not be renewed in January. Howell left the Shay in the summer after a successful season but has only made one start for his new club. He will train with the Shaymen but cannot play for them until January.


Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Travis may be back on Saturday

Simon Travis is said by this morning's Hereford Times to be likely to come back into contention for Saturday's game against York City.

There have been rumours that Travis wasn't happy about being left out of the squad that played Stockport in the FA Cup last Saturday.

However Graham Turner has told the paper that he may go into the transfer market in January.

"There is a distinct possibility that we will strengthen in the January window but these players are being paid by the club and it is too easy to push them to one side and look for replacements.

"That, over the years, is mainly how clubs have got themselves into financial difficulties."


Shortage of Cash at Cambridge

Another Conference club has stated that it needs to put its finances in order.

Cambridge City finance director, Nick Pomery, has told the Cambridge Evening News that the club is losing around £250,000 per year.

Their ground is owned by Bideawhile and the club is hoping to buy it back.

Major cutbacks since the summer have seen the club's budgeted running losses for the season fall from £1.1m to £250,000.

"Reducing the running loss is in part reliant on getting some form of agreement on the ground situation because these two things do go together," said Pomery.

"The problem of any business where you're trying to go from a large loss-making situation is that while it's relatively quick cutting the costs back, you reach a point where you can't cut them any further.

"We've cut all the costs we can and now we've got to build the income streams and that's a hard job, particularly because the club has dropped down a division.

"We have to be slightly more creative and innovative in the things which, hopefully, will generate income. We have a lot of plans we're working on, but we need to make sure these things turn out realities."

Pomery added that while there were few fears over United making it through the campaign, cash still had to be found to get the club through next summer.

"The work we're doing, which we need to make sure happens, is to get us through the close season. We're not in the position where we can relax about it because there's still a lot to do."


FA Investigate Mansfield Loans

The FA are investigating over £1m of loans Mansfield Town FC have paid to it's Chairman, Keith Haslam.

Haslam, the only director of the club and a full time employee enjoying a salary of over £66,000 last year, has received over half a million in interest free loans personally, and his conpany Stags Ltd has received a similar amount intended to purchase land for an as yet unbuilt academy. Company law prevents companies loaning directors more than £5,000 with penalites including imprisonment.

Haslam assured fans in the summer of 2002 that the loans would be repaid and no more money would be borrowed, but the accounts for the following year showed over £250,000 of the loans had been written off, and the 2004 accounts showed a further £90,000 had been loaned without any sign of repayment in any of the published accounts.

The supporters trust, TEAM Mansfield, has instructed a solicitor to investigate action against Haslam with the solicitor involved acknowledging the loans are totally illegal. Whether Mansfield will regain their money or Haslam will face charges remains to be seen.


Conference News Round-Up

Cambridge are yet to receive a response on their offer to buy their ground, but are continuing discussions. Aldershot have extended the loan of Tarkan Mustafa to Billericay for another month, but have given youth team player Ryan Scott his first professional contract. Burton have earned the right to face Manchester United in the FA Cup after beating Burscough 4-1 in last night's Round Two tie. Exeter are hoping to sign winger John McGrath in January after they failed to sign the player in the summer despite a successful trial. McGrath has turned down Weymouth and York since returning from a spell in his native Ireland.


Kidderminster Sack Watkiss

Kidderminster Harriers have sacked manager Stuart Watkiss today after a bad start to the season. The statement from the Board of Directors on the official site reads:

"We would like to thank Stuart Watkiss for his efforts during the difficult and extremely traumatic period whilst he has been at Aggborough.
"However, it is felt that the club would benefit from a change in direction in football team matters. With this is mind, Stuart's contract has been terminated with immediate effect.
Martin O'Connor will take over as Caretaker-Manager for the immediate future."

Watkiss was manager for one year and one week, managing the club for 50 matches but winning just 15.

Updated: Kidderminster Chairman Barry Norgrove told the Harriers official site: "We just felt that, overall, results weren't good enough, I think if you take this season as a whole, we haven't performed well enough in the Conference and we just think it's time for a change.
"We went on a run of half a dozen games or so without winning, which obviously made a lot of the supporters upset, understandably.
"Admittedly there are some games where we've been hard done by, with late goals or bad refereeing or whatever, but at the end of the day only final results will get us back into the Football League, which is where we want to be. The play-offs are still our goal this season."


Preview: Bulls vs York

The Bulls completed a double last season over the then struggling relegated side. This season, however, the two sides are much more evenly matched with both teams on the same number of points.

The Bulls scored five goals without reply in the two Conference games last season. A 3-0 win at the then Bootham Crescent brought chants of "Welcome to the Conference", while York were firmly entrenched in the lower half of the table as two first half goals, including a Rob Purdie penalty, extended York's winless streak to six games. The Bulls also hold a slight advantage overall - with it being 12-11 with five draws in 28 meetings.

York come into the game again on a long winless streak. Five league and cup matches without a win have brought the early pacesetters to a halt with just one goal in that run, but the Bulls should be very wary of a potent strike force that can turn that streak around at any time. Non-league internationals Andy Bishop and Clayton Donaldson have 16 goals between them but neither have scored in four games. York's defence is vulnerable on its travels, having conceded twice as many Conference goals away than home

The Bulls will look to bounce back from two straight 2-0 home defeats. The players were called in for an inquest after Saturday's surrender in the FA Cup and will have received some stern words from Graham Turner.

Hereford United vs York City, Edgar Street, 3.00pm Saturday 10th December.


Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Grays drop two points

Grays Athletic missed their chance to move back into top place in the Conference this evening.

They looked destined to defeat Altrincham 1-0, but a last minute equaliser thwarted their hopes. Accrington Stanley remain in top spot.

The game was delayed by thirty minutes due to floodlight failure.

Hereford United lie in eighth position. They have played 18 matches with a return of 29 points.


York's Trust finds life difficult

York City's Supporters' Trust has reported a loss of £10,178 for the year ending June 30, 2005. This compares with a surplus of £11,940 in the previous year.

As a result of the reduction in income, the Trust's donations to the football club during the year ending June, 2005 fell from £42,531 to £36,087.

Trust membership also decreased from 2,044 on June 30, 2004 to 1,364 a year later.

The financial impact of that drop was countered by the addition of 53 new life members but still amounted to nearly £1,500.

Referring to the loss of members, the Trust's financial statement, compiled by Robinson & Co chartered accountants, said: "As the experience of other Supporters' Trusts has shown, membership levels can decline after the apparent urgency of an initial crisis. While disappointing, it was not surprising that there was a reduction in the number of Trust members in 2004/2005."

The statement also praised City fans' fundraising efforts since the £500,000 collected as a rescue package in 2003 but reiterated the need to continue and improve a vital income stream for the club.

It said: "In addition to `normal' income streams such as gate receipts and merchandise, in the past three years City's supporters have donated around £700,000 for the benefit of their club - a remarkable achievement. Going forward, it is important for fundraising efforts to be maintained and developed further."

There were calls for a supporters trust at Hereford several seasons ago. An initial meeting approved the idea but it still failed to get off the ground.

The call for a trust came at a time when finances at Edgar Street were at an all time low.


Monday, December 05, 2005

Gascoigne exits Kettering

Paul Gascoigne has left Kettering after just over a month at the club. Kevin Wilson is back in charge.

Below is a Statement by Imraan Ladak, the Kettering chairman.

"Last night I spoke to Paul Gascoigne who told me "I will save you the pleasure of sacking me. I will walk away. I quit".

Last nights conversation was a result of thirty seven seperate incidents I have had to deal with since the appointment of Paul Gascoigne as Manager.

I find myself in a position where I feel it would be detrimental to the football club to list all these incidents, but following a statement which has been posted on Paul Gascoigne's official website, I also have a duty to myself, the football club and it's supporters to respond to Paul's comments.

Unfortuntately Paul Gascoigne has been under the influence of alcohol before, during and after several first team games and training sessions. This has been noticeable to the board of Directors, players, coaching staff and sections of the media. A referee and fourth official have also filed a report with the FA.

I have tried to help Paul through this difficult period but gave an undertaking to the board prior to my takeover that if Paul hit the bottle I would remove him as manager.

Paul has not reacted well to the news and has made numerous threats that if I do not sell him the club he will use his name and the media to turn the players and supporters against me. This has already begun with Paul calling a number of the first team last night, under the influence of alcohol. Paul even told players not to report for training at MK Dons where they were due to commence full-time training.

I have not interfered with team selection or player purchases and departures but have been disappointed with the way two players in particular have been treated by Paul.

I also made clear that I felt Paul had turned a winning team into a confused and unsettled one by playing players out of position and being drunk on the team bus and in the dressing room for his team talks.

Paul has made a number of allegations which are unfounded and libellous but all I want is for Paul to seek professional medical assistance for his addictions and to stop taking his frustration out by trying to unsettle this club further.

I would also like to make clear that I told Paul I would not bring any of this into the public domain unless I was forced to do so.

Paul is not a shareholder or Director of Kettering Town Football Club and I have the unanimous support of the Board of Directors in the action that I have taken.

I would like to pay tribute to the players of Kettering Town who have continued to show the utmost professionalism during the last six weeks and hope they can continue to maintain this over what is clearly going to be a difficult period for this club.

I can also confirm that I have turned down Paul's offer to purchase the club.

Once the media hype dies down we will be left with the same supporters and manager which were here before myself and Paul arrived, with a similar playing squad and exactly the same ambitions as stated two months ago.

Paul was my childhood idol and when sober is a wonderful person. Last night was genuinely the most difficult decision I have had to make, but my head won the battle with my heart. I am shocked and bitterly disappointed by Paul's reaction.

However my responsibility is foremost to Kettering Town Football Club and not Paul Gascoigne.


Update: Gascoigne was arrested late last night outside the Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool after a member of the press said he had been attacked.

Kettering are due to play at Alfreton, who recently entertained Hereford United, this evening.

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