Today BN looks back to July 25th 2014.
Business Group Continue To Monitor Edgar Street Situation
Earlier today, Bulls News made
contact with Jon Hale and asked him if he had anything he’d like to say
in response to the comments from Joel Nathan and Andy Lonsdale that were
reported on the Hereford Times website yesterday afternoon.
Mr Hale, who is one of a group of
local businessmen who have put together a business plan - which has
been shared with Herefordshire Council and the HUST Board - to launch a
phoenix club at Edgar Street should Hereford United (1939) Limited go
into liquidation, said:
“All the members of our group
have read the various comments from Mr Nathan and Mr Lonsdale with great
interest but we do not feel any need to respond directly to them.
“We would, however, like to
express disappointment that they have both been critical of the fans who
attended the supporters’ team game at Ledbury Town on Monday night and
are attempting to belittle their reasons for being there.
“I was at the game on Monday –
as were several other members of our group – and it was a fantastic
night. The fact that more than 650 supporters attended the match clearly
demonstrated the grave concerns that a significant proportion of
Hereford United’s fan base have about what has been going on at the
club.
“Our position relating to the
current situation remains unchanged. We believe we have a strong
business plan in place to launch a phoenix club should the worst happen
and Hereford United (1939) Limited cease to exist. Importantly, a
significant underwritten investment remains in place to help us launch a
new club and help sustain it in its early days.
“We are also confident we have
all the expertise we need available to us to run a sustainable,
progressive, community led football club and manage all the work that
goes with it.
“We remain in contact with
Herefordshire Council about our plan and they are in no doubt about how
serious our proposals are and how quickly we are willing to move should
the opportunity to take on the leases at Edgar Street become available.
“As I have said before, sadly
our group feels that the level of debt built up by Hereford United
(1939) Limited means that realistically the company has no long-term
future and is simply not a viable business moving forward.
“It will give none of us any
pleasure if the club we have supported all our lives goes into
liquidation, but we are determined to ensure that fans of the club have a
sustainable, alternative option to throw their support behind – if they
wish to – should the worst case scenario actually occur.”