Dear Mr Clarke,
I am writing to you today to clarify comments that you gave
to the Guardian newspaper in regards to Coventry City Football Clubs ‘temporary’
move to Northampton.
In an interview with the paper, you are attributed with
the following quotes when talking about building a new ground;
"I can understand why the Coventry fans are outraged. If I was a fan I would be incandescent. But what would have happened if we had refused them permission to share grounds and they could not afford to play”
However, in my meeting at the Football League which was held
on July 10th, your colleague Peter Hannon told us that the Football League was
told of plans for a new stadium to be built.
It is also a well-known fact, and a fact that was repeated
during our meeting, that a million pound bond was required of Coventry City
Football Club to assure that they had plans to move back to the Coventry area.
However, in this same Guardian article, it says that you do
not know whether they will build a new ground at all.
Could you please clarify these comments in relation to the
bond? Under what terms was the bond agreed, if it is as you say, and you are
not aware of plans to move back to the Coventry area? Has the million pound
already been ring fenced for the bond, or would it need to be paid in the event
that the club relocated outside what is known as the Coventry area?
Could you also clarify under what terms the ground share at
Northampton was agreed – are you, or is the Football League as an organisation,
aware of any formal plans to move back to the Coventry area?
If there have been no plans presented to you outlining the
plans for the club, then I question the reasons for allowing the ground share
to go ahead. Although the club were attempting to fulfil their fixtures, they
also have an obligation to the fans to allow them to know where the future of
their club lies.
Under your own rules, point 13.8 says “The Club must
disclose, as soon as practicable, plans and details of any proposed future move
to a new stadium.
When can the fans expect to be made aware of these plans?
What time frame would the Football League believe to be acceptable?
I am personally disappointed with the position that the
Football League has taken in relation to Coventry City Football Club. The real
casualty of this whole situation is the fans who are being torn apart by the
fighting on both sides. I do not believe that your organisation does enough to
intervene in these cases. Much of what has happened could have been prevented
had you have stepped in and made more robust calls for mediation, or if as an
organisation you had accepted my invitation for a public meeting where
representatives of the football league could have addressed fans concerns. Fans
have been forgotten in this mess and have had to watch as their club is pulled
apart.
In the 125th year of the Football League, this is
just another example of your organisation letting down football fans.
