Hot TOPICS 
Town Council must assist Warminster Town FC again
(January 23, 2010)
AS it is a case of more in the red than the black a former
councillor is calling on the council to do their part to start the ball
rolling as once again one of the oldest associations in Warminster
finds itself in difficulty.
"The modern looking Warminster Town Football Club is one the
proudest achievements that my late father talked about during and after
his term of office," said former deputy mayor Paul Macdonald.
"The teamwork of a bit of positive interaction between the council
and the club sorted out the problems of the early nineties at very
little cost to the public purse.
"I believe that if the town council once again takes an interest it will prove to be a great encouragement."
The reserves have been sidelined for the rest of the season as a
cost cutting measure in mid season as the committee appeals for help.
"How about the council paying for the cost of the match officials at reserve games as a first step?"
The 'red and blacks' have made the appeal to the public to rally round after a review of their finances revealed a shock result.
The lack of matches over the Christmas period did not help them tackle unpaid bills.
It has led to the club abandoning all competition for its reserve
team and asking its first team players to pay their own way to and from
matches.
"In 1991 when I was elected the football club was in trouble,"
explains Paul. "It needed a new clubhouse and changing rooms and money
was very tight.
"We were not asked but we signalled our support by sponsoring the
match ball, then offered to pay for the cost of the planning permission
and put pressure on their landlords, the district council, to look at
how they could help.
"The rest of that story is now history that I am still proud of
and I believe the town should be proud that we helped. Let the town
council and us do it again."
Steve Dancey, added: ''Unlike Paul I'm not really a fan of the round
ball game but even those who decry the disgusting excesses of modern
football at Premier League level have to admit that it stays much
closer to its original ethos at local level.
''As such I would hate to see an historic club like Warminster
threatened. We all know what would happen to its spectacular ground if
the ball stopped rolling in Weymouth Street.''
*visionforwarminster.co.uk has called
for the town council to have portfolio holders to ensure timely contact
between themselves and the community (see the vision document).Click here to return to the HOT TOPICS page
