The land of time
By Adam Summers

Friday 30th July 2010

WEYMOUTH Football Club’s hopes of winning back the land surrounding the newly-named Bob Lucas Stadium could be dead in the water.

Unless £20,000 is raised by the end of next month any hopes of legal proceedings against former chairman Malcolm Curtis and Wessex Park Ltd will be scrapped.

Since the aptly named fighting fund was set up at a meeting of shareholders on June 9 only £552 currently sits in the account.

The Weymouth Supporters Association has pledged a further £1,000 but after current chairman George Rolls admitted he remains “pessimistic” about whether the money can be raised at last night’s latest AGM, a deadline of August 31 was set by the shareholders.

And if the five-figure sum fails to materialise by that date, a motion was also passed whereby all the money raised by the fund will be transferred into another initiative called the players’ budget fund.

Rolls said: “Unfortunately, only £552 is in the fighting fund account at present and that is not even enough to cover the revaluation of the ground so I cannot see us raising £20,000.”

Fellow director Simon Etherington then added: “To be honest £20,000 will only scratch the surface anyway. In order to get a barrister and take the matter to court it will probably end up costing close to £100,000.”

If the fighting fund fails to reach its target then Rolls has urged fans to move on. He said: “If it fails, it is important we all start looking forward rather than back. I agree that there is a very good case but I also think at some point we need to accept where we are now and get on with it.”

A number of other revelations were announced at the meeting (see bullet points below) but perhaps the most poignant was the renaming of the Wessex Stadium, which will now be known as the Bob Lucas Stadium, in honour of the club’s long-serving president who is currently battling cancer in hospital.

Rolls said: “Bob was one of the first people to greet me when I arrived at the club and everyone in football knows he is Mr Weymouth and I cannot think of a more fitting way to honour all his hard work and support than to name the stadium after him.

“We all hope he is as comfortable as he can be at the present time and we also hope that he will be able to get down here during the season to see a few games. Everyone wishes him well.”

Amidst everything else, manager Ian Hutchinson also announced three new signings during a fans’ forum later in the evening with Bradley MacGookin, Sam Clarke and Sam Charles all agreeing one-year deals.

Hutchinson said: “All three players have been working extremely hard and it’s great for the club that we now have them on contracts, which they all thoroughly deserve. They have all been given an opportunity and it’s down to them whether they take it or not.” The Terras’ boss also revealed that more contracts are on offer at the club but only for “players deserving of one”.

Rolls added: “There is still a considerable amount of money left in the budget. Initially we did say that all the players would be on non-contract terms this season but we have had a rethink since then, and there is no doubt that we will be backing our manager.”

Hutchinson is continuing to search for reinforcements and has admitted that he has been in contact with Dorchester Town boss Ashley Vickers about possible loan deals.

He said: “We are speaking to everyone and that includes Ashley but we are currently sitting tight on that. He has a good few players up at Dorchester at the moment but in terms of any loan players coming down here, they would have to be the right ones.

“I would prefer to get players in from League clubs but in our circumstances at the moment we need to explore every avenue that is open to us.”

The Terras will take on Longwell Green at the Bob Lucas Stadium tomorrow (3pm) and there could be a couple of new faces on show in Hutchinson’s ranks, including a goalkeeper, who will replace the injured Tom Manley.

* To donate money to the fighting fund visit theterras.co.uk

Terras' AGM: The key points:

* The board announced the renaming of the ground, which changes from the Wessex Stadium to the Bob Lucas Stadium in honour of the club’s long-serving president, who is currently in hospital battling cancer.

* The accounts for years ending May 2008 and May 2009 were begrudgingly approved.

* Former board member Ian Winsor was quoted in an email, saying he was never financial director of the club, even though shareholders deemed him to be.

* Shareholders instructed the club’s directors to start an investigation into Winsor’s conduct during his time on the board by sending off all relevant documents to the relevant professional body.

* The fighting fund to start legal proceedings against former chairman Malcolm Curtis and Wessex Park Ltd will be scrapped if £20,000 is not raised by August 31.

* Curtis, allegedly still owes £50,000 for the land surrounding the Bob Lucas Stadium, which will go to the CVA not the club.

* Current chairman George Rolls described the new stadium proposed by Curtis as ‘pie in the sky’ and urged shareholders to remember the club still holds an option agreement whereby it will receive compensation or get the land back should a new stadium not be delivered in the future.

* George Rolls revealed he has held talks with Ernie Battey of Morgan Sindall, who has agreed to allow the club to have full use of the car park to help provide extra revenue.

* A survey has estimated that around £750,000 worth of work will have to be carried out on the ground over the next five to six years, with £150,000 regarded as imminent work.