Fans seek to secure club's future (From Times Series)

Fans seek to secure club's future

3:23pm Saturday 7th January 2006 in

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Supporters of Hendon FC are set to take the first steps towards taking over the club at a meeting on Saturday.

Since the death of chairman Ivor Arbiter in July and the agreement over the sale of the team's ground at Claremont Road, Cricklewood, the future of the Greens has been less than clear.

The Arbiter Group, which owns Hendon FC, is looking for an organisation to take over the running of the club, and a trust formed of supporters has always been high on the list of possibilities.

The sale of Claremont Road to property developer Kings Oak for just under £20 million was agreed last year, and Hendon FC are expected to move to Copthall Stadium, Mill Hill. But restrictive covenants on the land which prevent building on the Claremont Road ground have held up the sale. A final decision will have to go to the Lands Tribunal.

And if the move goes ahead, it is far from clear how much money would be passed on to the football club. The Arbiter Group is expected to make in the region of £5m from the deal, with Barnet Council, as the owner of the freehold, also benefiting. Council papers reveal that only £300,000 is needed for improvements to Copthall.

Bryan Roberts, of the Supporters' Trust working group, hopes that Saturday will see the formation of a trust which will eventually take control of the club.

"We are in the dark as much as anyone else as to what is happening to the club," he said.

"It seems extremely unlikely that Hendon FC will be able to play at Claremont Road past the current season. Our first objective would be to try to increase the fans' input into how the club can be run. Our only concern is to see Hendon FC, in some shape or form, operating in the future."

Club secretary Graham Etchell added: "We are 100 per cent behind the supporters and what they are doing is for the long-term future of the club."

The open meeting will be held at 1.30pm, before the home Ryman Premier League match against Braintree Town, at the club's banqueting suite at Claremont Road.