The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Trouble behind the scenes is threatening to take the shine off Pinchbeck United Football Club’s promotion campaign.
Committee member Pete Chapman is unhappy at how the club is being run and has proposed an extraordinary general meeting attended by club chairman Andrew Withers. He has advertised it in The Voice (May 4) as taking place in the clubhouse at the Knight Street ground on Tuesday, May 16.
However, Mr Withers says the meeting will not go ahead because Mr Chapman does not have the backing of enough committee members for it to be properly convened.
Mr Chapman claims committee meetings have not been held since last summer, copies of the accounts have not been circulated and business has been conducted among a handful of members using a messaging service.
He said: “I only hear what they want me to hear.”
On Monday (May 1), Coronation Bars – which is run by former Pinchbeck chairman Bruce Patterson – began a deal to run the social side of the club. The football club is no longer responsible for the bar but will benefit from takings.
Mr Chapman said: “This is one of the reasons why I’m calling the EGM – all decisions like that should be taken in front of a full committee meeting.”
He says the club had £15,000 in the bank last summer and understands almost all of it has been spent but he hasn’t seen a balance sheet showing transactions.
Furthermore, he claims Mr Withers declined a recent face-to-face request by Mr Chapman to explain what was happening.
He told The Voice: “I’m not going to rest until I have got some answers. I’m doing it for the best interests of the club.
“I’m pleased with how the team has been doing, my concern is how the committee is being run.
“If they had done everything how it should have been, I wouldn’t have a problem. [First-team management] Ian Dunn and Allan Ross are paid a wage and therefore should not be on the committee.”
Mr Withers said: “The meeting will not take place. He can’t call an EGM because he needs five committee members to support it. He’s got about two or three.”
He added: “We only have to have four committee meetings per year. The last one was on Saturday.”
Neither Mr Chapman nor fellow committee member Emily Chappell, who ran the bar before the current arrangement began, were present at the meeting.
On the field Pinchbeck United are hopeful of securing promotion to the United Counties League.
