Scathing Article On Future of St. Albans FC

Early in the 2010/2011 season, I took my two young children for a match at Clarence Park. The Saints put on an abissimal show, in front of a crowd that appeared to number several hundred. We were disappointed and left at the end of the first half.

The club has battled relegation for years, and recently faced a recruitment restriction. The FA has also just fined the club £7500 and costs for financial "irregularities".

In a scathing article about the situation at Clarence Park in the St. Albans Review, Dave Tavener paints a shocking picture of a club with many problems. In the article, he complains of empty terraces, poor sporting performance, increased ticket costs, and a lack of advertising support for the team. He also suggests that the lack of local interest isn't suprising considering even the club leadership can't be asked to turn up for matches:

"...the lack of support on the terraces is a mere reflection of the lack of interest in the club shown by the directors. Only one director, Nick Archer, attends every match. Two directors are believed to have attended just two games this season while chairman John Gibson and his vice-chairman Alasdair McMillin are intermittent onlookers."

If my single experience of attending a match is anything to go by, I suspect that many other people in St. Albans simply don't care about their local club, but it would be a shame if St. Albans were to lose it. Let's hope someone has the will, and skills, to turn things around.