In the past week
or so there have been two prominent pieces of news from the Old Spotted Dog, and
neither of them was surprising.
I initially welcomed
the end of the Clapton Ultras’ boycott of home games as it signalled
a ‘first’ at Clapton FC since the McBean regime took hold of the club; McBean couldn't have things all his own way.
The Ultras had
managed to reach a compromise over the price rise, whilst achieving a number of
small victories in getting McBean to reduce prices for student, refugees,
jobless, youngsters and old chaps like me!
Couple this with spectators’ possessions not being unnecessarily rifled
through by McBean's bouncers, and it's a good result. Thank you lads and lassies of the Ultras!
But how did
they manage this, after so many people have tried, and failed before? One word, Money.
Since the
arrival of the Ultras, McBean has become accustomed to pocketing huge amounts
of cash though gate money. Add to this
the bar takings from those spectators who remain unaware, or possibly
disinterested, in the ‘Clapton situation’ and he was doing very nicely indeed. However, the boycott has seen those windfalls
disintegrate and, doubtless, he was desperate to fill his pockets once again. No one is quite aware of what other business
interest he currently has.
It was
therefore strange that, in those negotiations, he chose to position himself as
a go-between for the supporters and the ‘Board’. Now, when a ‘businessman’, who McBean
purports to be, speaks of a Board, it can only mean one thing - a board of
directors, and Directors indicate the existence of a Limited Company.
Whilst McBean
operating his club as a limited company is a possibility, as far as I am aware,
Clapton FC, in whatever guise, has never been registered as such with the football
authorities. If there has been a change
of entity from the original club, then the FA, County FA and the Essex Senior
League would have to have been made aware and would have to have given their approval.
The problem is that none of these
‘governing’ bodies is willing to disclose any information.
During the
negotiations, McBean also produced John Jackson as a ‘trustee’ at one of the meetings
with the Ultras delegation. I have
referred to Mr Jackson in my blog previously, and still have no idea what he claims
to be a Trustee of, but I have seen emails in which he claims to have been made
chair of Clapton FC by McBean in 2008, apparently without his actually realising
it. He also claimed that McBean once
told him that Clapton FC does not exist. I therefore see very little reason to place
any trust (sic) in Mr Jackson, who may be as much a fantasist as McBean
himself. I also wonder if McBean knows
what his mate Jackson has claimed to have happened. What is clear is that when the meeting with
Ultras, Jackson was dishonestly passed off as something he is not.
So whilst I
am delighted to be watching the team again, the way in which McBean has behaved
only underlines what a manipulative and dishonest man he is.
The second
piece of news involves an actual limited company, Clapton Football Club 1878
Limited, to which Clapton CF News, a supporters run news page, have referred in their web post of today (14.02.2017). This company has now been
notified that the Registrar of Companies proposes to strike them off because
they have failed to file documents as required by law.
Therefore, if
Clapton Football Club 1878 Ltd is ‘McBean’s Clapton FC’ then one of the most
famous names in amateur football is likely to disappear because if McBean
follows his usual modus operandi in managing companies, he will do nothing and the company will be struck off in a couple of months.
Interestingly,
I have a copy of a recent Clapton FC letterhead and, there is no reference to a
company number or the registered office, as is also required by law.
What is remarkable
is that McBean, refers to this dubious and possibly non-existent board, on his
own www.claptonfc.com website.
The fact is
that Vince McBean has behaved dishonestly and disrespectfully to the Ultras, the
supporters who fill his pockets by coming to matches. This is not only in
respect of the Company issue, but also by misrepresenting the club itself and
the state of the negotiations which ended up extending the boycott.
Whilst I am
delighted to get back and watch this very impressive tam complete the season, Clapton
supporters must now decide whether McBean is a person who can be trusted to run
our club.
It is clearly
apparent is that McBean operates all of his ‘visible’ business autonomously. He
consistently puts up family, old friends and associates as his ‘colleagues’. Have any of the supporters ever met, or seen,
the supposed Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer of McBean’s club?
Despite the
Ultras’ achievement in bringing McBean to the table, even then, the ‘self
styled CEO’ couldn’t help by acting dishonestly during the boycott, even though
it was very much in his interest to arrive at a settlement. In the words of the Ultras themselves, “We’ve
just been given a hard lesson in messing about, delaying and rearranging the
furniture over what had already been agreed.”
Couple that
with the news that the Charity that holds the lease on the Old Spotted Dog,
which he took over from the former regime, is now under investigation by the Commissioner
for Charities, their bank account frozen, and under pressure to file documents
with Companies House and its ridiculous that McBean continues to operate. McBean cannot be trusted with the ground, the
club. It’s about time something was done.
The real
Clapton FC which was founded by supporters and life members of the club. I have heard many people asking what this
group are doing to oust McBean. But dealing
with a specious fabricator of the truth, like McBean, is always difficult, as
the Ultras have discovered. However, I
am aware that they have played no small part in unsettling McBean and exposing
his activities, not least with regard to the ground, breaches of the lease and,
what would appear to be, a very dodgy ground share and rental agreements with
London Bari and the Tyre Warehouse next door.
FELLOW
CLAPTON SUPPORTERS - Time is now very much of the essence, because
if Clapton Football Club 1878 Limited is the legal entity of Clapton FC, then
we have two months in which to save it.
If it’s not the ‘club’, then its purpose is/has clearly been to defraud
some poor sod, as it is £20k in debt according to the last accounts.
I ask you to
help remove McBean and save Clapton FC.
Join the real Clapton FC. Their
website is www.claptonfc.info and there
is a link to the membership application form.
UPDATE - It appears that Clapton Football Club 1878 Limited has filed its Confirmation Statement today, 15th February 2017, thus the strike-off action has been discontinued.
According to the GOV.UK guidance on Confirmation Statements, it is a criminal offence to file this document more than 14 days after the review period (in this case 11th November 2016), so the company and its officers could be prosecuted.
UPDATE - It appears that Clapton Football Club 1878 Limited has filed its Confirmation Statement today, 15th February 2017, thus the strike-off action has been discontinued.
According to the GOV.UK guidance on Confirmation Statements, it is a criminal offence to file this document more than 14 days after the review period (in this case 11th November 2016), so the company and its officers could be prosecuted.
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