PERCEIVED DEGREES OF GRAVITAS

It’s been April 1^st for a fortnight at Mansfield Town. Even by the standards of owner Keith Haslam’s 15-year tenure, it’s been nuts.

When we last visited, Haslam was meeting, greeting…and rejecting takeover bids from around the world, brokered by accountant Stephen Booth, appointed by Haslam to be the rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights as deal-upon-deal broke down.

Nonetheless, most observers thought the saga was coming to an end of sorts last month. One of many ‘would-be’ Mansfield owners looked set to lose the ‘would-be.’ Mansfield chairman James Derry and Sydney businessman Steve Dolheguy, rival bidders last autumn, hammered out a deal with Haslam after Christmas. However, Dolheguy’s backers withdrew very late.

Wisely, at the time, Booth persuaded Derry to launch a press-conference appeal for replacement backers for the already-agreed deal, asking local business to back their local club…for local people.

Reinforcing suspicions that he was Haslam’s mouthpiece, Booth blamed “the ubiquitous Australians” for the breakdown, rather than the by-now traditional last-minute ‘change of heart’ from Haslam. “The Australian side was never going to happen” he sneered, on mic, Derry straightaway spluttering that Dolheguy wouldn’t have spent three Australian summer days in Mansfield if he hadn’t been serious. And Dolheguy himself emphasised his continuing interest, if he could find new backers.

The press conference worked. Mansfield-born Steve Hymas, owner of Mansfield-based Hymas Homes and genuine, if occasional, fan since he was five (“my Dad was a season-ticket holder”) had been part of Derry’s 2007 consortium. And the pair were joined by shirt-sponsor Andy Sutton, owner of Mansfield-based A. Sutton Pipelines (where do they get the names?).

An unspecified fourth person was “in discussion.” Fans’ groups considered involvement. Finances were “in place” again. Booth confidently told a fans’ forum the consortium was in “effective control” and consulted them over a replacement for popular-but-fed-up manager Billy Dearden. And Derry told the same forum “to all intents and purposes, Haslam has disappeared from this football club. Sadly, only Hymas senior’s season-ticket was believable.

Fans groups were, rightly, cautiously-welcoming, recognising that “the devil lay in the detail”, especially when, as ‘Stags Fans for Change (SFFC) noted, “Details (of)…rental of the ground and eventual buy-out price” weren’t public. And, of course, Haslam was “still our landlord.” They cited the sad, if timely, Rotherham situation - the club in administration partly because of the £66,000 annual rent paid to a former owner of the club who still owned the ground.

SFFC were also “appalled and astonished” that the “unspecified” consortium-member was John Batchelor, who led York City into administration in 2002. They “looked forward” to Hymas’s promised “full financial details” of the sale and called for “a CEO with experience”, obviously clean forgetting they already had Stephen Booth…ah…

However, the deal was already unravelling. Booth said the consortium would takeover “the existing company”, mindful of Football League objections to Derry forming a new company in 2007. But a new company ‘Stags 2008’ was announced days later.

Whether required or not after Mansfield’s lucrative Cup run, Haslam insisted the consortium inject £500,000 ‘working capital’, double reported annual losses (‘reported’ thanks to Haslam’s continued aversion to filing accounts). And questions on the consortium’s four-year option to buy Mansfield’s Field Mill ground and Haslam’s obligation to sell at ‘market’ rates…or at all, were stonewalled.

It was no surprise that rent proved the deal-breaker. £275,000-per-year, over four times what forced Rotherham under. It became £175,000 on relegation. But £175,000 for a three-parts finished non-league stadium with a periodically-reduced safety capacity?

Derry and Booth quietly back-tracked on their “agreed” deal. The day Booth declared the consortium in “effective control” he’d quietly presented a new deal to Derry. So ten days after the “agreed” deal, everyone claimed they hadn’t seen relevant paperwork. Headline news…if attention hadn’t already switched to…John-bloody-Batchelor.

Described as a ‘colourful’ and ‘flamboyant’ businessman when ‘failed’ would have done, Batchelor took York City into administration after eight months as chairman, blaming all the era’s usual suspects. The previous chairman, ITV Digital’s collapse, the war on terror…everyone but himself. His only business ‘success’ was a Touring Cars team. Derry’s consortium must have been paranoid about finances to give Batchelor house-room. And, like all good businessmen, Batchelor repaid their faith…by shafting them.

Batchelor declared that he’d answer any questions, answering one straightaway: why had Haslam dragged things out so long? Clearly, he’d wanted a buyer who was as big a **** as him.

Having discovered the consortium’s offer, Batchelor sneaked off to talk to Haslam himself, ‘reasoning’ that “I didn’t think that would impact on their situation” and stressing that they weren’t excluded from what were suddenly ‘his’ plans – apart from Hymas, who’d confronted Batchelor face-to-face on hearing the news (to cries of ‘go on, Steve, hit him’ from any right-minded witnesses). Batchelor talked of buying club and ground – the perfect deal if not dealer. But he’d said the same at York…and lied.

Somehow believing football was still commercially under-exploited, Batchelor introduced some self-styled ‘wacky’ money-generating ideas (25% generated for himself, as “commission”). Red Star and Partizan Belgrade were to participate in a Field Mill international tournament with Mansfield and…York, who unsurprisingly told him to f*** off and stay away forever. “I thought it would be a nice gesture to York to get some money back off me” he said, with his usual mix of audacity and bollocks. He got a ‘nice’ gesture back.

Simply mentioning plans to re-name the club after SKY drama ‘Dream Team’s’ Harchester United gives them too much credibility – they just exposed Batchelor’s inability to distinguish ‘publicity’ from ‘ridicule.’ He’d suggested re-naming Accrington Stanley ‘Lancashire United’ as part of a £1.5m bid there and got suitably short shrift (“we’ve worked too hard to put Stanley back on the map” noted chairman Eric Whalley, correctly). I mean…’Lancashire United?…who are they?

Batchelor’s continuing business failures were exposed by his readiness to take questions. Fifteen Batchelor companies had failed. And questions centred on York and them – firms where he’d left trails of unpaid wages and broken promises.

Instead of buying City’s Bootham Crescent ground, as promised, he did a deal with predecessor chairman Douglas Craig (almost as unpopular in York) and house-builders Persimmon which would have seen City ousted after a year and replaced with…93 Persimmon homes, compensated only by £400,000, admittedly much-needed, sponsorship.

However, the deal was with Batchelor personally, with sponsorship to the yet-to-be-formed ‘York Sporting Club’, a supposed-amalgam of City and Batchelor’s Touring Car team.

City saw little ‘sponsorship.’ Batchelor kept £300,000 and claimed the rest bit-by-bit as expenses for ‘promoting’ York Sporting Club – tangible benefits to York City: nil. And promises of shares and board seats for the well-organised Supporters Trust were rubbish. City went into administration, 35 days from collapse.

Good ‘business’ for Batchelor, though. He made “£120,000 over 18 months” and still believes that, in doing nothing illegal, he “did nothing wrong.”

His York schemes – e.g. chequered flags on the shirts – made the ‘curiosity columns’ (David Conn, Independent). But other failures were grimmer. He kept solvent through asset-stripping, caring not a jot for creditors and ex-employees who were out-of-pocket because of him. “Commercial rules, hard luck” he snorted. “If people don’t deliver, failure is inevitable” – though exempting himself from that scenario.

As at York, he’s offered Mansfield fans ownership of the club, though not through a Supporters Trust, which he described as “individuals shouting their mouths off but risking nothing” (unlike himself) – boorish ignorance, even for him.

He’s on 25%, naturally, offering Mansfield for £625,000, if Haslam sells to him for £500,000 working capital, plus £1 for the majority-shareholding. But if Haslam is prepared to accept this, why involve Batchelor plus 25% at all?

Fans are taking sound advice from York supporters embittered by their experience. “Why does no-one believe I can come up with the money?” Batchelor whinges. Beats me. (Batchelor doesn’t “need to own (Mansfield) just speak on its behalf with a “perceived degree of gravitas.” That’s what he said).

Haslam himself has re-emerged from his slime-pit, declaring Batchelor “the only game in town” and criticising local businesses and fans’ groups, as per – which no-one’s taken seriously for years. Latest gems included: “I don’t hear supporters groups wanting to help”, his paper boy’s obviously on holiday; “People don’t want Batchelor but where’s the alternative? Baulking at rip-off rent-demands, mostly. And: “I can’t stay away forever.” You could.

This tale’s biggest farce, though, is the Football League’s ‘fit and proper persons’ test, utterly condemned by Haslam and Batchelor’s ability to pass it. Batchelor has to foul-up two clubs to fail it. Haslam can keep the £584,000 his company borrowed for an unbuilt Mansfield training ground. And the league remains institutionally unconcerned. Disgraceful.

Batchelor turned up at Saturday’s home game with Barnet but had to leave early “on the advice of stewards” and claims to have takeover talks arranged with Haslam, only for the club’s new chairman, Mayor Tony Egginton, to say that there would be no such meeting. What part of “f*** off” does Batchelor not understand?

And so it goes on, probably for at least another article…

‘MotorMurph’ is written by Mark Murphy

Entry Filed under: MotorMurph Column

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