Forget the past and
NEW CHAIRMAN ISSUES RALLYING CRY
GATESHEAD chairman Neil Pinkerton has issued a passionate plea for the club to move on from the crisis that almost took them out of business 12 months ago.
The catastrophic reign of former owner Dr Ranjan Varghese and controversial financial advisor Joseph Cala came to a head last summer when the Heed were pushed to the brink.
Many insiders believe that Gateshead moved to within 72 hours of going out of existence as unpaid bills and disputes with a number of local businesses came to a head.
But with the help of the Gateshead Soul Supporters’ Trust and a number of local businessmen, the Heed’s future was secured at the 11th hour.
Gateshead also managed to secure their full-time status, although they were powerless to prevent being forcibly relegated into the National League North as a punishment for financial
irregularities during time on Tyneside.
Pinkerton was named as the first chairman of a supporter-led consortium and quickly set about rebuilding the club with a newly reinforced group of directors.
Former Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson was appointed as Gateshead’s player-manager and he worked with assistant manager Ian Watson to hastily assemble a squad capable of competing in non-league’s second tier.
Williamson’s talented side gelled quickly and were challenging for a play-off place when the Covid-19 epidemic brought an end to the 2019/20 season. All thoughts are now turning
Varghese’s towards the next step of Gateshead’s rebuilding process under supporterled ownership – and Pinkerton believes that should start by moving on from Varghese’s reign.
He told The Sunday Sun: “The previous ownership, and their time here, has been eradicated, there is nothing of them left to discuss.
“That phase of the club’s history is done and it’s now a case of having a vision of what we can achieve with the resources we have.
“We have great staff at the club, a loyal fanbase and it’s now about how we make the club sustainable for the future.
“We are in a decent position, but obviously without any income in the near future, you have to start looking and thinking we need decisions from the authorities.
“We have made decisions to safeguard the club and we want to look after our staff and I think we have loyalty and respect in return from them.
“It has been a learning process, we are all learning together, but as a club, we are also moving on together.”
Pinkerton was also keen to stress the importance of the club continuing their hard work to rebuild relationships with businesses and the local community.
Gateshead have worked hard to ensure there is a different, more positive feel around the International Stadium since last summer’s takeover,