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Next Game: Home Against Brackley On Saturday February 1st Kick Off 3.00pm

Friday, May 08, 2009

Turner hits back at Dr Beech

In his latest interview the Hereford United chairman has hit back at Coventry University's Dr John Beech (see BN article from last Wednesday) who dared to suggest that Graham Turner 'doesn’t strike me as the person to make (the) case' for clubs being punished harder for going into administration.

"I saw that, I don't get involved too much with the internet, but I saw that from somebody particularily as eminently qualified as the Coventry University man.

"I think we are all entitled to our views. I think the fact that he ridiculed mine because of the history of the club was not acceptable.

"Because we went into a CVA twelve years ago doesn't mean to say I don't hold view as to what should have happened and what should happen in the future.

"It might have been that this club would have been better off doing the same as Accrington or Aldershot and start again. We would have had more freedom not being involved with developers and not owing them a million pounds incorporated in the joint venture.

"So I've always had the view that clubs have got to be run within their means, that's obvious from the way this club has been run, but the university doctor had got a lot of inaccuracies in his thing.

"But most importantly for me was the fact that he put our ability to trade over the past five years in the black due to the fact we wiped the slate clean at the taxpayers expense. I think that's the quote from him.

"First of all we didn't wipe the slate clean, we still had a big bank overdraft - six figure - so that had to be paid. There were a lot of committments that we had to pay out so we didn't wipe the slate clean. And if he had done his research he would have known that at that time HMRC, the tax man, was a preferential creditor so he had to be paid in full. So we have paid the tax man in full. Then and ever since and on time.

"We didn't do anything at the tax payers expense and that just galls me a little bit that somebody in a research position at Coventry University doesn't bother to do his research but makes comments and ridicules.

"We've had a big boon financially in the game over the past ten years, some of which we missed because we were in the Conference. The game has been awash with money. It's also been riddled with clubs that are in dire financial difficulties. It's not just Stockport and Darlington.

"I believe that right through the Football League there should be squad budgeting. It should be a percentage of turnover so that gives the bigger clubs an advantage over the smaller ones. And I think there should be greater punishment for those who don't comply with good governance, good business practice in football clubs. Relegation is the option I would choose.

"Nowhere else would we spend more than we can afford but it's rife in football and somebody has got to address that and that is my view."

Graham Turner words were from part of a longer most interesting interview given to the official site earlier today.