Consortium leader defends Totton's switch to limited company

There were dramatic scenes at the Testwood Stadium on Wednesday when the majority vote went in favour of dissolving the 125-year-old club’s membership status and allowing outside investors – including controversial former sponsor Jim Fallon – to put money into the stricken club.

The full extent of Totton’s problems had surfaced last week when chairman Paul Wallace confirmed that the players had not been paid and that the Southern Premier Division outfit were “struggling to hold things together financially.”

He said the depth of the problems had been masked by last season’s FA Cup windfall when Totton made it through to the second round proper at home to Bristol Rovers – worth £72,000 for live TV coverage alone.

Several avenues were explored to get the cash-strapped club back on its feet financially, including a new brewery loan, a share issue based on the Eastleigh FC model or taking out a mortgage on the club’s £2.6 million Salisbury Road stadium with the trustees’ approval.

The executive committee favoured the third of those options and had made an application for a mortgage, signed by Wallace and one of the four trustees, Paul Maiden.

That was designed to clear all outstanding debt, pay the players’ wages and have working capital to take the club forward.

But at Wednesday’s meeting, commercial vice-chairman Caunter presented the alternative proposal of a consortium of investors – headed by himself.

After a two-and-a-half hour debate, Caunter’s proposal gained the two-thirds majority needed to form a limited company which aims to solve the club’s immediate problems and take them onwards and upwards through the leagues.

Caunter, a director of Vision Accendo, who came on board as Totton’s shirt sponsors this season, admitted: “Totton’s my passion.

“I want the club to be successful and be up there with Eastleigh and Salisbury in the Blue Square South.

“I’m sad (for the members) because there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears put into Totton, but this club is too big to be run by membership.

“The ground has outgrown the way the club’s run and it’s proved very stressful for everyone involved.

“We’ve always said it needed to be run as a business and it became clear in December that the club had a cash problem.

“I looked at every option under the sun for mortgages, loans, etc, but everything was too much of a risk for the club.

“This is less risk.

“There’s a lot of legal work to do concerning the Trustee Act and protecting the club’s assets.”

Fallon’s potential involvement has already ruffled feathers.

According to former Stags chairman Phil Shephard who attended Wednesday’s meeting, some members left the Testwood Stadium vowing they would never set foot there again as long as Fallon – managing director of Landford-based Beaumont Water Heaters – is involved.

Fallon alienated many at the club when he publicly withdrew his sponsorship in March last year and accused the executive committee of being like “nodding dogs – all talk, no action.”

He subsequently reappeared as vice-chairman of Havant & Waterlooville but that too ended acrimoniously.

Fallon – along with the Hawks and former Totton/Havant assistant manager Sean New – still have an FA misconduct charge to answer surrounding allegations of illegal payments offered to ex-Carshalton midfielder Tom Davis.

Davis, too, has been charged with misconduct and all four parties are due before an FA hearing in early May.

That prompted one member at Wednesday’s meeting to suggest Fallon’s involvement at Totton, if found guilty by the FA, was unlikely to receive FA approval under their “due diligence” checks on company directors.

Quizzed about Fallon, Caunter said: “His involvement has yet to be agreed, but we discussed certain names at the meeting and people voted in favour. “People speak about this guy and his past history but when you actually talk to him, you hear a different story.” Mid-table Totton have four league games still to play, starting at Arlesey Town tomorrow.