OPEN MEETING OF RUNCORN FOOTBALL CLUB AT QUAYSIDE ON FRIDAY, APRIL 28 
(44 supporters present) 

Derek Greenwood introduced himself and set the background for the meeting. He pointed to Runcorn triumphs of the past and said that in many ways the club had returned to its spiritual home - next door to its former Canal Street ground - for what was a crunch meeting. 

Derek explained a few weeks ago the chairman of the football club Dr David Robertson had convened a meeting which he attended along with Steve Pritchard (editor of the club's official website and club press officer), Phil Wainwright from the Supporters' Club and Alan Jones the football club's secretary. By that time the meeting took place, the chairman had already gone public in the press and said he could no longer finance the club. 

There seemed little future at that point. But having consulted with Steve Pritchard, Derek explained they had called a number of people - a cross section of fans - to a second meeting a fortnight later. This time, the chairman presented the group with the possibility of forming a management committee. 

He said we would have to raise £60,000 to continue to field a team at UniBond League level. The proposed management committee would have to raise the money itself but we would have some say in how it was spent. 

But Derek explained that although the latest accounts available were from two years ago, it seemed the debts of the limited company were going back to the kind of level they where when the club had left Canal Street five years ago. A large amount of that was owed to the chairman himself but the figures he was quoting had risen from £180,000 at the first meeting to £230-£250,000 at the second and in the press this week he was quoting somewhere around £500,000. 

Derek said the situation on the field had frankly become an embarrassment. Around Christmas the club were beginning to get a successful team together and had its sights on the play-offs and then it suddenly went wrong. It transpired that money owed to the players hadn't been paid. At no stage had the chairman indicated there was a problem - similar to the ones of the previous season - or asked the supporters for any help. 

The so-called task force, which only really existed in the chairman's imagination, felt it could go no further as it did not have a mandate from the fans. But it also believed there was no future for the limited company. Nobody was coming in to take on the debt; the chairman had talked about treating the money he was owed as a three-year interest free loan but he hoped to recoup some of his debt. 

Derek said the town deserved a football team of some stature and had found it beneficial in the past when we had one. But it will only happen if people want it to happen and make it happen. This latest, open meeting had to answer various questions 

Is this the end of Runcorn FC as we know it? Do the supporters wish to see it continue in another form? 
Derek reported the football club chairman as saying if the limited company dies the club dies but he (Derek) disputed this. We have the option of reforming and going into a lower league. 

Do we accept the chairman is may be one of the reasons why other investors haven't come into the club? Or do we start a new club completely - from scratch - and begin where we can? 

Derek said he didn't want the meeting to be vitriolic to the chairman. Everyone in the room had their private thoughts about what has happened in the past but we should keep those to ourselves and the discussion should be positive in the hope of having a conclusion everybody was happy with at the end of the meeting. 

Steve Pritchard then addressed the floor. He said the chairman was right in as much as the FA and the UniBond League were concerned, the club and the limited company that is behind it are one and the same. But he said tomorrow's game at Ashton United could end up being the last game that is played under the present banner. 

Steve said the real point of the meeting was to examine whether there is enough support to start afresh, should that be the case. Other clubs had in the past used a Trust or committee-based approach to run a club which has gone into receivership and for that reason, the FA had put rules in place to prevent clubs using this simply as a way of getting out of debt. 

Any club reforming after liquidation has to drop A MINIMUM of two leagues and it was not a foregone conclusion it would only be two. It was unclear whether the club would be demoted two leagues from the UniBond Premier or Division One. 

Steve reported that Dr Robertson had said he would shortly have to sign an official undertaking to the FA that he believed the club was is a position to fulfil next season's activities. He had made noises that he doesn't think he is and has tried to encourage a group of fans to support him. 

Steve said he had asked the FA what would be the situation if a club said it couldn't participate in a league next year but didn't physically liquidate - playing out a scenarios where the chairman doesn't sign but doesn't do anything with the company and we are effectively left with a club which can't play. 

The response from a representative of the FA for the North West was the situation wouldn't necessarily mean we wouldn't be able to carry on but the existing limited company would have to show it had no intention of fielding a team. 

Steve added the Linnets Independent Supporters Trust was set up a year or two ago amd that is linked to Supporters Direct. The Trust is in itself a legal entity that can run the club and is eligible for various grants and it is something we should consider. 

Steve explained Supporters Direct would only work with one Trust per club. List is the only Trust we can take forward. Having said that, it is only a vehicle or the shell of a vehicle. It can be renamed with new officials. Subscriptions would have to be addressed but the Trust is definitely something which could be resurrected although it would take some work. 

There then followed a general discussion from the floor. Glyn Dyer said one of the main things was to get the club back to Runcorn and while this was a sentiment shared by all those present, it was accepted this would probably not happen immediately due to the lack of facilities in the town. 

Comparisons were made with the re-birth of football in Telford as AFC Telford United but the difference was that they were left with a ground from their previous incarnation and had the full backing of their council. 

Steven Bignall said that the only chance for the club was if its immediate future was in Runcorn. Another two, three or four years at Prescot, Warrington or Widnes and it would die. 

Kelvin Hoose said a priority was to force the winding up and liquidation of the existing company. As he understood it, any creditor who is owed more than £750 can petition for a company to be wound up. As soon as a company is insolvent, it has a responsibility to wind it up to protect creditors. Dr Robertson is responsible for his own debt. 

Derek Greenwood said there are other outstanding debts and the chairman was not the sole creditor. As the club has no assets, creditors would have no prospect of getting back what is owed to them. 

Colin Keenan asked whether the club had left Halton Stadium under a cloud in terms of money owed. Derek replied he understood there was no debt to the stadium. The council had sponsored the team this season but no money had changed hands - they had used the money to wipe out the debt and he believed the debt was now completely cleared. 

Simon Charlesworth said that whatever the meeting decided, those present would have to have a commitment to seeing it through and people could not just vote for something and then fail to help implement the resolution. 

Derek Greenwood said the Supporters Club had helped to keep the club alive. But in the past the supporters hadn't had much opportunity to influence the club's decision making because the chairman is the majority shareholder by a distance. But this time he had come to the fans and this was the last opportunity we might have as the game at Ashton could be the last match we play. 

Paul Ramsden said the only option was to reform the club. Otherwise it will just dwindle and dwindle until there was no-one left. If we had 100 people putting in £20 or £25 a month, £20,000 a year could be raised and with admission fees and sponsorship we would be well on the way to getting the £60,000 needed to run in the UniBond. He would imagine this would be significantly less in the NWC League as travelling is less. 

Stuart White said the amount pledged could be increased through tax, taking it up to £30,000. But he said if the commitment wasn't there we are sunk. 

The meeting felt it was perhaps inappropriate to gauge the number of people willing to subscribe to such a scheme by a show of hands but those present were asked to indicate their willingness to do so on a form provided. 

The subject of Pavilions was broached. One supporter said the problem is and would be getting grants since it is owned by a limited company. There was another area of land which could be used but it would mean talking to the council and sharing with another organisation. He said he could not publicly divulge the site. 

The issue of where to play next season was also raised. 

Alan Jones addressed the meeting. The only way to come back to Runcorn was at West Cheshire League and if you do that, you are going to struggle to get out of it. The club could not attract the calibre of players needed to take it higher. He said supporters have got to look at some way of possible development in Runcorn - starting at UniBond level even if the club was only playing in NWC League. 

You would have to look at continuing to play at Valerie Park for 12 months to 18 months while something is developed in Runcorn but there are one or two other ground options available in the meantime. 

Derek Greenwood said he had got Alan up to speak partly under false pretences and made a presentation to Alan, who was stepping down as club secretary, on behalf of all the club's fans. 

Alan said he wished to thank everyone for all the pleasure and fun the last 10 years had given him. 

As the meeting approached its end, Derek asked those present had the group of supporters who had met with the chairman done the right thing in telling him the fans were no longer willing to support the club in its present form and the limited company should be dissolved? 

The meeting gave unanimous backing to this stance the 'task force' had taken. After further discussion, the following was decided: 

•The fans confirmed that after the match against Ashton on 29th April, they will no longer support the entity currently known as Runcorn FC Halton/Runcorn AFC Ltd 

•The fans will work towards the creation of AFC Runcorn, a new club, that will hopefully be the reformation of Runcorn AFC Ltd when it fails to confirm its ability to participate in the UniBond Division 1, or if it goes into administration. 

•The fans will investigate the possibilities of returning to playing in Runcorn a.s.a.p. and as part of the decision of finding a suitable ground for next season, ground options "south of the river" will be given consideration. 

•The new club's aim is to play in the highest league possible, with a view to that being at least North West Counties League Division 2. 

•The new club will be formed around the Trust currently known as the Linnets Independent Supporters Trust, but will be subject to a potential name change, and establishment of new personnel. 

•The Quayside will be the new social base, in Runcorn, for AFC Runcorn. 

It was agreed there will be a follow up meeting of those fans that feel that they want to, and are able to, get involved with the running of the new club, with a view to becoming board members of the new Trust body. The meeting is to be held at the Quayside, Canal Street, Runcorn, at 7:15 on Tuesday 2nd May.