Wealdstone FC's take on PEPF

[jerroll]

I was quoting the previous poster!

[BeesKnees]

I dont have much more to say on this only that there is obviously two sides to each story and that one persons view of underhand tactics, someone else would see it as ensuring contingency for future problems and doing the best they can for the football club they represent.

Nearly 30 yrs ago Wealdstone were at top non-league side who won the FA trophy, clearly things have not gone well since then and chairman have failed to plan for contingencies in the future like TK has done. Leaving you were you are today. So I repeat do not blame TK or BFC for your failings.

The site will house Wealdstone FC in the main stadium, a secondary 'green' stadium, a supporter's bar as well as health and leisure, sports injury and banqueting and hospitality facilities. There will also be two FIFA approved third generation all-weather pitches, a youth and junior training area incorporating six pitches and separate men's first team training area.

Did you think Wealdstone FC would play in the main stadium for free? I suspect your chairman was happy to see things drift once Ruislips ground was secured

At the press briefings Tony Kleanthous stressed that Barnet's involvement at the Prince Edward site has no connection with any possible relocation of Barnet FC."

Yep BFC saw this as an excellent training ground, obviously should BFC become homeless it would be foolish to ignore the possibilities but the statement still remains true.

"The London Borough of Harrow has steadfastly remained committed to housing Wealdstone FC in a permanent home of their own at Prince Edward. Barnet FC Holding's plans means that the stadium will be finished to a high quality spec along with the other facilities. The stadium will be developed to a high standard. It will be a four sided 5,000 capacity ground including 2,400 seats and a second tier being built on the main East stand. It is important to stress this stadium will be Wealdstone FC's home, not Barnet's and it is hoped to be ready in good time for the 2007/8 season."

Once BFC took over the priorities where always going to be what was required by BFC and not Wealdstone so the aspiration of a stadium ready for 2007/8 was always pie in the sky as BFC didnt require it and therefore it was bottom of the list of priorities.

Now the really interesting part is the stadium capacity part...
Why would WFC need a 5000 capacity ground when 4000 was more than sufficient for a then Step 3 non-league club with average crowds at the time of around 300, who were at best looking at BSP Step 1 football? Why would TK spend extra money on the stadium that was neither needed, nor asked for? We all know how tight he holds the purse strings as it is, so to blow money increasing the capacity of the stadium by 25% seems very out of character for him...

Sounds prudent to apply for what you aspire to and provide contigency for the future. This is not an admission of BFC WANTING to move but aknowledgment that should everything else go pear shaped the Hive remained a fall back.

As has been said elsewhere on this forum in another thread, the construction that is to appear here is actually the South Stand at Underhill, relocated and slightly augmented.Therefore, for the stadium to be completed, it would require the removal of the entire South Side of Underhill and shipping it a few miles down the road to PEPF.

No the south stand was designed so it could be moved to where ever BFC ended up playing and was not built for the hive

So answer me this, if that was always the intention to complete the stadium by the beginning of the 2008 season, by using the stand from Underhill, how were Barnet going to be able to continue playing league football there with basically a 3 sided ground and nowhere near the capacity to meet FL grading requirements? Where were Barnet going to go?

Nope the south stand did not exist at the time the plans were approved, was first used in 2008 and wasnt complete until the end of the season, whilst it can be moved I doubt that it could be done overnight and so I doubt you could argue it was built with the intention of moving to the hive a few weeks later, the question then would be why waste money building it in the first place.

His plans basically would have forced the closure of Underhill, to complete PEPF, therefore putting his own club out of the Football League just to finish a stadium for a Step 3 non-league club.

This view of his plans only exists in your head.

You don't need to read between the lines here to see what his intentions were.

And I wont as I am clear the motives of the BFC chairman was to secure what he believed to be what was right for the club.

[Mikel Bee]

I'm sure I remember somewhere in a past Q&A session where TK mentioned that if the league were to change their rules regarding the slope, we'd have to quickly flatten the pitch. The easiest way to do that would be to shift the pitch a bit further south. This is why the South Stand is dismantleable and we have portacabins for offices behind it.

Of course, such a move would now be impossible due to the lease issues on the cricket pitch but back when it was built, the council had approved a raft of upgrades to Underhill so we could meet basic FL requirements. For a time things were looking a little more positive..... then the leader of the council changed.