The clock is ticking...

So, we are now less than 8 days to the start of the season, and we still don't know if Chester City will begin next season in the Blue Square Premier League, or even start the season anywhere at all, as the Football Association have still not granted the licence that Chester are so longing for.

Tomorrow, the Blues face Drolysden, a match that has only got the go ahead following negotiations with the FA, and mostly based on the fact that the fixture is a charity match staged in memory of Neil 'Tony' Downes, who was killed in action in Afghanistan whilst serving in the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

The match at Droylsden, could very well be the last time we see Chester City FC in action, but hopefully this will not be the case.

The fans will be hoping that the club get the rubber stamp from both the FA and the Football Conference by Monday.

If the green light is given by both, then the club can prepare for that first game at Grays a week tomorrow.

CVA Revoked

Chester City's existence is now truly in danger of being lost asthe Judge in the Refresh Recovery v HMRC match up in Court, voted in favour of the tax man, meaning that the CVA has now been revoked.

So, a number of possibilities beckons for Chester City FC as it heads back into Administration:

CCFC could fall foul of the Appendix E ruling set by the Conference, which means that any club who enters Administration prior to the season start will be demoted 2 leagues, meaning Chester City would start in the Unibond League, and more than likely with a further points deduction.

CCFC could be liquidated as the HMRC may choose to wind up the club if no CVA can be arranged. This would mean a new Chester City would have to be formed.

CCFC could still get a CVA in place in time for next week, but it would mean agreement with the HMRC, which right now looks unlikely.

Whatever the case the future now looks very bleak for my club.

Stephen Vaughan - you are a disgrace.

Court date for the Administrators

So, today is the expected Court case between the Administrators, Refresh Recovery, and the taxman, or to be more exact HMRC.

The outcome of the case today will go a long way to deciding Chester City's future as a football club.

If the outcome is not a positive one for the Administrators then the club is in severe danger of losing it's place in the Blue Square Premier League, without a ball having been kicked.

If the result is a positive one then it's a small step to securing a licence to play football from the FA.

Time will tell.

3 days on, and still not sorted...

That's right, we have now moved on three days since we were told by the club that this paperwork issue would be sorted, and guess what - it isn't.

With just 16 days to go until the Blue Square Premier league is due to start, we still don't know if Chester City will be part of the set up, or even be able to field a line up of players on August 8th.

Right now, it doesn't look good with the club claiming they have done everything possible, but the FA standing firm on the stance that the club have not fulfilled their requirements regarding the set up of Chester City FC 2004 Limited - the group who bought the club from Administration, fronted by the Vaughan family.

What have we done to deserve all this crap hey? Ever since 1989 when the club lost Sealand Road, and had to move to Macclesfield - who thankfully agreed to allow the Blues to use the Moss Rose ground - for 2 years, it's just gone from bad to worse.

I just hope that this is sorted out sooner rather than later, otherwise the club I've supported for over 28 years looks to be heading for extinction.

3 months on, and disaster strikes again!

Well nearly 3 months to the day of my very first blog, and what happens, I head away for the weekend, and end up hearing that the FA have refused us a licence to play football.

That's right, Chester City Football Club cannot play football matches right now - shocking isn't it?

How has all this happened?

Well, according to the FA they are unhappy with the details of the new company that bought Chester City from Administration, the company being the son of Stephen Vaughan, also named Stephen Vaughan, who's company Chester City Football Club 2004 Limited purchased the club for £290,000 back in June.

The deal to buy the club included a £254,000 good will payment from Vaughan Junior's father, the previous owner. This does seem strange, and is seen in the main as a tax evasion exercise by Vaughan Senior - why else would he look to clear all the debts via Administration?

The saddest thing as far as I'm concerned is that whilst Vaughan Senior was willing to provide his son with £254k as a good will payment, he stubbornly refused to pay off £72,000 to the Footballing authorities which would have resulted in the lifting of a transfer embargo - and ultimately Chester City's football league status was lost.

What other reason could there possibly be for Vaughan to take the club into Administration, than to avoid paying off the huge debts, £7m in 8 years, including £1m owed to the taxman.

When the Administrators were appointed, bids were invited for my troubled club, however, Stephen Vaughan would only agree to write off his £4m debentures providing it was his bid that was formally recognised as the Administrators preferred choice.

This then meant that Stephen Vaughan regained control of the club through his son's new CCFC 2004 company, and began to make plans for the forthcoming season.

The Blue Square Premier League accepted Chester City into their league, despite some legal goings on between the club, the FA & the BSP.

However, now the FA have refused to accept Chester City's application for a licence to play, amid concerns over the set up of the new company that owns the club.

At present, no-one actually knows, other than the officials at CCFC, and the FA, as to what the problem is, is it a minor problem, that can be quickly ratified once the relevant paperwork has been submitted, or is the situation a lot more serious than this?

The FA have advised Chester City to cancel all pre-season friendlies, a move that I've certainly not seen, or heard of before, and this is extremely worrying for all Chester supporters.

Stephen Vaughan is making Chester City look an amateurish club through his actions of management at the helm, and that's exactly what Chester City may become - amateurs.

Hopefully some good news will follow this posting on my blog, but as you can see, after 3 months since the original post, it's still hell at the Deva for us Blues fans.

Let's just hope this mess is sorted out.