DESPERATE BORO PRAY SANTA CAN DELIVER ALL
CRISIS club Nuneaton Borough have ‘a couple of lights at the end of the tunnel’ but the goodwill of those propping it up is the only fuel left to get there.
That was the message from straight-talking manager and former owner Jimmy Ginnelly with homeless Boro’s future in the hands of a small band of backers that are providing the funds to keep things going from week to week.
The club has been locked out of its Liberty Way home by owners Arden Tigress since October 24. Rent arrears have been acknowledged but offers to clear the outstanding bill and pay for a year up front have yet to end the impasse.
Ginnelly told The NLP that he had approached board members and sponsors that he needed someone else to take the reins before that.
In November, it was announced DA Capital, described on its website as “a privately owned investment vehicle established to help the owners of owner managed businesses find a way to exit their companies”, would be taking over.
Scotland-based David Anderson was joined by Nick Thompson and Robert Tidmarsh as new directors but fans became bamboozled as the ownership of shares and status of directors bounced between Anderson and Ginnelly in the days that followed.
Within a month of taking over, it was confirmed DA Capital had withdrawn with sponsor Ian Cook reluctantly taking the lead, including on talks with Arden Tigress, a matter that is now in the hands of legal professionals.
The situation has prompted widespread concern and criticism from some sections of the fanbase plus comments from the wider Non-League community, including references back to an online fundraiser to boost the playing budget around a year ago.
Ginnelly described the false dawn as “very unfortunate”, claiming DA Capital had “said all the right things for us all to breathe easily”, including satisfying the Southern League and FA, but that promises of investment had not been fulfilled.
“As the weeks went by, as we asked about finances, it was always a deaf ear. There never seemed to be anything coming forward,” said Ginnelly.
“About two weeks ago, David came to us and was quite clear – he would not be putting in any finance but said he would show us how to run a football club.
“Without being nasty to him, we know how to run a club. We have good people running the Nuneaton Borough and good sponsors helping us, we just don’t have the scale of financial backing.”
Ginnelly said Anderson’s latest plan had been to make redundant the management team and highest-earning players to slash costs without due consideration to obligations over contracts.
All of that exacerbated an eviction which left Boro in “serious financial trouble”, a situation Ginnelly said had been made worse by the club paying in the region of £120,000 for roofing and flooring at the ground.
Objective
He remains perplexed and put out by Arden Tigress “painting us as bad tenants”, believing the firm to have their “wires crossed” or to be acting on “bad information”.
“The reality is we were £6,000 behind with the rent,” said Ginnelly.
“They put the locks on and said they wanted the rent and another £6,000 for the locks.
“We offered to pay the rent and 12 months up front and they still don’t want to play ball. What is the objective? They must have another objective.”
Neil Robinson, a former vice-chair of Nuneaton RFC which is also based at Liberty Way, is one of two directors of Arden Tigress but it is owned by Mark Lowther.
Ginnelly said he has had “two or three meetings” with Robinson who “assures me there is nothing going on” and that “one or two people at the rugby club have assured me the same” but that Arden Tigress “keep moving the goalposts”.
Ginnelly says a meeting with Lowther has been requested but, as things stand, contact is through solicitors.
Hope for the club comes from a group of “two or three people who want to buy the club and ground – lock, stock and barrel” with the prospect of placing the stadium “in
trust” for the long-term benefit of the football and rugby clubs. Talks took place about an initial takeover of Boro on Tuesday and negotiations are ongoing.
In the meantime, Nuneaton will continue with an emergency groundshare at Southern League Premier Division Central rivals Barwell, playing predominantly on Fridays and Sundays due to Hinckley AFC also groundsharing there.
“It is going to be down to the vice-chairman, me and the sponsors to keep this ticking over,” added Ginnelly before making clear his intention to step away.
“I have been doing it for five years, probably three too many for me and my family. I need to just manage the team and look after my business,” he said.
“I have to make a stand for my family. I am desperate for someone to come in and run the club, it is taking its toll on me now, the strain of trying to find the money.
Vultures
“If I am not careful I am going to be poorly. All I want to do is manage the team, maybe until the end of the season and then probably hand over to someone else in all departments.
“It seems to be a five-year cycle at Nuneaton Borough. You’re a hero for a couple of years before the 20 per cent that are vultures get on your back and call you a mug.
“I don’t have any stress from my business, my family life or my kids, the only stress I have – and I am a very thickskinned person – is keeping Nuneaton Borough going. I love football but not enough to put me in an early grave.”
Ginnelly says that when in Liberty Way, Boro can wipe its face but paying off “mainly legacy debts” at a rate of around £8,000 per month has strained finances – add in the eviction and spectre of insolvency is only being kept at bay by the generosity of a limited number of backers.
“We might have to go into administration,” admitted Ginnelly.
“It would be a crying shame if we did. I have done all I can to prevent that, the genuine Boro fans are so good and they deserve a club at this level – to take the easy route would be to kick them you know where and nobody wants that.
“If we have to take that route after Christmas then we have to but the sole focus now is finding someone to try to keep it at this level.
“It is 50-50, we are believers and we will keep going. It is never over until the fat lady sings.”
Asked about timescales, Ginnelly replied: “I don’t think we can say. It is down to the current sponsors and how far the stand-in chairman Ian Cook wants to go with it.
“He says he is here until the end but as a friend of many years I have told him to be careful because doing this is not as rosy as you think.”
Ginnelly concluded by thanking Barwell, Stratford Town and Coventry City for stepping in host matches in the club’s hour of need.