Gary Scott blamed the end of his playing career on Mark Maddox's getting himself sacked as manager at Leigh Genesis, where he employed Gary. "Scotty" continues to work as a painter and decorator. Dalton Steele no longer has any involvement with football - as he later explained, he became disillusioned with the non-League game after the Alty supporters and their coach were attacked on their first visit to Oxford United.

Eddie Hussin, who played in the Play-Off Final despite a badly injured knee, is now involved in coaching, whilst Mark Maddox was, until recently, manager at Leigh Genesis. Physios Alan Ainsley and Sean Riley continue to practise their skills, whilst Colin Little said his main occupation these days was shopping at Tesco's - in addition to his coaching role with MUFC.

Steve Aspinall only stopped playing last year; his final club being Colwyn Bay. He has recently become a father, which keeps him busy. Graham Heathcote jokingly told the audience that they all knew what he had been doing since the Play-Off - "at least until September 2010", an allusion to when he ceased to be manager at Moss Lane. Graham is still actively seeking a new managerial role in football.

Stuart Coburn described his current role as "sitting on the bench", though he has of course been Alty's "number one" for many years. Kitmen Dave Mitten and Charles Heathcote are no longer at Alty but Dave is with Graham Barrow at Wigan Athletic.

Also present in the audience at the evening, though from a later period, was defender Karl Munroe.

A raffle and auction were held at the end of the evening, with Steve Foster winning the latter, enabling him to go home with a signed shirt from 2004-05, a signed Play-Off Final programme and a Play-Off winner's medal.

Make sure you don't miss the next such event at Moss Lane - there was a lot more amusing banter and interesting information from the players than can be reported here.

Many thanks go to all who contributed to a great evening.

BSBP NEWS

"The mere fact that Crawley Town will take their place at Old Trafford to play Manchester United should encapsulate the unifying soul of football, as nourished by the FA Cup. Battered, often undermined by the profile and financial might of the Premier and Champions Leagues, on days like these the FA Cup reminds us that the game remains one...

In Crawley, the small, dormitory Sussex town dominated by unloved Gatwick airport, the thrill is unconfined: 9,000 people, more than four times a decent crowd for the club's Conference Premier fixtures, have forked out the £41 United are charging to watch Steve Evans's team in the fifth-round tie.

Yet around non-league football, among other Conference clubs and their supporters, there is a low grumbling, a resentment that of all clubs, Crawley's number came up; a feeling that they do not, in fact, embody the romance of the Cup.

In part this is due to Evans himself, who has proved himself a smart non-league manager, but made himself deeply unpopular. The FA banned him from the touchline for 12 matches in 2008-09 for improper conduct and 13 in 2009-10, including three when he was not even allowed in the ground. In November 2006, Evans was convicted for his part in a £245,000 tax fraud committed when he was manager at Boston United, failing to pay tax on the players' wages, and was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Evans and Crawley accept he has form but argue he has served his time and is proving his talent. His club are three points behind AFC Wimbledon, the leaders of the division now known as the Blue Square Bet Premier, with four games in hand and relishing their jackpot FA Cup run.

If a heartfelt cheer about Crawley is withheld, it is also because their rise has been fashioned with sudden new money. Huge transfer fees for this level, estimated at £600,000, have been spent since the summer on the striker Richard Brodie from York City, the midfielder Sergio Torres from Peterborough United, and others, with a wage bill to match. Yet despite the media floodlighting the club since their Cup wins began, they have still refused to say who has provided the money, except that it is a group of people in "the Far East". Bruce Winfield, the Crawley chairman who, with his wife Silpa, is a major shareholder, told the Guardian's Digger column that these Far East investors now own 40% of the club. However, he has not identified them, explained where their money has come from, or why they want to remain anonymous.

After so many financial meltdowns at all levels it is widely accepted that it is important to know who owns football clubs and the fact that Crawley Town are substantially owned and funded by anonymous investors steals a little romance from this tale. That United, arguably English football's most storied name, are owned by the Glazers, who recently reorganised the club's ownership into the US state of Delaware, where shareholders can also remain unidentified, completes the flipside of the tie's allure.

This week Susan Carter, Winfield's fellow director, again declined to say who the club's backers are. Asked about their spending, on transfer fees and players' wages said to be around £100,000 a year for some, Carter replied: 'How many clubs actually spend what they make in income? Very few. It's a problem in football; we're only doing what other clubs are doing'.

Crawley fans know themselves the perils of financial mismanagement. The club collapsed into administration in 1999, then in 2006 when it was owned by the brothers Chas and Mohammed Azwar Majeed, the latter of whom was subsequently convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Crawley were only an hour from being wound up when the administrators accepted a proposal to pay creditors half the £1.375m they were owed. The club was taken over by John Duly, a local businessman, then Vic Marley, an ex-banker and Crawley supporter, via his Prospect Estates Holdings company. Winfield, a Crawley-based businessman and prominent fan for many years, took over the club with Carter in 2009. In July last year Prospect Estate Holdings transferred all its 45 shares in Crawley Town to Winfield's wife, Silpa. Although Winfield has said the club is now 40% owned by the Far East investors who have put the money in since last summer, there is no record yet of their shareholding in the club's official documents filed at Companies' House.

Alan Williams, Crawley's chief executive, says he has met the investors and is satisfied their money is sustainable. 'I came in to turn the club round after the Majeeds' era', Williams explains. 'The investors have put the money in, and there is a long-term plan. They have a right to anonymity. There is nothing conniving or devious about it'. As for why people in the Far East would put their money into Crawley Town, Williams says: 'They have an interest in football and a difference can be made here'.

Jeff Thadeus, secretary of the Crawley Town Supporters' Trust, says after the trauma of the Majeeds, he and the supporters feel safe with Winfield. 'We'd rather the anonymous investors were people we know', he acknowledges. 'The combination of that and Steve Evans means people are bound to snipe. But we have to put our faith in Bruce'...

FA rules require Conference club directors, and owners of 30% or more of the shares, to self-certify that they are 'fit and proper people', with no convictions. An FA spokesman said Crawley have complied, but did not explain whether in fact any of the new investors individually owns 30%.

Dave Boyle, chief executive of Supporters Direct, argues that owners of football clubs, public sporting institutions drawing on the support of their towns, should not be entitled to hide behind anonymity. 'Crawley is not such a romantic story and they are not a typical non-league club', he says. 'It's an all-too-familiar tale of financial doping and opaque ownership, and we have seen too many of those ending in collapse down the years'.

Dennis Strudwick, general manager of the Conference, confirms Crawley have complied with all the rules, in a league which has experienced many clubs in various shades of crisis. 'This is wonderful,' he says, 'to see a Conference club in the fifth round against Manchester United. We should be talking about the beauty and romance of the FA Cup, but instead the questions are all about finance'.

That is because Crawley Town are at Old Trafford thanks to skill and hard work, but also big money from unidentified backers. They play Manchester United, owned in Delaware by the US family which loaded the club with £500m debt. That, too, is an integral part of this, a perfect FA Cup story for our times".

ALTRINCHAM 3 KETTERING TOWN 2

Right: Greg Young receives his team-mates' congratulations after scoring the winner against Kettering.

Greg Young secured a deserved win for Alty in the 88th minute after the hosts had fallen behind 2-1 at the interval. Alty had the better of the first half but apart from a Reeves penalty, converted after Piergianni had been felled in the 22nd minute, they had failed to take two or three other decent half chances. When Marna lobbed Dootson superbly from outside the box (41 mins) and then scored another fine goal three minutes later it looked grim for Alty.

After struggling at the start of the second period, Alty went on to get back into the game and levelled through Baynes after good work from Clee (64 mins). They went on to dominate before Greg Young headed the winner, in the 88th minute, from a corner by Baynes to secure a vital three points.

Saturday 19th February

FA Cup 5

SATURDAY'S GAME

Alty have a good record against Kettering at Moss Lane, with the visitors having won only three times in 27 visits. Mike Garnett's records show the following record against the Poppies:

Meanwhile, Kettering Town report that "The Poppies aim to continue their fantastic recent form which has seen them pick up 11 points from a possible 15. Following Altrincham’s 3v0 defeat to fellow strugglers Histon on Tuesday night the northern side find themselves 23rd, three points behind 20th placed Barrow having played a game more...

The reverse fixture back in September finished all square in what turned out to be an epic 3v3 encounter. The Poppies took the lead with a JP Marna header on 12 minutes, only for Chris Denham to equalise six minutes later. It was only a matter of seconds before Marna scored his second for the day, however by the half hour mark Reeves struck and the game was level at half time. Marna got his hat trick on the 70th minute but again Kettering were to be pegged back, Sam Hewson rescuing the points for Alty with eight minutes remaining.

In the corresponding fixture last season Altrincham ran out 2v0 winners courtesy of goals from John McAliskey and Shaun Densmore".

FIXTURES

Friday, 18th February

BSBP NEWS

Mansfield Town report that "Striker Keigan Parker has joined BSBP rivals Fleetwood Town until the end of the season. The Scotsman will head north to be closer to his home and family in Livingston".

In Friday's "Daily Telegraph", we read that Crawley Town's "Sergio Torres has paid for a £1,000 ticket for his father, Raúl, to fly in for the game". Torres says, "I told him I would use the money from our win bonus in the last round towards his ticket, so I have paid for it".

According to NL Daily "Chippenham Town have signed former Gloucester City favourite Lee Smith on loan from Forest Green Rovers. Smith, 27, joined Rovers last summer from home-town club Gloucester".

And Alty's opponents next Saturday "AFC Wimbledon have taken much-travelled striker Drewe Broughton on loan from Lincoln City until the end of the season. Broughton, who joined the Imps in the summer, having first appeared for the club on loan from Rotherham United a year ago, has made twenty appearances this season (eleven as a substitute)... Broughton began his career as a trainee with Norwich City in the mid-1990s, and now has bags of experience, having made over 400 League appearances for the likes of Brentford, Peterborough United, Southend United, Rushden & Diamonds, Wigan and MK Dons during his professional career as well as with Kidderminster Harriers".

Bulls News confirms that "Lincoln have allowed striker Drewe Broughton to join AFC Wimbledon on loan for the remainder of the season. The 32 year old hasn't scored in 27 appearances for the Imps since originally signing on loan last season". The same source also tells us that our former local rivals "Accrington say they will be unable to meet this month's tax bill on time. The expected £30,000 bill should be met as long as Tuesday's planned home game with Crewe goes ahead, but payment will be late".

From Cambridge News we learn that "Histon can transform themselves from Blue Square Bet Premier relegation candidates into the envy of non-League football, according to David Livermore. The Stutes’ manager believes bringing talented youngsters through, developing them in the first team and selling them on is a long-term recipe for success...

'The only way the club can survive financially is to produce its own players' said Livermore. 'If it means selling one a season to keep the club going, that’s how it has to be. I’m happy to be here for the next three, four, five years. We’ve got a fantastic scholarship system and academy, it just needs to be all pulled together. We have the opportunity to build a model that can be the envy of the whole non-League.

The large majority of teams in this league are in debt, and that’s got to change. We can make a head start and get this club financially viable... Eastbourne are bottom of the league and been on a terrible run', said Livermore. 'We should be going there full of confidence, but I don’t think you can take anything for granted. The minute we think we can just turn up and beat these teams, we’ll come unstuck'".

The Football Conference says that "Boston United have landed experienced defender Kevin Austin on loan from Darlington, despite strong interest from other clubs. The 38-year-old centre half has enjoyed a long and distinguished professional career".

LOAN SIGNING

He joined Fleetwood Town in February 2009 from Bradford Park Avenue, having previously been at Witton Albion. Steve also had a brief spell at Droyslden towards the end of last year. Described on the Fleetwood website as "combative", he has picked up three yellow cards in 2(+6) appearances for Town this season. At Moss Lane he joins former team-mate Mark Beesley from Fleetwood.

He will bear squad number 18.

FA RESPONSE

Alty appealed against the defender's straight red card at Kidderminster on Saturday, but were unable to use him against Histon after a series of administrative problems prevented the case being heard in time. An FA spokesperson said: 'The FA has listened to Mr Rowley’s feedback and will take this into consideration. However, The FA must stress the onus is on all clubs to submit replies and appeals in a timely manner through whichever channel they wish to utilise. At the start of the season all clubs had been issued with secure log-in details to The FA’s digital systems, whilst clubs are still at liberty to submit evidence to the FA in traditional fashion'".

FLOG IT AT ALTY!

The Auction Centre will be holding a free Valuation and Acceptance Day at Altrincham FC on Wednesday 30 March from 10 am to 4pm when an expert valuer/auctioneer from Lloyd Cameron and Partners will be in attendance to advise and accept items for their forthcoming Antiques and Collectables auction sales. Further information is available from The Auction Centre.

RADIO COMMENTARIES

Alty Match Commentaries...The Future!!!!

There is no doubt that most clubs in the Blue Square Bet Premier enjoy more media coverage than Altrincham F.C. and there are a number of reasons for this.

Here is the final table for the inaugural season (1979-80) of the Football Conference:-

Of course,there is absolutely no sign of the likes of Luton Town, Wrexham, Grimsby Town, Mansfield Town, Darlington or Cambridge United. Promotion to, and relegation from, the Football League, introduced for the 1986-7 season, was the main driver of a gradual but very meaningful transformation of the highest echelon of non-League football. These clubs…..and others who have come and gone (Oxford United, Shrewsbury Town, Lincoln City, etc) are big clubs from big towns and cities and just as the clubs themselves have often continued to operate in the same way as when they were in the League, their media coverage has remained at a very high level……and in truth has often increased because of the increasing influence of the internet.

These clubs are very often the main club in the county or a fairly widespread areaand therefore when they visit Moss Lane, we often experience an invasion of journalists, the like of which we have never taken to away games... The last time I can remember an Altrincham journalist other than me in the Press Box at an away game was Connor Murphy from the Sale and Altrincham Messenger, the day we drew 2-2 at Weymouth in April 2008... the game that condemned us to a place in the Conference AGM Cup...which of course we won!

The outcome of this scenario is that Alty diehards, who are unable to get to matches, have to rely on commentaries provided by the local BBC radio stations covering our opponents. To be fair, this service can be very good, but at the end of the day it is focused, naturally, on the other team. Often the service is poor, as the lack of commentators’ knowledge/interest in Alty, results in a listening experience where Robins’ aficionados must wonder if we are actually playing…..as we never seem to have the ball (actually watching from the stands has been a bit similar on a few occasions this season!!!).

The reason that we do not get such a level of media attention is that, unfortunately, we are situated in the coverage area of BBC Radio Manchester, which has no less than nine Premier and Football League clubs to cover.

There is hope on the horizon with the planned launch of North Cheshire Radio, which will be based in Altrincham and they are very keen to cover Altrincham matches. We do not know when this venture will launch though and in the meantime, I have been exploring the possibility of providing Internet match coverage for Alty fans.I would particularly like to thank the people who run the excellent match coverage for AFC Wimbledon for their help and advice in this matter, but the bottom line is that we should be able to offer a match commentary service from the beginning of next season at the latest... hopefully before the end of this season.

What we do need, of course, is people to help with this.

Each game will need two two commentators and, therefore, because not everyone will be available for every game, I feel that we need a group of about four people to ensure all games are covered. We also need people with technical expertise in mobile phone to PC technology, including Skype. One thing to bear in mind is that some of the tasks can be carried out remotely, therefore you may not need to be at the game itself to help here... AFC Wimbledon’s technical set up is often carried out by a fan who lives in Scotland!

There are costs involved in setting this up and it is possible that we may need to introduce some form of subscription to cover these but, first things first, we need volunteers to get involved in setting up and executing this project. If you can help or have any questions about this, please either email me or give me a call (07860 561011/0161 610 1193).

Brian".

BSBP NEWS

The Terras' chief is a controversial figure after quitting the board of Cambridge United in 2009. He is also set to undergo a vote of confidence next Thursday from Weymouth fans, over his groundshare plans with local rivals Dorchester.

However, director Wayne Allen... commented, 'It is someone without an axe to grind because they have no history with Harriers. Because he is already involved with a football club he cannot put any money in or become a director, he is simply helping the board out. He is looking at ways money can be saved, how we can maximise revenue'...

He could not confirm if club secretary Dave Colwell had handed in his resignation this week. Meanwhile, chairman Serrell, who is on holiday this week, revealed he is recovering well from his recent health scare. In an open letter to the fans, he also stated outstanding directors’ loans have been either written off, or been used to purchase shares in the club. He said: 'The club continues to lose hundreds of pounds per-week... I am sure there are some tough decisions to be made, but the club will no longer spend more money than it generates'”.

According to Cambridge United "United caretaker manager Jez George has moved to sign 18-year-old striker Shaun Jeffers on 28-day-loan from Coventry City. Jez George told cambridgeunited.com, 'He gives us excellent options in three positions, up front and on either sides. His pace will be a real asset, I know he's another young lad but I feel we need more players with pace in those positions'".

NL Daily says that "Tamworth have signed well-travelled forward Aaron Farrell from Evo-Stik League First Division South neighbours Sutton Coldfield Town. Farrell, 24, was originally with Kidderminster Harriers, signing for their youth side in 2003... He went on to play for Solihull Borough, Evesham United, Bedworth United, Sutton Coldfield Town, Solihull (again), Halesowen Town, Stratford Town, Rushall Olympic and Sutton Coldfield again... A spell with Worcester City followed. Farrell re-joined the Royals last November after a spell with their ground tenants and league rivals Romulus".

APPEAL FIASCO

"Furious Alty chairman Grahame Rowley has sent a lengthy letter of complaint to the FA over the fiasco of Carl Piergianni having to serve a one-match ban against Histon.

Alty appealed against the defender's straight red card at Kidderminster on Saturday but were unable to use him on Tuesday night after a series of administrative errors by the FA prevented the case being heard in time.

To add insult to injury, Soho Square bosses initially insisted there would be no refund of the £300 appeal fee, but relented under pressure from Rowley (left).

'What happened was an absolute disgrace,' fumed the Alty chief. 'When I contacted the FA on Monday morning, they gave us log-in details for their site and said we should upload a DVD of the incident. When we couldn't get on their site and asked why, they said they were encountering problems and we should try again the following morning. We did, only to discover they had given us the wrong log-in details.

'Then we found you have to have a particular type of software to compress the DVD. We haven't got it, and when we pointed it out, the reply was: "Oh well, all the Premier League clubs have".

'That sort of elitist stance is guaranteed to rile a community-orientated club like ours, and what made it worse was that if we had been made aware on Monday that this software was needed, we could either have gone out and bought it or gone up the road to Old Trafford and used United's.

'We could have got it all done and had the appeal heard but, by the time they got round to giving us the correct log-in procedure, it was too late. We couldn't do anything about it, and I think it is fair to say I'm not best pleased at the way we have been treated. I have let them know, too, because, to my mind, the whole thing stinks.

'It's like we're a little non-League club, and we don't count. That seems to be the attitude, and I spent one-and-a-half hours yesterday composing a two-page epic to tell them exactly what I thought of the entire episode.

'The email has at least had some effect. To begin with, they said we would not be getting the £300 back, because it was a late application, but they have now relented on that and refunded the money. That is at least one small victory, and I should think so, too.

'Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds. The irony is, this is supposed to be the new fast-track system, yet they don't seem to know how to make it work. Not for clubs like ours, they don't, anyway.

'I feel so sorry for Carl, as well as everyone else at our club who has been on the receiving end. He had to put up with people at Kidderminster going on about it being a stonewall penalty and the correct decision to show him a straight red card, when dvd footage has proved what we knew all along. It wasn't even a foul.

'So we have had one injustice, in the awarding of a penalty that wasn't, compounded by the loss of a key player for over 45 minutes at Kidderminster, followed by the full 90 minutes against Histon.

'Carl was very unhappy about it. Apart from concerns about the impact on the team, he looked at it from his own perspective and said to me: "I don't want that red card on my record, because I did nothing wrong." Yet when I asked the FA to look at it, they said they couldn't, because they had deemed it a late application, even though that was none of our doing. 'They said it goes straight in the bin. Is it any wonder I was livid? All I could do was put my feelings into print, and I have done that in great detail. Let's see what their response is'". Ends

KEN'S RE-THINK

"Ken McKenna (right) pulled no punches over a crushing setback to Altrincham's Blue Square Bet Premier survival hopes as he described Tuesday night's 3-0 home defeat by Histon as 'one of the worst performances since I took over.'

Alty found themselves overtaken by Histon in the relegation zone after failing to build on a bright start and falling away badly in the second half.

Admitting he may have to rethink his approach to home games, ahead of Kettering's visit to Moss Lane on Saturday, McKenna said: 'They were quicker and sharper all over the place. We were terrible, and the more we tried to adjust, the worse we seemed to get.

'There was a real expectation that we might put ourselves in a good position but we have ended up letting everyone down. It wasn't on purpose, but collectively we have let everyone down at the club, and I am feeling a bit low at the moment.

'It was a really tired performance, and there looked to be a lot of tired minds. Stuart Bimson made the point that we played 40-odd minutes with 10 men at Kidderminster and that it had taken something out of our legs.

'It looked that way, but I've also got to go away and think about how we approach home games. I just feel a bit embarrassed and very sorry for the fans, because I have made a couple of little mistakes tactically.

'I've always thought you should be trying to take the initiative at home, but maybe that's a bit of naivety on my part. Perhaps we haven't quite got the players for an expansive passing game and need to tighten up and try and nick something.

'We seem to do better away, when we keep it tight, so maybe that's the harsh lesson we have to take on board from the Histon game.'

Defender Carl Piergianni is available again after being forced to serve a one-match ban against Histon in what angry Alty bosses are describing as a series of administrative errors by the FA".

FRIENDS

Please follow the above link to see how you can join in and both win prizes and support the Club.

HISTON GAME

Right: Nicky Clee gets stuck in against Histon. Photo courtesy of Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography

The half-time TASC bucket collection raised a commendable £70.70 from a small gate; many thanks to collectors and donors alike.

the Cambridge News reports that "David Livermore admitted feeling nervous about making the changes to his Histon side that would later culminate in their vital 3-0 win at Blue Square Bet Premier relegation rivals Altrincham. Zac Attwood and Lewis Taaffe came in for Daniel Sparkes and Lee Smith, while Livermore took Erkan Okay’s place in defence...

He said. 'It could have backfired, we could have lost. Then people would have been asking me what I made the changes for. I’m not going to praise myself, it’s my job to make decisions like that. I just felt it was the right time, especially for the two lads in the wide areas, to come in and improve us... Our last six games have featured two defeats, two draws and two wins', he said. 'The thing I was probably most disappointed about in those six games was that we’d only scored three goals. That said to me we weren’t creating enough, and that’s why I made the changes'".

NEXT OPPONENTS

Law told BBC Radio Northampton: 'The boys have been mentally strong with the turmoil we've gone through. Romone McCrae and Danny Mills have brought something in and Pat Noubissie is desperate to get back in'... Mills, on loan from Peterborough, scored on his debut in the 2-1 win over Bath City on Tuesday night. He is one of five players currently on loan at Rockingham Road, alongside Posh team-mate McCrae, Leicester City's Jorrin John and Luke O'Neill, plus Coventry City's Callum Wilson.

The loan signings have bolstered a Kettering Town squad which lost eight first team players following the club's decision to cut an 'unsustainable' wage bill in December. However, the club's future beyond 2013 is still uncertain. The club are seeking an extension to their lease at Rockingham Road, which is due to expire in two years' time".

According to the Northants Evening Telegraph, "Perseverance pays off was the message that Marcus Law was delivering after Danny Mills’s debut goal had steered the Poppies to a 2-1 victory over Bath City at a sodden Rockingham Road...

He said: 'Bath came to stay in the game. They worked very hard to break the game up and knocked us off our rhythm... We got a bit frustrated but the nice reward is that we came through it with a fantastic finish'".

Talking of his loan signings, Law added: "They’re fringe boys in first-team squads and they’re desperate for games and to be part of it. I’m happy to give them that opportunity".

BSBP NEWS

The paper reveals how the Quakers' future is back in jeopardy due to a financial wrangle resulting in the holding company which owns the stadium and surrounding land being placed in receivership and chairman Raj Singh threatening to walk away... I met Mr Singh on Monday night and it is clear he's coming to the end of his tether...

The bottom line is that Darlington Football Club will never be viable with a soul-less 25,000-seater stadium dragging it down. It simply can't work. At some stage, one way or another, the Neasham Road site will have to be developed with some creative thinking around planning rules and regulations. Otherwise, the site risks becoming a neglected and embarrassing white elephant, sitting on an important cross-town route".

On Wednesday, The Echo added, "Mr Singh, who has pumped more than £2.5m into the club since taking over from former chairman George Houghton in the summer of 2009, risks losing control of both the stadium and the land surrounding it. As a result, the Teesside businessman is ready to cut his losses and sever his ties with Darlington... While Mr Singh is the sole owner of the football club, the stadium and surrounding land is the property of a holding company that was jointly owned by Mr Singh and Mr Houghton.

Prior to Mr Singh’s arrival, that holding company incurred a £1.7m debt to Philip Scott and Graham Sizer, former senior executives with the Darlington-based care home company Southern Cross Healthcare. Mr Singh understood that the debt would be settled by Mr Houghton before a prearranged date towards the end of last year, but that did not happen.

Mr Singh has now assumed 75 per cent ownership of the holding company, but the £1.7m debt, which has increased to more than £2m because of accrued interest, remains outstanding and Mr Scott and Mr Sizer have called in receivers to recover the debt. Mr Singh subsequently made what he described as a generous offer to Mr Scott and Mr Sizer, in line with an independent valuation of the holding company’s assets, but it was turned down.

The receivers are now expected to market the land and stadium and, if a buyer cannot be found, Mr Scott and Mr Sizer would assume ownership as the first-ranking creditors. The pair have no interest in running the football club, which operates as a separate company under the name Darlington Football Club 2009, but are willing to honour an existing lease that enables the club to use the stadium for the next 13 years at £10,000 a year.

However, if Mr Singh loses control of the stadium and surrounding land, he does not feel the football club justifies a continued investment, understood to be about £20,000-a-week...

Mr Scott, who is chief executive of Priory Group, said 'Some three-and-a-half years ago, when the club was in real difficulty, Graham and I, at the request of the then chairman, George Houghton, provided loan funds of £1.7m... we have never received any interest payments or dividends... Graham and I agreed to a new lease that allows Raj and the club to operate at a very nominal rent. Yes, he did make us an offer, which was unacceptable as it was less than 25 per cent of the total debt. That said, he still has the right to continue operations under terms of the lease that has the nominal rent'.

Mr Houghton said: “It was always, and still is, Raj’s duty to pay those guys off. The loan always related to the property and the land. I have not benefited by £1 from the club, and have lost several millions since I became involved. I own a minority share of 25 per cent of the property and the land. Raj has to pay off the two, but now appears to be blaming me in what appears to be a premeditated strategy'”.

Meanwhile, Darlington FC say that "The Darlington chairman is determined to secure the future of the football club... But his hands are being tied by a deal done with former chairman George Houghton and Philip Scott and Graham Sizer in January 2007. After a valuation of the Arena and land was carried out by an independent Newcastle-based property surveyor, Mr Singh has offered Mr Scott and Mr Sizer 100% of that valuation.

Further to that, he's offering more payments over future years, based on the success of the football club, which would take the total to 60% of the original debt. Given the current climate, Darlington's league status and the valuation of the Arena and land, Mr Singh has this morning reaffirmed that his offer is both realistic and generous...

Mr Singh said: 'Mr Scott and Mr Sizer are calling in their loan which of course they're entitled to do, but they need to get real with their valuation. Their original deal was done four years ago when George Houghton sold them the dream of getting into the Championship. Since then the club has gone into administration, nearly gone out of business all together and has dropped out of the Football League...

Mr Scott in an email said: 'Marketing of the stadium will commence asap and I suspect the outcome will be that we will become your new landlords. That is a possibility we are very excited about as we have real plans for the site in the long-term once Raj has tired of pumping his own capital into a club that has no material prospects'".

And there is also financial trouble at another ex-League club as the Luton & Dunstable Express reports that "Luton tTown’s owners are more than a year behind schedule and have defaulted twice in paying for the club, we can reveal. The ‘Luton 2020’ consortium paid an initial £1.085 million for the Hatters in July 2008, with a further £50,000 chunk arriving on time two months later along with £490,000 payable in January 2010...

Last November, the agreement was renegotiated to reduce the monthly payments and extend the repayment period to March 1, 2011.

By November 16, 2010, the total payments made by Luton 2020 were £315,000. Since then a further £90,000 has been paid, leaving a total of £135,000 outstanding from the overall £1.625 million price... Mazars’ joint liquidator, Martin Pickard, said: “I’m hoping they pay in accordance with the last agreement. If they don’t, I have legal redress to get the money in. At times you have to use tools to do so... If they default again and did not go into administration, we can petition to wind them up'...

Club managing director Gary Sweet said: 'I’m really busy. Can we speak later? ... I’m not going to be around to answer anything like that'. Since the turn of the year the club, who say their cornerstones are ‘openness, honesty and transparency’, have persistently refused to comment on the current status of their stadium relocation feasibility study".

But later "Financially sound Hatters board LTFC2020 are set to pay off their debts by the end of the season. Having originally been ordered to pay over £1.6million for the club, including £540,000 extra by the Football League, they have just £90,000 remaining to pay off. Managing director Gary Sweet said: 'We made a payment last week on time and the debt should be clear by about April'".

ALTRINCHAM 0 HISTON 3

Right; Greg Young, Wes Baynes, Rob Williams and Marc Joseph are seen here during last night's game versus Histon.

Tuesday, 15th February

COMING UP

BALL BOYS AND GIRLS NEEDED

YANKEE JACKPOT

BSBP NEWS

Alamo International, as sponsors of Crawley Town FC have generously agreed that Alamo's name will be moved from the front to the back of the special shirts being released for this special match... This is an amazing time both for the town of Crawley and for the football club".

Meanwhile, the BBC reports that "A man has been arrested following a complaint that Crawley Town's FA Cup song featured a supporter mocking the victims of the Munich air crash. The non-league side and musician Mike Dobie recorded a version of The Specials' A Message To You Rudy as A Message To You Rooney. A Manchester United fan complained that the video, posted on YouTube, featured a supporter making aircraft gestures. The 1958 Munich air crash left 23 people dead, including eight players...

Sussex Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of causing harassment, alarm or distress and bailed until 25 February... A spokeswoman added: 'A 19-year-old man was last night arrested by police in Crawley following complaints about the content of a music video produced to support Crawley Town Football Club in its FA Cup run. The man from Crawley was arrested under the Public Order Act on suspicion of causing harassment, alarm or distress and has been bailed until 25 February pending further inquiries'...

Crawley Town are believed to have given the fan a lifetime ban from the club... A re-edited version of the song, featuring the lyrics 'Rooney, a message to you Rooney, we're going to Wembley', has been put on the club's website."

Elsewhere, "Cambridge United player-assistant manager Paul Carden is in talks over a loan move to Luton Town, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire understands. The 31-year-old was made available for loan by the U's on Monday... A switch to the Hatters would see the midfielder link up with former Cambridge boss Gary Brabin.

'There are a couple of clubs that are options for him', caretaker boss Jez George told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. 'Though nothing is likely to happen until the end of the week'... The midfielder has been a virtual ever-present for the U's this season... [He] has 18 months remaining on his current deal at the Abbey".

From the Football Conference, we learn that "Barrow have signed former Bury and Oxford United midfielder Richie Baker ahead of Tuesday's scheduled trip to Mansfield Town, which has since fallen foul of a waterlogged Field Mill pitch. Baker, 23, is seen as a replacement for James Owen, who will miss six weeks due to a hernia operation, with Christian Smith now having returned to Wrexham.

Baker began his career as part of the Manchester United youth system. Following his release from Old Trafford he joined Preston North End for the final year as a scholar, moving to Bury on professional terms in 2006. He made 107 appearances for Bury before joining Oxford last summer. He featured in seven games for the Kassam Stadium outfit before leaving when his contract expired in early January".

According to Blue Square Football, "Kettering will have to do without the services of Tom Flanagan after the youngster was recalled by parent club MK Dons. The defender, who joined the Poppies on loan at the start of the year, was only due back at stadium:mk in March. However, a string of absentees prompted Dons boss Karl Robinson to reinstate the 19-year-old".

Meanwhile, "Kettering Town have signed Peterborough United duo Danny Mills and Romone McCrae on-loan until the end of the season", states NL Daily. "Mills, 19 and stands 6`4”, has already spent loan periods with Diamonds, Crawley Town, Histon and Torquay United. He has played three times in Peterborough`s senior side. McRae, who has appeared twice as a substitute for the Posh first-team, also spent time out on loan with Histon last season, making eighteen appearances and scoring twice".

Recently with Grimsby Town, "Morecambe have signed striker Danny Carlton on a deal to the end of the season. Carlton, who left Bury in January, started his career with the Shrimps" reports Bulls News.

PIERGIANNI OUT

SOUTHPORT DATE

TONIGHT

In advance of their trip to Moss Lane, Blue Square Football tells us that "Histon boss David Livermore insists his team can still beat the drop despite losing 1-0 to fellow strugglers Hayes and Yeading on the weekend... leaving the Stutes second from bottom on 23 points - two behind Altrincham who they visit on Tuesday.

And while Livermore is disappointed that a four-match unbeaten streak has ended, he backs his charges to recover quickly. 'We let ourselves down with our passing', Livermore told Cambridge News. 'The decision-making was good, but the quality was not as good as it has been in recent games... but we need to threaten the opposition's goal more than we have done. It's disappointing, but the season did not end on Saturday. We've got 16 games to go to accumulate enough points to keep us in this division... We seemed a little bit flat in the wide areas. Because we didn't keep the ball for longer, our attacks kept breaking down and our wide boys ended up playing deeper. If our possession is good, they play higher up the pitch. These are things we need to put right before the game on Tuesday'".

REFEREES

On Saturday, for the visit of Kettering Town, the referee is Mr S.M. Stockbridge who seems not to have reffed Alty before.

2005 TEAM REUNION

There are three immediate ways to do your bit:

YOUTH TEAM

BSBP NEWS

From Wales The Leader informs us that "Controversial businessman Stephen Vaughan has revealed he was part of the consortium poised to take over at Wrexham FC. And Mr Vaughan has said if no alternative buyer is found by the club’s current owners, he and his investment colleagues could be prepared to come back to the negotiating table.

The last few weeks have been a bewildering whirlwind for followers of the football club. First came the announcement that the owners were looking to sell up to a company called Van Morton Investments. A deal was said to have been agreed to sell Wrexham FC 'as soon as possible', with The Racecourse and club training ground to follow.

But that was followed by the news that Van Morton had pulled out of any proposed buy-out. A press release was issued blaming adverse publicity for the takeover not going ahead.

In an interview with the Leader about the affair, Mr Vaughan, a former owner of Chester City, said: 'I was part of a consortium which included former Premier League footballers and a cosmetics retail magnate. That was the reason for going the overseas route with the company and retaining anonymity – they didn’t want their business interests revealed. The new Wrexham chairman, Robert Bickerton, has been criticised by some people for saying he didn’t know who we were, but he was telling the truth.

I am a stakeholder in Van Morton Investments, but if the proposed purchase had gone ahead I wouldn’t have been part of the day to day running of the club. It is well documented what went on with Chester City and myself. That was a bad experience. I have had enough of running a football club and the headaches that come with it'.

He added: 'If Wrexham do find another buyer then that is fair enough and I wish them well. But if there is no other potential purchaser we could still be interested in an agreement'.

Mr Vaughan said Wrexham had fitted the investors’ requirements of currently being a non-league club which had the potential to get back into the Football League and earn further promotion".

Meanwhile, "The Wrexham Supporters Trust (WST) has defended itself against criticisms made by the owners of Wrexham FC. On Friday a statement on the club’s website said: 'We consider some comments made on behalf of the WST regarding current issues to be completely inaccurate'.

The statement also said the Trust had been offered the opportunity to purchase the club for £1 with a further option to buy the Racecourse. It added that a preliminary meeting had taken place but there had been no further response.

A Trust spokesman said yesterday, however: 'No detail is given regarding which statements are inaccurate. We would be grateful if the owners of Wrexham Village could furnish us with details of those statements in order that we could address those concerns... The impression given is that the owners of Wrexham FC have been keen to do a deal with the WST and we have been avoiding contact. We will not have our characters impugned in this manner.

Following a meeting on April 9, we were not able to sit down with the owners of the club until October. At that meeting, they agreed to share the club’s financial information with our advisers. Sadly, despite numerous requests, all recorded, they have been unwilling to back up their offer. It is not our intention to seek conflict with the owners of Wrexham FC but we will move to protect our good name when necessary'".

BOOKINGS CLARIFIED

However, James Smith is "Suspended from all first team football until the Club have completed 2 first team matches for a Sending Off in a match played on 12/02/2011".

SHAUN OUT

NEXT UP... HISTON

the two sides appeared a little apprehensive in an attacking sense, the first strike on goal coming after 17 minutes... The second half was to see the home side become a whole lot more adventurous".

Mike Garnett informs us that our record against Histon is poor - one win in seven attempts and just four goals scored by Alty.

TUESDAY

GREG & MICHAEL

Right: Greg Young, on loan from York City, didn't really have to fight for his place in Alty's side on Saturday at Kidderminster but he did wrestle with fellow Yorkshireman, Nicky Clee, as part of Alty's warm-up routine. Greg's receipt of squad number 22 confirms the departure of Michael Welch who previously had that shirt number and who has left after finding himself with restricted opportunities in the first team at Moss Lane. Michael made 9(+4) appearances this season, to give him a total of 21(+21) for Altrincham. His three goals included the wonder strike from 74 yards against Crawley. All at Moss Lane wish Michael well for his future career.

The York Press reported on Saturday that "With Greg Young having joined former club Altrincham on loan, York City manager Gary Mills was again debating whether to name reserve goalkeeper David Knight on the bench at AFC Wimbledon today.

Centre-back Young was doubling up as Mills’ emergency outfield choice between the sticks after faring better than Chris Smith when Michael Ingham was sent off at Luton... Mills said: 'I’ll think about putting a ’keeper on the bench and everybody will know if I have done by 2.30pm today'.

About the decision to loan Young out, Mills added: 'Greg has been knocking on my door a few times because he wanted to play games. He’s been frustrated but I didn’t want to let him go while we had the situation with Dave McGurk and Luton Town. We did not know what would happen there but the deadline has gone and Dave’s still here so that’s been resolved and we had another look at things. If I hadn’t brought Liam Darville in, Greg would not have gone but, in Dan Parslow, Chris Smith and Dave McGurk, I’ve now got three good centre-halves so I was happy to let him go out with the option of recalling him'".

YOUTH FIXTURE

AFTER 15 WEEKS...

Above: these were the atrocious conditions in which Alty Youth played an entertaining game against FC United Youth on Sunday afternoon.

It was 15 weeks since Alty Youth had played a home league game (on 31 October 2010) when they took on FC United of Manchester Youth on Sunday afternoon. The visitors had not dropped a point all season but Alty, despite lacking several regular players, held them until the 89th minute beofre losing 2-1, with Theo Kidd putting Alty ahead in the first half. A report is on the Youth Page.

AFTER THE GAME

The BBC has a post-match interview with Kidderminster boss, Steve Burr.

Meanwhile, in the NL Paper, after Saturday's game, Ken McKenna said, "It was a very frustrating afternoon. We struggled to live with them in the first half and conceded two sloppy goals. Second half, we have done ever so well. We definitely deserved to get something". Harriers' boss Steve Burr added, "Credit to Altrincham, they had a right go... We've p[layed against ten men and not used it to our advantage. Second half they kept coming at us and pushed us all the way".

Kidderminster Harriers reports on how "The biggest Aggborough crowd of the season saw them down Altrincham 2-1... The early exchanges were fairly tentative to say the least...

Out of nothing, the Robins hit back for 2-1 - a ball into the box wasn't properly dealt with and was allowed to run free just outside the area, Wes Baynes driving it back goalwards and finding the back of the net with the help of a hefty deflection.

Burr's men weren't dented by that, however, and went straight back up the other end to attack. The ball found its way into the area over the shoulder of Wright who controlled it well and shaped to shoot, denied his effort by the lunging Carl Piergianni who clearly took the feet of the striker - stonewalled penalty and one of the most nailed on red cards you'll ever see for the Alty man - his team mates protests were long and and unnecessary; hardly the example for professional footballers to be setting with some 200 extra youngsters in attendance as part of Junior Teams Day...

Three [minutes] before the hour mark it should have been 2-2 as Altrincham worked the ball excellently into the penalty area courtesy of Damian Reeves - he got past all and fizzed a ball across the face of goal that rolled along the line and dinked off the woodwork, straight at the feet of Nicky Clee who, somehow, managed to scoop the ball over an empty goal from no more than a few inches out...

Harriers held on. The same couldn't be said for Alty's James Smith, however, the defender seeing a straight red in injury time for foul and abusive language, the visitors ending with nine".

Another report comes from the Worcester News, to the effect that the Harriers emerged "With a hard fought win over Altrincham on Saturday... Goals for Jack Byrne and Nick Wright had given the hosts a deserved lead in front of a big crowd. However, a penalty miss from Tom Shaw encouraged Altrincham, who had been reduced to 10 men, to take the game to the hosts in the second half.

The hosts lived on their nerves as the Cheshire side probed, with centrebacks Greg Young and Robbie Lawton going close for the visitors. But in the end, Steve Burr's troops kept out the Altrincham barrage to make it five home wins in a row... Harriers were given a golden chance to increase the lead on the stroke of half-time. Wright had stole[n] into the box but was brought down by Carl Piergianni's reckless tackle, for which the Altrincham man was sent off. Shaw's penalty was firmly struck but not far enough in the bottom corner and Dootson did well to dive to his right and claw the ball away...

Harriers survived a 57th minute scare. Damian Reeves' low cross canoned off the bar [upright] into the path of Nicky Clee who from six yards out skied his shot over the bar... Tempers boiled over in the fourth minute of time added on, with James Smith dismissed for pushing Harriers substitute Jamille Matt".

NEXT GAME

The Cambridge News adds that "A crucial 1-0 win [for Hayes] ended Histon's run of four games unbeaten. The Stutes started brightly but only Zak Mills registered an effort on target with a header from Lee Smith's free-kick... Histon dominated the second half but could not find their way past the Hayes defence. Lanre Oyebanjo was particularly impressive but for all their possession they rarely tested the Hayes keeper".

Right: Carl Piergianni will be suspended for Altrincham on Tuesday night..

OLD BOYS

Neil Roberts informs the website that "Kevin Ellison made a good debut for Bradford City by scoring the only goal of the match against a high-flying Wycombe Wanderers team. Sliding in at the far post to convert a Luke O'Brien cross in the 69th minute. He was then booked for removing his shirt when celebrating. Finally he was named Man-of-the-match by the match sponsors. So not a bad start to his Bradford City career. Alty supporters can hopefully see him in action this Friday as City are on Sky TV when they travel to Port Vale".

BSBP NEWS

'He's had a groin problem for the past two to three weeks now', explained Bluebirds joint-boss David Bayliss to the North-West Evening Mail. 'He went to see a specialist this morning and was told he has a hernia. James will have an operation on it next week. It's a big blow because it means we are left with just two central midfielders in the squad in Robin Hulbert and Darren Sheridan. Our other central midfielder, Christian Smith is also injured and will go back to Wrexham when his loan ends after this weekend. James has been a shining light this season and we will miss his energy, but he has been playing through the pain barrier and unable to walk after games'.

He added: 'We have identified a central midfielder and he has been training with us. It was a player we wanted in the summer but he went to a Football League club. He's now a free agent. We'll have to see if we can do it financially'".

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 2 ALTRINCHAM 1

Left: Craig Dootson, here seen taking a freekick, saved a penalty on his Alty league debut today.

Altrincham were very unlucky to take nothing from this game which they finished with eight fit players on the pitch. Byrne put Kiddy ahead after a shot rebounded off the post to him following a scramble. Wright's fierce 25-yarder made it 2-0 after 37 minutes. Alty got back to 2-1 when Baynes fired home following a Clee throw in. But just before the break Piergianni was controversially sent off when he made a fine covering tackle which the referee judged to be a foul. It seemed that Piergianni had been dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity but it later emerged that the reason given by the referee was "foul and abusive language". Dootson made a fine save from the penalty kick, however.

But Alty's ten men were the better side for the early part of the second period and when Reeves's effort came back off the post, Clee somehow spooned well over from three yards. Alty also hit the crossbar and had two efforts cleared off the line but Kiddy hung on before applying some late pressure.

Smith got himself sent off for a petulant spat in injury time - again the reason given was "foul and abusive language". To cap the afternoon Densmore finished the game lame after being fouled, leaving Alty with eight fit men at the final whistle. Kidderminster failed totally to exploit their numerical advantage and can count themselves fortunate to have taken all the points.

Though, before today's game, Alty had won more games at Aggborough against Kidderminster than the Harriers had won against us, it has not been a happy hunting ground in the six games Alty have played there since our return to the Conference in 2005; in the first four matches, Alty had a penalty awarded against them which was converted; in the last three, they have had at least one man sent off in each game. So, the total is now 4 penalties and 4 sending offs in six visits!

Another curious feature of today's double sending off is that, Alty completed 24 league games this season without any red cards being received; yet, in the five matches since then, they have had four players dismissed.

SATURDAY

Saturday, 12 February:

Right: Sam Wedgbury, Alty's loaned midfielder from Macclesfield Town, is shown here by Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography, scoring one of his two goals on Tuesday night.

BEFORE THE GAME

Altrincham take on the financially troubled Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday afternoon. The Harriers report that they "are delighted to announce the one-month loan signing of striker Sean Canham from Hereford United. Canham looked to be a day away from signing as a Kidderminster player back in the summer as one of boss Steve Burr's top close-season pursuits, before opting for a move into the Football League with the Bulls...

The Exeter-born player began his career with his hometown club back in 2003 but it was his explosive form in non-league football with Team Bath that really got him noticed; by slamming in 68 goals in just 120 games... before in 2008 agreeing to join Notts County.

He remained at Meadow Lane for two seasons but struggled for first-team action and was released at the end of last season... [after] a loan spell at Hayes & Yeading United.... He goes straight into the squad for our game against Altrincham".

More good news for the Harriers is that they "hope to have winger Matty Blair back fit for tomorrow's... home fixture with Altrincham. The former AFC Telford man limped off early in the 4-0 win at Hayes & Yeading late last month and missed out against Bath City last weekend as a result. But the player joined in training yesterday and is in good shape. Assistant boss Gary Whild is hoping that the progress can continue up to kick-off tomorrow and have the lively crowd favourite at his disposal.

Said Whild, 'If there is no reaction then, fingers crossed, he'll come into the frame for Saturday'. Meanwhile, fellow wing man Dave Hankin misses out as he continues to struggle with a hip problem - striker Lee Morris also remaining on the sidelines with a thigh issue".

Referring to Altrincham, Kidderminster say that "Only a narrow defeat at the hands of Wrexham recently has dented their recent good form - a fine win over Hayes & Yeading among other results had helped lift them off the foot of the table and much closer to safety. They were also handed a huge boost this week after capturing the signature of Greg Young, a real Alty favourite who joins the club for a second time having initially left for York City in the summer.

Marc Joseph (suspension) returns to the line-up for Altrincham tomorrow after being denied a comeback with the Southport washout, the same being said for Wes Baynes who is available having missed out against his parent club Wrexham.

Whild admits that struggling Altrincham will provide his side with more than a tricky test, but added: 'From our point of view, the form at home has been good this season regardless of who we've played against. Altrincham are struggling down at the bottom and points are precious to them for a different reason so it will be a difficult game but we just have to keep aspiring to do what we have been doing - the points and the football then look after themselves'".

Meanwhile, "Kidderminster assistant manager Gary Whild told BBC Hereford & Worcester, 'It has been difficult this week as the problems have become more apparent to the players in the fact that they didn't get their wages. So that has been has dealt with now and things are looking a lot more optimistic. From a football point of view it is nice to have a clean piece of paper if you like and just get ready for Saturday's game'".

The BBC adds that "Kidderminster could be without striker Lee Morris, who is struggling with a thigh injury. Midfielders Matty Blair (hip) and Dave Hankin (calf) are both also doubtful for the game.

Altrincham will include defender Greg Young, who rejoined the club on loan from York this week. Defender Marc Joseph is available after completing a three-match ban, but striker Chris Denham (groin) is unlikely to be involved."

SPECIAL OFFER ON SHIRT SPONSORSHIP

2005 REUNION - CORRECTION

Only Gary Talbot and Val Owen are unable to come, but three of the subs plus Peter Band and Stephen Rose have confirmed their attendance. Please get your tickets in advance to help catering arrangements and to avoid disappointment, by ringing the club on 928-1045.

BSBP NEWS

"crawley Town have enjoyed a terrific FA Cup run this season - the club has admitted that 40% is owned offshore. Crawley Town have done well to get to the FA Cup fifth round, where they face Manchester United a week on Saturday. Four points off the top of the non-league pyramid with five games in hand, the club have come a long way in a couple of years: in 2009 £1m of debt threatened their existence. So what has been behind their transformation?

Bruce Winfield, Crawley's chairman, is often credited with having put in the funds that wiped away the debts and laid out an estimated £400,000 on transfer fees alone. Wages for players used to playing at a much higher level have cost more still. Yet Crawley have not been sustained by Winfield's salary alone. That is published in the annual accounts of the Media Square, the plc where he was appointed as a director in April 2009.

But those accounts say Winfield earns less than £200,000 a year. His Media Square shares cannot have been a source of riches either, as the company has made cumulative operating losses over the past three years of £38m and dividends have all but disappeared.

Nonetheless, according to the 2010 share register, Bruce and Silpa Winfield are Crawley's majority owners. The minority owners are Ian and Susan Carter, whose World Transhipment Services company paid them £200,000 each in dividends last year, which is a very nice sum, but again does not make them non-league Sheikh Mansours, or even Malcolm Glazers.

The club's chief executive on Thursday confirmed that there is another offshore holding of less than 40%. "At this time our minority offshore shareholders wish to remain in the background but two of them may be joining the boardroom next season," said Alan Williams. Pity they cannot share in the glory now".

The Football Conference reports that "Jez George, caretaker-manager of Cambridge United, has moved to sign 22-year-old midfielder Ricky Wellard on month`s loan from league rivals AFC Wimbledon. The 6' 4” midfielder, signed from Ashford Town (Middx) in June 2009, has made twenty-two appearances for the Dons this season, scoring twice. Dons' boss Terry Brown made him available for loan earlier this month".

Wrexham report that "We are disappointed by the high level of misreporting and scaremongering that has taken place recently regarding the Racecourse Ground:

1. The Racecourse is owned by Wrexham Village through its subsidiary company Wrexham Football Club, this continues to be the current situation.
2. We have held meetings with Wrexham B.C., Glyndwr University and the FAW to seek ways to improve the stadium.
3. One of the options being considered to enable us to access stadium improvement funding is to create a separate Stadium company (under the same parent ownership). That stadium company management board would include representatives from the above bodies as well as the football and rugby clubs. Nothing has yet been decided.
4. Public Bodies and Banks will simply not lend money to loss making football clubs.
5. We have no problem with a Council/Community/Trust led initiative to purchase the Racecourse.
6. Considerable funds from the development have been paid into the club virtually every month, we intend to publish the exact amounts shortly and when they were paid over. We will ask an independent accountant fan to inspect and verify with our accountants, then publish his findings on the club website.
7. The Club was offered for sale to the WST for £1 with an option to buy the ground, a preliminary meeting took place but there has been no further response.
8. We consider that some statements made on behalf of the WST regarding current issues to be completely inaccurate.
9. Most people doing due diligence on a business would wish to remain anonymous. We are currently talking to 2 other prospective investors, who now, quite rightly, have made us sign a confidentiality agreement.
10. Stephen Vaughan, as reported in The Leader, has contacted us regarding investing in the Club.
11. Despite having lost only once at home in the league this season, gates have been low and commercial income poor. The club, like most others, loses money and struggles to survive with the owners having to subsidise the wages most months.
12. The level of personal abuse and harassment to the owners and their families has only heightened their desire to exit, despite this they have supported Dean Saunders in the transfer window with Mark Creighton and Jordan McMillan joining for the final push.
13. We urge you to turn up in great numbers on Tuesday to get behind the team (and help our cash flow), as well as at all our remaining home games. Your support is so helpful to the team, clap your hands, sing your heads off ,make a noise, but no abuse please.
14. For those of you who urged us to sack Dean Saunders, who was clueless, had lost the dressing room, etc, etc, please eat some humble pie and sing especially loud.
15. Banners, like the one to sack Dean Saunders, will not be allowed in the ground, only banners supportive of the team are allowed".

Meanwhile Kettering Town "are delighted that Callum Wilson has extended his loan with the Poppies for another month. The Coventry City player, whose loan was due to expire today, will now be available for our next eight games and will return to his parent Club on March 12th. Callum has put in some dazzling performances down the wing".

SATURDAY'S GAME

Pleased as we are that the immediate future of the club is now safe, there is still much work that needs to be done to secure the long term future of the club and preserve its 125-year history. Investors are interested but have yet to commit!

Our media campaign is now turning its attention to this Saturday, when Kidderminster Harriers play Altrincham at Aggborough Stadium, Hoo Rd, Kidderminster, DY10 1NB - 3pm kick off!

KHIST would like to make this day Kidderminster Harriers Community Day as part of 'Operation Full House', whereby we are aiming to generate a full capacity home crowd. To accomplish this - WE NEED YOUR HELP!

With children under 8 admitted FREE, under 16's just £5 to stand, and FREE entry to anyone unemployed (contact the club for details) we want to encourage as many supporters of all ages as possible to come and be a part of this great family club.

This is your football club - if you live anywhere in and within the Kidderminster area - please be at Aggborough on Saturday - bring your family and friends!

We have also been in touch with other local supporters groups including Aston Villa and Wolves, who, as their teams are playing away this Saturday, are sending a contingent of fans to come watch the action at Aggborough...

The donations that have been coming in during this week have been phenomenal - KHIST would like to sincerely thank everyone who has and continues to support us. In addition, our current Personal Membership has now reached over 600 members!" report The Harriers.

The Express & Star says that "Assistant boss Gary Whild was today relieved play-off chasing Kidderminster Harriers have “something left to strive for” after a stay of execution from administration... They are not out of the woods yet but potential investors also came forward yesterday and, having got as far as the due diligence process, there is fresh hope the club could attract fresh funds to make a significant dent in what was £155,000 of debt going into this week...

Whild said: 'It’s always difficult when you are achieving on the pitch and things off the field are affecting that... Having the five points deducted was a massive blow at the time and we didn’t want to go down the road of having any more taken away. It gives the players something left to strive for and will give them a lift going into Saturday'.

An additional boost for Harriers’ players and staff is that they will receive their wages in full for January shortly, after ex-chairman Barry Norgrove and Neil Savery – his former second in command – put up the funds. The squad return to training tomorrow ahead of their home game with Altrincham on Saturday...

Whild said: 'When we left on Monday, when it looked a bit bleak. Now to know that tomorrow we will be going back in, the rest of the money we are owed was there and the prospect of administration not being imminent is a big positive'".

OLD BOY

BSBP NEWS

The Gloucestershire club is owned by Dale Vince who is a vegan who runs green electricity company Ecotricity. Free-range poultry and fish from sustainable stocks will continue to be served.

Communications director Tom Williams said: 'Following discussions with the manager and on nutritional advice, it was decided to no longer feed our team red meat for health and performance reasons. [It has now been] decided that this policy should be extended to the stadium, at least in part, as a further step in establishing ourselves as a "green" organisation.

We appreciate some will miss their burgers and sausages, but our catering staff are working hard on a range of tasty and interesting products to replace those that are no longer available. This is obviously a break with tradition but in time we hope that many will come to see it as a step forward rather than a step backwards. We're a country now where apparently chicken tikka masala is the most popular national dish. I think the old sausage bap won't be much lamented'.

Mr Vince added that 'If red meat was not good enough to feed our players, then it wasn't good enough for our staff, fans and visitors too'. He said: 'Anybody that really needs it can bring a ham sandwich or something if they wish - that's no problem'.

Tim Barnard, who is chairman of Forest Green Rovers' Supporters Trust, said: 'There were a few raised eyebrows on Saturday when there was no cottage pie. But I'm a traditional chips and curry sauce man myself so it doesn't really affect me'".

At Southport "Liam Watson has sent Matty McGinn on loan to Skelmersdale for a month".

Hayes & Yeading United have issued a statement saying "that work has in fact now started on both the Church Road and the Beaconsfield Road sites. This is the beginning of a brand new era for Hayes and Yeading United Football Club, one which everyone at the club greets with great anticipation.

Over the forthcoming months, we will keep you up to date with all of the exciting developments as our new ground is constructed, and we can now reveal that the first phase of constructing the 3rd generation (3G) artificial pitches that will be available for the local community’s use is under way. These will provide vital revenue streams that up until now have not been available to the club.

Whilst construction at Church Road takes place, match day parking will be limited... Whilst the club understands that seeing the work start at Church Road is unsettling, we believe that with the development of our new ground, we are entering an ambitious new chapter in the club’s history".

More than 48 hours before the scheduled game on Saturday afternoon, Gateshead announce that "Due to the current condition of The International Stadium pitch, Saturday's match with Rushden & Diamonds has been switched to Rushden's Nene Park. The situation has been exasperated [?exacerbated] due to overnight rain, with there being real doubt over the condition to stage a match on Saturday. Therefore a decision has been taken to reverse the home and away fixtures, in order to aid the pitch's recovery for the Hayes & Yeading match next Tuesday".

GREG'S RETURN

Left: Greg Young is welcomed back to Moss Lane, on loan from York City; photo courtesy of Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography.

Altrincham joint Press Officer, Brian Flynn, writes:

Young guns for Alty survival!!

"There is no doubt that Altrincham Football Club has experienced a pretty traumatic season to date, yet there is a real air of optimism rattling around Moss Lane just now. 2011 has brought improved performances and results and the club reached the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup on Tuesday with a 12-1 demolition of Alsager Town……..and old rivals Northwich Victoria now await the Robins in the final.

The Alsager result is Altrincham’s highest scoreline in over a century, yet it was the return, on Monday, of talismanic defender Greg Young that has been the catalyst for the emergence of a huge wave of enthusiasm amongst Alty fans.

Many believe that the loss of Young, who joined York City in the summer, has been the biggest single cause of the Robins’ struggles this season and after literally months of trying, manager Ken McKenna’s perseverance has ultimately paid off as the 27 year old re-joins until the end of the season on an emergency loan.

'It was a difficult decision to leave in the summer, but to turn down an offer of full time football, nearer to my home in Doncaster, would have been something that I would no doubt have come to regret. Things haven’t gone as well as I would have liked at York, but that’s football and Altrincham was always the first score I would look for. Looking at the games we have left, there are plenty of winnable ones and I hope that I can play my part in helping the club stay up'.

Young’s first game back in an Alty shirt is likely to be Saturday’s trip to Kidderminster, who are beset with off-field problems, yet still could make the play-offs.

Although last Saturday’s game against Southport was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, Altrincham F.C. would like to advise people who were planning to take advantage of the free ticket offer for that game, that they will be able to use their ticket for the home game against Kettering Town on Saturday February 19th.If any school, football club or affiliated organisation is interested in obtaining free tickets for this game, then they can contact Chris Bullock, Football Liaison Officer, on 0161 962 2369".

WATCH IN STYLE

BSBP NEWS

Wes Baynes struck four times on Tuesday night and here is pictured by Gavin Rathbone GR Photography in action during the match.

From Blue Square Football we learn that "Former Cambridge United defender Steve Fallon has thrown his name into the hat for the vacant U's job. The former Histon mentor is keen to take over the reins at the club following the dismissal of Martin Ling at the beginning of the month.

Fallon told CambridgeNews: 'I'm going to apply because I've seen one or two who have put their names in the hat and my record stands up to that. I was at Cambridge United for a long time and it's not nice to see them struggling. I'd like to think I did a good job at Histon, even though it didn't end in the proper way. My next move could be for the rest of my working life. I don't know what they're looking for or whether they already have somebody in mind, but we'll see what happens'".

The Birmingham Mail tells us that "Football fans across the country have joined the battle to save Kidderminster Harriers by raising £14,000 in 24 hours. A campaign started by the independent fans group, KHIST, has been set up via social networking sites Twitter and Facebook...

Club directors will meet today to consider the next step. The club needs to find £155,000 to keep afloat, while they face a winding-up order from HM Customs & Revenue on February 23. 'We’ve raised £14,000 so far and it’s an absolutely fantastic response from fans, both locally and further afield', said KHIST vice-chairman Steve Millington. 'We know we are fighting for the future of the club but I’m more hopeful now than I was 24 hours ago'...

KHIST revealed Saturday’s home match against Altrincham will be Operation Full House in a bid to get a bumper attendance to help raise cash. 'We want to get the stadium full to the rafters', said Davies. 'The capacity is 6,250 and if we get that it will raise £100,000 in gate receipts. That’s two-thirds towards the total we need for the rest of the season. We’ve already had supporters from Villa and other Premier League and Football League clubs saying they will come'.

Unexpected news comes from Wrexham where "The Club announces that Van Morton Investments have withdrawn from their options to buy the Club, the Stadium and the training ground. This is as a direct result of the negative and adverse publicity that they have witnessed. Further they are aware of the abuse and threats that the current owners have received over this matter. They now plan to look elsewhere.

The current owners have asked the new management team of Robert Bickerton, Tony Allan and Jon Harris to stay on. They are tasked with running the Club and to seek parties who are interested in investing. Any such interested parties should in the first instance contact Tony Allan, the Club's Chief Executive. Further information will be released as and when appropriate".

ALTRINCHAM 12 ALSAGER TOWN 1

Right: Mohamed Coly made his Alty debut last night, in the Alty midfield.

Though they did not match the record 14-2 home win against Sale Holmfield in 1903-04 in their inaugural season playing as Altrincham FC, (coincidentally, also in the Cheshire Senior Cup), Altrincham may well have recorded their highest ever score at Moss Lane last night as the 1903 game will have been played at their previous Pollitt's Field ground.

CONGRATULATIONS

BEFORE THE GAME

Vics were informed in 2009 by the trustees of the Knypersley Sports and Social and Miners' Welfare Club they had two seasons left at Tunstall Road – and had struggled to come up with any alternatives. Cross said: 'The club was dead on its feet. We needed someone who was capable of bringing it all together, who had experience, respect and the time to do it'.

The man to take on the challenge is Terry Greer, who will resign as chairman of Biddulph Vics after next Thursday's League Cup tie against Rocester to take over a similar position at Wood Park. Cross is expected to become vice chairman.

Alsager voted in favour of Vics' documented proposals at a meeting last Friday, although Cross insisted: 'It is not a merger. It is Alsager Town with new committee members'. Greer, 63 said: 'It is important Alsager Town stay in the Premier Division and a new management team will be in place by the end of the week. There is the potential for a good club at Alsager and we have short, medium and long-term plans to get the club back on its feet'", he told This is Staffs.

YANKEE

MID-WEEK

Monday, 7 February

Tuesday, 8 February

CSC SF

BSBP NEWS

"The Board of Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is delighted to announce that there have been new developments at the Club.

A band of principled supporters have donated a substantial amount of money which has given the Club a reprieve from entering into the legal and financial process in the short term. Furthermore, discussions are taking place with potential new investors. All parties have agreed to a strict confidentiality agreement whilst a short period of due diligence takes place.

In addition, the Board are also extremely thankful to Mr. Barry Norgrove and Mr. Neil Savery, who have today given money to pay the outstanding wage bill for all staff. The Board would like to thank KHIST and all those who are working tirelessly to raise funds for the Football Club and, once again thank the staff, players and supporters for their support through this difficult time.

Further details will be released as soon as possible here on the official club website".

Earlier, the Express & Star said that "Kidderminster Harriers were today facing up to the likelihood their season will take another turn for the worse with the club set to file for administration. Harriers need to raise £150,000 by the end of the day [to] avoid having to apply for a Company Voluntary Arrangement, ahead of a winding-up order over an unpaid tax bill of £16,000 on February 23.

Unless a saviour is found, board members will meet with financial and legal experts tomorrow to discuss their next move, which will almost certainly be administration and a 10-point penalty from the league...

Most of the staff have yet to be paid their full wages for January and, having already had five points scrubbed from their

According to Blue Square Football, "Kidderminster Harriers midfielder Chris McPhee could be on his way to Cheltenham Town with former Harriers' boss Mark Yates keen on his signature. The club's bleak financial situation is such that they put top-scorer Chris McPhee on the transfer list, in order to generate some much-needed funds.

Rivals Crawley Town and Hereford were both interested in the 27-year-old, with Harriers accepting a bid from the Bulls, but he rejected a move and pledged his commitment to the club. But as he is the club's highest earner, a move would significantly help their plight...

According to This is Gloucestershire, McPhee will join forward Brian Smikle and central defender Martin Riley in switching clubs".

The Worcester News reports that "Kidderminster Harriers Independent Supporters Trust say that a full house on Saturday would raise around £100,000 for the crisis-club. Aggborough has a 6,250 capacity and they host Altrincham on Saturday.

And KHIST board member Karl Davies believes... 'With ticket sales, programme sales and everything else a full house would bring in around £100,000', Davies said...

Harriers' director Keith Chandler is refusing to thrown in the towel... The Pershore-based architect says that the directors will battle on to try and prevent the club from falling into a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA)".

The Football Conference says that "Alfreton Town have signed defender Scott Garner on loan from Grimsby Town. A highly-rated centre half, Garner joined the Mariners from league rivals Mansfield Town in June 2010".

Meanwhile, "Gateshead have extended the loan deal of Newcastle United right-back James Tavernier and have released defenders Alan White and David Brown. Faroe Islands international Joan Simun Edmundsson, meanwhile, has returned to Newcastle following the completion of his one month loan spell. Tavernier, 19, has signed on until the 9th April which means he will miss the last four games of the season...

Vastly-experienced central defender White joined Gateshead from Stalybridge Celtic in November but has made only a handful of appearances, while former Sunderland trainee Brown's only game was at Southport in the FA Trophy. A couple of players may also go out on loan, although Bogie is mindful that he needs a big squad for the heavy schedule ahead".

COINCIDENCES?

YOUR SUPPORT IS IMPORTANT

Admission prices have been reduced to:

And, don't forget, Greg Young will be at the game so come along and welcome him back to Moss Lane!

SPONSOR A GAME!

Due to postponements - four of the five of Alty's outstanding rearranged games are home matches - matchday revenue at Moss Lane has been low recently. And the fact that, when games which were originally Saturday afternoon fixtures are played on midweek nights, attendances are always lower, means that all the support that you can give the club is vitally important.

NEXT SATURDAY

As usual TASC is providing supporters' coach transport and as this is a Band One game, it is great value for money at just £11 return for adult TASC members. Full details of the fares, pick up points and timings are on the Away Travel page.

The referee at Kidderminster will be Mr R. J. Martin. On Tuesday, for the visit of Histon we welcome Mr B. Khatib who, coincidentally, reffed Altrincham 3-2 Kidderminster Harriers at Moss Lane in April 2010, as well as Altrincham 2-2 Forest Green Rovers on 14 November, 2009 and Altrincham 1-1 Kettering in August 2008, amongst others.

ALTY GIG

"'Like A Hurricane'............it's 'Real Young & the Lazy Horse'

It isn't just on the pitch that things have been postponed at Moss Lane this season. The re-arranged 'Real Young and the Lazy Horse' Gig takes place in the Noel White Suite on Friday night....that's February 11th. Doors open at 7.00pm and the musical kick off is at 7.30pm.There will also be a support act.

Tickets are available priced at £4 and can be obtained from Brian Flynn at the Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final against Alsager on Tuesday or by calling him on 07860 561011.

The gig was originally scheduled for November, but had to be cancelled due to the lead singer, Simon Foster, suffering from flu and losing his voice. Just like Alty, Simon is now in much better health and raring to go on Friday!!

Real Young and the Lazy Horse are a Neil Young tribute band and the other band members are:-

Drums: Jim Fallon – a regular here at Moss Lane with his dad. Jim runs his own drum school and is an ace drummer – hits the skins real hard!!!

Bass Guitar: Manuel Kochgruber – Mani moved from Switzerland when he was 6. He is a fantastic musician and plays in another band – The Replicants.

2nd Guitar: Nigel Hennerley – Alty fan.....and gateman.......Nigel has been a Neil Young fan since the 70s. So when he was asked, last year, to rehearse with the band, he didn’t need to be asked twice.

So there it is- please come along, listen to some great music, have a beer or two and help support the club!

Rumour has it that Hughesy will be there just to check out that there is a real person called Mani Kochgruber!"

FA TROPHY 4R DRAW

BSBP NEWS

1. The club need to find £155,000 by this Tuesday 8th February lunchtime or the club face being forced into a CVA or worse. If this money is found, based on current cashflow forecasts by the current board, the club are confident this situation can be avoided.
2. The players and staff will be paid a proportion of their outstanding salaries today (Monday 7th February)
3. As is common knowledge the club face a winding up order for unpaid tax on the 23rd February which amounts to £16,000.
4. Currently there is a further £52,000 owed to small creditors.

These points fully explain the gravity of our current financial situation. The KHIST board are extremly critical of the running of the football club in recent years... The problems have not occurred since October 2010. Assurances from former Chairman Barry Norgrove on the 6th October saying ‘we aren’t in any massive debt or danger at this moment’ (khfc official website) were clearly wrong...

We would like to thank supporters for their generosity at Saturday’s game where £2300 was raised via the bucket collections and will be contributed to pay players outstanding wages. We’d like to thank the players for their patience...

This Saturday we have another home game with Altrincham and we urge everyone to attend this game and give generously".

From the Kent News we read that "Contract talks are under way at Stonebridge Road as Ebbsfleet United look to secure the services of manager Liam Daish beyond the end of this season. Daish’s deal expires in the summer and this week saw his name once again linked with the Cambridge United managerial post after Martin Ling was sacked by the Conference Premier club last week.

The Us have appointed Jez George as caretaker manager for the immediate future but speculation remains that Daish, who was shortlisted for the post 18 months ago, would be considered a viable permanent replacement for Ling... As a player, Daish helped Cambridge achieve back-to-back promotions in the Football League and he made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland during his time at the Abbey Stadium.

The 42-year-old is ambitious to manage at a higher level but Cambridge are struggling towards the foot of Conference Premier while the Fleet, a side Daish virtually built from scratch last summer, are knocking on the door of promotion back into the division".

At full-time club, AFC Wimbledon, manager "Terry Brown was looking to a week of rest and recuperation for tired legs among the squad when we spoke to him following a cut-down training session earlier today.

'There were lots of players missing today. Both Brett Johnson and Ismail Yakubu were seeing the specialist in Leicester to see whether either of them needs a top up injection to carry on the good work already done. Jamie Stuart, Danny Kedwell, Sammy Moore, all picked up injuries on Saturday but they will hopefully resume training later in the week. We also have the additional complication of three players on England duty this week, not forgetting Reece Jones who is representing the Welsh under 21s...

Ricky Wellard, Ed Harris and Jack Turner are having a runout with the reserves at Uxbridge tonight. As a result of all of these things, there were only eight first team players training today. 'As I said last week, Kirk Hudson has had a recurrence of an old injury and after discussing it with Brentford, they arranged a scan for him. After looking at the results, they have decided that he needs an injection - it seems likely that he will be unavailable for selection during February...

Ed Harris, Mark Nwokeji and Ricky Wellard have been made available for short term loans. Jon Main is already on loan at Dartford and this expires this week, so over the next few days we will be talking to him about how it has gone and what next'" said Brown.

GREET GREG

Admission prices are just £10 for adults, £5 for concessionaries and £2 for under=16s.

GREG'S BACK!

York City add that "he will not be able to play against City when the sides meet at Moss Lane on Tuesday 22nd February and there is a clause in the loan agreement which will allow City to recall the player after 28 days in the event of an injury crisis at Bootham Crescent".

A WINNING RETURN TO ACTION

Altrincham Youth's next game, subject to confirmation, is at home to FC United of Manchester next Sunday. FCUM have yet to drop a point this season.

ECKY & FLYNNY.COM

Mark Eckersall and Brian Flynn have set up Perry Online Marketing, specialising in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) & website design.

Between them, Mark and Brian have been watching the Robins... as men and boys... for over 60 years. They are very keen to help Altrincham Football Club, via sponsorship and other means, including a referral scheme, where the club receives cash payments if any club sponsor uses any of Perry Online Marketing's services... This has already produced some much needed revenue for the club!

So if your business is looking to get more first page search results on Google and more visitors or, if you want further information, have a look at their website. All at Altrincham Football Club wish them the best of luck with this venture.

The clickable company logo now appears, above, on the Altrincham FC official website.

BSBP NEWS

Potential saviour Chris Swann pulled out of a takeover last week. Swan told the NLP, 'I couldn't get comfortable with the numbers'... As well as the tax debt (£83,000), Swan had found £52,000 worth of trade debts needing to be paid, on top of the £150,000 he had been ready to plough in to run the club until the end of the season. The final straw came, it is understood, when his accountants told him... there could be another hole of around £167,000 to fill".

CHANGE OF VENUE AND TIME

OLD BOYS

BSBP NEWS

Hall has become a good partner for club captain Luke Jones and their combined strength in the heart of Rovers' defence has seen a massive improvement in the team's performances. It must be noted, however, that should Crawley wish to recall their player during this extended period, then they must give Rovers 24 hours’ notice of the player recall".

From Blue Square Football we learn that "Grimsby Town's injury-prone striker Charles Ademeno could return to competitive action in a month's time. Ademeno, who joined the Mariners at the start of the season, has suffered two knee problems since his arrival and has been under the knife twice as a result. However, Neil Woods is positive about the player's progress and hopes to see the former Crawley ace return to the training pitch in a fortnight, with a full comeback to follow two weeks thereafter".

The Express & Star reports that "Kidderminster Harriers manager Steve Burr was today picking up the pieces after the collapse of Chris Swan’s takeover left the club facing an uncertain future. The deal for Swan to buy the debt-ridden Blue Square Premier outfit, who need £150,000 just to survive until the end of the season, is dead in the water...

24 hours before a league game against Bath City at Aggborough, the players go into the match still waiting to be paid for the month of January... Boss Burr, himself without a wage for this year...said: 'It’s a difficult one because we are stuck in the middle... It’s things that are out of our control that are a bit disappointing'".

Kidderminster Harriers themselves, who entertain Alty next Saturday (Feb. 12th), announce that "Further to our Club Statement of Thursday, 3 February 2011, Kidderminster Harriers would like to add the following information:

In light of Mr Chris Swan's announcement that he no longer wishes to continue with his interest of taking over the Football Club, the Board of Directors are due to meet with legal and financial advisors on Wednesday of next week, 9 February 2011. No further comment will be made by the Football Club until those meetings are concluded".

The Worcester News adds that "Kisserminster Harriers’ top-scorer Chris McPhee is hoping the future of the club can be sorted out quickly... Staff and players have not been paid for January and revenue from [Saturday's] home clash with Bath City is unlikely to cover the wages.

With a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs to be heard on February 23, time is running out for the team that is chasing promotion to the Football League. McPhee, who has been through this before with Weymouth, admits when players haven’t got a game to focus on morale can be low.

McPhee joined Harriers after becoming a free agent from Terras through non-payment of wages. 'When the players have got a break, taking a drink between sessions or in the dressing room, we are distracted by what is going on off the pitch'...

McPhee turned down a five-figure move to Hereford United on transfer deadline day and, while the money would have been useful for the cash-strapped club, he said he stayed because he believes in what manager Steve Burr is trying to do on the field. However, the versatile player says the players could get together on Monday to discuss their options, including contacting the Professional Footballers' Association.

'At Weymouth, after we hadn’t been paid for around seven weeks, we gave the club two weeks’ notice', he said. 'After that we all became free agents. Depending on what we are told this weekend, I think the players will discuss our options'”.

NEW DRAW DATE

"Whilst we could do the TASC New Year Draw as scheduled in the bar at 5.30pm today, it would mean that we would lose a lot of ticket sales from today's game. The Draw will therefore now take place on Saturday 19th February at 6.00pm in the Noel White Suite. Manchester United v Crawley Town will be on the TV after the Kettering Town game & the draw will take place at half time of that televised game".

FIXTURES

FA Trophy 3R

Fri. 4 Feb.

Sat. 5 Feb.

The winners meet Northwich Victoria in the Final.

SOUTHPORT GAME POSTPONED

Right: Darren Gregory's photo shows why Alty's game was off today.

This afternoon's game at home to Southport has been postponed. Heavy overnight rain and a forecast for many hours of further rain meant that the referee's inspection at around 11am was a formality. However, the club will still be showing the Wolves v Manchester United game live on HD TV in the bar; kick off is at 5.15pm.

BEFORE THE GAME

Referring to Grimsby Town, Southport claim that "The Mariners were almost hung out to dry on Tuesday night when, after a phenomenal forty five minutes of football, we saw Liam Watson’s Southport 2-0 up at half time... The visitors battled back to draw level at 2-2.

So, with one point gained from Port’s exquisite display, The Yellows next head to Altring[!]ham’s Moss Lane, with their si[ght]s firmly set on the win".

Despite Shaun Whalley's suspension "With the much anticipated return of Steve Daly to the starting line up and Matty McNeil also re-joining the squad along with Rob Marsh-Evans returning from injury, Liam Watson has plenty of options in his armoury...

Prominent in the Robins' midfield is Ex-Manchester united reserve Michael Twiss... Having gained ten points from the last six games [the same as Alty's tally], The Sandgrounders are starting to pull free of the relegation zone and a win this weekend will see them three points closer to safety". However, "Liam Watson has sent midfielder Liam Blakeman out on loan to Hednesford".

"Altrincham's recent form suggests this will be a tough task and Altrincham will provide a very different style of opponent than the Port's most recent play off foes...

Midfielder Karl Ledsham should be available having suffered a facial cut in a horrible clash of heads at the start of the second half on Tuesday night. Steve Daly returned as a substitute on Tuesday night after his appendix operation and the experienced striker will be available again on Saturday.

The Southport Visiter confirms that "Shaun Whalley will miss Southport’s next four matches - but Tony Gray can fill the void says manager Liam Watson... The acquisition of Aaron Turner has also boosted his side. Signed from Skelmersdale United on Monday... Turner made his debut in the midweek game at Haig Avenue and impressed...

'Aaron Turner is ideal for us, he has great pace and stamina. He does the simple things well and he is desperate to do well for us. We used the money we got from the sale of Chris Simm to buy him from Skem.'...

Ahead of the match with Altrincham, Watson has injury concerns to deal with. Defender Adam Flynn (hamstring) has been ruled out and Matty McNeil will face a late fitness test after being rested for the Grimsby game. Steve Daly made a welcome return to action following his appendix operation as a late substitute on Tuesday night and will be in the squad".

MORE NEW YEAR DRAW PRIZES!

"As well as the main prizes, already announced and detailed on the Draw tickets, TASC are indebted to a number of people who have also donated prizes for Saturday's Draw, which takes place at 5.30pm in the Noel White Suite, following the Southport game:-

We also still need volunteers to sell tickets before the game. Please e-mail Brian Flynn or phone him on 07860 561011 if you can help".

YOUTH TEAM

OLD BOYS

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP: ALSAGER RE-GROUP

"Richard Birchall, Matthew Birt, Carl Boughey, Alex Bradford, Daniel Bradford, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Evans, Edward Forrester, Jonathan Hart, Matthew Hollinshead, Kyle Melvin, Martin Moran, Daniel Mounsey, Lee Newell, Michael Royall, Lee Sherman, Matthew Smith, Matthew Walker, Joel Ward, Callum Westray, Lucas Wood, Philip Wootton."

NL Daily reports that "Neil Gill, the former manager of Alsager Town, insists he did not quit and take his players with him... Gill said: 'The players' decision to leave was down to them. I told them last Saturday that the playing budget had been removed and that they could either stay or I would release them, but that whatever they decided to do I would be resigning'...

A proposal by Biddulph Victoria to get involved at Wood Park, offering him the role of assistant-manager, proved the last straw. Gill said: 'What peeved me was that I had to read of it in a document prepared by Biddulph Vics. Nobody at the club had the bottle to tell me face to face. The proposal also included reference to the club not signing any players from north of Sandbach, which I think is a disgrace. Players should be judged on their ability not their postcode, so the attitude was if we were not wanted next season we might as well go now.

There are still twenty-two league fixtures to play and a Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final at Altrincham next Tuesday, but I am not going to baby sit the team until the end of the season when we are not wanted'.

Vics have nowhere to go next season as they are being forced to leave Tunstall Road and tendered their resignation from the Midland Alliance in December...

Acting Alsager chairman, Mike Cross, said the proposal is "to merge the committees, not the clubs", but Gill said: "It is effectively a takeover. It was first mentioned six months ago, but Mike Cross told me it was dead in the water... I put my heart and soul into the club and they won't get another mug like me", he told This is Staffs.

BSBP NEWS

Mr Bickerton, would not go into precise details, but said: 'This is not a short process and is going to be multiple weeks if not longer'... Options are on the table to buy Wrexham FC, the Racecourse and Colliers Park training ground. But according to the owners, the Racecourse is still in the process of being hived off into a separate company from Wrexham FC – and that has still to be completed they said.

In an earlier radio interview Mr Bickerton said he was looking at buying the football club, paying rent at the Racecourse with a view to buying the stadium at a later date...

Mr Bickerton added: "We have three new people at the club, a commercial director, a chief executive and a chairman. All I can say is that our motive is 100% to help Wrexham FC move forward... It is still not clear who is involved in the Van Morten Investment Company who are behind the proposed deal to buy the club. Asked about whether former Chester City director Stephen Vaughan was involved in the background Mr Bickerton responded Mr Vaughan was not involved in any way with Wrexham FC".

An unattributed statement on the Wrexham site says that "The Club owns the Stadium and Colliers Park. The preferred way forward is to keep everything together. The current owners put a significant sum into the Club every month to ensure that wages are paid. We invite parties who are interested in investing into the Club to contact Chief Executive Tony Allan. We encourage supporter involvement and in particular hope that the Wrexham Supporters Trust (WST) will purchase equity in the club and be on the board".

Kidderminster Harriers have published "a statement from the Board of the Independent Supporters Trust, dated 3 February 2011...

'Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is in severe financial difficulties. We believe the club in on the verge of administration. Efforts to find a buyer to save the club have so far failed. Whilst we believe the majority of Harriers supporters are aware of this critical situation, we believe the wider football loving community are unaware of how serious our situation has become.

The irony of our current situation is that this week we celebrated the anniversary of being the last non league club to qualify for the 5th round of the FA Cup, until Crawley took that distinction away last Saturday. Whilst media spotlight quite rightly has fallen on them, our precarious situation has largely gone unnoticed outside of the local area...

The football club urgently need the support of not only the good people of our local community, but also those who have affection and happy memories of this famous and unique club. We have a home game this Saturday against Bath City. We urge you to attend this game, not only to provide support for our team challenging for a play off spot, but to contribute financially if you are able. Even coming through the turnstiles would be a huge financial boost for the club. We estimate that if the attendance increased by 1000, that could raise approximately £15,000 in extra income for the club.

If you are able to provide substantial funds to help save our club we would be delighted to speak to you on Saturday. You will find KHIST members around the ground, before, during and after the match. Please make yourself known. Alternatively, contact the club direct".

FRIENDS' DRAW

Details of the Friends of Altrincham FC scheme are here

NUMBER 29 IS NUMBER 31

In all, 33 players have been named in Alty squads, with youth teamers Ashley Woods and Matthew Fearon the two who have been in a cup squad but not a league one. Ashley did come on as a substitute but Matthew did not.

BSBP NEWS

Thursday's score:

"Crawley Town's FA Cup Fifth Round tie at Old Trafford against Manchester United is to be screened live on ITV. The game has been switched to a 5.15pm kick-off on Saturday evening, February 19th".

The Football Conference reports that "Kidderminster Harriers have announced the following statement from its Board of Directors.

"Having accepted a takeover offer from Chris Swan, the Board of Directors were anticipating the completion of the club's sale during lunchtime on Thursday, February 3rd. The Board, however, has learned this lunchtime that Swan has withdrawn his interest in purchasing the club as he is unable to reconcile fundamental issues. The Board is now consulting with its legal advisors to assess further options".

Bullsnews adds that "Swan himself told the local press last night that the chances of completion were 'less than 50 percent', adding that the taxman had issued a winding up order against the club for £75,000 that would be heard on Feb 23rd. Kidderminster wasn't the only club Swan has been eyeing, with Redditch chairman Ken Rae confirming talks with the Warwickshire businessman...

A second consortium, fronted by their former main sponsor, is reported to be preparing a bid but it is currently unclear quite how fast they can act with the wage bill still to be paid after a loan deal set up to cover it stalled after current chairman Mark Serrell was taken ill".

The unofficial Harriers Online states that "Kidderminster Harriers look to be heading towards the abyss following the news that our supposed saviour, Chris Swan, has pulled out of the deal to save the club after finding some deep financial problems within the club going back for many years...

This news leaves us facing a winding up order by the taxman later this month and, of a more immediate nature, players not having been paid yet this month. We also face an estimated running cost of £150,000 to find before the end of the season so that we can at least start with a clean slate next season if we are still in existence by then.

We also face going into almost certain administration by next week and will then be facing an immediate ten point deduction by the Conference. At least this penalty shouldn't see us relegated because, being on the edge of the play offs, we do have a very good points cushion. The worry comes if we can't pay our creditors off by next season because that earns an automatic demotion into whichever league the Conference places us...

[We] need, as I understand it, £150K on top of all other revenue streams into the football club to get to the end of the season".

On Thursday morning the Worcester News reported that "The man behind Kidderminster Harriers’ former main sponsors, John Davies, has come forward to try and save the club should prospective owner Chris Swan withdraw his offer... The boss of Hire It!, along with a friend, have pledged their support to the club they are passionate about if the Stratford-based businessman opted to walk away from his potential takeover...

Davies said 'We have told the club we have got the money to step in should Chris Swan walk away. But we have said that we want security'...

Meanwhile, Harriers midfielder Jack Byrne says... 'We only found out on Monday that the wages were not going to be paid but we can’t do anything about that'".

The News added that "Swan and right-hand man Mark Fennemore... admit they have been astounded by the debts they have discovered while examining the club’s books... He revealed Harriers were given a winding-up order by HM Revenue and Customs on January 6 for outstanding debts, thought to be in the region of £75,000, which will be heard on Wednesday, February 23... He also claims he’s discovered an extra £50,000 worth of small creditor debt...

Chairman Mark Serrell was rushed into hospital on Monday, which effectively ended an attempt by the Stourport-based businessman to bring in new investment. He was set to be backed by well-known Kidderminster entrepreneur John Davies, who was prepared to lend Harriers a five-figure sum against the club’s lease, which runs until March 2045. However, he decided not to go ahead with the move because of Serrell’s health scare".

The BBC reports that "A supporters' trust [has] launched a bid to transform Cambridge United into a community club. Last month the U's board put the club up for sale owing to escalating costs ...

Vice-chairman Robert Osbourn told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: 'As a supporters' trust club we would need to be not-for-profit and sustainable... Chairman Paul Barry says the current board can no longer afford to fund the club. 'If there is a group of people who may want to take over a majority shareholding, that's a strong option', added Barry. 'Another option is to have the fans operate the club as a community trust, but that may provide a more limited budget. Whilst a third option is to get extra board members on board who could bring finance to the club'.

Barry has confirmed that 'seven or eight' interested parties are currently in initial talks about coming on board at the Abbey. The club's landlords are also in the early stages of relocating the club to a new purpose-built stadium... 'We need to ensure the long-term survival of the club and only then can we think about climbing back upwards'", he concluded.

From This is Grimsby we learn that "Grimsby Town boss Neil Woods felt his side should have taken all three points at Southport – despite his Mariners having to recover from a two-goal deficit... He said: 'The first half was unfortunately typical of what we've seen in recent weeks. We have to be more resilient when teams come out flying at us to stop us playing. Teams set their stall out to stop us playing football. All they did was turn us around, playing for yards and playing balls over our back four. We sometimes have to play differently and play ugly football to get a foothold in the game.

Once the pace of the game died in the second half we took control, as we've done in the majority of the games in recent weeks. We give ourselves a mountain to climb far too often. There's no team in this league that is as fit as us and we know that. We feel we have dropped two points – no disrespect to Southport...

The turning point was the sending off [of Whalley]. 'It was a horrendous tackle. It was a straight red in my opinion... We went 3-4-3 in the second half... The problem is clear to everyone: at the moment we are only giving ourselves 45 minutes to win games'".

The Football Conference reports that "Utility player Duane Courtney has signed for Tamworth after being released last month by former Lambs' boss Gary Mills at York City".

CHESHIRE NEWS

According to the Northwich Guardian "Evo-Stik League bosses have agreed to give Witton – and their Division One North rivals – extra time to finish their fixtures. Albion’s campaign will now be complete on the last Friday [29th] in April after the league’s executive committee agreed to an extension...

'We needed to alleviate fixtures congestion that has arisen due to a combination of factors', read a statement issued by the competition... The nine matches postponed last Saturday will now be played on the same day as the Royal Wedding. Each will kick off in the afternoon. The Division One North play-offs semi finals will now take place the following Bank Holiday Monday, May 2, with the final to follow on Thursday.

'There will be no extension for either the Premier Division or Division One South at this point', added the statement".

TASC NEW YEAR DRAW

"TASC New Year Draw is this Saturday!!

Don't forget, the TASC New Year Draw takes place in the Noel White Suite at 5.30pm on Saturday.....after the Southport game.

To date we have banked £840 of ticket sales......so many thanks to those people who have already bought tickets and sold tickets to friends and relatives.

We need to have all hands to the pump on Saturday to maximise sales &and we are looking for as many volunteers as possible to sell tickets before the game.

If you can help......even if it's just for half an hour please e-mail Brian Flynn or ring him on 07860 561011".

ALTY IN THE COMMUNITY

"Altrincham officials have spent the week touring local schools to drum up support for one of their team's most important matches of the season at Moss Lane on Saturday.

In a proactive step aimed at ensuring a bumper turnout for the key meeting with Southport, Football in the Community officer Chris Bullock has been distributing tickets, entitling schoolchildren to free entry with £5 admission for any adults accompanying them.

It captures the growing mood of optimism that Alty can escape relegation and is aimed at adding extra impetus to a revival that has gathered pace in recent weeks.

'It is a real six-pointer against Southport, and we are doing our utmost to try and make sure home advantage counts,' said chairman Grahame Rowley. 'We have been getting as many tickets as possible out to the schools, and we are hoping for a positive response. We are expecting quite a large away following, so we want to try and ensure there are a lot more voices shouting for our lads.

'Our recent form has been really good, and if results go our way this weekend, we could be out of the bottom four for the first time this season. It could turn out to be quite a significant day, so it is important we all do all we can, away from the pitch, to try and make it happen.

'As a club, we are eager to keep forging links with the local community. We have received a £1,000 grant from a Timperley company, CPP, to help us increase our involvement with schools, and we are grateful for that. Our view is that if we can attract local youngsters to the ground and show them that a Saturday afternoon at Alty is a great experience, they will become the supporters of tomorrow'".

HOLKER STREET DATE

WREXHAM VIEWS

And there is also reaction from Wrexham which says that "The Reds came out on top in this delayed derby encounter with Altrincham and in doing so notched up a sixth successive league victory.

'I was pleased we won and that was the main thing', said the boss... 'Tonight I thought we might be lacking a little bit of energy and as the manager I wondering should we change things a little. 'But then I was thinking "If it's not broken, don't fix it" so I did leave it. We didn't start the game as well as we normally do and weren't at our best. With the pitch being a bit bobbly we couldn't get it out wide as we would have liked, there was no slick movement to get in behind them...

The fans stayed patient with us, as we all knew that Altrincham would be looking to get to 20 minutes without conceding and staying with us, but in the end we scored at just the right time. They then had to push a man up field to try and score themselves. I felt quite comfortable then, even though they got through on Maxi to have a good chance and disappointingly did pull one back at the end... Pogs has never played three games in a week before and he missed that chance because he was so tired.

We have to keep going though, as we travel up to Barrow on Saturday. So they'll get the proper food on board tonight and we'll rest them tomorrow. Training will be a little curtailed on Thursday and Friday as we build up to the weekend'".

The Daily Post reports on Wrexham's "six league wins on the trot... their best-ever sequence under manager Dean Saunders, but they were given a late fright by visitors Altrincham... It was the home side that were hanging on at the end to extend their unbeaten league run to 13 matches. The visitors, whose recent league form belies their situation in the relegation places, began with a 4-3-3 line-up that suggested manager Ken McKenna had decided the best form of defence was attack.

And they more than held their own in the opening stages, passing the ball accurately and with pace, while also working hard to close down the space when they lost possession. Further encouraged by sloppy and in many cases needless Wrexham fouls as they pushed forward, Clee had the game’s first genuine opportunity in the 12th minute... Gradually, though, the home side began to establish a measure of control, although they were being kept at a safe distance from goal until half an hour elapsed..

The breakthrough finally came in the 43rd minute when Morrell cut in from the left and charged his way into the penalty area. It seemed as though his first touch to pick out a better-placed team-mate was partially blocked, but the ball fell kindly and his second effort crept in at the far post...

Wrexham keeper Chris Maxwell was slightly fortunate to be given the benefit of the doubt when he handled outside his area to deny Beesley, referee Jeremy Simpson accepting that a phantom whistle from the crowd had misled the keeper".

Right: Shaun Densmore surges forward in the game against Hayes & Yeading, last Tuesday. Photo by Gavin Rathbone.

BSBP NEWS

'We can confirm that the Board of Directors is, subject to contract, looking to sell the Football club to Chris Swan having an accepted a takeover offer. The legal representatives of both parties have been instructed to continue work on the formalities of this sale. The club has spoken with Swan's associate, Mark Fennemore, who has confirmed that he is looking to complete the sale during the course of Thursday (3rd February). The club hopes that the remaining contractual issues can be completed to allow a speedy sale to that end'”,

It is not a big surprise that Blue Square Football announces that "Steve Evans has been named the Blue Square Bet Premier 'manager of the month'" Meanwhile "Wrexham's Jay Harris [was] named 'player of the month'".

Blue Square adds that "Experienced hitman Roscoe D'Sane has rejoined AFC Wimbledon after impressing boss Terry Brown while training with the club in recent weeks. The 30-year-old joins the Dons as a free agent after he was released by Torquay in the summer".

Grimsby Town tell us that "A second-half comeback earned Grimsby Town a share of the spoils against Southport at Haig Avenue. The home side established a two-goal lead before the interval... Southport were dominant over the opening 45 minutes but it was a different story after the break... The visitors' cause was helped when Whalley was sent off for a bad foul on Alan Connell... It was Southport who were forced to defend to claim a point from the encounter as Grimsby went in search of a winner".

An update on the managerial situation comes from Cambridge United where "The Club can confirm that following the departure of Martin Ling and John Schofield yesterday, Jez George has been asked to assume the role of caretaker manager until the end of the season.

Jez George told cambridgeunited.com, 'I've agreed to take the role to help the Club in the short term as the Board assess the most appropriate way forward. It's not about me, it's about the football club and I will help until the Board find the right man for the job. This could be before the end of the season or during the summer. I understand the financial difficulties at the Club so this is the best immediate solution as its cost neutral'".

MANAGER GOES AT CAMBRIDGE

WREXHAM 2 ALTRINCHAM 1

Alty defend a corner in the first half at Wrexham.

Wrexham had to hang on at the end of a game in which they had dominated the first half.

YANKEE JACKPOT GROWS

BEFORE THE GAME

'Jordan is a 22-year-old defender who can play full-back or along the back four', said manager Dean Saunders. 'He has featured in the Rangers first team on a few occasions and also enjoyed loan spells with Hamilton and Queen of the South".

And Wrexham also report on a previous capture from Scotland, Marvin Andrews. "Although based in Scotland, Marvin travels regularly over the border from his Kirkcaldy home to join in training... His initial contract was for six months, but after talks with manager Dean Saunders he has agreed to extend that until the end of the current season.

His presence at the heart of the defence has been a major influence on team looking so steady at the back and he has formed impressive partnerships with Chris Blackburn, Frank Sinclair and Mark Creighton... Said Marvin, 'A recent hamstring pull has sidelined me... and have since returned to the squad, although it's hard for anyone to break back into the line-up at present'".

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP

Alsager, who play in the Vodkat North West Counties League Premier Division, are due to play at second-placed Winsford United this evening (Tues)... The board is now holding emergency talks to decide how to more forward – and whether Alsager’s long-term future lies at North West Counties League level.

Liverpool-born Gill said: 'My position has become untenable after about a month of having my hands tied. The budget I was promised had been halved and is now non-existent, and there have also been questions about where the lads come from and where I come from. When people start to worry about where a player grew up more than his ability there is something seriously wrong with the game. I am a proud Scouser. We had four local lads playing and four from Liverpool, with the rest from around the north west. I began to wonder whether we were really wanted at Alsager at all.

Being the bloke I am, I told the players the truth and they have all decided to move on as well. It is not so much about loyalty to me as dignity for themselves'...

A request from Alsager for the game to be postponed has been rejected by the league committee. Town are also scheduled to play at Atherton LR on Saturday and at Altrincham in the last four of the Cheshire FA Senior Cup next Tuesday...

Gill [added] “We have got a semi-final a week today (Tues, Feb 8) but the atmosphere at the club has not been about football.”

Mike Cross, the acting Alsager chairman, admitted "Our present budget is nil... We will have to utilise our reserve and junior players with the first team... We have got a great little ground, but there is no point in playing at this level of football unless we are capable. There will be an Alsager Town in some shape or form next season. Whether it will be in a different league, only time will tell".

BSBP NEWS

Manager Terry Brown is now worried about the toll such a punishing schedule might be having on his depleted squad. The Kingsmeadow Stadium outfit were only able to name four substitutes at Gateshead... and Brown said: 'It seems like we are on the road non-stop. We cannot train and are having to fit everything around the coach journeys. Our workload is absolutely ridiculous to be honest. For us to be successful at this stage of the season the key is to have a settled side but that is proving almost impossible as the demands are far too great on the club'".

Kettering Town are reported to have signed "Striker Adam Cunnington from Solihull Moors for a fee. keeper Willy Gueret from MK Dons on contract till the end of the season. Luke O'Neill on loan from Leicester City (right back)". leaving the club are Luke Graham, to Luton Town, and Ashley Westwood, who has been released. However, central defender Tom Flanagan has extended his loan from MK Dons by another month".

At Luton Town, the folowing have been released Taiwo Ateino, Pavel Besta, Kevin Gallen and Taylor Nathaniel.

From NL Daily we learn that former Alty midfielder "Ian Craney has returned to Accrington Stanley after being released by Fleetwood Town. The 28-year-old has signed an eighteen-month contract with Stanley following a successful loan spell at the end of last year... It’s a third permanent spell at the club, with the midfielder keen to add to his record of more than 150 appearances and almost fifty goals".

It is also reported that "A Petition to wind up Kidderminster Harriers, presented on January 6th 2011 by the Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs, claiming to be Creditors of the Company, will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London on 23rd February at 10.30am."

Southport report that "Liam Watson [has] signed Skelmersdale United midfielder Aaron Turner adding competition to the Port midfield. Watson stated the versatile player, who was an apprentice at Wigan Athletic, can line up anywhere across the midfield- ' He is a strong player, with a good technique, he has a good football background and has been outstanding at Skelmersdale'">

Eastbourne Borough "have signed York City striker George Purcell and Southampton goalkeeper Tommy Forecast on loan on transfer deadline day..

The 22-year-old striker played in the Blue Square Premier for Ebbsfleet United in 2007-08... before dropping down a division with Braintree Town. Last season... He signed for York last summer for an undisclosed fee... However, an ankle injury sustained in that game meant he has yet to appear in a York shirt since. He was loaned out to Dartford for a spell prior to Christmas...

Borough's head coach Nick Greenwood said: 'We tried to sign him when he was at Braintree but York got in there first'...

The club then moved to make the second loan signing of the day drafting in goalkeeper Tommy Forecast from Southampton. The 24-year-old, 6' 7" shot stopper began his career as a youngster at Tottenham Hotspur... He was named on the Spurs bench for a handful of Premier League games but never made a first team appearance, and later moved to Southampton. Forecast was loaned to Grimsby Town for a month at the beginning of last season, making his first senior appearance in a League Two match against Crewe Alexandra in August 2009".

from Barrow comes news that "Barrow-born striker Wayne Curtis has ended days of speculation by signing on loan with the Bluebirds Fleetwood Town until the end of the season. The 30-year-old put pen-to-paper on deadline day ...

Curtis said: 'I am is delighted to be back for a third spell at Holker Street, this time on a longer deal, and just want to get playing and help the lads out'".

According to The Scotsman "The lure of playing Manchester United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford proved too much for Dunfermline Athletic winger Willie Gibson as he signed for the Blue Square Premier League side. When Crawley, managed by Scot Stevie Evans, made a cash bid for the 26 year old back in the summer Gibson turned the move down, but with just four months of his East End Park contract left he has decided to move on...

Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre said: 'Crawley have made him a great offer to go there and of course there is also the Manchester United game to think about'".

Meanwhile, the BBC reports that "Crawley have extended the loan spell of Brentford midfielder David Hunt until the end of the season".

Minstermen reports that "York City manager Gary Mills has completed a busy transfer deadline day by signing experienced midfielder Scott Kerr. The 29-year-old has been released by Lincoln City and agreed an eighteen-month deal at Bootham Crescent... Kerr has more than 300 senior appearances to his credit and also had spells with Scarborough, Frickley Athletic (loan), Hull City and Bradford City.

Earlier in the day Mills snapped up ex-Leeds United right-back Liam Darville whilst allowing both Jamal Fyfield (Maidenhead United) and George Purcell (Eastbourne Borough) to go out on loan".

Forest Green Rovers "announce that subject to passing a medical, 28 year old midfielder Matt Somner has signed for the club on contract following his release from Mansfield Town... Rovers have been searching during the month for an experienced midfield player...

London born he will be able to team up with Craig Armstrong with both living in the Nottingham area. The club was hopeful today of securing another player before the window closed but the move the club wanted to take place was frustrated due to a suspension within the club the player was coming from, so that may now have to be considered as a possible emergency loan when the window re-opens for such on 7th February".

Darlington confirm that "Aman Verma has extended his stay at Darlington until the end of the sesson. The Leicester midfielder, who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, has been with the Quakers since November...

Meanwhile, Quakers have signed goalkeeper Danzelle St Louis-Hamilton on a non-contract basis. A graduate of Stoke City's Academy, the 20-year-old has been released by the Potters in November after spending the first half of last season on loan with Vauxhall Motors. St Louis-Hamilton joined Stoke from Watford in 2006... He comes in as cover for Sam Russell after Trinidadian shot-stopper Kelvin Jack was yesterday released from his contract at the Northern Echo Arena".

Newport County claim that "The mobile phones of the board and management team have been sizzling as the biggest deal in the club's history has been completed with hours to spare. We will all feel sad at the loss of Craig Reid to the Football League, an inevitable move... Craig has completed a deadline day deal, for an undisclosed fee, to Stevenage FC.

Moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal are renowned scorers Charlie Griffin and Yemi Odubade. Charlie will be remembered from his previous time at the club and is a prolific goalscorer. Yemi has a similar appetite for the back of the net and is well known for his blistering pace".

TUESDAY SCORES

Tue. 1 Feb.

FOSTER STAYING AT SALFORD

Following a chat with Ammies' chairman Darren Quick Steve reiterated his committment to the club's cause, and is relishing the challenge to help propel Salford City into the Evo-Stik League First Division North play-off places.

Steve has already resisted the temptation to join big-spending Chorley and has also rejected at least one other offer to leave Moor Lane.

'I'm more than happy to stay with Salford City - for this season and beyond that. The club's ambitions match my own and we have a real chance of making the play-offs this season. There's a great rapport with the club's supporters and we want to see just how far we can go'...

Many fans were concerned when Steve made an appearance for Conference side Altrincham last week, but can rest assured that 'Foz' will only be seen in the tangerine (or green) of Salford City from now on".

TUESDAY'S GAME

Alty travel to The Racecourse 24 hours after Wrexham announced that "Wrexham Village Ltd announces that it has agreed an option with Van Morton Investments Ltd to allow it to purchase Wrexham FC as soon as possible and at a later stage the stadium and training ground. As a result of this Robert Bickerton has joined the Board of Directors as Chairman and Tony Allan has joined the Board as a Director. He will also take on responsibility for running the Club as Chief Executive.

Geoff Moss and Ian Roberts will be stepping down from the Board and will become Vice Presidents.

Robert has previously served on the Board of Directors at Macclesfield Town FC, in the roles of Finance Director and Chairman, and also on the Board of Directors of Shrewsbury Town FC as Manager Director.

Tony Allan, who began his administrative career with Notts County, has also served Wigan Athletic, Chester City and Port Vale as Secretary.

Van Morton Investments is a recently formed company, the purpose of which is to attract and provide Wrexham FC with funding. All parties will work towards a smooth transition in change of ownership and ensure that nothing prevents the continued good work of the team, management and staff".

Mr Bickerton added, "Tony Allan and I are honoured and humbled to join the Board of Directors of Wrexham FC. As the new guardians of the Club, Tony as Chief Executive and I as Chairman, we have a very simple ambition, which is to create a sound financial footing for the Club and to also secure the stadium".

On the pitch "Striker Marc Williams has agreed terms to remain at the Racecourse for the rest of current season. The boss said he would have put me on the bench at recent games, had I signed the deal earlier, which is fair enough' said the Wales U21".

Meanwhile, the Football Conference "Board have issued a statement regarding the situation at Wrexham. The statement reads: 'We note the statements made by Wrexham FC on their web-site, which has given rise to enquiries from the media and supporters.

From a Football Conference perspective we have had no communication from those named as taking control of the club nor those who would appear to be handing over control. Their membership as a football club is first vested in the FA of Wales and it is their parent FA who may wish to deal with some of the issues raised already by the media and supporters of the club.

We are mindful that this news was only issued into the public domain today and accordingly it would be inappropriate of the Football Conference to make any further statement at this time until we receive more factual information from the club as required under rules, whereby changes are made to directorship or any other issues which could impact on their eligibility to compete in our competition.

At this juncture all we can say is that similar to our recent statement with regards to Mansfield Town, they will be fully aware that if Wrexham FC, due to these changes do not own the freehold of their ground upon which they play fixtures, then they must have in place by 1st March a minimum ten-year lease to be eligible to compete in the Football League next season".

DON'T MISS OUT!

Tickets will also be available on the supporters' coach to Wrexham on Tuesday evening from Dana Laidlar and at the Wrexham game itself from either Karen or Sarah Rowley.

Many of the squad have already confirmed their attendance and these include Eddie Hussin (right), Mark Maddox and Gary Scott. More players' names will be announced later this week.

KEN KEEN ON FOSTER

Foster has signed for Altrincham on a dual registration, allowing him to play for them as well as parent club Salford City. And he showed he is red-hot form by netting a hat-trick in the Evo-Stik Division One side’s impressive 3-1 win over AFC Fylde on Saturday.

Although McKenna is keen to have another look at Foster in an Altrincham shirt, he is respectful of the fact that he is a Salford player. 'When he came on against Hayes he was like a breath of fresh air', said McKenna. 'He is a good, old-fashioned centre forward and did well for us. We would like to have a look at him over the next few weeks and we are hoping he will be with us tomorrow. But we have to respect the fact that he is not our player. There is nothing worse than clubs from so-called bigger leagues coming and taking your players, so we want to be respectful to Salford.

'If they don’t mind us playing him, and the lad wants to, then we will see what happens. We have several decent strikers here, so I don’t want to bring Steve along just to put him on the bench when he is doing well at Salford and could be playing for them. By playing for us he will maybe realise he is good enough to play at a higher level and that could help Salford because his confidence will be sky high. Hopefully, it will work for both of us'.

With Saturday’s game at Barrow called off because of a frozen pitch, Altrincham head to Wales knowing victory could lift them out of the relegation zone for the first time this season. 'There will be ups and downs for us over the next few months', said McKenna. 'But we just need to be still alive in the final few weeks of the season'”.

CSC OPPONENTS

AGM

HAVE YOUR SAY

"The Messenger is looking to add to its coverage of Altrincham FC with a ‘fans' forum’ text service. The aim is to give supporters an avenue to offer their opinions on matches via a medium that has become part of everyday life.

A selection of the received texts will appear in a column in the following edition of the newspaper, with the remainder appearing on-line.

It is planned to promote the new service in next week’s paper, with the first column to run the week beginning Monday, February 14".

SMITH STAYS

REF ON SATURDAY

SAM'S VIEWS ON CRAWLEY

Former United trainee Sam Hewson knows just how good they are having played in the Altrincham side hammered 7-0 by Crawley in November... 'Anything can happen in the Cup', said midfielder Hewson, who left the Reds last summer. 'They have a lot of quality players and, with the money they have spent, they have a very good squad and they like to play good football. They knock it around well. But United are one of the biggest clubs in the world and if they do their job properly they will win it easily'”.

BSBP NEWS

From Blue Square Football we learn that "Barrow have announced the extension of striker Louis Almond's loan from Blackpool until April...

A club statement read: 'Barrow and Blackpool have agreed to extend the loan of Louis Almond until April 3rd. This takes the loan to the maximum of 93 days permitted under the short term loan scheme, which allows Blackpool a 24-hour recall clause... Meanwhile midfielder Cieran Donnelly has left the club after it was decided not to offer him an extension to his contract... and non-contract striker John Grant has left by mutual consent".

"York City midfielder Jamal Fyfield has returned to former club Maidenhead United on a one-month loan, the Blue Square Bet Premier club have reported. Fyfield joined City in September last year... Meanwhile, City have agreed a loan deal with released Leeds United 20-year-old right-back Liam Darville until the end of the season", reports Blue Square Football.

Elsewhere,"Mansfield Town have revealed that both Ryan Williams and Matt Somner have been released. Winger Williams and midfielder Somner have today exited Field Mill. They join Gary Mills, Rob Duffy and loanees Simon Grand, Peter Vincenti, Kevin Pilkington and Steve Cook in the list of players to depart this month. Neither player was expected to feature in manager Duncan Russell's first team plans for the remainder of the season and they are now free to sign for another club following their release".

According to NL Daily "Duncan Russell, manager of Mansfield Town, has added defender Dan Spence and striker Louis Moult to the squad. Former Reading right back Spence has Conference Premier experience after featuring for Salisbury City throughout 2009 prior to a move to Glenn Hoddle's Academy in Spain...

Meanwhile, Stoke City forward Louis Moult has signed for the Stags on a month's loan. The highly-rated 18-year-old joins until February 28th and will be eligible to feature in four league matches and Saturday's FA Trophy tie against Alfreton Town in that time...

Moult has made one senior appearance for Tony Pulis's men and has most recently been on loan at Bradford [City], where he scored one goal in ten appearances earlier this season. In a twist of fate, Louis's older brother Jake [an ex-Alty trialist] plays for Alfreton".

NL Daily adds that "Mark Cooper, manager of Darlington, has signed striker John Campbell from STL Northern League side Newcastle Benfield on an eighteen-month deal... The former Walker Central hot-shot was courted by Manchester City in his youth and despite links to Football League clubs has elected to stay in the North East...Campbell has been linked to Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, and was reportedly set to sign for the east London club, but with a young family to think about he wanted to stay in the region. Campbell has scored twenty-five times in the Northern League already this season".