Memories of 1962 and the Inland Revenue have been hanging over Accrington Stanley like a bad smell recently, but the future looks brighter for the League Two club.
The club were forced to resign over unpaid debts back in 1962 and it looked as though history might repeat itself after a winding up order was served on them, as it was revealed they owed HM Revenue and Customs somewhere in the region of £3m.
However, agreement has been reached and David O’Neill is the new chairman and the man poised to take
Accrington Stanley forward again.
They have survived for three seasons in the Football League without ever troubling the business end of League Two, but manager John Coleman is still regarded as a miracle worker in Lancashire.
Ten years ago when he arrived at Stanley they were in the Unibond first division and only 334 turned up for his first game in charge.
Fast forward a decade and Coleman is now rubbing shoulders with the likes of
Bradford,
Notts County and
Northampton, and the boss will surely be delighted that O’Neill has taken charge.
Outgoing chairman Eric Whalley worked in tandem with Coleman to revitalise Stanley, and O’Neill is confident it will be a process of evolution rather than revolution as he battle to keep Accrington’s head above water.
"If I can achieve anything like Eric has then it'll be good for the town," O'Neill told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"Everyody knows the financial constraints we're working under but I feel we can only go forward.
"Every 100 we put on the gate is another £1,000 in the budget, so we'll be looking to improve that over the coming season.”
Powered by: GiveMeFootball.com, the
latest football news
