Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the n/a site.

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

'18-month contracts would be financial suicide'

View Gallery

Published Date: 18 January 2008

STAGS chief executive Stephen Booth has defended the club's policy of not offering 18-month contracts to prospective new players.

Manager Billy Dearden has been frustrated in the January transfer window as transfer targets reject a move to Field Mill - but Mr Booth told Chad on Friday morning that it would be 'financial suicide' to offer 18-month deals with the club in its current predicament.

Mr Booth gave a full interview with Mansfield radio station 103.2 on Friday, talking about why he refuses to elaborate on takeover talk and the FA Cup windfall. Listen to their Friday evening sports show Sport On Friday from 6 to 7pm tonight.

Dearden, talking about the eventually failed bid for Peter Gain, told Chad: "It helped that they (Dagenham) offered him an 18-month contract while all I could offer him was this season with another year if we stay in this league.

Gain lost, praying on Pope

Loan target staying put for now

"The people here are 'iffing and butting' which league we will be in and not letting me offer 18-month deals, but this needs looking at in the next couple of weeks, not just with players I want to bring in but also with players already here who I want to keep.

"I feel we have to be positive and believe that we are going to be okay."

As well as being unable to bring players to the club on long-term agreements, Dearden has also been unable to start offering new deals to existing squad members he wants to keep at Field Mill for next season.

But Mr Booth said on Friday that offering 18-month contracts would be 'financial suicide', given the uncertainty of which League the club would be in next season.

He said: "I have said before that Billy has been given a budget to work with and nothing has changed.

"I am very wary of saddling the club with long-term liabilities without a clear idea of which League the club will be playing in next season.

"That would be financial suicide. Any prospective owners would be very, very wary of a club committed to long-term liabilities.

"I know it is frustrating, but that is the way it is."

Last week he told Chad: "It would be remiss of me to speculate lots of money on players and wages. I have to balance what is right for the club in the long-term.

"This industry is littered with clubs who have thrown money at problems and got nowhere.

"I would not jeopardise the future of the club by speculating and buying players we can not afford and which would not do anyone any good."

The full article contains 459 words and appears in n/a newspaper.

Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 18 January 2008 8:50 PM
Source: n/a
Location: Mansfield

Bookmark:

Del.icio.us Post this story to Del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

StumbleUpon Post this story to stumbleupon

Fluffster,

Mansfield 18/01/2008 16:46:17

I cannot believe the Mr Booth is being so negative in not speculating on league survival. Surely his negativity is going to have an effect on management, players and fans alike. We need new plays to help the current players keep Mansfield Town in the football league, there should be no iffing and butting, we should be building a team and investing. It appears that from Mr Booths comments he has decided Mansfield Town will be playing conference league football next year and Billy Deardon will get no financial assistance from him

Report Unsuitable

whoknows,

18/01/2008 17:13:14

You'd think that with the 2 recents away wins that now would be the prefect time to bring in at least 1 new face in to give the team that little extra lift.
At least there still hope if the Rumours are ture about the Crewe striker Tom Pope.

Also got to remember that any money spent will reflect on the selling price, so no doubt Keith Haslam is tell Mr Booth not to spend.

Report Unsuitable

Adamr999,

18/01/2008 17:15:16

Dark sith master kieth:Well done my aprentice.
Sith Booth: i have learned well.
He says he is no puppet of kieth haslam then why is he speaking and thinking like him billy is no fool players he signs on 18 month deals will be ones who can keep the club in league 2 and build to create a team capable of finishing in top of table or pushing for league one.

Report Unsuitable

MIFO,

18/01/2008 18:41:06

we'd be better off with the real pope not tom pope. haslam would be in the back every day, 'i have sinned father'.

Report Unsuitable

JohnnyStag,

18/01/2008 22:28:10

Mr Booth - I think "Financial Suicide" has been committed already by Mr Haslam. He's the man who took £1,000,000 out of the club which at the time had the potential to secure a position in Division 1 or the Championship if he'd invested in the squad.

Don't blame the town or the fans and have a look at the company books to see whose to blame.

Also have a look at the last 40 years of Mansfield Town and you are telling us that we can't compete with Dagenham & Redbridge, Accrington Stanley, Morecambe or Macclesfield.

Please don't treat us like fools.

Report Unsuitable

Ayup meduck,

19/01/2008 18:22:34

The reason the club treats you like fools, is because thats exactly what you are, today thousands of you purchased a ticket to fund Haslams cash cow, for a game that you can see for free on TV

You deserve everything you get I'm afraid.

Typical Mansfield "cap doffers" moan, moan, moan but when it comes to standing up for what you believe in not a cat in hells chance

Report Unsuitable

MIFO,

real world 19/01/2008 18:59:11

spot on pal! There'll be some suckers who'll pay 75 quid for brunch at il rosso and then sit 'in the best seats in the ground'. like ive said in a previous post on this site - what utter tosh. best seat is the armchair with my feet up watching it on the box!

Report Unsuitable

Adamr999,

20/01/2008 15:32:42

True fans watch the game at field mill regardless of what haslam is doing staying away helps nobody

Report Unsuitable

MIFO,

20/01/2008 20:57:29

i'm not a stags fan, that's why i'm not going. i go home and away supporting my team, but we haven't got a game on saturday because we're out of the cup