This might not concern anyone on here, but I thought I'd share it just in case. A must-read really for any football supporter about the kind of hands their club could end up in.
What is the benefit to the owner in leaving the league? Can he sell the ground for development? Is this just an attempt to force any would be buyers to step forward?
He doesn't own the ground, the council does. The supporters group have been renting it for the team to play on, and hold the contract to use the ground for the immediate future.
What you have at Barry is a fully-functioning, viable football club, run by its supporters, but threatened with extinction by one bloke. A sales tactic? Quite probably. He's made threats before like this. However, he's never gone to the stage of making himself club secretary (the previous secretary refused to submit Lovering's letter of resignation, and thus got the sack!).
Asking figures? Currently £150,000 for the clubhouse, and £100,000 for the name/history/identity/league position. It's crazy figures. The clubhouse is falling apart as shown in the article. And the football is only worth anything in sentiment, it has no real monetary value as there are no players under contract to sell on, etc etc.
Yeah... what a situation. Nine years of stunts like this we've had to endure too. Got interested in Charlton in part due to the Valley Party story, which shows nonsense situations like this can be beaten. But how we go about doing it I don't know. Just need as much help and exposure as possible, until we find someone either with the answers or the power/influence to save us.
How many divisions would Barry drop if they reformed hypothetically as AFC Barry Town?
I suspect the selling price may well be lower than the asking price. The figures quoted mean that a group of affluent fans / local businessmen could save the club. To make life a little easier regarding the sums involved, could the club be saved and the clubhouse then sold?
How many divisions would Barry drop if they reformed hypothetically as AFC Barry Town?
As things stand... two divisions if we were in England, two divisions if we were in Scotland, EIGHT divisions as we're in Wales. Local league parks football.
To make life a little easier regarding the sums involved, could the club be saved and the clubhouse then sold?
A bid was made last week by the supporters group, and swiftly rejected. The fans have been told that the club and clubhouse can be split as a legal entity though. This may be a way forward. But it all depends on him actually going through with a sale. It's been close a few times over the years, but he's either upped the price last minute or added last minute conditions. Meanwhile, the support base has eroded, as people can only fight so hard for so long. This is largely why the fans are trying to get outside parties to fly our flag... not to mention that the media in S. Wales has largely turned a blind eye to the situation for years.
Certainly is. Though it isn't technically an island anymore :-(
I hope you get it sorted it out Ash.
I've probably mentioned it before but I spent quite a few months in Barry back in the day assisting in trying to save the firm mentioned in the 25 years ago bit.
It was winter rather than summer (so 78/9) but the natives were friendly and it was as enjoyable as it could be given the circumstances.
Thanks Len. 79-79, we beat Burton Albion 5-2 that season, in the league! How times change.
Have revisited the Back to the Valley ownership/freehold saga a lot the past year, it's given us a fair bit of motivation to keep ploughing on and find whatever way forward we can, however unconventional! Presuming there's a fair few on here who were involved on that, we can only thank you guys.
Thanks Len. 79-79, we beat Burton Albion 5-2 that season, in the league! How times change.
Have revisited the Back to the Valley ownership/freehold saga a lot the past year, it's given us a fair bit of motivation to keep ploughing on and find whatever way forward we can, however unconventional! Presuming there's a fair few on here who were involved on that, we can only thank you guys.
Airman Brown and Prague Addick were two of the main players and both post here regularly.
Hopefully they will see this thread in due course and comment.
So he pulled the team. Four days before the end of the season, with two matches remaining.
The Welsh FA it seems were powerless to prevent it, and thus on one man's whim, the team lost its league status and a season's worth of points were expunged.
All of this came little more than a month after Barry reached the Welsh Cup semi-final. Indeed, if results had gone their way on April 6th, they would have been in the Europa League.
A terrifying insight into the power of football owners, some good articles explaining what's happened below.
There's a new petition rolling now, with the aim of getting the Welsh FA to let the fans' 'new' Barry team (same players, ground, etc.) play on in the same division vacated by Lovering.
Any support appreciated. "We're going back to the Valleys!"...?
Comments
Good luck to Barry, they may well need it.
What is the benefit to the owner in leaving the league? Can he sell the ground for development? Is this just an attempt to force any would be buyers to step forward?
What you have at Barry is a fully-functioning, viable football club, run by its supporters, but threatened with extinction by one bloke. A sales tactic? Quite probably. He's made threats before like this. However, he's never gone to the stage of making himself club secretary (the previous secretary refused to submit Lovering's letter of resignation, and thus got the sack!).
Asking figures? Currently £150,000 for the clubhouse, and £100,000 for the name/history/identity/league position. It's crazy figures. The clubhouse is falling apart as shown in the article. And the football is only worth anything in sentiment, it has no real monetary value as there are no players under contract to sell on, etc etc.
Yeah... what a situation. Nine years of stunts like this we've had to endure too. Got interested in Charlton in part due to the Valley Party story, which shows nonsense situations like this can be beaten. But how we go about doing it I don't know. Just need as much help and exposure as possible, until we find someone either with the answers or the power/influence to save us.
How many divisions would Barry drop if they reformed hypothetically as AFC Barry Town?
I suspect the selling price may well be lower than the asking price. The figures quoted mean that a group of affluent fans / local businessmen could save the club. To make life a little easier regarding the sums involved, could the club be saved and the clubhouse then sold?
Ha ha ha!
I've probably mentioned it before but I spent quite a few months in Barry back in the day assisting in trying to save the firm mentioned in the 25 years ago bit.
It was winter rather than summer (so 78/9) but the natives were friendly and it was as enjoyable as it could be given the circumstances.
http://www2.newsquest.co.uk/barry/features/FEATURES77.html
Have revisited the Back to the Valley ownership/freehold saga a lot the past year, it's given us a fair bit of motivation to keep ploughing on and find whatever way forward we can, however unconventional! Presuming there's a fair few on here who were involved on that, we can only thank you guys.
Hopefully they will see this thread in due course and comment.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/barrytown/
All support much appreciated. See you at Ashton.
As Charlton fans we should all be signing this.
Just beware the begging for a donation from the petition firm once you've signed. Nothing to do with Barry I stress.
Lots of stuff happening behind the scenes, hopefully can be sorted. Bit of a disgrace if not really.
It's the club's centenary dinner a week tonight - former Addick Fred Whitlow is among the Hall of Famers we'll be celebrating.
We're also going to watch clips of Jorge Costa and his Porto side getting beat at Jenner Park back in 2001, as a further, more tenuous link!
Thanks again :-)
wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1154-november-2012/9164-barry-town-s-existence-is-threatened-by-their-owner
The Welsh FA it seems were powerless to prevent it, and thus on one man's whim, the team lost its league status and a season's worth of points were expunged.
All of this came little more than a month after Barry reached the Welsh Cup semi-final. Indeed, if results had gone their way on April 6th, they would have been in the Europa League.
A terrifying insight into the power of football owners, some good articles explaining what's happened below.
All's fair in Lovering's war: Barry Town's struggle
Barry deserve more than a footnote in history
Barry Town - Staying Alive
The case for a Barry Town, united
;-)
Good luck Ash xx
Any support appreciated. "We're going back to the Valleys!"...?
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justice-for-barry-town-united/