|
|
Rage On would like to express its concern at the news of John Gunn's withdrawal from the consortium negotiating to buy Robin Herd's shares in Oxford United; a decision which effectively ends Grenoble's interest in the deal. We feel that it is totally incorrect for the football club to blame negative coverage in the local press for Gunn's decision; as far as we are aware the only article in the Oxford Mail actually vindicated Gunn. Of far greater concern is the statement from Gunn himself that he had been given incorrect financial information concerning the club's position and the conditions for developing The Manor and land around Minchery Farm.
This is a reflection of the club's attitude over the past three years and it is an attitude that could ultimately lead to the end of league football in Oxfordshire. The club is currently approximately £13.5 million in debt and is losing around £12,000 per week. It has difficulty paying the wages of players and staff, it is unable to finance routine maintenance work on the Manor and it is clearly unable to strengthen the playing squad. This appalling state of affairs has been exacerbated by the poor decision to commence construction on the major capital project of the new stadium without ensuring that the finances were in place beforehand. The situation that the club has been in for much of the recent past of having to sell its best players in order to survive is clearly no longer tenable; We believe that there is a very real possibility that the club could soon cease to exist. In order to prevent that from happening we call on those responsible for the current situation - Keith Cox, Geoff Coppock, Nick Harris - to accept responsibility for their actions and to issue a plan of action and an apology to all Oxford supporters.
We insist that the club honours its commitment to the supporters to call an Emergency Open Meeting (or maybe a prayer meeting would be more apt?) where we can be in a position to ask any pertinent questions, such as: why was John Gunn not fully informed of the club's financial position from the start? what contingencies are in place for the club to continue trading? what options are being considered for a ground for next season?
We also call on Robin Herd, who has claimed to be an Oxford United supporter, to expedite the sale of his shareholding to any remaining interested party in order for the club to survive. If he is truly an Oxford fan then he must now put the club's interests before his own. We would also expect him to be present at any Open Meeting to answer questions relating to the sale of his shares.
We are determined to keep professional football in Oxford, as the Nationwide League Division 2 is preferable to the Rymans League Division 3, but we cannot see the club continuing whilst the current board remains in power. To reiterate: we demand the current board of directors take responsibility for their actions and draw up an immediate and public plan of action; that they apologise to United's supporters for creating this mess; and we call on Robin Herd to sell his shareholding to whoever can guarantee the continuation of a professional football club in Oxford.
The actions of the board are the root cause of this unique and appalling mess. Whilst we do not have any solutions, had the board taken heed of concerns expressed in Rage On over the last three years the club would not be faced with such a worrying predicament.
Paul Beevers, Martin Brodetsky, Mark Gunther
The editors
RAGE ON
