Broke Ass Tuesday Part One: Chester City

Chester's players on a night out.

For some reason today there are a lot of hardship stories in English football, some due to inept board level douchebaggery and some down to plain old economics. Let’s kick off ‘broke ass Tuesday’ with a tale of footballers without a paycheck as Christmas draws nearer.

Footballers not getting paid? A collective ‘Awwwwww’ is usually the response, but this isn’t a story of Portsmouth or indeed even of Port Vale. Lil’ ol Chester City of the Blue Square Premier are broke. The wages for November have still not been paid and the PFA (Players Association) have been ‘called in’ to find out why. As of this morning the players are threatening to strike, putting this weekend’s game at Rushden and Diamonds in jeopardy.

The PFA itself are a creditor of the club as they loaned Chester cash for wages last season. PFA spokesman, (and former Blackburn midfielder) Simon Barker, understands the players’ threats to boycott Saturday’s game…

“Any employee in any other industry would be upset if their wages were not paid on time and footballers are no different. We appreciate Chester have cash flow problems right now, but this is certainly not the first time we’ve been contacted over wages not being paid.  This is not something we’d recommend (striking) the players to do, but I can certainly understand their predicament, It’s just before Christmas. They’ve got children and have presents to buy.”- PFA’s Simon Barker.

Chester have some serious issues; not only did they just manage to stay in the league with a payment of 36k to creditors last week, but chairman Stephen Vaughn Jr has been deemed by the FA as ‘not a fit and proper person’ to be n charge of a football club. Of course, that FA rating is meant to stop this kind of thing from happening, but the FA clearly have no idea how to decide who is or is not a ‘fit and proper’ owner. For proof of this you just have to look at Portsmouth, Plymouth, Man City or at the farce unfolding in Nottingham. More on those clubs later.

To add to Chester’s woes, the supporters agree with the FA and are trying desperately to get Vaughn removed from their club. On November the 28th, the home game with Eastleigh was abandoned due to protests, and City started the league campaign on -25 points this season after being docked for irregularities. They currently sit bottom of the Blue Square on -3 points, a mere 24 points from safety. I think Vaughn Jr and his dad, Stephen Vaughn Snr, get the prize for worst owners in football. I cannot think of a club that has been in more of a mess.

While the situation at Chester appears bleak, Barker at the PFA says he has seen more than 70 clubs in a similar situations before. Manager Bob Gray has told the players that they are being paid this Friday, but I’m sure he is as ‘in the dark’ as everyone else.

Meanwhile, Chester appear to be saving some of their budget from one area of the club: their website. A quick look finds no entry after October 6. That posting was advertising the need for a youth coach. I wonder if they ever filled that job and if the poor sod is still there, getting paid.

One thing is for sure: if the first team don’t collect wages on Friday, some of the youth team might find themselves on the first team bus.