'Stig' gives his views on the current situation at Hereford United.
The ongoing situation at Edgar Street is driving me mad so I’m hoping
that sharing my personal thoughts will make me feel better. Perhaps the
saying, a problem shared’ will prove correct. Anyway these are my
thoughts:
My thoughts all stem from this fact - I do not believe that Mr Tommy Agombar and his associates have any interest at all in the future of football in the city of Hereford.
I believe this because:
1) If Mr Agombar had paid off football creditors prior to Friday 6th June he could have kept the club in the Conference Premier. There was no need for a bond at this point but he chose not to pay. If football was your priority why would you let this happen?
2) Had Mr Agombar paid off football creditors by Monday 9th June he could have kept HUFC 1939 Ltd in the Conference Premier. No bond was required at this point but he chose not to pay. If football was your priority why would you let this happen?
Putting it bluntly, if you cared about football you’d prioritise keeping HUFC in the highest possible league you could. Mr Agombar didn’t and when he didn’t he then tried to offer the ‘bond’ as his excuse. Sorry Mr Agombar, the bond only came about because you failed to keep your promises.
3) As opposed to addressing football matters having taken control at Edgar Street, the first thing Mr Agombar did was contact Herefordshire Council about transferring two of the three leases away from HUFC 1939 Ltd into the name of one of his own private holding companies. If football was your priority why would this be so important? And just as an aside look at the man he appears to be using as a key advisor. Step forward Mr Andrew Lonsdale. What a thoroughly pleasant chap you appear to be.
4) Mr Agombar has promised to pay all football creditors on a number of occasions and has failed. And is still failing.
I know for a fact that he has lied face-to-face to a number of loyal staff about them getting paid and on numerous occasions since has refused to take calls or acknowledge staff who have been trying to make contact with him. Staff he has promised to pay have been left struggling to get by and that is outrageous.
Our previous Chairman – Mr David Keyte - was eventually outed as a two faced coward with no concept of the truth and someone who has taken no responsibility for the mess he has made. He clearly does not care for the carnage he has left behind and the lives he is ruining. To cap everything, out of spite it seems, he then refused to give supporters the chance to save the club and decided it would be much better placed in the hands of Mr Agombar and his associates. But hey David, you enjoy your game of golf in the sunshine. I have no words to sum up the disgust I felt when seeing that photo of him on the golf course smiling happily alongside that former HUFC legend Colin Addision.
5) Mr Agombar has not appointed a football manager and therefore is not really trying to get a competitive squad together. The ‘trials’ he is running are just nonsense, much like the Walter Mitty character Mark Ellis who is charge of these trials. He has young, hopeful footballers sleeping on camp beds in the club’s bar and lounge for heaven’s sake. What’s all that about? If football was your priority you’d be putting a plan in place to win the Southern League, not paying lip service to football with these nonsensical trials.
6) Mr Agombar has failed at any point to open lines of communication with supporters and basically most things he has said publicly have either been obviously not true at the time, or have since proved to be simply not accurate. I await his football masterplan with great interest – perhaps season tickets might go on sale soon even?
7) This is circumstantial I admit but Mr Agombar has no link to Herefordshire or Hereford United at all. Why would any sensible human being decide that this club was
a good investment when even the most basic due diligence (Google anyone?) would offer a rough estimate of at least £1 million of debts? This is a club with average gates of 1700 not 17000, there is no money to be made from football here so why would you buy the club unless there was an ulterior motive? And there must be an ulterior motive.
Moving on from the above, I find it hard to believe anyone is buying into what is going on at Mr Agombar’s club at the moment, let alone is considering giving him a chance. He has done NOTHING that even hints that he has the best interests of football in our city at heart and even now is making up more stories about cheques and football creditors being paid. I’ve heard it all before, at least three times each week for the past three weeks!
On Monday we face a winding up order brought by our former manager Martin Foyle. I doubt things will get that far. I fully expect HUFC 1939 Ltd to enter administration by the weekend, which will mean court proceedings will be halted buying yet more time for Mr Agombar. The game is up for Mr Agombar if the club goes into liquidation so I think he needs to avoid this in whatever way he can.
I can’t help but think that Mr Agombar has misjudged the opposition he would face to his ‘plan’ and I’m proud of the way most right minded HUFC fans have reacted to what he is trying to do and have applied as much pressure as possible.
So far the council have played a blinder and I desperately hope they continue to see Mr Agombar for what he really is. He is not the only option here and although none of us want HUFC 1939 Ltd to go under, personally I do not believe we have any other options.
Under no circumstances should any deals be done with Mr Agombar and Edgar Street should protected at all costs. Jesse Norman has stepped up to the plate and done his bit so far and I’m grateful to him for the public stance he has taken.
The worst thing about this situation is the helplessness I feel about the fact that someone can just come in and try to rip the heart out of something that’s so important to me (and many others) and that there is so little we can do in the short-term. Mr Agombar will not win this battle though, he will be seen off.
I would ask all supporters of what used to be our football club to have a think about where we find ourselves right now and consider whether you really are comfortable with what is going on. If you are, good luck to you, but for me this has become much more important than watching a group of blokes in white shirts kicking a bag of wind around every Saturday.
This is about honesty, respect, dignity, common decency and loyalty. These are terms that may be unfamiliar to David Keyte and Mr Agombar but I always thought they were important to the people of Herefordshire.
It upsets me greatly to say this but I will put no money into HUFC 1939 Ltd and will not attend another game until Mr Agombar and his associates have left our city.
I cannot make fellow supporters do the same but I have no doubt that anyone not taking this course of action is simply extending the pain for all of us. You will also give Mr Agombar and his associates a better chance of achieving whatever money making ‘venture’ they are embarking on while killing what used to be my club in the process.
Mr Agombar, you'll never take the Meadow End.
My thoughts all stem from this fact - I do not believe that Mr Tommy Agombar and his associates have any interest at all in the future of football in the city of Hereford.
I believe this because:
1) If Mr Agombar had paid off football creditors prior to Friday 6th June he could have kept the club in the Conference Premier. There was no need for a bond at this point but he chose not to pay. If football was your priority why would you let this happen?
2) Had Mr Agombar paid off football creditors by Monday 9th June he could have kept HUFC 1939 Ltd in the Conference Premier. No bond was required at this point but he chose not to pay. If football was your priority why would you let this happen?
Putting it bluntly, if you cared about football you’d prioritise keeping HUFC in the highest possible league you could. Mr Agombar didn’t and when he didn’t he then tried to offer the ‘bond’ as his excuse. Sorry Mr Agombar, the bond only came about because you failed to keep your promises.
3) As opposed to addressing football matters having taken control at Edgar Street, the first thing Mr Agombar did was contact Herefordshire Council about transferring two of the three leases away from HUFC 1939 Ltd into the name of one of his own private holding companies. If football was your priority why would this be so important? And just as an aside look at the man he appears to be using as a key advisor. Step forward Mr Andrew Lonsdale. What a thoroughly pleasant chap you appear to be.
4) Mr Agombar has promised to pay all football creditors on a number of occasions and has failed. And is still failing.
I know for a fact that he has lied face-to-face to a number of loyal staff about them getting paid and on numerous occasions since has refused to take calls or acknowledge staff who have been trying to make contact with him. Staff he has promised to pay have been left struggling to get by and that is outrageous.
Our previous Chairman – Mr David Keyte - was eventually outed as a two faced coward with no concept of the truth and someone who has taken no responsibility for the mess he has made. He clearly does not care for the carnage he has left behind and the lives he is ruining. To cap everything, out of spite it seems, he then refused to give supporters the chance to save the club and decided it would be much better placed in the hands of Mr Agombar and his associates. But hey David, you enjoy your game of golf in the sunshine. I have no words to sum up the disgust I felt when seeing that photo of him on the golf course smiling happily alongside that former HUFC legend Colin Addision.
5) Mr Agombar has not appointed a football manager and therefore is not really trying to get a competitive squad together. The ‘trials’ he is running are just nonsense, much like the Walter Mitty character Mark Ellis who is charge of these trials. He has young, hopeful footballers sleeping on camp beds in the club’s bar and lounge for heaven’s sake. What’s all that about? If football was your priority you’d be putting a plan in place to win the Southern League, not paying lip service to football with these nonsensical trials.
6) Mr Agombar has failed at any point to open lines of communication with supporters and basically most things he has said publicly have either been obviously not true at the time, or have since proved to be simply not accurate. I await his football masterplan with great interest – perhaps season tickets might go on sale soon even?
7) This is circumstantial I admit but Mr Agombar has no link to Herefordshire or Hereford United at all. Why would any sensible human being decide that this club was
a good investment when even the most basic due diligence (Google anyone?) would offer a rough estimate of at least £1 million of debts? This is a club with average gates of 1700 not 17000, there is no money to be made from football here so why would you buy the club unless there was an ulterior motive? And there must be an ulterior motive.
Moving on from the above, I find it hard to believe anyone is buying into what is going on at Mr Agombar’s club at the moment, let alone is considering giving him a chance. He has done NOTHING that even hints that he has the best interests of football in our city at heart and even now is making up more stories about cheques and football creditors being paid. I’ve heard it all before, at least three times each week for the past three weeks!
On Monday we face a winding up order brought by our former manager Martin Foyle. I doubt things will get that far. I fully expect HUFC 1939 Ltd to enter administration by the weekend, which will mean court proceedings will be halted buying yet more time for Mr Agombar. The game is up for Mr Agombar if the club goes into liquidation so I think he needs to avoid this in whatever way he can.
I can’t help but think that Mr Agombar has misjudged the opposition he would face to his ‘plan’ and I’m proud of the way most right minded HUFC fans have reacted to what he is trying to do and have applied as much pressure as possible.
So far the council have played a blinder and I desperately hope they continue to see Mr Agombar for what he really is. He is not the only option here and although none of us want HUFC 1939 Ltd to go under, personally I do not believe we have any other options.
Under no circumstances should any deals be done with Mr Agombar and Edgar Street should protected at all costs. Jesse Norman has stepped up to the plate and done his bit so far and I’m grateful to him for the public stance he has taken.
The worst thing about this situation is the helplessness I feel about the fact that someone can just come in and try to rip the heart out of something that’s so important to me (and many others) and that there is so little we can do in the short-term. Mr Agombar will not win this battle though, he will be seen off.
I would ask all supporters of what used to be our football club to have a think about where we find ourselves right now and consider whether you really are comfortable with what is going on. If you are, good luck to you, but for me this has become much more important than watching a group of blokes in white shirts kicking a bag of wind around every Saturday.
This is about honesty, respect, dignity, common decency and loyalty. These are terms that may be unfamiliar to David Keyte and Mr Agombar but I always thought they were important to the people of Herefordshire.
It upsets me greatly to say this but I will put no money into HUFC 1939 Ltd and will not attend another game until Mr Agombar and his associates have left our city.
I cannot make fellow supporters do the same but I have no doubt that anyone not taking this course of action is simply extending the pain for all of us. You will also give Mr Agombar and his associates a better chance of achieving whatever money making ‘venture’ they are embarking on while killing what used to be my club in the process.
Mr Agombar, you'll never take the Meadow End.