Ferriby owner submits plan to relocate
CHADWICK EXPLAINS NAME CHANGE APPLICATION
NORTH Ferriby United owner Carl Chadwick says he will make a decision at the end of the season over a controversial proposal to take the club out of the village.
Speculation has grown over the weekend Chadwick plans to follow through with the idea of previous owner Jamie Waltham (pictured) in moving the club to Dunswell Park after details emerged that a name change application has been lodged with the FA.
Chadwick denies there is an immediate plan to relocate the club, but has admitted it is under consideration and a name change application has been made by Waltham on the club’s behalf.
With gates reduced and Chadwick having to fund the shortfall, the owner says he shares Waltham’s vision that ending the club’s long history in the village and taking them to Hull would grow attendances. And he has suggested people who live in the village actually oppose the football club.
However, he insists it is a decision which will be taken at the end of the season and his preference remains to keep Ferriby where they are.
“Last season Jamie started the process of moving the club closer to Hull and renaming it East Hull. This was down to the fact North Ferriby, despite attaining an excellent level, have never been well supported by the people of Hull,” Chadwick told Hull Live.
“Jamie believed this was because Hull is a very working class area and North Ferriby is viewed by a lot of the working classes as elitist and where the rich people live. This coupled with the fact 90 per cent of the village don’t attend and actually oppose the club has resulted in historically low attendances.
“He told me this when I took control but he knows I am my own man and told me to find out for myself which I am in the process of doing. Any application needs to be in before early December so he asked me if I wanted him to continue the work he started last year as an option when I’ve decided what the best thing to do with the club is.
“I agreed to this as it’s an avenue we need to explore to get the best out of the level of football for the area. Personally, we are both working class and both from East Hull and while there has been a mass of good players and some good teams over the years from east Hull like Reckitts and more recently Crown, it’s a bit of a shame east Hull has never had a team above Humber Premier League level especially with over 200,000 residents, so yes it’s an option the club are exploring with the FA but I haven’t made my final decision on it.
“I’ll make it towards the end of the season once we’ve taken into account attendances and general support for North Ferriby between now and then as when it comes to football people vote with their attendance and at the minute they are not voting.”
The name change application is set to be considered by the FA at a council meeting in early 2019, with the application by Ferriby to change ground at the end of this current season and play their games in Dunswell at a ground owned by Waltham.
Waltham’s involvement with Ferriby again will no doubt anger many, with suggestions the former owner is pulling the strings.
Chadwick denied the suggestion and said his close friend is only helping with a name change application because he had already done the groundwork on the move.
“Jamie has no official role at the club, the shares are owned by me and my dad Terry,” insisted Chadiwck.
“Jamie started the process last year and I have given him permission to act on behalf of the club on this topic only. The only other role he has is paying his £10 to come and watch games, something I wish more would do.”
A petition to keep the Villagers in North Ferriby has already been set up with over a thousand people having already signed in protest against the proposal.
Both Waltham and now Chadwick have taken a swipe at local residents, businesses and supporters for not coming to games and backing the club, with attendances dropping to around 150 for home matches as the team struggles in the Evo-stik Premier Division.
Chadwick’s drive for change comes from a financial standpoint, and he insists if gates go up and he can make it work on and off the field, his preference would be to keep the club in the village.
“I have been committed to keeping North Ferriby where it is and striving towards a model that can look after itself financially,” explained Chadwick.
“Yes we’re exploring the options and I wouldn’t be exploring them if it wasn’t a possibility regardless of how remote.”