Clubs In Crisis
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www.ClubsInCrisis.com 08 April 2009 - 20:54

Chester City

Chairman resigns from board

08-Dec-2007

Stephen Vaughan has announced that he has resigned as chairman and director of Chester City Football Club.

From Official club website:

The press conference intended for Tuesday has now been cancelled.

No further statements will be issued over the weekend however there will be further news next week.

Footnote:

Chester City Football Club now possibly owe Vaughan Promotions £5m after former chairman Stephen Vaughan kept reminding the supporters while he was chairman that the money was only loaned.

See also: City confirm interest in club


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Administration considered

07-Oct-2004

City are considering the prospect of entering financial administration according to the Daily Post.

The Post reports that the problem relates to debts before the current ownership of Stephen Vaughan.
However it is also pointed out that the application takes at least four weeks to be accepted and that application time could give City the extra time they need.

'This is the old saga of debts we accrued from the previous ownership,' chief executive David Burford told the Post.

'We have been gradually paying off the old debts, but it appears that the authorities are getting extremely tough with football clubs.

'Stephen Vaughan has ploughed over £3million into Chester City Football Club, and now he is being asked to stump up more money, a lot of which is required for problems we didn't create.'


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Winding-Up Order

16-Jul-2004

The BBC report that Chester City have been served with a winding-up order by Customs and Excise over alleged unpaid VAT.

The petition was issued on 16 July and officials of the club have been told they must attend a hearing next Monday.

Chairman Stephen Vaughan said: 'This situation is historic and we are having dialogue with Customs and Excise.'

Meanwhile, to add to the problems, Boston have contacted the Football League claiming Chester have not paid the final payment of striker Daryl Clare's performance-related fee.

'It wouldn't be fair to state figures but we are still owed the final part of a substantial fee,' Boston's chairman Jon Sotnick said.

'We have been in touch with the League but have not as yet lodged an official complaint because we have been promised the money at some point.'

But Vaughan hit back, saying: 'We have paid every penny that was owed to Boston, and I have had that confirmed by their chairman.'


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Desperate Bid To Save The Club

18-Sep-2003

Chester City have launched a desperate bid to save the club after being ordered to settle huge debts.

The Chester Evening Leader reported that owner Steven Vaughan, is mounting a legal battle after a county court judgement upheld a claim for £300,000 made by ex-City owner Terry Smith.

The club's management have been frantically working behind the scenes with their legal advisers since the county court hearing in an attempt to fight off the Smith family claims for cash. The club has warned that paying such an amount could cause them to fold.

Gerald Smith, the father of the controversial former owner, has now warned City bosses he and his son will not hesitate to close the club if they are not paid.

Former chairman, Terry Smith, saw his legal team win a decision in the county court that could signal the end for the Deva Stadium club.

In an interview with the Leader, club bosses confirmed their worst fears could come true if they are forced to pay Mr. Smith cash, cash which they say they have no evidence that he is owed.
David Burford, director of the club said 'We didn't know anything about it when the judgement was passed in October 2001, and we were not in court to defend it. It was never disclosed to us by Smith.

The judgement was granted on an admission by his father in court. He was the only serving director at the time. A serving director admitted the debt in court and the court took that word. We do not believe it to be right that his father is allowed to back him up in court.'

When the club's challenge finally came to court last week, it was dismissed by a judge, who believed it would be an abuse of policy of the court to overturn it after such a period of time since the original judgement.

Mr Burford made a call for supporters to double there efforts to get behind the team adding: 'Terry Smith is trying to destroy the club. Where he himself failed, he is not prepared for anyone else to succeed. What he is doing could put the club under.'

Mr Smith served legal papers on the club recently, demanding he is paid more than £300,000, which he says is still outstanding from his time in charge.

When Stephen Vaughan and his business partners took over the running of the club in October 2001, they said they had no idea of the real financial state of the club, and after pouring in millions of pounds to make the team what it is today, this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back'.
During the negotiations to sell the club, Mr Smith had applied to the county court in Chester to recover the money he claims he invested in the club, but failed to inform any of the interested parties of the impending legal action.

In fact, the club now claim, Mr Smith went so far as to change the registered operation address of Chester City to his home address in Elton so none of the paperwork came through to them.


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Rudderless At Sea?

10-Feb-2003

With much speculation that Terry Smith has left the club and no new owners showing at yesterday's press announcement, one would imagine the Blues are rudderless at sea. A phone call to Cheshire County Council suggests otherwise...

Reported on Rivals site:-

The suspicions that Dan Brooks had taken over from Terry Smith at Chester City would appear to have been justified. City's ex-commercial manager and the current director of Datoga Limited, a marketing, media and communications company based in Manchester, has contacted the county council's safety of grounds department with regards to the Deva Stadium's safety certificate. He declared himself the club's owner.

Apparently Brooks is looking forward to holding concerts at the ground which ties in with Datoga's interest in the music industry.

It's all just a great shame Dan couldn't have turned up in person at Wednesday's supposed press announcement to tell the assembled throng of his plans for the future. No doubt some cross-wires along the way involving the seemingly vanished Terry Smith.


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