An unusual awayday for the Exiles

By Chester City Exiles on Jan 28, 10 09:22 AM in

It was like a typical matchday - royal blue Chester scarf around my neck, Exiles banner in my bag and camera at the ready in case of an unmissable photo opportunity. But this matchday was a bit different from the norm, as I was off to the High Court in the Strand to witness the potential winding-up of a once-proud football club.

Security was tight at the High Court - the banner and camera had to be x-rayed - but I got clearance and headed off through a maze of buildings to find Court 55 on the fourth floor of the Thomas More Building.

I found a dozen nervous-looking people and a few barristers milling outside a modern court room. I was the only one wearing a football scarf, despite Crystal Palace, Burscough FC, Hinkley United, Keighley Cougars and Wakefield Trinity also facing winding-up orders.

It felt like I was about to about go to a funeral of an old friend, and I was relieved when a fellow Exile arrived for much-needed moral support.

We stood at the back of a hushed, but packed, court room and listened as some companies, without representation, were wound up inside 15 seconds. Was this going to be Chester's fate?

There were around 75 companies listed for each 30-minute slot and it felt a bit like intruding on private grief as some people saw their companies wound up before their eyes. We eventually got a front row seat in the public gallery when two directors from one company left the court after being granted a reprieve to pay off their creditors.

We had to wait longer than we thought and we sat there for 40 minutes while the future of getting on for 100 companies was determined. I doubt any had as long a life as Chester City, but the same quick and clinical decision-making process was applied to all. Their history and significance to the community was irrelevant.

Finally the clerk read out "Chester City Football Club 2004 Limited" and my heart was in my mouth. The barrister representing HMRC said they were chasing £26,125 worth of debts and there were other unknown debts. She said Chester were planning to apply for a CVA, but HMRC wanted to resist any delay to the winding-up procedure as this was the second time around the company had failed.

Just when I was wondering if Chester would be represented, a barrister stood up and said the new CCFC 2004 was a separate entity, with separate directors, from the previous incarnation. She asked for a 42-day adjournment to "put a CVA together", and it was swiftly granted. I slightly lost track of time, but the whole process took around four minutes - longer than most of the cases we'd sat through that morning.

As we left the courtroom, I'm sure the judge noticed my Chester scarf. Londoners usually mistake it for Chelsea, but I think she knew what it was. Hopefully she will realise that someone cares for this football club and the right decision will be made when the fixture takes place again on March 10.