THE Vaughan family today offered control of Chester City Football Club in exchange for a pound.
The Blues current owners are now on the verge of relinquishing control of the crisis club who are currently anchored to the foot of the Blue Square League Premier Division table.
An official statement from the club read: “Stephen Vaughan Junior is prepared to sell 100 per cent control of Chester City Football Club for one pound.
“Stephen Vaughan Junior is offering control of the club to City Fans United, any other consortium, or any individual who wants to buy the club.
“The new owners will take on all existing creditors and will need to guarantee to pay existing creditors of the new company.
“The Vaughan family are putting the club first by putting their shareholding in Chester City Football Club up for sale.”
News of the Vaughan family being willing to release their grip on the troubled club arrives just days after newly-formed Blues supporters group City Fans United agreed to boycott remaining home fixtures.
And the Vaughan family statement has been issued just one day before Chester City are scheduled to hear a winding up petition by the HM Revenue and Customs for an unpaid £26,000 tax bill.
Conference League general manager, Dennis Strudwick, voiced his concern about Chester City’s disturbing off-field problems, and admitted he was intending to write to the club who had only been represented by Bob Gray at last week’s scheduled meeting at Hinckley to discuss the short-term future of the troubled club.
Strudwick, who was hoping to meet club officials ahead of tomorrow’s High Court date, is worried about the Blues on-going plight.
He said: “We were looking to meet senior personnel in a decision-making capacity at last week’s scheduled meeting.
“But, without wishing to sound condescending, they sent Bob Gray. Nobody else turned up.
“We can’t deal with the club’s former chairman Stephen Vaughan as he is a banned director after failing the ‘fit and proper person’s test’.
“But his son is now the named chairman and they also have a new director of football in Morell Maison.
“We are trying to help the club. We have done our utmost in that respect this season, but we need to speak to them about issues such as whether they have yet paid the wages they owe for November and December.
“And we now have to reconvene another meeting with them as soon as possible.
“We felt there was definitely sufficient reason to meet with Chester club officials following the news that HM Revenue and Customs had served a winding up petition on the club.
“The Conference has been doing all it can to keep Chester going and ensure that the club is doing everything correctly.
“We don’t wish to see the club going out of business. We sympathise with the club’s supporters and we now want to see Chester addressing their problems.”
City’s Director of Football, Morell Maison, revealed he had been requested to stay out of any negotiations between potential club investors and the Vaughan family who own the club.
He said: “I had been asked to stay out of the negotiations between the potential investors and the current club owners to make sure the situation doesn’t become convoluted.
“There are too many people around the table and things can get dragged out and taken in different directions, so I have basically brought two sets of people to the table and Mr Vaughan and his family have had discussions with one group, they have rejected one group out of hand, and we now have another situation of a financing option which we are trying to put in place, but it is difficult.
“We are working with the PFA and the Conference and hopefully if we can move the situation forward by getting the embargo lifted and by getting the wages paid we will be fine, but we are in a race against time at the moment."
Meanwhile, Chester Fans United spokesman, Jeff Banks said: “The club is at its lowest ebb. The fans have had enough.
“We’ve decided on an immediate boycott so it is from the next home game.
“The fans’ support has already been there. They’re putting their money into the club via the turnstiles but the players haven’t been getting paid.
“The fans are clearly saying ‘if you’re not going to pay the players then we’re not going to pay you’.”