FA PROBE INTO SHINERS’ SPAT
Missing money sparks a war of words
CONCERNS over missing cash at South Normanton Athletic are “under investigation” by Derbyshire FA as part of the fallout from the club’s voluntary relegation.
Departing manager Marc Strzyzewski insisted the call to drop two levels from the Midland League Premier Division had been designed to oust him and revealed he had reported to the matter to county chiefs.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire FA confirmed: “The only thing we can say at the minute is that it is going to be under investigation.”
Shiners chairman Phil Bailey cited the cost of putting together a competitive playing budget as the reason behind the club’s decision to step down.
However, Strzyzewski says a war of words had erupted on the back of continued questions over gate receipts and bar takings and has provided copies of the books for the years ending June 2018 and 2019.
In both sets of figures, Derby-based accountants Malcolm H Preece & Co said the club’s “records do need some improvements moving forward and in particular with regards to the recording of the various sources of income including matchday takings, café bar takings and in particular bar takings”.
It noted the low profit margin on the bar, something pub landlord Strzyzewski says he tried to address through the installation of a working till that was, along with other measures, “quickly dismissed”.
Gate receipts totalled £4,988 in 2017-18 and £4,358 in 2018-19 with Strzyzewski’s father, Richard Strzyzewski, taking over as secretary and treasurer from the start of 2019-20.
A figure of £2,451.20 was recorded for the five out of nine home matches he had details for up to October 19. There were gaps for South Normanton’s other 13 home games and the club had nine home league matches remaining when play stopped.
Questions
Bailey confirmed the accuracy of those 2019-20 gate receipts and said the blanks had since been filled in, bringing the total to between £6,000-7,000 for the incomplete campaign.
The chairman acknowledged there had been past problems with gaps in the finances but “not this season” and that “the accounts will prove that”.
He vehemently denied any wrongdoing but declined to comment on whether anyone had left the club over the issue.
Explaining the accountants’ notes, Bailey said: “Free drinks basically. I work away a lot and leave people to their own devices, while the cat’s away the mice will play.
“If I’m not there I cannot keep my eye on things. If people are putting their fingers in the till you cannot prove it until you catch them.”
Marc Strzyzewski, pictured, whose address to the Derbyshire FA has been seen by The NLP, said questioning the process behind taking voluntary relegation had led to his sacking.
Bailey refutes that assertion and said both Marc and Richard Strzyzewski resigned, claiming their decisions had been minuted at club meetings.
“I asked whether there were any guidelines that should have been followed with my dad still part of the club as treasurer and me as the manager,” said the exiting boss.
“That turned into the phone call to ask why I had been asking such questions and to tell me I would no longer be needed. I feel like I got pushed out because I challenged him. “There has not been any structure in place since I have been there and that has been a massive issue from the start. “If those discrepancies get flagged up you would surely want those questions answered. Why would anyone want that kind of money unaccounted for when you are running a business?
“In the beginning we approached it with ways to help the club move forward without focusing on the past, we didn’t necessarily want too many answers because it was all about the future.
“We were willing to put that behind us but the same mistakes being made was very difficult to accept with us having a closer eye on it this time.
“This isn’t me going against the football club’s decision to survive, it is about how it came about and people being treated fairly.
Attached
“We have been left in the dark. I can’t stress enough how emotionally attached we had become to South Normanton and how difficult this is to take.”
In response, Bailey said: “The club will offer a full set of accounts and they are being done at the moment. It is quite clear to see what is what.
“When someone resigns they are done with the club as far as I am concerned. It is none of their business anymore. They resigned, I did not sack them.
“I said we would be stepping down from Step 5 because we could not keep chasing the money, Marc said he would not be prepared to manage at a lower level and thanked me for the opportunity. I wished him all the best and then this started.
“His dad asked whether we would be interested in another team taking on the lease (at the ground), they just want their own football club.
“I said no, I didn’t want them to. They had pushed it too far, the relationship had broken down big style. The last thing I wanted to do was help someone take over South Normanton.”
Bailey said the Strzyzewskis had both been involved in an initial committee meeting where voluntary relegation was mooted and that Richard Strzyzewski had been present at a second meeting but not invited to the decisive gathering because “he hadn’t showed any interest in what we were talking about”.