Blyth Spartans require 'reset' once short-term future is secured

Blyth Spartans chairman Kevin Miles has called on the football community to do all they can to secure the Croft Park club’s immediate future.

Just over a week has passed since Spartans launched a crowdfunder with the aim of raising an initial £25,000 and their efforts have made a promising start with over £13,500 of their target raised inside the opening seven days. Throughout what has been a difficult 12 months, financial difficulties and a seemingly inevitable second consecutive relegation into the four tier of the non-league game have provided a gloomy backdrop to the club’s 125th anniversary.

But the response to their crowdfunder has brought some positivity and with support coming from around the globe, there is now hope the solid foundations that are required to build upon can be put in place. However, Miles has warned Spartans' existence remains under threat as he stressed he has witnessed similarities to the plight of other clubs during his time as chief executive of the Football Supporters' Association.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bamber Bridge, he told The Gazette: “Working in my role with the FSA, I’ve seen this situation at several clubs but obviously, having grown up in Blyth, this one hit closer to home. Working with local businessmen, who are long-term supporters and long-time sponsors of the club, we have worked to set up a group that will hopefully put the club on the path to becoming more sustainable.

“We did all we could to get control of the club and a lot of effort went into it - but there have been a number of creditors that have been discovered and they have to be paid. We still have ongoing commitments to pay before the end of the season and we will be in a position to reset the club when we get to that point. But at the moment, we need to make sure we do what we can to come through a concerning situation where we have to say there is a threat to this proud club’s existence.”

There have been suggestions the new Spartans board should have taken drastic action to cut the budget they inherited from the club’s previous owner when their rescue bid came to a successful end in November. An initial push for new players saw fees paid out for the likes of strike duo JJ Hooper and Sam Hodgson and loan signings were secured in the form of Spennymoor Town defender Dan Myers and Sunderland goalkeeper Adam Richardson.

Miles admitted, with the benefit of hindsight, a budget cut should have been actioned in the weeks after the takeover was completed - but stressed increased backing from supporters and the local business community gave increased confidence over the financial state at the club before the real extent of the challenges ahead became clear.

He explained: “When we came in there was a swell of support from the local community and that brought with it a bumper attendance at the first game. Given we were still within close proximity to the clubs above us in the table, it was felt that with extra finance from increased gates and sponsor deals around the club we could bring in players

“In hindsight, we should have bitten the bullet in terms of cutting the budget earlier but there was a feeling, understandably, with better choices and better decisions, we could stay up. However, new debt was uncovered during that time and it’s been a learning curve for all of us. We want to move forwards and make sure the lessons learnt from the club’s recent past can put us on more stable footing to make sure Blyth Spartans is around for generations to come.”

Battling through to the end of the season remains the main priority for Miles and his fellow directors. The well-versed phrase throughout all levels at Croft Park has been that a ‘reset’ is required if Spartans are to find themselves on more sound footing when the new season kicks off in August. Tentative plans for pre-season and new sponsor deals have been made with the long-term goal to take the club fully into supporter ownership and follow the lead set by the likes of AFC Wimbledon, Exeter City and current Northern Premier League Premier Division rivals FC United of Manchester.

Miles said: “We are hoping to move towards supporter ownership, that is the ambition and that would mean transferring some of the equity to the fan base but we are having to back-build by sorting out a supporters trust and rebuild the club.

“There will be a lot of hard work needed and people have to understand what that means for the town, the benefits it can bring to the community and in return what benefits the community can bring to the club. When we announced the rescue agreement, I was heartened by the response. I was out at a cafe in Blyth and the waitress said ‘have you heard, we have our club back?’. That gave me a feeling of what this club means to people and I think we need to realise just how important both the community and club can be for each other.”

To donate to the Blyth Spartans GoFundMe page, click here.