Chester City For Sale...

[britneyspearsisgod]

Club for sale

Official Club Statement

Chester City Football Club was officially put up for sale yesterday (25 Jan. 2010). The owners will accept bids from the CFU, local businessmen or other interested parties.

The club will be sold for £1.00 on condition that the purchaser agrees to pay all outstanding creditors and provide proof of funding to take the club forward.

Full disclosure will be made available to potential purchasers, subject to proof of funding being made available.

Mike Blood of Brabners Chaffe Street, 55 Kings Street, Manchester, M2 4LQ has been instructed to act on the clubs behalf in connection with the sale.

Chester City up for sale for £1

Chester City have been put up for sale for just £1 in the hope of side stepping Wednesday's High Court date in London over an unpaid £26,000 tax bill.

The Blue Square Premier bottom club are due to face a winding-up petition, brought by HM Revenue & Customs.

But if they find a new owner prepared to pay off the crisis club's current debts, Chester can still be saved.

And after turning down one deal, Chester's current owners, the Vaughan family, are still negotiating.

An official statement from the club read: "Stephen Vaughan Junior is prepared to sell 100% control of Chester City Football Club for one pound.

"The new owners will take on all existing creditors and will need to guarantee to pay existing creditors of the new company."

Chester director of football Morell Maison had told BBC Radio Merseyside on Saturday: "We're quite a way down the road.

"We're at the tricky part where the Vaughan family have to make some decisions. They have rejected an offer out of hand.

"They are mulling over another and there are negotiations going backwards and forwards.

"We can bring as many investors to the table as we like, they still have to make a decision."

Former chairman Stephen Vaughan was forced to relinquish his hands-on role at Chester in November, after being disqualified from acting as a company director for 11 years following an investigation into alleged VAT fraud at Widnes in 2006.

Since then, his son Stephen Vaughan Jr has been at the helm.

While negotiations are in hand to save the club's long-term future, Maison,appointed by the Vaughan family on Boxing Day, has been busy with more short-term footballing issues.

Having not been paid since October, a host of Chester's more experienced players have left the Deva Stadium. And the club remain under a transfer embargo preventing them bringing anyone else in.

"There is a serious situation at the football club," said Maison. "And I have been in consultation with the PFA and the Football League all week trying to get players squeezed through.

"We've had some tough times getting players in. We're trying to relax the rules, to get one or two in, which they won't.

"We've even managed to reduce the debt in the last week but it's tough work.

So... who's the first to suggest we buy it?

It seems a shame really. I use to live on the Wirral and have seen Chester before. They haven't had much luck. But, it amazes me really. Chester isn't exactly a poor city - it's an affluent area in some circles. And there's a strong student base there. Plus, it's on Holyoaks every bloody week - you'd think they'd have better luck finding backers. But then, I did hear figures in the millions being bandied about in regards to their debt. At this stage, it seems ridiculous to see them surviving today, never mind the season.

[hugobomb]

Bet the people at MyFootballClub are wishing they had waited a year or so and buy out Chester for £1, instead of paying nearly a million for Ebbsfleet.

But still, surely a fan group could buy them? Get a couple hundred people to chip in £100 could could pay off the tax Chester owe easily. Hell, just start a Facebook page, with everyone only having to pay a tenner and you'd get the amound needed pretty fast I'd say.

This is starting to sound like a half decent idea.

[Baddar]

I'd pay if fellow EWB'ers did...

[Hobo]

EWB buys Chester City! We shall have some sort of FM newtwork game to decide who will manage them!

[hugobomb]

Chester have survived their court date, having been given a 42 day adjournment:

Chester handed 42-day adjournment

Blue Square Premier crisis club Chester City have been handed a 42-day adjournment in their bid to avoid being wound up over an unpaid tax bill.

Chester, who owe £26,125 to HM Revenue & Customs, have been put up for sale for £1 by owner Stephen Vaughan Jr.

Following Wednesday's short hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand, Chester's legal representatives were told to return on 10 March.

The club remain hopeful of attracting a new buyer to clear all their debts.

Former Chester managing director Rob Gray, who still works at the club on a day-to-day basis, told BBC Sport: "We're still in there fighting.

"The court went through all the facts and figures with our legal department and have reached this conclusion. It only took 15 minutes.

"And we're still hopeful that someone can come in with the money to clear the club's debts."

But Chester, now 29 points adrift at the bottom of the Blue Square Premier, still face a date with the football authorities.

Blue Square Premier general manager Dennis Strudwick told BBC Sport: "The Football Conference, in conjunction with the Football Association, still want to reconvene a meeting with Chester City officials as soon as possible.

"We are disappointed that the planned meeting we had with them last week to discuss how we go forward from here did not take place as planned."

So that's 42 days to get together £26,125 + £1 for buying the club

[hugobomb]

However, the club's total debt is £138,000 so that might be why nobody wants to buy them

[britneyspearsisgod]

Apparently the final total right now is £46,000 as it stands, but given their outgoings it would most likely rise the longer it continues on.

A lot of Chester fans seem to be begging for someone to put them out of their misery. I feel thankful that even in our darkest days I never got to that stage as a Bristol Rovers fan. They are truly deserving of some success for staying with the club this long.

[Summers]

50 quid each, come on EWB. Let's do it.

[Gene Kiniski]

I'll toss up a couple hundred USD for a controlling percentage.

Edited January 31, 2010 by Gene Kiniski

[hugobomb]

call it $1,000 and its a deal!

Edited January 31, 2010 by Hugobombski

[Lowerdeck]

Just got an e-mail last night, about proposals for a vote on Chester being kicked out of the Conference. Conference asked the other 23 teams (again) to vote on whether or not they should stay in.

[Gene Kiniski]

So seriously, who has good credit?

[GA!]

Chester have been kicked out, with all their results expunged after an appeal. Oxford will apparently double their lead at the top because Stevenage gained 6 points from Chester, and York 3.

[Rich]

GA, can we buy Grimsby instead so it isn't run with quite as much incompetence?

[GA!]

GA, can we buy Grimsby instead so it isn't run with quite as much incompetence?

I went to the Lincoln and Macclesfield games last week. I want to punch Neil Woods in the balls for using the same inept long ball, let the opponents do all the running strategy that didn't work when Paul Groves was manager. And then I want to punch John Fenty in the balls for hiring Neil Woods over Russell Slade.

[Rich]

GA, can we buy Grimsby instead so it isn't run with quite as much incompetence?

I went to the Lincoln and Macclesfield games last week. I want to punch Neil Woods in the balls for using the same inept long ball, let the opponents do all the running strategy that didn't work when Paul Groves was manager. And then I want to punch John Fenty in the balls for hiring Neil Woods over Russell Slade.

I went to a couple of games last year, and that was two too many, I have the same feelings as you

[GA!]

GA, can we buy Grimsby instead so it isn't run with quite as much incompetence?

I went to the Lincoln and Macclesfield games last week. I want to punch Neil Woods in the balls for using the same inept long ball, let the opponents do all the running strategy that didn't work when Paul Groves was manager. And then I want to punch John Fenty in the balls for hiring Neil Woods over Russell Slade.

I went to a couple of games last year, and that was two too many, I have the same feelings as you

I've been to four. 4-0 defeat to Crewe, then 1-1 Dagenham, 2-2 Lincoln, 1-1 Macclesfield.

[Lowerdeck]

Crap, there goes three points for the Fleet

[britneyspearsisgod]

So... who still wants to buy it?