Scunthorpe United: this is what *this sort of thing* looks like
Scunthorpe United: this is what *this sort of thing* looks like
Scunthorpe United are dying before our very eyes. Of that there now seems to be little question.
I hate to say I told you so, but-
Look, the warning signs were there all al-
There’s no easy way of sa-
Oh, for Christ’s sake.
This is what *waves arms around the air* this sort of thing looks like. This is what Macclesfield Town looked like. This is what Bury looked like. This is what Hereford United looked like. This is what Chester City looked like. This is what Maidstone United looked like. This is what Aldershot looked like. This is what Newport County looked like. I am sounding the alarm. This is what the alarm sounds like.
Jerry Sherman, and his singular lack of due diligence. Jim Thompson, who destroyed two . Spencer goddam Trethewy, another to change his name by deed poll to give himself ‘a fresh start’. Stephen Vaughan, who became something akin to the candyman around football clubs in the north-west of England for a while during the early 2010s (“If you don’t go to bed on time, Stephen Vaughan will take over City”). Tommy Agombar, who sold his shares to a distressed debt company. Stewart Day and Steve Dale, the unfunniest double act to emerge from Manchester since Little & Large. Amar Alkadhi, the absentee landlord who let Macclesfield Town wither on the vine from his comfortable life in Ibiza.
We’ve seen this all before. For years. Decades.
I’m not going to blithely sit here and call David Hilton a fraud over his involvement with Scunthorpe United. I’m not going to call him a fraud over the fact that he’s also been known as David Mellors, David Anderson and David White throughout his life. He was a fraud when he was sentenced to two years in prison and disqualified from being a company director for five years over 15 counts of fraud by false representation under the name of David Anderson in a case which started at Nottingham Crown Court in late 2014.
What I think is going on at Scunthorpe United is something slightly more concerning than outright fraud; I think it’s a toxic combination of not being as smart as you think you are, perhaps being just persuasive enough to convince some that “well, he can’t be any worse than Peter Swann, can he?”, and having the blithe self-confidence to walk into a clearly very distressed football club and start wreaking havoc.
In the first place, Hilton released a rambling interview through the club’s official website which sounded at points like a man who should be retiring from all public comment with immediate effect. But then they took it down again. The club also issued a rambling public statement which was also later deleted. On the same day as the publication of The Athletic’s piece, former player George Taft alleged that he hadn't paid for two months and that Scunthorpe had been deducting pension contributions from him but not paying them.
And then, early in the evening of the 19th came confirmation that he’s put Scunthorpe United up for sale (whatever the hell he thinks they’re actually worth in their current condition is anybody’s guess), so that meant that there is another rambling statement. But this one came with a trailer. On Facebook. Again deleted.
Due to staff travelling to this evenings game an official statement has been delayed.
I will confirm that I have known about the Athletic article for 7 weeks. It was fairly obvious the news was going to cause massive embarrassment for me and there was a strong possibility it would create a lack of support. I made the decision weeks ago that I would temporarily limit my funding contribution to cover current staff wages only.
This is why after 7 months of no serious issues despite the mess inherited we now have a winding up petition with another to follow in due course. We also have numerous CCJs and ex staff waiting on redundancy payments.
Please understand that any money I put into the club is lost forever and whilst I’m still committed to funding the club it has to be under the right circumstances.
I can confirm the club is up for sale. I do not see how my reputation can ever be repaired fully at the club even with success and therefore I will be looking for ways to limit my exposure and exit without it affecting the clubs playing side or it’s future existence.
I will fund your club to ensure its survival, and the playing side will be unaffected until a new owner is found.
And then followed the official statement. It’s another gusher, at 2,155 words, so I’m not going to reproduce the whole thing here (though considering their previous propensity to delete statements, I’ve squirrelled a copy away for reference), but here are some selected highlights (this is what paid subscribers pay for - I read this shit so you don’t have to):
Getting the words ‘inherited’ and ‘deposited’ mixed up: “I also inherited around £40,000 in the club bank account on the 26th January - the day of completion.” Unless he meant “inherited from”, which would make more grammatical sense but would also imply that he was taking money out of the club on the very day that he completed the sale. Let’s assume it’s the former. It doesn’t seem likely that he’d crow about the latter.
Stating that, “What I did in 2013 was not a mistake, it was a crime, I broke the law.” It was a mistake, David. It’s pretty clear that it was a mistake as well as a crime.
Claiming that The Athletic’s article about hum was, “a character assassination, carried out either as a personal vendetta, or on behalf of someone else.” Well, of course. It should be no surprise to see The Athletic, who are owned by the New York Times, would risk their reputation by, uh, telling the truth as part of, umm, a personal vendetta on behalf of, well, it’s not clear who. Peter Swann? An Exeter City supporter with a grudge and an exceedingly long memory?
A brief treatise on the subject of what defines ‘the public interest’, in media terms: “...any article going against the Rehabilitation Act would need to demonstrate that destroying my life and potentially killing a football club, which is what it was trying to do, is in the public interest.” Presumably he means the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 here, but that gives people with spent convictions and cautions the right not to disclose them when applying for most jobs and when buying insurance, not the right for their previous misdemeanours to be completely removed from the public record and never spoken of again.
Casually dropping in that, “I decided to fund the top-up for wages ONLY for the last six weeks. This has obviously been noticeable with several CCJs issued along with outstanding redundancy payments and today a winding up petition being issued.” Wait, hang on, what?
“Unfortunately, there will be a further winding-up petition issued imminently by the HMRC however please do not be concerned. I know that is hard but I will pay the petitions in full and continue to work through the clubs remaining debt.” No, I said WAIT, HANG ON, WHAT?
“I will not be monitoring media channels, I will not be issuing anymore statements personally or discussing anything regarding my past, anything further will be club related and it will come directly from the club.” Well, let's be grateful for small mercies, here.
There was more, too. Over on Facebook, a post from a supporter saying that Hilton had told him:
I’ve put the club up for sale but nobody wants it. The consortium never had the money last time and still don’t. They are not interested and I’ve offered it at a considerable financial loss to myself for the good of the club. That means that if I step away the club dies.
It was quickly deleted.
There were other matters, as well. While the ink was still drying on the sale agreement to purchase the club, Hilton had been straight in there with “The Lifetime 1889 Club”, which was trailled as “giving supporters the opportunity to own Glanford Park”. For the low, low price of £1,899, members would receive:
> 20% off club sponsorship & advertising (business members only)
> 15% off club shop purchases and hospitality bookings
> Free season ticket for the 2023/24 season (personal members only)
> Free entry to all pre-season home fixtures
> Priority ticket for Cup ties
> Inclusion into a free monthly prize draw
> Club 1899 digital quarterly magazine
> Option to buy a share in SUFC (1899) Ltd for £1 (this company owns the stadium) - you will receive a framed share certificate confirming you are one of 1899 owners of Glanford Park stadiumOnly 1899 Club members will be entered into the free monthly prize draw and this will be done so automatically for the duration of the Football Club's lease (999 years).
By August, this had changed. It wasn’t the 1899 Club any more, it was the 100 Club. The cost was still £1,899, but now personal members would receive:
> Never have to buy a home match ticket again!
- FREE lifetime, non-transferrable season ticket
- FREE admission to all pre-season friendlies and cup matches
- FREE upgrade to the Executive Club and Players Lounge
> 15% discount on all club shop purchases
> Direct access to the Board of Directors through quarterly meetings
> A framed Share Certificate confirming you are a shareholder in Scunthorpe United Football Club, with 50 shares worth £1,000 allocated to you from the football club, and otherwise unavailable to purchase
While business owners were promised:
> FREE ground advertisement for three seasons worth in excess of £1,000 per annum
> FREE full page advertisement on our online digital matchday programme for the next three seasons, worth £5,000 per annum. Our viewing impressions so far this season have been in excess of 250,000 per game.
> FREE full A4 advert in our new, full colour publication issued three times per season for a three year period, worth £9,000 (£1,000 per edition). Going forward, this will be produced during pre-season, Christmas and during the close season as an end of season review. This publication will be sold through our club shop and local outlets.
> 20% discount on any further advertising or marketing spend with the football club.
> A framed Share Certificate confirming you are a shareholder in Scunthorpe United Football Club, with 50 shares worth £1,000 allocated to you from the football club, and otherwise unavailable to purchase
By the 7th September, the club stated that there were only seven of these left. In the event that the club fails—or even if they put into administration—those who bought into this will become unsecured creditors, just like everybody else. No-one seemed to reallt ask the question of why Hilton was promising £16,000-worth of advertising for £1,899 (plus VAT).
***
On the same evening, Scunthorpe United were knocked out of the FA Cup in the Second Qualifying Round by Brackley Town after a replay. It’s the second year in a row they’ve failed to make the First Round of the FA Cup. Prior to this, the last time this happened was 1950/51, their first season as a Football League club, and while they were still called Scunthorpe & Lindsay United, when they were beaten 1-0 in the Fourth Qualifying Round by Hereford United.
Because it’s important that we remind ourselves that there is a football club at the heart of this.
***
The signs have been there for weeks. Months. Arguably, years. And no, David Hilton is absolutely not the only person to blame for this catastrophic mess. Peter Swann is the ultimate root cause of this absolute Hindenburg of a situation, and this shouldn’t be forgotten. This all began with him. But whatever David Hilton’s motives may have been when he took ownership of this football club, whether noble or malign, his involvement at Scunthorpe United has been catastrophic, and it is clear that he is not fit to run this club. Perhaps somebody can come in and pick up the pieces. Perhaps something can be salvaged from all of this. Glanford Park still stands, for now. Scunthorpe United still exist, for now. While this is the case, hope remains.
But we’ve seen this all before. For years. Decades.
And as of right now, all the signs only point in one direction.
If there is an actual saviour for Scunthorpe United, now would be a good time to step forward.