Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 26 April 1913
Denaby United Football Club.
Affairs Again Involved.
Midland League Definitely Dropped.
Mr. Chambers’ Offer.
Once more the affairs of the Denaby United Football Club have become involved, and because of the apparent hopelessness of their being straightened out in the normal course of events, a special general meeting was convened by the committee, and held on Tuesday evening in the Large Hall, Denaby Main.
The President of the Club, Mr. W. H. Chambers, presided, but the attendance embraced a mere handful of enthusiasts, and they were all members of the committee and players of the club.
Increased Debt.
At the outset, the corresponding secretary, Mr. G. L. Robinson, read the minutes of the last meeting of the club management held on March 4. There had not since then, he said, been a quorum.
Mr. Robinson further stated that the club was at present in debt to the amount of between £34 and £50, and so far as he knew, they had nothing with which to meet it.
Replying to a question, Mr. Robinson said one or two old debts had been paid off during the year, but nothing material.
The Chairman: Do I understand that the debit balance with which you commenced the season has been augmented by £34?
Mr. Robinson: That’s about it.
The Chairman: How long is that going to last?
Continuing, the Chairman said he had discussed the question of the prospects of the club with several of the club officials, including Mr. Wray and the late Mr. Cusworth, and had suggested to them that he doubted very much whether it was profitable or desirable, or even possible, to run a successful club in the Midland League.
The improvement in the class of football in the Midland League was so marked, that to run a winning team in that competition would cost £20 a week. He had had it put to him that it was possible to run a Midland League team in Denaby at 30s. a week.
Mr. Chambers’ View.
Mr. Robinson said he had pointed out to the late Mr. H. Cusworth, a former secretary, the impossibility of running an effective Midland League team with players signed at a shilling a match.
The Chairman said he didn’t want to throw cold water upon any proposal they had to make, but where was the money to come from? If they had a winning team and got fairly good gates, they could not raise the money they required. Now that they had a losing team they hardly got anything at all.
They had tried the experiment of running a cheap team and if they looked at the Midland League table they would see the result. To his mind the Midland League was beyond them. It was like a lightweight bruiser tackling a heavyweight. It was ridiculous. They could not do it.
The other clubs had too much money for them. They could buy the best players, and the best football club nowadays was the club with the most money.
Personally he regretted that he had been unable to associate himself so actively with the club of which he was president as he would have liked, but he was so busy a man that if he did not reserve Saturday afternoons for himself, he would have no leisure at all.
He was glad to give his name and his subscription to the club for what they were worth, and to encourage good respectable football in the place as a desirable institution.
No Compulsion.
It was suggested that one way out of the difficulty would be to establish the system of weekly contributions of a penny at the collieries, as had been done with success at other collieries in the district.
The Chairman said that if the club could induce the workmen at the collieries to give their pennies weekly, well and good. They were entitled to try. But he should certainly not attempt to take the penny from them by force. (Hear, hear).
Condition of the Ground.
Mr. A. Robinson said it was obvious that they could not run Midland League football on their present takings. It was hopeless to attempt to compete with clubs like Chesterfield, Rotherham County, Rotherham Town, and Doncaster Rovers, who paid their players anything from 30s. to £3 per week.
He deprecated any attempt to levy a compulsory contribution upon the men at the collieries, but the system of voluntary contributions had been tried at several collieries and had been found successful.
He wished particularly to direct the attention of the club to the condition of the ground. They had a fine enclosure, but the ground itself was entirely unfit for Midland League football. It required to be completely drained, and his suggestion was that they should drop football for a year so that they could take off the surface and lay a filter bed of ashes.
The Chairman: If you drop football for a year you lose the ground, according to the terms of the lease.
Mr. Robinson: If that is a technical difficulty, sir, I think it could be got over by playing some football on the ground. My idea is to husband our resources for twelve months.
Mr. George Blackburn said that when the Denaby club was paying good wages they were getting good gates, and he remembered in one season when he, as a player, was getting 27s. per match, they finished up with a credit balance.
The Chairman said he did not remember a year in which the Denaby club had stood upon its own bottom and paid its way. They could take it from him that the company had found hundreds of pounds to keep the club going.
Beyond Denaby.
Mr. Farrel said that some of the apparent prosperity of the old days was due to profitable transfers of players, and they had made none during the last few seasons.
The Chairman: It is impossible to go on on that footing. If another club can afford to give you £70 for a player, it merely means that you must spend £70 to replace him if you want a good side.
Mr. Robinson: Midland League football is beyond Denaby now.
The Chairman: The interest displayed in this meeting corresponds with the interest in the club. You are a losing side. If you had won some junior cup or other this room would have been full to-night.
On the proposition of Mr. A. Robinson, seconded by Mr. T. Clayton, the committee’s action in resigning from the Midland League was confirmed.
The English Cup.
Some discussion arose on the question of joining the English Cup competition.
Mr. G. L. Robinson said the entrance fee was 31s., and there was no money to meet it with. He was prepared to subscribe a portion of the fee himself.
Mr. Farrell moved that the English Cup be entered. If the money was not forthcoming he would find it himself.
Mr. Clayton seconded, and it was carried.
Mr. Chambers Inclined to Help.
The Chairman said they must consider what could be done. If the secretary and treasurer would prepare a full and complete statement of the club’s indebtedness he might be prepared to help them, but he did not want a repetition of what occurred a couple of years ago, when the club stated that they owed £90, and this sum being subscribed and the club set off on another journey with a clean sheet, it was discovered that this £90 did not represent their total liabilities by £60.
He was disposed to help them if he could be satisfied as to the full extent of their liabilities, but he was not going to throw good money after bad.
Some years ago the club borrowed money from the Company at three per cent. for the purpose of erecting their stand, and not a penny of the principal of that money had been paid as yet.
He wanted to know what they were going to do. If they were going to go on in this sort of way, losing £50 a year, he was not going to give them anything to start with.
Mr. Bateson said he did not think they were worth helping because they did not help themselves. They started in a proper manner and had they gone on with the same interest and the same good feeling, they would have been making money to-day. He was sorry that they had not. There was not a man connected with the club who had done his best.
Mr. G. L. Robinson said that so far as he was concerned he could honestly say that he had tried to do what was right and just. He repudiated that accusation.
A Clean Sheet.
The Chairman: Let us see if we can’t start with a clean sheet. Let bygones be bygones; drop these petty jealousies and pull together for the success of what you are going to do.
I suggest that we adjourn this meeting so as to arrive at some understanding of what our pecuniary liabilities are, and to give every member an opportunity of thinking it over.
The suggestion was made that Denaby, in association with Mexboro’, might take the lead in the formation of a new local league, and the Chairman favoured this idea as likely to stimulate public interest, and produce good football at a low cost.
It was further suggested that at the adjourned meeting representatives should be appointed to meet the Mexboro’ club with a view to discussing the question.
On the proposition of Mr. Farrell, seconded by Mr. G. Esland, the meeting was adjourned.