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To mark the occasion the board of Seadog Trust, the supporters' organisation that owns and operates Scarborough Athletic FC, is encouraging all fans to acknowledge that they are the owners of the club by dressing as businessmen. Club and Trust Chair Simon Cope states: "All Trust members are equal joint owners of the football club, and as such we want to make a statement to the wider football world as well as having some fun in the process."
Scarborough Athletic FC is aiming to do the Northern Counties East League Division One proud this season. Cope: "We are looking for a big Boro turnout in this, the first league match of Scarborough Athletic FC. The support which we have received in the course of the pre-season campaign has been superb and we hope that the football fans in Scarborough will get behind their team and cheer them on to early successes. We also hope that as many fans as possible will join in the fun by coming in fancy dress as businessmen. There should be a real party atmosphere at Teversal and we want everyone to get involved."
Notes
Scarborough Athletic FC was formed in June 2007 following the demise of Scarborough FC. It is owned and run by Seadog Trust, an Industrial & Provident Society that is open to all Scarborough fans and the community of the town to join. All Trust members are equal shareholders, and have a democratic say in who runs their football club.
Scarborough Athletic FC competes in the Northern Counties East League Division One this season, and plays their home games at Bridlington Town's Queensgate Stadium.
From Seadog Trust - Press Release:
Reacting to the news of the liquidation of Scarborough FC, Simon Cope, Chair of the Seadogs Trust said:
"Obviously this is a sad day for the club and its supporters, and one we all hoped would never come.
What's died today is the company called Scarborough FC Ltd. Football in Scarborough will be continuing because there are supporters who love their football and the community needs a club.
The Seadog Trust has been working on 'plan B' in case this day ever came, and we are very advanced in our preparations. We've applied to the Northern Counties East League as Scarborough Athletic FC and we hope to start the new season, where we will effectively be three divisions below where the club would have been.
It will be tough, but we call on all those who care about football in the town to get behind us and build a new club and make it a success, not just on the pitch but off it. What happened today is effectively the culmination of many years of poor management and we will be making sure that those mistakes are not repeated and that the supporters of the club have a chance to make the new Scarborough something they can be proud of, and something the town can be proud of.
Whilst we're likely to be starting the season outside Scarborough, we're keen to be playing back in the town as soon as possible. We'll be meeting with the Council to discuss the situation at Seamer Road as a short-term solution, and more longer-term plans for a stadium that benefits the whole the community."
See also: Scarborough FC go out of business - BBC Football
From Yorkshire Post:
The company which runs the football club won a stay of execution yesterday when winding up proceedings at the High Court in Leeds were adjourned.
It will give the club time for one last attempt to progress its scheme to sell the McCain Stadium to a developer to finance the building of a new out of town stadium.
The sticking point has been that when the existing ground was sold to the club by the council it was subject to binding legal agreements to ensure the site was kept for sporting use and not sold on at a big profit to a third party.
Scarborough Council has made clear it is prepared to lift the restrictions but only when it is convinced that the sporting facilities will be replaced elsewhere. The club secured an adjournment until after the next full council meeting on June 19.
In the last three months Seadog Trust has:
· Formulated a five-year business plan with advice from AFC Telford and AFC Wimbledon
· Liaised with the Northern Counties East League
· Liaised with Mike Appleby, Chair of the Leagues Committee at the National FA
· Liaised with the North Riding County FA regarding affiliation
· Identified a corporate structure for the new club
· Liaised with local clubs regarding a ground share agreement
· Identified likely sources of working capital for the new club
This has culminated in Seadog Trust submitting on Friday 8th June a formal application to the North Riding FA and also to the Northern Counties East League. We have also received a letter of intent from the chairman of Bridlington Town, Peter Smurthwaite, to enter into a ground-sharing agreement for the short term. The immediate future of the McCain stadium is not clear; therefore we have to make alternative arrangements to satisfy the League. It remains the goal in the medium to long-term to return football to the town of Scarborough.
Given the work that we have undertaken during recent weeks, Seadog Trust feels it is in a strong position to form a new club. Trust Chair, Simon Cope: "There is a strong feeling amongst Boro fans that it is time for a fresh new start. A new football team formed by fans for the fans would be a huge step forward in creating a true community-focussed club that the whole town could be proud of".
Seadog Trust does not wish to exclude any fans of football from the formation process of a new club and, as such, we urge all fans to unite for the good of football in Scarborough. The board of Seadog Trust is keen for input and advice from the many people involved in Scarborough FC, particularly the committee and members of the Supporters Club. To this end under the regulations of Seadog Trust we are offering to co-opt representatives of the Supporters Club committee onto the Seadog Trust board in order to provide full fan representation in the process of establishing a new club. Should a new club be formed then it is the intention of the current board to resign their positions and call fresh elections in order to select a new board for the purpose of running a football club. We urge all supporters of Scarborough FC to join the Trust and to consider running for a position in these elections to secure the future of football in Scarborough.
Background
Seadog Trust is the Supporters' Trust for Scarborough Football Club. It is an Industrial & Provident Society owned and run by its members, independent from the football club, and open to all Scarborough fans and the community of the town to join.
The central aim of Seadog Trust is to enable supporters to play a meaningful role in their football club through the acquisition of a financial stake and also through board representation.
Seadog Trust is a member of Supporters Direct, a government initiative funded by public money, and is one of nearly 150 other Trusts established with their assistance.
See also: Seadog Trust
From Seadog Trust Press Release:
It would not be right to expect the club to undertake this work as all their efforts are rightly focussed on ensuring that we survive as we currently are.
Trust Chairman Simon Cope said: "The Trust has decided the best thing it can do at present is to prepare for a rainy day we hope will never come. It's not nice to think about starting up again, but it is always sensible to have a plan B. Already this week, Farnborough Town have said they will probably have to start again, and in recent years, we have seen the same at AFC Telford United."
Seadog Trust has already had preliminary discussions with Supporters Direct, as well as with the FA, the Northern Counties East League and the North Riding County FA pursuant to the possibility of the formation of a new club. The Trust is also in the process of drawing up a five year business plan in the event that a new club should be needed.
The Trust Board would like to make it clear that these plans in no way detract from Seadog Trust's support for the continuance of the club in its current form. They continue to back club Chairman Ian Scobbie's efforts to save Scarborough FC Ltd, and wish him well in these endeavours.
Simon added: "In order for a new club to start next season, we have to apply for membership by a deadline in June, which unfortunately is around the same time as the crucial meeting on the 12th. Therefore we can't afford to wait and see until after then as there wouldn't be enough time to get something up and running for next season."
The Board of Seadog Trust urges all supporters who wish to support football in Scarborough, either through Scarborough FC or, in the worst case scenario, through a new club to join Seadog Trust and gain a voice in the club's future.
From BBC North Yorkshire:
The Chairman of Scarborough Football Club says a deal's been thrashed out which will save the club from imminent closure.
Ian Scobbie has posted a statement on the club website which says contractual details will be hammered out over the next few days.
After the Company Voluntary Arrangement failed, and it was announced a Compulsory Winding up Petition was to be laid before the courts, fans feared the worst.
Today, it appears those fears may have been misplaced.
The statement is short and to the point and reads 'The recent reports in the local press suggesting that the demise of the club is imminent are wide of the mark.
'We have finalised with a local developer the terms of an agreement to dispose of the McCain Stadium site which releases sufficient funds in the short term to repay creditors and thus to secure the immediate future of the football club. This also enables us to work closely with all relevant parties to deliver a new stadium'
From BBC Sport, by Howard Nurse, Football Editor:
The Conference North club have debts of over £2m and administrators are petitioning to force the club to close.
Boro face a compulsory winding-up order because their voluntary agreement with creditors appears to have failed.
The club's directors say they will fulfil this season's commitments but Boro will not take part in competitive football in the 2007/08 season.
Administrators Begbies Traynor will force the closure unless there is a valid appeal in the next 14 days.
The club's chairman, Ian Scobie, met with the administrators this week, but he has so far not commented on the outcome of those discussions.
It is thought a request from the club to extend their credit agreement was refused by creditors.
Boro had planned to sell their McCain Stadium ground for about £4m which would have enabled them to clear their debts and build a new stadium on the outskirts of Scarborough.
But it appears time has almost run out for the former Football League club who played Chelsea just three seasons ago in the FA Cup fourth round.
Scarborough lost their League status in 1999 when they were relegated with the last kick of the season.
They were expelled from the Conference last season after going into administration for a third time and placed in Conference North with a 10-point deduction this season.
The club are facing relegation to the UniBond League because they are currently second-bottom of Conference North with just four games remaining.
See also Freefalling Scarborough are England's real crisis club, from Guardian Unlimited
From BBC Sport - 606, by Howard N - BBC Sport Football Editor
Boro will be extinct very soon unless the club sells its McCain Stadium ground for housing and builds a new ground on the outskirts of the town.
The plan is to sell the old stadium for about £4m and with the proceeds build a new one for £2m and use the remaining £2m to pay off all the debts and pay the bills.
The problem is that unless Scarborough Borough Council agrees to the proposal - and transfers the covenant that decrees the McCain Stadium site must be used for sporting purposes to the new stadium - the club will be liquidated.
Boro, who were relegated from the Football League in 1999, were chucked out of the Conference last season because of their financial problems and made to play in Conference North this season.
The Conference then added on a 10-point penalty and surprise, surprise, Boro find themselves bottom of that division and facing a drop into the UniBond Premier League next season.
That is if they survive that long.
Scarborough's hardcore fans have responded to this crisis by using the internet to get support from around the nation.
If football is about community and the social benefits a club can bring to a town then hopefully the council will back the club and allow the ground move to take place.
The club's fans have set-up an online petition to urge the council to support the ground move and and they've also formed a Trust with a view to taking over and running the club in the future.
A couple of mentions on national TV last week brought a rapid increase in the number of people signing the petition, many of them with no links whatsoever to Scarborough.
There were some great emotive postings on the Surfing Seadogs messageboard, such as this from a fan who watched Boro's 2-1 win at Burscough in the FA Trophy on Saturday:
'Going to Burscough today was odd because we had no idea whether it would be our last game ever or just a continuation of our long and proud history. Towards the end I was torn between wanting the game to end, so we'd win, and not wanting it to end ever! We can only hope and pray that things go right for us.'
I certainly hope things do go okay and the creditors who are circling around the club give the council the time it needs to make the right decision for the town of Scarborough.
In the meantime, I'd be grateful if fans out there from all clubs would consider signing the on-line petition.
From Scarborough Today
Boro bosses had hoped to pull off a remarkable escape from relegation after the club's administration order was lifted by a judge in the high court in Leeds.
Spirits were lifted even further on Friday when the club agreed a new deal to pay off its creditors.
The club had also been asked to provide the FA and the Conference board with information on ground, financial and ownership issues and were confident they had given the guarantees sought by the Conference to earn a reprieve.
Saturday's decision means Altrincham, who finished bottom of the table after the 18-point sanction for fielding an illegible player, will stay in the national Conference.
Boro chairman Mr Scobbie said Boro had been singled out and the board had effectively imposed two punishments for the same offence.
The 10-point penalty was sanctioned because the board felt the re-jigged agreement with creditors constituted a new arrangement.
It relegated Boro because the club had breached the Conference's articles of association - although club bosses only learned about the breach just prior to the meeting.
Two other Conference clubs are currently the subject of CVAs and a third is set to go into administration but none of those clubs have been invited by the board to submit similar guarantees about their finances.
Mr Scobbie said it is unlikely there will be an appeal against the decision because of the costs involved. Under new rules approved at the AGM, clubs that lose any appeal have to pay the Conference's legal costs.
Mr Scobbie added: 'We will have to trim our budget and people will have to be laid off but the club will survive and the plan for the new ground will be unaffected.
'I'm hoping we can come back from this even stronger. I have spoken to the manager and he wants to stay at the club and put things right. We agreed a budget with him regardless of which league we ended up, but we realise that being in the Conference North does make it harder to attract better players.
'We have been up-front with the people we wanted to bring in and today Neil Redfearn and I will ring round those players to discuss with them whether they still want to come.'
Mr Reynold's said: 'Altrincham had been treated very harshly for a technical offence and it's nice that they will retain their place.
'However events have not been about Scarborough and Altrincham. We have sought clarification from the board about their decision.
John Moules refused to notify us which rule we have breached. As of today's date we have not been charged with any breach and therefore have not had any opportunity to respond.'
Conference chief executive John Moules told the Evening News: 'On Friday, Scarborough successfully entered into a voluntary arrangement with creditors and members and therefore based on that, the Football Conference had no choice but to place Scarborough in the Conference North from next season and deduct them 10 points.'
Many fans were angry at what they say is an injustice.
