Denaby Utd – AGM – “O Thou Loss upon Loss!” – Despairing Officials

July 1925

Mexborough and Swinton Times July 25, 1925

Denaby United Football Club
Gloomy Tone at Annual Meeting
“O Thou Loss upon Loss
Despairing Officials

The Denaby United Football Club’s annual meeting held on Friday was rather a gloomy affair.

This H.C.Harrison presided, and there was a good attendance.

Mr W Astbury (financial secretary) resented the balance sheet, said the receipts included £833 2s 6d from Midland League “gates” which is an average of £40 a match; £77 18s 10d Sheffield Association League “gates” an average of £6 a match. The club are now withdrawn from the Sheffield Association League, and had entered the Doncaster Senior cat league. The receipts for English Cup games amounts to £413 16s 7d, an increase on last season of £30 and the Sheffield Challenge Cup and brought “gates” mounted to £19.18s 6d.

Members subscriptions amounted to £90 0s 6d , a drop of £200, mainly accounted for by the fact that subscription fees had been reduced from 16 shillings to 10s 6d and that a good many supporters prefer to pay at the gate. The club will be very unfortunate in having a number of matches spoiled by rain. The donation amounted to £15 10s which included a gift of a new set of knickers and jerseys, by the direction of the Denaby and Cadeby Colliery Company.

Transfer Fees

The club had also received £350 in transfer fees for W Brayshaw and W Cooper (from Blackburn Rovers) and a further instalment of £100 for the transfer of Scrivens and Briggs (from Birmingham) making a total of £450 or £300 less than last season.

From the Entertainments Committee they had received £13 11s 3d, a decrease of £100 on last year’s receipts from the Committee.

From the sale of programs they received £33 13s, practically the same amount as last year, and he Mr Astbury, was afraid he was not worthwhile going on with the program, because there was a great difficulty in disposing of them.

The club will be very unfortunate in having many players injured. They receive from the insurance company in payment of claims made last season £51 17s 2d. There were other miscellaneous items income amounting to £34 1s 5d.

Reduced Expenditure

On the expenditure side the items included £1268 10s wages, £200 2s 8d travel expenses, £103 5s 1d cheese and refreshments, £77 3s 1d referees and linesmen’s feats, £56 16s game et cetera, £66 12s higher of motor coaches, £88 6s 6d Customs and Excise Duties, £55 grants to W Cooper and W Brayshaw, £33 3s 6d to Wombwell as their share of a cupk, and miscellaneous items amounting to £159 17s 3d.

The total expenditure amounted to £1758 7s 8d, which was a reduction in the previous year’s expenditure of £200, principally on on wages and travel expenses. There was also a reduction of £40 on “signing up” fees.

Debt of £400

There was a debt of £402 9s 3d and that amount was owned by the club to the Denaby and Cadeby Main Welfare Committee. They commence their season with an overdraft of £119 8s 10d saw that on the season working they had lost £280, which they attributed to the decreasing members subscriptions, and to the decrease in the amount turned over by the Entertainment Committee.

The assets of the club were requisites £70, turnstiles £40, deposit to Midland Counties Football League £10. There are ground valued at £1000, and a stand valued at £400.

Lost Enthusiasm

Chairman said they were a little disappointed, yet they ought not to be very much surprised, because the enthusiasm of the people of Denaby for football seem to have disappeared. They had hoped that in the year under review there would have been able to wipe the deficit, and finish with a credit balance. Charges for admission, and the price of season tickets were reduced, and everything done to induce better attendance. They got no improvement at all, and the result was very disappointing. They could not go on indefinitely like this. Nobody could afford to carry on any organisation which was losing money at the rate of over £200 a season. They had in the district sufficient people to keep the club going, and they could safely say they served up a good football and was provided anywhere in the district.

Why?

“Wide they don’t come and see us play, I don’t know,” continued the chairman, We were told that when Mexborough playing at home and robbed us of our quotes gate.” We arrange as far as we could to play at home when Mexborough were away, and it made no difference will stop we were told that people wanted to see a winning team. And being at the top of the league made no difference, in fact, the best “gates” we had were when we were consistently at the bottom of the League. If the attendance continues to be as bad as it has been in the past we shall have to think of a more drastic course. It is impossible, no matter how the management try, to reduce the expenditure to such an extent that the poor support we get will enable us to carry on.

“It is very regrettable. I don’t know what can be suggested what can be done. We have a good ground, we have accommodation which is considerably better than a good many clubs, we have a team last year that was well worth supporting, and we hope next season to have an even better team.”

There was no encouragement for the officials or place. And it not been for transfer fees (which they never could rely on), they would have been down very considerably. They did not want to sell players, but they had to do it.

What do They Want?

The outlook was not very encouraging for they had been carried on in this manner for some years. Things got worse and worse, and he did not know what was going to be the outcome. It would be a very great shame if they had to give up Midland League football. The team did very well, and were top in their division of the Subsidiary Competition.

Concluding the Chairman said, “Obviously Denaby did don’t want good football, and they don’t want back football – I should think they don’t want football at all. I don’t know. It is the only conclusion I can come to.”

The balance sheet was adopted.

Two Extremes

Mr Hancock then gave the report of the secretary – manager, said they were top of the League in playing and at the bottom in income. In the old days 28 years ago, they got better support at 4d a time than they got now at 6d.

In the Midland League then won nine matches, lost 11 and drawn eight. The Subsidiary Competition they had won outright. The reserve team and do extremely well, to, and but for having so many players injured, would have won the Sheffield Association League Championship. They had one 17 matches, lost six and drawn five. They outscored 66 goals against 34.

If they lost football in Denaby it will be a valuable asset gone. He could not see why people should spend 7s or 8s in going to Sheffield C football which occasion was not much better than played at Denaby (hear, hear).

Signed on

Mr Hancock then went on to to gave the list of players as follows:

Goalkeepers J Bromage and H Garbett (Goldthorpe)

Backs: M Taylor, W Parker (Brodsworth) and C Bisby

Halfbacks: H Nicholson (Wath), A Windle, D Brown, J Croot (Brodsworth), “Sammy” Wilkes (Rotherham County), G Oxley (Sheffield) and F Senior (a local amateur)

Forwards: H Drew (outside right), W Bussey (insight), T Allen (Mexborough), C.S.Taylor (Sheffield United), S Pearson, W Fawden, W Jackson (a Wombwell outside right), A.R.Skeels (late of Beighton) and A Julian (of Edlington, inside left)

in addition to these, a number of local lads are to be given a trial.

Mr Hancock concluded by saying he was confident they had the nucleus of a very good side. For 30 years he had been connected with the club, and it was a hard task when one felt that one’s efforts were not appreciated. They could not compete for players in the market if they could not get support. If the public would only give the club proper support they could be given full value for their money (applause).

Sympathy

the Chairman then moved a vote of condolence with the relations of the late Mr E Dutton, and the late Mr Ben Hunt, two committee men to whom they owed a lot. The Chairman said he did not think the Club had ever been served by more loyal or more enthusiastic members.

The officials were then all re-elected