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Date: 11-04-15 gif The Harriers board collapse in disarray
Following months of chaos in the Harriers boardroom that has seen the club lurch from one crisis to another: the pitch fiasco, key players being shipped out to plug the hole in the bucket, Gary Whilds' budget being cut before the season had even begun and then the players not being paid and when they were it appeared to be on a game to game basis.

With the season drawing to a close and the prospect of no more pay days until August it was obvious that something had to give.  That something was the main shareholders.

In an emergency board meeting called yesterday those shareholders, Barry Norgrove, Jane Murrant and Neil Savery along with the clubs only financial backers Mr and Mrs Lane called for the resignation of the board.  With immediate effect down stepped Ken Rae, Gino Ruffinato and John Davies.  The first two would have been most fans first choice to go with both of them seemingly out of their depth when it came to running a business.

Rae came in, at short notice, to replace Mark Serrell when he walked out on the club two years ago and gave his ability to run the infrastructure of the stadium as his forté but then oversaw the mutilation of the pitch with penny pinching decisions that meant only half the job was done with disastrous consequences.

Ruffinato came in on the back of his kit supply company that already supplied the club with shirts, etc but then turned round and demanded money up front, from a club that had no money, to pay for that kit.  Someone, not known, then made the decision to source the kit from another supplier for next season and began to pull the rug from under Gino's feet and his days were numbered.

On the otherhand John Davies has long been a friend of the club, along with many other sporting institutions in the area, and it's a mystery why he has chosen to stand down.  His criticism of the Lanes not paying the wages last month after putting in over £130,000 this season has done him no favours but John is known to be a bit of a speak first, think later type of man.  I would expect John to still be connected with the club in the future in one way or another but as for the other two?

Now, at this present time, we have a board made up of two KHIST directors and the newly arrived Rod Brown.  Brown came here from Stourport Swifts a month ago and promised to get the club sorted out on and off the field and one has to think that he might be behind this latest turn of events.  He doesn't seem to be a man that suffers fools too willingly.

What the make up of the board will be by the time next season gets underway is anyones guess.  Barry Norgrove is now in a position to take up the chairmans reins that he relinquished before Mark Serrell arrived on the scene but Norgrove himself oversaw many poor decisions with the running of the club and some feel that he may still not be the right man for the job.  Rod Brown must be in the frame too but his links with the perennial failure of the Swifts could go against him and the shareholders might want someone with a higher pedigree to guide the club forward.

We certainly need investment in the club if we hope to continue at this level and it's also certain that we should not be expecting the Lanes to keep bailing the club, board, out at the drop of a hat.  The Lanes are getting on in years now and do not need this kind of nonsense going on.  The board, as it stands now, have got their work cut out in finding the 'right' kind of money and cannot be seen to be courting the 'wrong' kind of money just because the Nigerian general that has funds to be transferred to our bank account seems to be a great choice to go with.  We need someone with a genuine link to the club and who is not afraid of the risk involved.

Anyone know of a fool and his money out there?






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