Okay, you know my reputation for unbiased and accurate reporting, so here goes:

Nick Hood (the Administrator, from Begbies Traynor Accountants) started by saying how well the team had performed over the past few weeks and months. Whatever else happens, success on the field is vital if we have any future worth bothering with, anyway!

For the record, however, Nick is a Watford supporter!

He reported that the 3-month statutory meeting of the Creditors Committee had gone quite well. The debts remain essentially unchanged (at GBP 750,000), with the Inland Revenue being the largest single creditor (at GBP 180,000).

Nick reported that Kingstonian Football Club is trading at a small profit at the moment (thanks largely to tight cost control and income from the Saxon Rooms over the Christmas period), but added that we havent a prayer in trading our way out of difficulty. Thus, we are still looking for a large cash injection to satisfy the creditors.

Wages, he reported, were now about 1/3 of peak, Chris Kelly is one of only two members of the Board being paid (Nick is happy that Chris provides good value for money and the Club would have to pay more than Chris current salary to replace him) and Gerry Desler has kindly reduced his fees (unprompted) by 50%. Again, this is reckoned to be well below the market rate for the job he does.

Conversations with Wimbledon have not begun, pending the outcome of their appeal to the FA for permission to move to Milton Keynes. (Nick observed that, if he were acting as the Dons advisor, he would advise them not to pursue other options while their appeal is being considered). Conversations with Farnborough were similarly stalled, pending their appeal for permission to ground-share with Ks.

Nick has been approached by a small number of other interested parties, including other football teams. He wouldnt confirm that one of them is fronted by Ron Noades, but

One such approach included a derisory offer. When Nick laughed at the amount on offer, they reduced it! Probably not worth pursuing, it was agreed.

Without being alarmist, Nick feels that we have until the end of the season to find a solution. Over the summer, there will very little money coming in - although the fixed costs, of course, will remain. A press release to this effect will soon be issued and, it is to be hoped, will have the effect of flushing out serious interest including, presumably, any currently undeclared parties.

The Council should be prevailed upon to offer financial support but, well, lets not kid ourselves! In fact, the best chance of getting some money out of the Council would be if someone put a serious offer on the table, but made it conditional upon levering some matching funds out of the local authorities. (I reckon our best chance would be to kidnap the Mayors entire family, but dont tell anyone I said so)

But the best part of the evening

when we switched the TV on at the end of the meeting, the Chelsea v Tottenham game was only into the 2nd minute, and Chelsea were already losing 1-0!!!

FA DECISION

"The Football Association turned down the ground share appeal at today's hearing. Tom McAleese presented the FTFC case and believes that this decision was made not for reasons of 'conurbation' but on the grounds that the plans for a new site are insufficiently far forward.


I can confirm that there is no intent to invest at Cherrywood Road. Even if a scheme for Cherrywood Road was viable (and it isn't - crowd size, transport, plot size, security - the thoroughfare factor, leisure revenue potential) we would need to knock it down and start again. This would require a ground share in the meantime. Since Woking, Aldershot and Reading turned us down, and Kingston has been refused, that isn't an option.


There has been significant investment in bringing FTFC from near bankruptcy to its current condition. But the club's support off the pitch is roughly equivalent to the level of support for the team.....low (just over 600 at the weekend). Perhaps if the club was bigger, these issues would gain more of an ear.


The stark reality is that dramatic situations call for dramatic solutions. I am not one for sitting back and allowing situations to dominate me. I much prefer to be driving an agenda. And that is all that can happen now.It is no good going nowhere.


As I said yesterday, the important thing is to concentrate on winning the next match. Because that is always the key."

Wayne Andrews (Chesham United)
Aaron Barnett (Gravesend & Northfleet)
Dale Binns (Hendon)
Mick Bodley (Canvey Island)
Jason Chewins (Aldershot Town)
Francis Duku (Gravesend & Northfleet)
Vinnie John (Bishop's Stortford)
Lance Key (Kingstonian)
Ryan Kirby (Aldershot Town)
Adam Parker (Aldershot Town)
Dean Parratt (Braintree Town)
Dave Rainsford (Grays Athletic)
Lee Spiller (Chesham United)
Scott Tarr (Basingstoke Town)
Steve Tilson (Canvey Island)
Craig Wilkins (Gravesend & Northfleet)
Gary Wraight (St Albans City)

Pitcher signs on-loan for Woking

Geoff Pitcher is set to sign for Conference club Woking this afternoon, on a three-month loan deal.


The Albion midfielder has been limited to just two League starts since he joined Albion in the summer from Kingstonian in a 25,000 deal.


Last week the 26-year-old asked manager Peter Taylor if he could go out on loan, in order to play more first-team football. Taylor, who sympathised with Pitcher's predicament, circulated his name as available for loan. "He has come out of non-league to play in the league, and at the moment that is not happening, so we are letting him out on loan," Taylor said.


As a result three clubs - Woking, Dagenham & Redbridge and Stevenage - all expressed an interest, and today the deal was sewn up with Colin Lippiatt's Woking. Pitcher goes straight into the squad, and is expected to make his Woking debut in the Conference clash with Scarborough on Saturday.

Further to the recent Woking v Kingstonian match and my conversation with The Disciplinary Manager at The Football Association on Monday, I was asked by the Football Association for my observations and I confirm below what I said and which will be printed in this Saturday's programme and should also appear in tomorrow's Surrey Comet:-

One observation I have is that Woking F.C. knew this during the course of last week so why didn't they challenge the team sheet when it was presented to the referee half an hour before the K.O. *(actually they were exchanged 45 minutes before K.O. at the request of Woking F.C.)? I also find it quite interesting, as have the rest of Kingstonian F.C., that we all have had to pick this up in the national newspaper Non-League Paper. As you (Disciplinary Manager) said to me this morning you were going to the match yourself but in the end couldn't attend but if you had attended you would have come forward and said that Peter should not have been on the team sheet and shouldn't have played.

Graham Richards,
Secretary.

Non-League: Kingstonian await fate by Nicholas Harling

KINGSTONIAN will find out today if their disappointing season has taken a further turn for the worse following the inclusion of an ineligible player in the FA Umbro Trophy on Saturday.

Woking were not complaining when Peter Barnsby's mistake led to the decisive goal in their 2-1 win, but manger Geoff Chapple was, nevertheless, astonished that the centre-half had lined up for the Ryman League side.

The FA, who will decide on any punishment today, had apparently informed Chapple that Barnsby's one-game ban would cover the Trophy third-round tie at Kingfield. "If a player is suspended what the hell is he doing on the pitch when we're trying to win the game?" asked Chapple.

Woking 's goals came from Chris Sharpling's volley and Warren Patmore's delightful lob, while Kingstonian's was scored by David Sadler.
David Clarke was sent off for pushing the ball into Roscoe's D'Sane's face.
Woking's Nationwide Conference rivals all avoided upsets against lower league opposition but leaders Boston lost to Northwich Victoria.

Stevenage Borough's enterprising plan to promote a fly-on-the-wall football series on Channel 4 is almost certain to be vetoed following discussions involving lawyers, Nationwide Conference officials and clubs.

Unfortunately due to an administrative error, Peter Barnsby played in the above fixture when he should have been suspended. Early this morning I spoke to The Football Association who were very appreciative of the fact that the K's had contacted them before they had contacted us. I have agreed with The Football Association that Peter will not be playing in our home fixture this Saturday against Canvey Island F.C.

Following on from my conversation with The Football Association this morning and certain other matters concerning this fixture, another statement will be forthcoming.

Graham Richards
Secretary

Kingstonian stir up old memories by Nicholas Harling

THE meeting of Geoff Chapple's past and present clubs in the FA Umbro Trophy tomorrow may contribute to a little extra frostiness in the Kingfield boardroom, spicing up the atmosphere for the tie of the third round.


Chapple, back as manager of Woking, where he spent 13 happy seasons, is still smarting from the embarrassment of his dismissal by Kingstonian last May when he rose to make the player of the year presentation following the club's relegation from the Nationwide Conference.


"There I was saying I had red and white blood running across my veins' when, so I discovered later, they had already sacked me," he recalled yesterday. "I felt a bit of a twat after that.


"But it will be nice to see some of the Kingstonian fans. They were brilliant to me. But now I am back to where I belong."


With that last remark, Chapple showed where his heart really lies. His departure from Woking four years ago was a shock, but Kingstonian were quick to benefit. Promotion from the Ryman League was followed by successive Trophy triumphs, adding to the three in four seasons Chapple had won with Woking. "The trophy gets the old adrenaline going a bit," he admitted.


Kingstonian, now managed by Steve Sedgeley, who was Chapple's assistant, will have, at most, three players who played under him, forward Ronnie Green, wing-back Mark Jones and central defender Sean Thurgood. "We haven't watched them," said Chapple. "I'm more worried about us. It's like a hospital down here."


Indeed Woking, struggling to stay in the Conference, have not been helped with the news that Paul Steele and Jamie Pitman face lengthy lay-offs.

We are holding the statutory meeting of creditors for Kingstonian Football Club Limited at Kingsmeadow on the afternoon of 23 January 2002. As the fans also have an interest in the future of the club but cannot attend the creditors meeting we feel it will also be appropriate to hold a fans forum that evening at 7:30pm again at Kingsmeadow where we can discuss the current state of the administration. We look forward to seeing you there.

Ex-players shirts with "Cherry Red" and "Emporium" logos only £10.00

Last season's "Grolsch " home shirts in child sizes £18.50

K's football shorts (Home and away ) only £8.99

Mugs £4.00, Red Polo shirts £12.00,Jigsaw of Ks at Wembley only £8.99

Double sided scarves (home and away ) £3.99. Red Bob Hats only £5.00 Red and Black Bob Hats £6.95

Many other items in stock.

Dons live like kings by Charlie Wyett

WIMBLEDON could finally have a homewith non-league Kingstonian.


The Division One club are in talks with their tiny neighbours about moving into their Kingsmeadow ground.


Wimbledon have shared with Crystal Palace for 11 years and hope to move in within 18 months before building a new stadium in Kingston itself.


Dons chairman Charles Koppell has been forced to look elsewhere after the league blocked their bid to move to Milton Keynes.


Koppell will take the matter to an FA arbitration panel next month, hoping for a U-turn.


But Wimbledon have been forced to make other plans and see Kingstonian where they play reserve games as the ideal solution.


Over the last decade, they have been unable to find a site in their spiritual home in the London borough of Merton.


The 6,300-capacity stadium is five miles from their original home at Plough Lane.


Talks between Ryman League Kingstonian and Wimbledon began four weeks ago.


Wimbledon would share with the club for two years and after private discussions with local councillors believe they could build a new home in Kingston.


The local team the K's would also use the stadium.


The move would please the majority of supporters because Kingston is two miles nearer Merton than Selhurst Park, where they share with Crystal Palace.


Wimbledon have a four-year deal with stadium owner Ron Noades but they have to give only one-year's notice.