The Russian Football Debacle

So, this isn't going to be necessarily true.

My parents ran the British Embassy bar in Moscow for a number of years during the Cold War. Both served in the Forces, and got married specifically to take the posting in Moscow in the late 1960s. They spent several years in Moscow running a bar and providing alcohol to functions hosted at the Embassy up to the end of 1971.

This is a story recounted by my father. He died in 1993. But, with the World Cup due to take place in Russia, it's probably apt that this story gets aired one more time. It's the only football related story of their time there.

Northern Ireland were set to play a match in Moscow. George Best, then given the unofficial title of the World's best footballer, was going to be in Moscow. It was 1969, and the two teams had just had a goalless draw in Belfast before a rematch barely a month later.

George Best played in the first game, but not the second. So I can't confirm whether George Best actually appeared. There seems to be no proof, no photographic evidence I can find. Just the anecdote.

The Russians were pleased to be hosting the greatest footballer in the world, and wanted to mark the occasion with something special. That was a large bottle of Vodka, presented before the game.

And, by large, it varied from being a metre tall to being as big as George Best himself depending on the retelling. This wasn't the Vodka of norm either. This was special Russian Vodka. Way over the ABV of that sold in the UK. Apparently.

The Northern Ireland team played in front of over 100,000 people that day and lost. They wanted to drown their sorrows. The problem was, this was a Police state. There were few bars that could host them.

So, off to the Embassy they went.

First the pints were poured, then the shorts, then the huge bottle of Vodka was opened. The team and the associated entourage drank everything in sight. And, as the son of Irish immigrants himself, my father joined them.

The only problem was that the bar operated under UK licencing laws. Back then it had to shut in the afternoon, and come 11pm the bar had to shut entirely. The on-site Police made sure of it. The visiting footballers asked if there was another - friendly - bar they could go to. There was. And it was open 24 hours.

They apparently wrecked the US Embassy bar and had to be escorted back to their hotel in the early hours by armed guard. Whether much of it is true is open to debate. History only records the 2-0 loss and not the post-match antics.

But, you'd like to hope it is true.

The Song Remains The Same

A new HUFC but the same crisis. Hartlepool United face an incredibly similar situation to Hereford United with a looming set of bills threatening their existence.

Both HUFCs were in Council-owned grounds, had a lengthy period of financial stability under owners that didn't necessarily have universal backing, and came to a financial meltdown in a hasty way following relegation.

While the Hereford United collapse took four years from the transfer of ownership from good to bad, it was in the Court facing a winding-up petition within two and a half. Hartlepool have reached crisis in similar time. In both cases the alarm bells really sounded after the loss of Football League status.

This week's stark calls for £200,000 in fourteen days to keep the club afloat come after a series of disastrous Boardroom appointments. The original bidders, Stephen Murrall and Peter Harris, were eventually convicted of fraud over their bid for the club, having helped themselves to gate receipts they weren't entitled to.

Their replacement, Gary Coxall, was declared bankrupt shortly after his tenure ended in May leaving Sage Investments holding the incredibly cash hungry baby that slipped out of the Football League shortly after Coxall's resignation. From stability in 2015 under the less than popular Ken Hodcroft to owing a reported £1.8million - mostly to Sage Investments - and needing a further six-figure sum in short order just two and a half years later.

The Supporters Trust have kept their powder dry so far, going only so far as to back supporters fundraising efforts. £11,000 and counting has been donated to a Just Giving page, with Middlesborough fans - mindful of their 1986 eviction and the assistance they had from Hartlepool while they were locked out of Ayresome Park - donating generously.

Sage Investments are reported to be looking for some of their debt to be returned with the club up for sale. Any bidder with good intentions for the club will demand every penny be written off. No sane businessman would buy a cash burning machine with debt already attached and, with both reported interested parties outside the UK, the likelihood of a millionaire fan making an altrusitic gesture is incredibly slim. We've been there.

The fans of the club may have to come to a realisation - that the club will only lurch from crisis to crisis without substantial investment over the next six months. There may well be no saviour that will throw sufficient money into the hole to plug it up. The debts will keep on coming into the summer as the players remain contracted to the club, so there's probably another £1million needed there. We've been there.

Administration isn't an option, not in the National League with their debt repayment rules. It'll buy time but will not reduce the sums owed. Agree with creditors to slash debts - or reach no deal at all - and the club will be demoted to Step 3. We've been there.

It is an unfortunate situation, not of the fans making, and there is an unfortunate outcome that will see the company die. But the club - the fans - will live on in the Council owned ground with a sensible business plan.

We've been there.