-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM Mansfield Press Release
27 December 2005
Responses to comments made by Keith Haslam regarding the proposed restructuring of the football club.
·TEAM Mansfield is pleased that Keith Haslam has at last revealed details of how he intends to repay the illegal loans he has taken from MTFC over the past 9 years. Whilst TEAM Mansfield welcomes any statement from the Chairman about his intentions for our club, they are shocked and dismayed that Keith Haslam will use MTFC’s own money to repay his personal loans. In short MTFC will pay a dividend to Stags Ltd and Mr Haslam will use this money to repay the loans. MTFC will be no better off, indeed it is likely more money will be lost if the dividend payment to Stags Ltd exceeds the loans. It is also unclear from the statement how Mr Haslam intends to repay his personal loans – we would ask Mr Haslam to clarify this.
·Keith Haslam says that recent adverse publicity surrounding MTFC instigated by TEAM Mansfield has damaged the club. We would just like to remind Mr Haslam of the following:
- It is Mr Haslam and Mr Haslam alone who has taken nearly £1.2m in personal loans from MTFC. The fact that TEAM Mansfield has challenged this behaviour and brought it to public attention is to the credit of all honest Stags fans and TEAM Mansfield. The fact that Mr Haslam has been exposed and the consequent knock on effects of alleged lost sponsorship are the sole responsibility of Mr Haslam.
- Mr Haslam has chosen to run MTFC as its sole director, Chairman, Chief Executive and majority shareholder over the past years. The inevitable personality driven organisation which has alienated a large number of Stags fans, a series of Managers and administrative staff at the club, Mansfield business people and the Mansfield community at large is a consequence of Mr Haslam’s stewardship of our club, no one else.
·Mr Haslam is disappointed TEAM Mansfield would not wait for him to announce the details restructuring before we took legal action. He will forgive our cynicism but he may remember the following announcements that were never fulfilled:
- 1996 AGM– The Accounts and AGM were three years late. Mr Haslam promised it would not happen again. Accounts and AGM’s have been late every year since.
- 1999 AGM – Mr Haslam promises to repay his loan from MTFC, then at £108,000. This never happened and went on to top £1.1m in subsequent years.
- 2002 – TEAM Mansfield Agreement signed. Mr Haslam promises to take no more loans and produce accounts on time. In 2004 the loan increases and accounts continue to be published late.
·This list is far from exhaustive but we believe it illustrates the behaviour of a man who is either unable or unwilling to keep promises made either informally or formally at AGM’s or in legally binding agreements. TEAM Mansfield WILL NOT stop legal proceedings until the loans are repaid.
·TEAM Mansfield has never suggested that Keith Haslam benefited personally from the £33,000 it invested in MTFC in return for Community shares and refutes Mr Haslam’s statement regarding this. TEAM Mansfield went to enormous lengths to ensure this did not happen. Indeed, the class of shares TEAM Mansfield created in MTFC (this work was not completed by MTFC as suggested in the Chairman’s statement) was largely driven by the desire NOT to purchase shares from Mr Haslam or his businesses.
·TEAM Mansfield has not contributed further funds to MTFC as highlighted by Mr Haslam in his statement because the Agreement signed in 2002 allowed for MTFC to appoint a Supporter Director, an option that was never taken up or indeed seriously considered by Mr Haslam. TEAM Mansfield strongly believes that in order to ensure proper corporate governance at MTFC , the expertise and independence of a Supporter Director and a formal Board at MTFC is essential before any further funds could be invested. We are pleased Mr Haslam finally recognises the need for a proper Board and will work to ensure at least one Board member is a Supporter Director. Unfortunately, Mr Haslam has shown his contempt for Stags fans in the past by ignoring their reasonable needs and we challenge him to make a Supporter Director the new Chairman of MTFC to oversee the restructuring.
·Given Mr Haslam’s appalling track record of corporate governance at MTFC we would be surprised if there is anyone who is willing to invest substantial funds in MTFC to enable the proposed restructuring to occur whilst Keith Haslam retains majority control. TEAM Mansfield would be happy to discuss investment in the club with Mr Haslam if he is prepared to relinquish his majority shareholding and resign as Chief Executive.
·The Board of TEAM Mansfield fully understands all the commercial and legal issues surrounding potential acquisition or investment in MTFC. We understand that shares would be acquired from Stags Ltd, we understand that this would benefit Keith Haslam and not MTFC, we also believe, that for a reasonable market price this would be worth it to remove Mr Haslam from our club.
·TEAM Mansfield are disappointed that Mr Haslam has chosen to try a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy concerning TEAM Mansfield shares and gifting them to the SSA. The SSA and TEAM Mansfield have worked closely together over the past 5 years with the SSA having 3 representatives on the TEAM Mansfield Board. Much of the progress made by SSA over recent years has been a consequence of the fan Community Consultation Team (CCT) meetings instigated by TEAM Mansfield and the willingness of both organisations to work together to achieve their objectives. We know that the SSA fully support TEAM Mansfield and will reject this pathetic and divisive offer by Mr Haslam. TEAM Mansfield will also not make it easy for Mr. Haslam by selling its shares back to him - we will continue to use our minority shareholding to influence things for the better at MTFC.
·TEAM Mansfield urges all Stags fans to continue to work to remove the current regime from our club. Mr Haslam does not own MTFC he is merely the present custodian and we will be here long after he is gone. We are appalled that Mr Haslam seems proud of his achievements at MTFC over 13 long years and ask him to recognise that his doubtful usefulness to our club is long past. He has got what he wants from MTFC and we urge him not to try and prolong his tenure by instigating half baked restructuring plans. Mr Haslam is not returning the money he took illegally back into our club nor has he any intention of investing in MTFC’s future. We implore Mr Haslam to use the restructuring as a vehicle to satisfy his personal exit plans and then GO! We do not want him maximising his personal gain from this transaction and then hanging on as Chief Executive continuing to make poor decisions whilst our beloved club continues to under-perform. Further investment from the local community will not be forthcoming and the club will not be run in the interests of MTFC whilst he remains in charge.
·PLEASE GO NOW MR HASLAM.
Any questions on the above release should be directed only to the Joint Chairmen of Team Mansfield who are:-
Colin Dobell, Jeff Barnes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26 December 2005
STAGS FANS CONTINUE TO PROTEST AGAINST THE CHAIRMAN
Pressure on Keith Haslam, from incensed Stags fans, increases at every match. Read here about the latest match at Northampton.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 December 2005
SSA COMMITTEE STATEMENT
SSA Committee release a statement saying: "...we fully support Team Mansfield Trust’s new approach". Full statement here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 December 2005
Under-fire chairman reveals future blueprint
Articles from the CHAD and the mansfieldtown.net: here.
Meanwhile Mansfield MP Alan Meale tells fans to stop whingeing, saying that`s the last thing real supporters need. Article from the CHAD: here
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 December 2005
Interview with TEAM Mansfield's Chris Vasper, broadcast live on BBC Radio Nottingham before the Rushden game (apologies for the quality of the recording) : Interview here
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 December 2005
Interview with Jeff Barnes, joint chairman of TEAM Mansfield, broadcast on Mansfield 103.2 on December 9th, in response to the Keith Haslam interview on December 7th : Interview here
THE GUARDIAN FOLLOWS UP
Mansfield chairman says sorry for misuse of loans
Dominic Fifield
The Guardian, Friday December 9, 2005
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1663425,00.html
The Mansfield Town chairman Keith Haslam has apologised to supporters of the League Two side for taking personal loans from the club and suggested he may resign his post in the near future and step down.
In response to David Conn's article published in the Guardian on Wednesday, Haslam said he regretted receiving the interest-free personal loans, believed to be upwards of £500,000, on top of his £66,444 salary.
This constitutes a breach of company law. "I'm not denying that it was wrong to do that," Haslam told Radio Mansfield 103.2, "but I was not in a position immediately to repay that. The money will be repaid in full in the very near future."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 December 2005
The CHAD website reports: TEAM Mansfield delighted with Haslam apology. Read the article here
8th December 2005
A message from David Conn
"I have had an overwhelming response from Mansfield fans and the Guardian has too, so thanks very much indeed. I have had many heartfelt and passionate emails from fans"
Jeff Barnes says:
David Conn is very keen to do another piece and is looking for any other items relating to the dealings of the Chairman that he can follow up in his lines of inquiry. So if you know anything - let him know!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HASLAM RESPONDS TO DAVID CONN ARTICLE
7th December 2005
Audio interview with Keith Haslam from Mansfield 103.2 (file is 3.7 Mb), responding to article by David Conn in today's Guardian (which appears below).
Interview here
Quotes from Keith Haslam:
“I might resign, that might be in our restructuring programme.”
“If I can find a suitable chairman to take over from myself, I‘m willing to go.”
“At this moment in time, the club is not for sale.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MAN WHO OWES MANSFIELD OVER A MILLION
7th December 2005
TEAM Mansfield statement - The Guardian and David Conn
If you do nothing else today buy a copy of the Guardian and go straight to the Sports section, Pages 6 and 7 where you will see an article written about Haslam by the top football investigative journalist David Conn. David has been aware of our situation for some years but after prompting by ourselves with more details, further research and a visit we hosted for him at Field Mill last Friday he has been moved to write a stirring piece which finally exposes our Chairman at a national level.
Now YOU have to do something to help.
In order for David to be given the go ahead by his paper to carry on his investigations into all things rotten at MTFC he needs us to write to the paper, copying him, with emails of support for what he has exposed. Of course if you have any other information which you think he would find useful then please send him that as well. The email addresses are:-
sport.letters@guardian.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
David.Conn@guardian.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
David Conn is the top journalist in the football area and was voted the Football Supporters' Federation's Football writer of the year in 2002. His book "The Beautiful Game? - Searching for the soul of football" is a definitive work on the sorts of issues we face at the Stags.
Thank you for your continued support.
Jeff Barnes
Joint Chairman, TEAM Mansfield
Here is the article as it appears online: http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1660440,00.html
but we urge you to go out and buy the paper, for only 60pence.
Here is a scan of the article: article here
... and the text is pasted below.
The man who owes Mansfield over a million
David Conn, Sports news reporter of the year
Wednesday December 7, 2005
The Guardian
Owner Keith Haslam has received huge sums in interest-free loans and the fans have had enough
An eventful night at freezing Field Mill last Friday as Mansfield Town stomped to a plum FA Cup third-round tie away at Newcastle United with a 3-0 victory over the Conference flyers Grays Athletic: Grays' full-back Andy Sambrook was sent off for a studs-up challenge early on; two hoofed balls stayed stuck on the roof; and it took all of 27 minutes for the Mansfield fans huddled in the Lower West Stand to raise the first plaintive cry of "Where's the money gone? Where's the money gone?"
Such complaints are not unheard of from supporters of struggling lower- division clubs who would like to see more spent on players, but at Mansfield the exasperated fans have more of a point. Field Mill is hardly the most illustrious or conspicuously wealthy of football hotbeds, yet over the past decade this small-town club has advanced its owner Keith Haslam, the only director, a whacking, unexplained £585,142 described as interest-free loans - and that was on top of a decent salary, £66,444 last year, for working full-time at the club. The club also paid £583,449 to Haslam's holding company, Stags Limited, to buy land for an academy yet to be built - more than £1 million gone to the man who controls the club.
The loans to Haslam personally may be unlawful, a breach of section 330 of the Companies Act 1985, which prohibits a company from making a loan of more than £5,000 to any of its directors. The law was introduced to protect good governance and preserve companies' money. Breaches can be punished by fining the company or director, and even imprisonment, although it is one of many areas of company law which seem to be policed less than enthusiastically and proceedings are rare.
A source told me, however, that the Football Association is aware of the loans and its compliance unit is investigating. Mansfield fans will follow that investigation keenly to see what outcome, if any, it produces. The prospects of Haslam repaying his loans do not appear blindingly promising. In July 2002 TEAM Mansfield, a committed and well organised supporters' trust, decided to bury long-standing concerns about the loans and Haslam's one-man running of the club and instead try to work constructively with him, eventually, they hoped, with an elected director to serve alongside him. The trust raised £33,000 to buy shares in the club and entered into a formal written contract in which Haslam agreed that he would "use his best endeavours to repay all monies owed to [Mansfield Town] within one year" and that the club would not "directly or indirectly make any further loans to Mr Haslam".
In September last year the club's accounts to June 2003 showed that £239,297 which the club had "loaned" to Haslam had been "written off", meaning that amount had gone and would never be repaid. Then in August this year the accounts for 2004 revealed that the club had advanced Haslam more than £90,000 in further interest-free loans, in breach of his agreement. Up to those most recently published accounts there is no evidence of any repayments since the agreement. Feeling furious and betrayed, TEAM Mansfield has instructed solicitors to investigate all possible actions against Haslam.
Where a company has unlawfully loaned money to one of its directors the Companies Act provides, besides the possibility of a fine and imprisonment, that he must repay the money and any profit he has made out of it. "It is surprising," said Adam Kaucher, of the firm Cobbetts, who is acting for the trust, "to see a large loan to a director, which is clearly illegal, simply published year after year in the accounts with no remedial action being taken. We've asked Mr Haslam for his proposals to pay it back in full."
Haslam did not want to discuss this issue with me either before or after the FA Cup tie on Friday, or on the telephone this week, or explain why his struggling club have made such generous loans to him on top of his salary and "written off" £239,297. That has left fans feeling that Haslam is making a good living out of the club - moving in August 2004 to a £775,000 house in the Peak District - while the team subsist on a tight budget for players. Mansfield are currently 21st in League Two, two points off the relegation places.
"We feel our club has much greater potential than this," explained Jeff Barnes, TEAM Mansfield's chairman. "It is loyally supported by a hard core of fans, lots more could be encouraged along and it could be a source of pride in the town. Instead many feel the club is run for the benefit of Keith Haslam and stay away because, at £16 a ticket, they don't want to put money in his pocket."
In the 12 years the club have been owned by Haslam, Mansfield have underachieved compared with their general record of bobbing evenly between the bottom two divisions since joining the Football League in 1931. Since 1993 they have made it out of the bottom division only once, in 2002-03, then went straight back down. Keith Curle, appointed manager in December 2002 with the Stags eight points adrift, complained his budget was too low to assemble a team to keep them up. The following season he led Mansfield to the play-off final where they lost to Huddersfield on penalties; that year the club made a profit of more than £300,000.
In December 2004 Curle was sacked, allegedly for bullying a youth-team player, a charge he denies, and Carlton Palmer replaced him. Mansfield finished 13th last season, then Palmer resigned in September after a 2-0 defeat to Rochdale left them third from bottom of the league. Curle, now manager of Chester City, who beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, is still suing Mansfield for unfair dismissal. He told me this week: "It wasn't a good environment because the finances weren't made available which could have made the club more successful - the top wage I had for any player was £700 a week."
Haslam's advocates, including Alan Meale, the local MP, point to the redevelopment of the old, crumbling Field Mill into today's all-seat stadium, which Haslam achieved in 2001 by selling part of the adjoining site for a retail park, with significant grants from the old Football Trust. In April 2003 the reconstituted grant-giving body, the Football Stadium Improvement Fund, suspended Mansfield Town from receiving any further grants for three years after concerns over the validity of a grant application.
The Stags' own official website says of Haslam that he "saved Mansfield Town from the brink of closure with a £1 takeover package" and "although many fans have criticised Mr Haslam over the years, his benefit to the club has been immense and in some ways he is the club's saviour".
In the official history, Mansfield Town: The First 100 Years, an entirely unpaid labour of love by two fans, Jack Retter and Paul Taylor, published in 1997, the authors identify the roots of Mansfield Town in a club formed as Mansfield Wesleyans by Frederick Abraham of the Bridge Street Methodist Church. Of present day Mansfield Town they wrote: "Sadly to a large degree this club has lost its sense of direction. It was not created to become a plaything for the gratification of one individual."
There was a strange reaction to the Cup draw on Sunday, which sends Mansfield away to Newcastle for what will be a bumper earner because FA Cup gate money is shared. Though fans were delighted at the thought of watching their team play at St James' Park, many also groaned at another windfall for Haslam, which they believe the team will not see. Listen carefully, on the telly, and you may just hear the faintest of cries from the away end: "Where'll the money go? Where'll the money go?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM Mansfield leaflet handout
November 26th 2005
Before the game against Stockport, leaflets were distributed to Stags fans on entering the ground.
If you were unable to get a leaflet, download a copy from here.
Any questions on the above leaflet should be directed only to the Joint Chairmen of Team Mansfield who are:-
Colin Dobell, Jeff Barnes. Contact us
Meanwhile Mansfield 103.2 reported on the leaflet handout - here is how it was reported.
HASLAM – THE FACTS
Leaflet Issued to supporters on 26 November 2005
Dear Stags Supporter,
You will no doubt be aware of the recent activity that TEAM Mansfield have started to get the Chairman to honour the TEAM Mansfield agreement and we have started legal proceedings against him to repay the loans he has taken from the club. We thought we should share with you the facts that make us believe that such action is necessary against him, whilst we still support the manager, players and club staff.
1.Keith Haslam became Chairman of Mansfield Town Football Club in the summer of 1993. In one of his early Press interviews in June 1993 he said "We need to stop this club being a yo-yo club. We've got to get up and stay up." Since that time the club has been in the bottom division of the Football League for eleven of the last twelve years. There are ninety two clubs in the Football League – our average position during Haslam’s tenure is seventy eighth, the equivalent of mid-table in the bottom division. In the previous 35 years our average position was sixty fifth.
2.There have been nine managers of the football club during the twelve years of Mr. Haslam’s tenure. None of these had any first team management experienced when hired with the exception of Carlton Palmer. A policy that has proved less than successful.
3.In July 2002 Keith Haslam signed a legal agreement with TEAM Mansfield after Stags fans worked together to bring about a change in the way our club was run. To confirm this new relationship and commitment Mr. Haslam sold the supporters a collective minority shareholding in the football club and signed a legally binding agreement, known as the ‘MTFC community shareholding’, a deal brokered for Stags supporters by TEAM Mansfield. Because of the amount of money that Mr Haslam, the MTFC Chairman, had personally drained from MTFC prior to 2002, this legal contract with the community shareholders also contained the following clause:- 10.2 The Company shall not directly or indirectly make any further loans to Mr. Haslam either for himself or for any person connected to him as defined by Section 839 Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.
4.The very next year, however, Mr. Haslam took out another loan of £90,213 and by the end of the company year 2004 a total of £584,142 had been taken out in loans by him during his Chairmanship. Additionally, another of Mr. Haslam’s companies Stags Limited, had taken out an unsecured loan of £583, 529 to develop a football academy, land paid for by MTFC but owned by Stags Ltd. So far this academy has not appeared and should the land be subsequently sold by Stags Limited there is no assurance that the loan will be repaid back to the football club. Total borrowings of nearly £1.2M.
5.At the 2004 MTFC AGM, held in September 2005, Mr Haslam announced that he intended to re-structure the football club but refused to discuss what this meant. We believe every Stags fan should be told what the restructuring will entail so we can all make informed decisions about what we need to do to protect the long term future of our club which is being slowly stripped of its assets to finance the lifestyle of its majority shareholder.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOW TO PURSUE ANY LEGAL ACTION AND TO APPLY PRESSURE ON THE CURRENT REGIME AT FIELD MILL TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR OUR CLUB. WE’VE DONE IT BEFORE; WE NEED TO DO IT AGAIN. PLEASE PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT.
Keith Haslam response on Mansfield 103.2 to TEAM Mansfield Press Release of November 24th 2005
Keith Haslam on Mansfield 103.2
Interview with Jeff Barnes, joint chairman of TEAM Mansfield, from Mansfield 103.2 on November 24th: Interview here
TEAM Mansfield Press Release
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 24th 2005
TEAM Mansfield start legal process
TEAM Mansfield have this week started the legal process to get Keith Haslam, the MTFC Chairman, to repay the loans that he has taken out from the football club in the alleged contravention of the TEAM Mansfield agreement.
They have briefed a firm of solicitors who have worked for other Trusts like TEAM Mansfield and who were recommended by Supporters Direct, the government backed organisation to whom TEAM Mansfield subscribe. This firm of solicitors have this week written to Mr. Haslam stating both the position of TEAM Mansfield and reminding the Chairman of his legal responsibilities with regard to such loans and have set an early deadline for a response. Further legal action is dependant upon that response.
Any questions on the above release should be directed only to the Joint Chairmen of Team Mansfield who are:-
Colin Dobell, Jeff Barnes
Team Mansfield Press Release:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 November 2004
Further Negotiations with the MTFC Chairman
TEAM Mansfield statement regarding recent conjecture surrounding talks with Mansfield Town Chairman Keith Haslam
TEAM Mansfield can confirm that Jeff Barnes and Colin Dobell, the joint chairmen of TEAM Mansfield have held informal talks with Keith Haslam, the MTFC Club Chairman, in April and August this year about the possibility of TEAM Mansfield acquiring Mansfield Town Football Club. More recently, Mr. Haslam has asked TEAM Mansfield to document their proposal for his consideration and this is being prepared at the moment.
Jeff Barnes says ‘It should be stressed that negotiations are at a very early stage and no formal agreement exists. However, should such a proposal be accepted TEAM Mansfield will work towards a community ownership model of MTFC to embrace the ideals of the Government backed Supporter’s Trust movement.” He went on to say that TEAM Mansfield would draw up a detailed development plan for MTFC to include:-
Formation of a working Board with widespread representation.
Appointment of experienced and successful staff to manage the workings of the club, with particular emphasis on general administration, customer relations, marketing and sponsorship.
Review of all aspects of the playing side of the club.
TEAM Mansfield have stated that they will endeavour to keep their membership informed of developments during these delicate negotiations where commercial confidentiality allows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM Mansfield Press Release
November 4th 2005Let's Have the Facts
In response to the TEAM Mansfield Press release of the 21st. October the Chairman, Keith Haslam, stated that "some of it is not quite factual" TEAM Mansfield challenges him to clearly itemise which parts of their statement were untrue. Too often throw away comments like this have been made by the Chairman but we believe he needs to back this statement up with facts. He also states that he is disappointed that we didn¹t meet with him to discuss these issues. TEAM Mansfield have been holding regular meetings with him before and since the signing of the TEAM Mansfield agreement in July 2002.
The decision to go public by TEAM Mansfield was born out of frustration that meetings were making little real progress and the often dismissive approach the Chairman took towards the responsible and constructive questions raised by TEAM Mansfield on behalf of Stags fans. An approach summarised by his total indifference to a question raised about his breaking of the TM Agreement by the taking of additional loans from the MTFC.
He further states that the majority of supporters support his views, which we find to be an astonishing statement which we would like to see him substantiate. He believes that "a couple of individuals are making all the noise at the moment" however, since the press release of the 21st. October TEAM Mansfield have received numerous emails and telephone calls of support including many from people who are eager to join TEAM Mansfield and others, including local businesses, who have pledged their support for active campaigning.
In order to increase the efforts of TEAM Mansfield in this campaign they are delighted to announce that Chris Vasper, former Publicity Officer for the Stags Supporters Association (SSA), has been co-opted on the TEAM Mansfield board as Publicity and Liaison Officer. Chris's experience and passion for the success of the club will be invaluable in TEAM Mansfield¹s drive to achieve their stated objectives.
TEAM Mansfield have today written to the Chairman to:-
1. Express once again their anger that the agreement has been broken by him and asking him what steps he is willing to take to remedy the situation.
2. Requesting more information about the proposed "reorganisation of the club"
3. Restating their willingness to meet with him should he wish to discuss selling the club.
Any questions on the above release should be directed only to the Joint Chairmen of Team Mansfield who are:-
Colin Dobell, Jeff Barnes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM Mansfield Press Release
October 21st 2005
Keith Haslam breaks TEAM Mansfield Agreement
In July 2002 Keith Haslam signed a legal agreement with TEAM Mansfield, stating that from then onwards MTFC was to be known as a ‘Community Football Club’, with supporters having real influence in the decisions that the football club takes that affect them. To confirm this new relationship and commitment Mr. Haslam sold the supporters a collective minority shareholding in the football club and signed a legally binding agreement, known as the ‘MTFC Community Shareholding’, a deal brokered for Stags supporters by TEAM Mansfield.
Because of the amount of money that Mr Haslam, the MTFC Chairman, had personally drained from MTFC prior to 2002 this legal contract with the community shareholders also contained the following clause:-
10.2 The Company shall not directly or indirectly make any further loans to Mr. Haslam either for himself or for any person connected to him as defined by Section 839 Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.
At the recent MTFC AGM Mr. Haslam announced the level of his personal indebtedness to MTFC had increased considerably over the last three years to an amount exceeding £1 Million. TEAM Mansfield are adamant that the Chairman, Keith Haslam, is in flagrant breach of his agreement with them and MTFC Community Shareholders, and he has recklessly continued to take out additional loans from the football club to a total amount outstanding that suggests he will never be in a position to, or have the desire to, repay his debt to MTFC.
TEAM Mansfield are currently seeking legal, financial, taxation and Football Authority advice regarding the alleged breach of the TEAM Mansfield agreement with MTFC and will pursue whatever steps are needed to ensure that the loans are paid back immediately and that the agreement is adhered to from now on. Failure of the Chairman to do so will result in further action from TEAM Mansfield that will be exhaustive and thorough.
TEAM Mansfield understand that the Chairman intends to restructure the club, as a result of which the sale of some shares in the company will be made available. TEAM Mansfield believes that this will not lead to the much needed change of ownership in the club and is instead only likely to benefit the personal finances of the Chairman and they will take all steps possible to prevent any re-organisation which is likely to be to the detriment of the football club or its supporters.
TEAM Mansfield and the acquisition of the football club.
There have been ongoing discussions between TEAM Mansfield and the Chairman regarding TEAM Mansfield’s stated intention to be in a position to acquire a majority shareholding in MTFC when the Chairman chooses to move on. Despite numerous approaches from TEAM Mansfield the Chairman has made no steps whatsoever to sell his shareholding to this supporter body insisting at various times that it is not the “right time”. He has also refused to consult with the supporters, through TEAM Mansfield, on the proposed re-structuring and the implications for supporters.
The Chairman continues to believe that TEAM Mansfield’s role is to financially contribute to the funds of MTFC and therefore himself indirectly. However TEAM Mansfield have made it clear to Mr. Haslam many times, both verbally and in writing that they are not a fund raising organisation for the football club or for Mr. Haslam himself, and TEAM Mansfield will only invest for further MTFC supporter control of the football club. Clearly, now that the Chairman has finally realised that TEAM Mansfield is not going to donate money to MTFC without some form of control for the fans he finds them of little value.
TEAM Mansfield recognise this and as such have ceased to have any ongoing dialogue with him and will direct their efforts in future to changing the ownership regime at Field Mill.
Current status of the Football Club
Above and beyond the relationship between TEAM Mansfield and the Chairman, the football club finds itself in a desperate situation with relegation out of the Football League being a real possibility and no permanent manager in place. The Chairman’s tenure has seen the club in the bottom division for 11 of the 12 seasons he has been in charge compared to only 6 of the previous 12 before he took over. His reign has also seen the club consistently perform significantly below the league position it had achieved on average at any time prior to his arrival. He has spoken many times of the potential of the club, the large catchment area for potential supporters etc. whilst at the same time refusing to invest in the club himself, only draining it of funds for his own personal objectives.
The club is now on it’s seventh consecutive inexperienced, low cost manager in his reign and despite a high level of incoming funds from the transfer of players such as Liam Lawrence and occasional cash windfalls from play-off finals and televised games the Chairman refuses to invest in quality players and basic club infrastructure as has been recently witnessed with the refusal of a safety certificate and the ongoing saga of the lack of proper practice facilities.
Conclusion
TEAM Mansfield call upon the Chairman to work with supporters to sell his majority shareholding as soon as possible to someone with the best interests of the club in mind rather than individuals driven by personal financial gain. Until this is achieved TEAM Mansfield will take whatever action they can to pressurise the Chairman to reach this conclusion. They call upon the supporters of the club to back any future actions that take place to achieve the objective of returning the club to the supporters and to improving the position of the team that we all hold so dear.
Any questions on the above release should be directed only to the Joint Chairmen of Team Mansfield who are:-
Colin Dobell, Jeff Barnes. Contact us
Radio interviews with TEAM Mansfield joint chairmen, October 21st 2005 :
Jeff Barnes on Mansfield 103.2
Colin Dobell on BBC Radio Nottingham
