Newton Abbot

I was aware how bad things were for the club some time ago and hinted In one post I made about their big money problems. It was In a thread asking should players at this level be getting wages, well thye call It expenses but Its the same thing.

To many clubs try to attract the better players by offering bigger expenses and you do have to wonder how they afford it.Sad to see the club In such trouble, but questions need to be asked as to why they had got into these difficulties.

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In the above thread, I stated my view, that players who play for local teams at Newton Abbots level, should not get paid. I felt that they really should just be playing for the love Of the game and should be satisfied that they were able to play at the highest local level.

Running the risk Of getting some flack from Ant, I do feel that there are times when the Devon FA, have rules that seem so very unfair.Putting aside my views On players getting paid, players do join clubs In good faith and most will pay any monies due to the club, In subs, or what Its called these days.

I did ask where the money comes from to pay these players and was given an answer that most comes from outside sponsors, so the club would pay very little toward any payment.

If that Is the case then players taking money In the form Of wages can't be to blame for Newton Abbot owing so much money. £26.000.Is owed to the Devon FA who are the landlords Of Coach Road and they must owe more to others.

If the club goes under as It looks It will, I ask the question Is It really the fault Of the players? I would say a very big no. Its those who have been running the club, those who had their hands On the purse strings, they are the ones who have to be responsible for the club getting Into trouble.

Yet If the club does fold, each player will have to pay In fines £29 each, not a fortune I admit, but until the player had made the payment, they are unable to transfer to any other team. The players Of Newton Abbot, not only find they have not got paid what was agreed between them, and the club, they get punished even further when the club folds.

I would really like to know why the Devon FA feel this Is acceptable and just how they justify fining players, who are In no way responsible for the club they joined folding.

Does this happen elsewhere In football? when some Of the big clubs have gone under, has the professional players had to pay a fine to the F.A. I have not heard that this has ever happened and It comes back to some points I made in yet another post, about the rules not being consistent, throughout football.

Maybe Ant knows the reason, Or can find out and and let us know, because I know I would love have the answer, Its like this forum being run the way a club was run, you join as members I get the forum into some kind Of money trouble and you all get fined because you joined. How stupid would that be and all that would happen Is that people would think twice before joining.

Below is a standard FA rule for debt recovery in football, Technically the Herald have got it wrong on the amount of £29.
At this moment in time I cannot make any comment about the Newton Abbot situation due to myself being on the council of Devon FA, but I will certainly make my concerns known about apportioning all the debt to the current players registered to Newton Abbot FC as I believe they should not be responsible for a long standing debt, the fairest thing would be for the fines for pulling out of the respective leagues & any outstanding fines for this season to be apportioned to each player.

19.1 Associations are required to operate a system to collect football debts on behalf of affiliated clubs, affiliated leagues and other associations.
19.2 Football debts are defined as those costs arising directly from football activity, and as such would include disciplinary costs (e.g. fines), match costs (e.g. match fees), and playing expenses (e.g. pitch hire). Incidental costs (e.g. fund raising activities, club subscriptions) do not fall within the scope of Football Debt Recovery.
19.3 Associations may take action against individuals or groups of individuals.
Individuals may be pursued where they are refusing to reimburse an individual club for a qualifying debt. Where a club has folded its qualifying debts may be apportioned against its registered members and officers, and action taken against them individually to recover the clubs debt.
19.4 Where a clubs debts are apportioned to individuals they must then be treated as individuals, and any disciplinary action must not be linked to the recovery of the total debt.
19.5 It is incumbent on the creditor to take reasonable steps to recover the debt before asking their parent association to take action. This would normally include approaching the debtor personally as well as contacting them in writing to seek payment.
19.6 The parent association should be approached as soon as it is clear there is problem. In all cases this should be within 28 days of formal payment being requested, and 56 days of the debt being incurred.
19.7 Upon receipt the association must immediately take steps to verify whether the debt is valid and notify the creditor and debtor of its decision.
19.8 Upon being satisfied that a qualifying debt exists the association must apportion the debt on a pro-rata basis and notify the individual or individuals concerned.
The association may add an administration fee (not exceeding £8) to each individual’s pro-rata debt.
19.9 Upon being notified, an individual must pay the debt within 21 days of the issue of the notification letter or appeal in accordance with the appeal procedures. If payment or appeal is not received the individual will be suspended sine die until the debt is paid and he is notified that the suspension has been lifted. This suspension will commence from (and include) the 22nd day after the date the notification was issued.

Your usual idiotic tantrum whenever your home patch is held to be other than some utopian, cosy little idyll.

Some FACTS: When the old Recreation Ground in the town centre was in need of just basic repair and renovation in the sixties, the former Urban District Council - the landlords; declined to carry out the work citing the old Newton Spurs as a "professional football club" who as tenants were expected to carry out such repairs themselves. This was a ridiculous state of affairs, after all what other council tenant is expected to fund their own repairs to buildings they do not own?

When the opportunity came to off load the responsibility, the newlynamed Teignbridge District Council couldn't move fast enough to hand over the Rec to the newly formed "Recreational Trust", in reality a South Devon Cricket Club dominated set up to appease the cricketers who were due to be made homeless owing to their adjacent ground being compulsorily purchased for the now "Cricketfield Road Car Park"

So the football club ended up getting a mere pitch located on the outfield of a re-located cricket ground and that is how things have stayed there ever since.

When Newton Abbot F.C. were first trying to develop and improve Coach Road they faced all sorts of idiotic and obstructive nonsense from local residents and Teignbridge Council...............one such farce being that in their opinion the erection of floodlights would encourage "groups of youths" to a quiet residential area!

Of course the whole of the local community should be ashamed to see an obvious "self help" enterprise laying empty and unused. It matters not that the incumbents were a football club, a scout troop or an old folks organisation. If an asset to the town falls into dis-use, it reflects on that very community; and it does not reflect well.

There are plenty of small towns and villages the length and breadth of the country who provide smashing little facilities for clubs such as Newton Abbot, Newton Spurs and Buckland Athletic to use and they exist because the local populace have elected the calibre of people to represent them who will commit to such schemes.

That the people of the area have not done this is a poor reflection on them, and yes; they should be ashamed of themselves. You were full of hot air about your balloon, how about showing the same kind of energy in embarrassing the local representatives out of their stupour and provide some decent sporting facilities for the local youth?

The minute someone points out a blemish on your self perceived local utopia you start hopping up and down like a one legged demented little wasp, pretending that all is beauty and perfection in your home corner. That nowhere else can match the wonderful life you enjoy.

"Just what have the people of Newton Abbot got to do with Newton Abbot Football club getting itself into trouble?" you ask..............nothing to do with them getting themselves into trouble, but as a resident of a town who's football club bore that town's name they should be ashamed. I am, and I haven't been a resident for over a quarter of a century. I am ashamed that a town the size of my home town can't facilitate a semi pro' club as I stated in my previous post.

Ashamed that smaller places like Truro, Tiverton and Bideford to name but three have clubs of some significance carrying their town's name in a status of football befitting the size of the town, whilst NA is still pissing about in the little puddle of the Peninsular League with it's resources split three (and now two) ways!

Yes dear Brett It was a silly question, they are two differnt teams

Thanks for that Ant, I now know the problem In Newton abbot and why It seems the town don't get behind a club bearing the town name. The answer Is so simple, there are so many Of them they don't know which one to choose.