Finances & relegation-can we have a statement from the board

[Ziggerzagger]

Lets hope the finances arnt as bad as whats being banded about or we could be looking at a lot worse scenario than going down to BSN.I'm sure over the next few weeks that the honest state of affairs will be revealed and i'm really hoping its not as bad as the rumours circulating around the town.Transfer embargos will be the last of our worries.Would the Board be "open and honest" enough to make a public statement re the finances,restructuring and their plans for the future??
I think the board need to act quickly to make such a statement and explain the state of our so called "members club",the last thing we want again is going into a new season with a transfer embargo,no kits,no new signings and without a lan forward.Please Mr Keen can you reassure us that financially there isnt a major problem?

[supporter for life]

Why should they start to be "open and honest" now when, for the past few years, we've all been kept in the dark.

[PerthBluebird]

The way we are being run at the moment on and off the pitch is crazy. The board need to seriously sit down from day 1 off knowing we are BSN bound and address the problems instead of just ignoring them. Why when we earn money do we spunk it where is the sustainability. We have amazing fans and volunteers look at what is happening with the ground Maintence lads and lasses. It shows it can be done. Look at how much money ste raised for this site through a simple effective idea. We have fans who are willing to help ffs admit defeat BOD and use the fans

[Mike Wilson]

IMHO opinion the Bods cause a lot of problems we face by their unwillingness to be "SQUEAKY CLEAN" I bet you hate that phrase now eh Brian, The way our club operates is ridiculous in the extreme, partly caused by our geographical isolation & our youth lacking in facilities & top end development as players.

Having to rely on football mercenaries every season is counter productive to any club wishing to be sustainable, the vast majority of this type of player are only in it for themselves & sell themselves to the highest bidder, they have zero affinity to the club,town or the supporters.

The cost to the club is too heavy a price to pay & guarantee's we keep on the boom then bust groundhog day scenario while hemorrhaging cash out of the club, town & region.

How many 5 year plans have we triumphantly announced then slowly let die and hope everyone forgets as the Bod fail in their duty to the club to stick to the task of their own doing ?

I Believe/Hope they have the clubs well being at heart but the secret society they operate and the failure to promote "anything" & stick to it leaves just about everyone I know questioning their motives.........this is a cancer eating away at BAFC and we need to get rid of it.

I don't mean removing the BoD Because they keep us alive, have the experience & loan the club money when required but simultaneously help cause some problems with late accounts & AGMs costing the club the money they end up borrowing the club ? and denying the members/fans important information, we should work more closely with them across the board.

I for one am sick & tired of them whining away & blaming everyone but themselves, they placed themselves in this position as custodians of the club we all love, they revel in the good times and take our gratitude, well guys, It works both ways, Man up and stick your chin out, BUT I also do thank them for the work they do put in & the problems they face, just let us help you help us to get somewhere.

Everything could and should be very different.

We all know what the problems are & TOGETHER We could go a bloodly long way to remedy them if the BoD let us in, but they don't do they, They choose to ignore 99% of requests of help, why o why or bloody WHY is the question.

Within our ranks we have specialists in many fields which the BoD simply refuse to let these willing volunteers help with the burden of running a semi-pro club, again IMHO They should welcome the offers of assistance with opens arms, Instead they whine how much work they have to carry on with alone & without support, Honestly you can not make it up.

In my 40 yrs of supporting BAFC its a constant but with varying levels of circumstances, failures, & apathy punctuated with a few bright rays of success.

There is no point aiming to play & have a chance to challenge in the national pro leagues with the club living a hand to mouth existence which we always do, Its a self prophesying failure & madness, Our recovery has to start somewhere, Why can't it be now !!!


SOLUTION.

If the Bod were Genuinely OPEN & EMBRACED all offers of help & fully utilized this extra help plus having a Genuine 5/7 year plan for sustainability & progression we could be a very different club.

I for one would be delighted & accepting if the club announced they were NOT going to try & bounce back next season & challenge for the league, But instead aim for a total shake down and rebuilding the club upon a solid foundation, Make sure we are competitive enough to avoid relegation by recruiting a mid place set of players and plough every spare penny saved into a really solid club who trains locally, even if it takes a few yrs of (example) year 1 training at Preston, Year 2 Lancaster, yr 3 Kendal until we finally train within the borough we represent, DO NOT SIGN any player who this upsets, if it upsets them, sling yer hook as we dont need or want you, this plan or 1 similar gives the Manager/Club a fighting chance, Simultaneously the club needs to engage the local footballers and drip feed them into the scheme of things, (( by "local players" I mean anyone from West Cumbria/the Borders/to Preston )) Anyone within 90 mins travel time to Holker St.

S Lakes & Furness folk don't carry a mutant gene denying them football skills or the ability to play, Incorporate the Doc's scheme into the club ( as it was stated recently ) but I mean really & fully incorporate it, not paying lip service to the clubs support, only then can we dream to produce enough lads to represent their home town/area team padded out with 40/50% of lads willing to travel 90 mins to a club really going somewhere.

I can accept failure, I can and do accept relegation its the continued mis-management of the club I & 99% of the borough's population can not, if we finally become this new club and stick to the plan no matter how many bumps in the road we hit, then and only then will the club entice any stay-aways & the few games per season fans to return more regularly & hopefully win the hearts and minds of an extra 1% / 2% who like us through the NWEM/Radio/Ask you the result type of folk to attend a few games here and there.

The dyed in the wool types are majority there and always will be, its the rest the club NEED through the turnstyles.


And now Breath :flag:

[Matty]

As Mike says, a major frustration is the fact that the board have been unwilling in some ways to work with the fans. We have shown how much the club means to us (unfortunately this cannot be said about the whole community) by raising cash for the BDF, Volunteers to keep the ground tidy and up to scratch. Come on BoD, the fans are here for the good of the club, and will provide any help that is required.

[John Very Little]

Lets hope the finances arnt as bad as whats being banded about or we could be looking at a lot worse scenario than going down to BSN.I'm sure over the next few weeks that the honest state of affairs will be revealed and i'm really hoping its not as bad as the rumours circulating around the town.Transfer embargos will be the last of our worries.Would the Board be "open and honest" enough to make a public statement re the finances,restructuring and their plans for the future??
I think the board need to act quickly to make such a statement and explain the state of our so called "members club",the last thing we want again is going into a new season with a transfer embargo,no kits,no new signings and without a lan forward.Please Mr Keen can you reassure us that financially there isnt a major problem?

The state of the finances was revealed at the AGM in January, we knew then we weren't in a good position.
I don't think the club can say we are deep in the crap as everyone who is owed money will demand it immediately and the club wouldn't be able to pay it all at once. It would only take a few creditors to take action that could end up with us put us into administration. The club still need to be able to trade, if we can't do that the club wouldn't be able to function.
The club will have to pay what is owed gradually over a number of months so that the various creditors will eventually get paid. I know that they try to arrange repayment plans with some of the businesses that they do owe money to.
As Bayliss mentioned in the Radio Cumbria interview the players have been paid what they are owed, its just that some of their payments have been late.
However as Lancaster Branch mentioned in the same interview the board need to be more upfront with the fans and not treat us with such contempt. Accepting free help where its offered also needs to be addressed as that in itself could be used to reduce the clubs expenditure, a shame the board aren't interested in this.

[popsider]

Lets hope the finances arnt as bad as whats being banded about or we could be looking at a lot worse scenario than going down to BSN.I'm sure over the next few weeks that the honest state of affairs will be revealed and i'm really hoping its not as bad as the rumours circulating around the town.Transfer embargos will be the last of our worries.Would the Board be "open and honest" enough to make a public statement re the finances,restructuring and their plans for the future??
I think the board need to act quickly to make such a statement and explain the state of our so called "members club",the last thing we want again is going into a new season with a transfer embargo,no kits,no new signings and without a lan forward.Please Mr Keen can you reassure us that financially there isnt a major problem?

The state of the finances was revealed at the AGM in January, we knew then we weren't in a good position.
I don't think the club can say we are deep in the crap as everyone who is owed money will demand it immediately and the club wouldn't be able to pay it all at once. It would only take a few creditors to take action that could end up with us put us into administration. The club still need to be able to trade, if we can't do that the club wouldn't be able to function.
The club will have to pay what is owed gradually over a number of months so that the various creditors will eventually get paid. I know that they try to arrange repayment plans with some of the businesses that they do owe money to.
As Bayliss mentioned in the Radio Cumbria interview the players have been paid what they are owed, its just that some of their payments have been late.
However as Lancaster Branch mentioned in the same interview the board need to be more upfront with the fans and not treat us with such contempt. Accepting free help where its offered also needs to be addressed as that in itself could be used to reduce the clubs expenditure, a shame the board aren't interested in this.

John those accounts were for over 18 months ago and we were promised "up to date" accounts in March this has not been forthcoming despite the accounts being lodged with company house on March 23rd,.

[Three Lie Ins]

Barrow Afc Limited was incorporated on 18 Feb 1999 and is located in Cumbria. The company's status is '', with a team of 8 directors. They have no known group companies. Barrow Afc Limited have total assets of £0 plus total liabilities of £561,413. They owe £361,112 to creditors and are due £53,981 from trade debtors. As of their last financial statement, they had £5,182 in cash reserves. Their book value is £74,382, and the value of their shareholders' fund is £74,382.


And that's for year ended June 2011, so the position now will be much much worse.

https://www.duedil.com/company/03715690 ... fc-limited

[John Very Little]

John those accounts were for over 18 months ago and we were promised "up to date" accounts in March this has not been forthcoming despite the accounts being lodged with company house on March 23rd,.

Don't reply as though I am ignoring the facts.
My answer was to zigerzagger about the accounts referring to the financial state as though its come as a bolt out of the blue and also to add a little insight into the fact that the board do try to pay and manage the debts when they can and why they aren't going to come out and say we are struggling.
The latest accounts will only show the position to the end of last season when I don't think much will have changed from the end of the previous season. I know the board did say they would try to hold an AGM before the end of March but clearly this hasn't happened due to various factors and they do need to call one asap. You can get a copy of the accounts by writing to Companies House but I'm sure you know that and already have a copy of the accounts popsider?
EDIT: I checked the Companies House and according to them the accounts haven't been submitted and are outstanding.

[John Very Little]

Barrow Afc Limited was incorporated on 18 Feb 1999 and is located in Cumbria. The company's status is '', with a team of 8 directors. They have no known group companies. Barrow Afc Limited have total assets of £0 plus total liabilities of £561,413. They owe £361,112 to creditors and are due £53,981 from trade debtors. As of their last financial statement, they had £5,182 in cash reserves. Their book value is £74,382, and the value of their shareholders' fund is £74,382.
And that's for year ended June 2011, so the position now will be much much worse.
https://www.duedil.com/company/03715690 ... fc-limited

That statement isn't the full picture and is incorrect according to the financial summary at the last AGM as the ground and associated buildings were classed as assets and were worth £558,800 and we also had a further £76,995 of assets made up of debtors, stock and cash in the bank.
TBH last season when we finished 13th I thought the club did ok financially, however we have clearly struggled this season.

[Nigel Bamford]

Barrow Afc Limited was incorporated on 18 Feb 1999 and is located in Cumbria. The company's status is '', with a team of 8 directors. They have no known group companies. Barrow Afc Limited have total assets of £0 plus total liabilities of £561,413. They owe £361,112 to creditors and are due £53,981 from trade debtors. As of their last financial statement, they had £5,182 in cash reserves. Their book value is £74,382, and the value of their shareholders' fund is £74,382.
And that's for year ended June 2011, so the position now will be much much worse.
https://www.duedil.com/company/03715690 ... fc-limited

That statement isn't the full picture and is incorrect according to the financial summary at the last AGM as the ground and associated buildings were classed as assets and were worth £558,800 and we also had a further £76,995 of assets made up of debtors, stock and cash in the bank.
TBH last season when we finished 13th I thought the club did ok financially, however we have clearly struggled this season.

Correct. If you click on the Financials tab of that site the Fixed Assets are listed at exactly that figure. Net worth of £74,382 isn't great against the level of borrowing but the club is solvent.

[Ste Story]

A strong, thoughtful and for once well written statement from the board is a must IMO:

• What sort of state the finances are in
• What relegation does to any plans they had in place regarding developments/finances
• Will the state we're in affect a squad rebuild in the summer
• What are our intentions and goals on the field now we're in the BSN
• What they plan to do this summer to have a better close season than last year
• What we as fans can do to make this summer a better close season than last year

Would be a nice start.

[Nigel Bamford]

A strong, thoughtful and for once well written statement from the board is a must IMO:

• What sort of state the finances are in
• What relegation does to any plans they had in place regarding developments/finances
• Will the state we're in affect a squad rebuild in the summer
• What are our intentions and goals on the field now we're in the BSN
• What they plan to do this summer to have a better close season than last year
• What we as fans can do to make this summer a better close season than last year

Would be a nice start.

Exactly. Similar thoughts were going through my head this morning. And I'd add to that list a date for the AGM! Time and again the board has accepted that it must improve its communication with fans and time and again little changes. This is an opportunity to show that planning, not fire-fighting is the order of the day and to give us belief that we, as fans, have something to work towards over the close season.

[Hadrian]

This morning's Tony Keen interview on BBCRC by James Phillips who asked the hard questions, as always, covered a number of items referred to by SteStory above - DB's honesty and commitment, time for reflection and learning, relegated for a number of reasons, tough finanacially and dealing with current financial issues - not major and the club will not be going out of business over the summer. Meetings to be held over next week or so and there was a reminder that the commercial company is effectively being run like a private club, as emphasised at the last agm, and that this is not right.

Combined with the Mail article(s) where 'a Bluebirds source' was quoted, this seemed a reasonable proactive response on behalf of the club with the season not yet over.

Members will now be looking for an early date to be set for the agm to hear at first hand the up-to-date financial position and full plans for next season.

[John Very Little]

Good questions Ste, they need to be answered.
I get the impression that the club were intending to have an AGM but for some reason its been delayed.
The letter from BK with Grand National draw tickets said that he hopes to see us all at the up and coming AGM in the Cross Bar, so its possible that one was going to be held but has been postponed.
The club should say something on the Official Website to say why there hasn't been an AGM when promised but that's communication with fans/members and they aren't interested in that sadly.