United we fall

Now the only different league it has entered is the Conference. But after all the ups and downs the club has suffered since the loss overboard of its bankrupt owner Robert Maxwell in November 1991, how much will this final plunge cost in hard cash?

We asked the finance director of Cambridge United, relegated to the Conference last year, what the drop had cost, what life after death was like and what advice he would give the new owner of Oxford United, Nick Merry.

Finance director Nick Pomery said: "We found our parachute money, grants from the Football League, just about cut in half when you take into account grants to the youth side, too.

"We found attendance fell by between ten and 15 per cent because after a while people are less keen to watch matches against little-known teams.

"You are not going to get a lot unless you are winning. We had to drop gate prices. Also, away fans dropped off and in our case we had to cut down on staff."

"Match-day commercial sponsorship fell off too. All in all it cost us between £500,000 and £600,000 in lost revenue."

Was there nothing positive to say about life in the Conference?

Mr Pomery added: "Money will go further in the Conference. So if Oxford United's new owner is prepared to spend money on players, the club could keep winning and attendances could stay up. Just £200,000 or £300,000 could make a big difference.

"On the other hand, some Conference teams are wily and they will see Oxford as the one to beat. They could make life difficult. I wish you luck."

Already it seems that some luck is on the side of Oxford United's new chairman Nick Merry. Main sponsor Buildbase is loyally standing by the club in its hour of need. But how would he view such sobering comments from the rival university city?

Mr Merry was reluctant to tell The Oxford Times exactly how deep his pockets were.

He said: "It's a chicken and egg situation keep winning and the gate will keep up; but to keep winning we've got to keep spending.

"But I tell you this: we are paying out more money than anyone else in the Conference and we shall not be cutting back."

He said that the £200,000 to £300,000 figure for spending on players "was not far off" what he planned.

Former Oxford manager Ian Atkins, who at one stage brought the team to the top of the league table during Mr Kassam's tenure, backed up much of what the Cambridge finance director told The Oxford Times.

He said that opposing teams will be "right behind the ball" to beat Oxford.

He added: "I'm gutted for the club, all the fans and the new owners. It's a tragedy for a club like Oxford United with the stadium it has got and with the fans it has."

But there is the rub. The club has not got the stadium, because it is still owned by former chairman Firoz Kassam.

Indeed, the spectre of Mr Kassam hangs over the club like the ghost of Maxwell did during the years it was in the hands of the receivers dealing with his personal estate of which the club was part.

On pure business terms, Mr Kassam has performed some nimble footwork. He left the club just before relegation, having dextrously tackled Mr Merry and persuaded him to part with £2m to buy the club and its debts.

Now Mr Merry will need to rent the stadium from Mr Kassam for each match, but he indicated that there was no change there.

He said: "We shall pay the same rent as before the relegation. That is simply the ongoing cost of running a football club."

Mr Kassam is asking an undisclosed multi-million pound figure for the stadium, only three sides of which have been completed, and negotiations are under way.

Back in 1999 Mr Kassam came to a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement with contractors Taylor Woodrow to pay for building work on the stadium.

The work had ground to a halt when the previous management failed to pay up. Under that arrangement he only paid a small proportion of the bill and received help from the Football League to finish the construction.

One way and another, Mr Kassam has come out of his spell as chairman of Oxford United with some flamboyant financial deals under his belt.

There was the sale of United's old ground at the Manor for instance. He first sold the ground to one of his own companies and then sold it on at a £6m profit to the Nuffield Hospital Trust. At the time, Maxwell receivers said that they were powerless to take any the money to boost the ailing pension fund.

The Manor Ground was originally established with money raised by Headington traders. A covenant restricting its use to "open sports ground" use only was lifted after Mr Kassam paid out £40,000 to the adjoining Bowls Club and £234,000 to the receivers.

Then, famously, there were the terms under which he bought from Oxford City Council the land adjoining the club in Grenoble Road, now home to his Ozone leisure park. According to information leaked to The Oxford Times, the district auditor is concerned that it was valued at too low a price (and councils are required to obtain best value when selling off assets).

And according to February 1999 confidential briefing to councillors, it was essential to sell the land if the club was to survive. The briefing reads: "In view of the perilous state of club finances, it now seems unlikely that Oxford United can continue unless Mr Kassam remains involved and buys the club."

It adds that the new stadium should come into use as soon as possible if the club were to survive but said: "There is no realistic prospect of completing the stadium unless the development value of the adjacent hotel and leisure sites is made available to support the construction costs."

The district auditor has yet to make public the result of his investigation into concerns that it was the council tax payers of Oxford who paid out to ensure the survival of a club which has now been relegated to the Conference and that it was Mr Kassam who benefited at their expense.

As The Oxford Times went to press, Mr Kassam was unavailable for comment.