TAFFY Richardson insisted Wimborne Town’s financial crash had been no surprise to him and revealed: “I got more money there than I ever did at Poole.”

In a hard-hitting assessment of Magpies' woes, Richardson said the club’s outgoing board should shoulder full responsibility for amassing debts of approximately £110,000 – not past personnel.

The Cuthbury favourite, a member of the 1992 FA Vase-winning side, argued that Southern League survival should be achievable without a playing budget, writes Andy Mitchell.

And despite missing out on the manager’s job in November, he hailed boss Simon Browne as “the right man for the job”, as well as backing incoming chairperson Paula Henley to get monetary matters back on an even keel.

Richardson, who switched back to Wimborne from Poole for a brief spell in September 2011, told the (Bournemouth) Daily Echo: “The problems were a shock when I first heard, but then not so much when I thought it over.

“I know roughly how much some people got in wages at Wimborne. Crowds have gone down, they haven’t had a big benefactor and I know they paid good money.

“When I went to Wimborne for a month, I got more money there than I ever did at Poole. I took it because I was offered it, but I couldn’t work out how they managed it and I was not one of their best-paid players by a long way.

“I could understand it if the club had been massively successful, if they had done a Salisbury, had an FA Cup run or won leagues, but they haven’t won anything or done anything.

“Responsibility doesn’t lie with whoever is running a team. I run my business and if it goes bust, that is my fault.

“You’re not going to make money in football but you still have to run it as a business and look long term for the pitfalls – that cannot have been done.

“If the manager asks for money for players and gets it, he is going to take it, end of story. I don’t blame any player or manager.”