York's Fate Could Have Been Ours! - Furneaux

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 10/01/2002

GRIMSBY Town chairman Peter Furneaux has reminded everyone today that the problems York City face could have been experienced by the Mariners had they not controlled their expenditure.

Furneaux told the Grimsby Telegraph "We could have been in York's shoes." And pointed out that the Mariners would have been facing the same fate had they been relegated last season and said the club is locked in a constant battle to avoid financial ruin.

"We feel for York and we were talking to them the other day at the game." he said, stressing that the current frugal measures at the club were the only way to keep the wolves from the door.

"We lost £2.3-million last season and we've spent £835,000 this season. You've got to have good housekeeping otherwise you're in trouble. We're losing money like 90 per cent of League clubs are and we have to be extremely careful. The same percentage of the clubs in the League say that if something goes wrong with this TV deal then they are going to be in serious financial trouble and we are one of them.

".…there is no Jack Walker figure ready to rescue the club…."

"To stay in this division means over £2-million to us and that's something we can't afford to do without. If any club continues to spend more than their income then they're on a very rocky road unless somebody is prepared to replace the money that's going out."

"Unless there's a potential crowd base they face a serious financial problem."

Furneaux also warned that there is no Jack Walker figure ready to rescue the club by ploughing millions into strengthening the side: "A lot of fans expect people to come in and put millions in by right. But they just aren't there anymore. Nobody these days wants to come and put millions into a club unless there's the potential of a large supporter base to recoup some of it."

Sheffield Wednesday yesterday spent £1-million on Stockport striker Shefki Kuqi despite being £16-million in debt, but Furneaux said there is no chance of the Mariners emulating that.

"They are £16-million in debt but they can still do that because they've got assets the bank wants to lend against. They've got Hillsborough, and the only asset we've got is a small stadium in the middle of a housing estate. "The banks won't let us borrow for players on the strength of that."

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