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Walton Casuals

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 7:02 pm
by Tony
Have announced that the club is closing having failed to find a buyer. Great shame for everyone who have been involved with the club. Not sure how and why things have unravelled so quickly.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 9:08 pm
by Lord Elpus
Suspect Tony Gale might have just got fed up with putting his hand in his pocket. It's a shame but I'm surprised they completely gave up the ghost quite so quickly. Shame they couldn't have tried voluntary demotion or something and tried to get something more sustainable going.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 9:16 pm
by Shepperton Supporter
Some to hear this. With the Staines situation as well two local clubs could not be around next season.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 10:40 pm
by Shepperton Supporter

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:36 am
by Tony
Seems strange that they only gave it one month to find a buyer or new investment before deciding to close down. No deal is going to happen in that time frame. Surely they must have known this for a while unless someone has made a sudden unexpected decision to pull funding.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:23 pm
by RogerSW
It may mean Leatherhead or another team get reprieved from relegation from Step 3 ?

Or will Walton & Hersham attempt a merger and play in Step 3 ?

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 2:46 pm
by Tony
Any merged sides play at the level of the lowest placed side so no incentive for W&H.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 3:41 pm
by Shepperton Supporter
Do wonder if we might be interested in a couple of their players, seemed to remember some were ok.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 7:33 pm
by Josh2002
RogerSW wrote: Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:23 pm It may mean Leatherhead or another team get reprieved from relegation from Step 3 ?

Or will Walton & Hersham attempt a merger and play in Step 3 ?
Merthyr reprieved, as per the updated constitution. https://southern-football-league.co.uk/ ... nstitution

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 1:17 pm
by Jamie
An absolute disgrace this has happened.
The FA need to get involved. Historic clubs being wound up because "owners" get bored.
Owning/running a football club is not a usual business, you are there to keep it going, if you have no intention of carrying on then pass it on to someone else, or give to a supporters ground.
It is completely unacceptable that this is happening more and more.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 6:15 pm
by TW2-Beaver
Jamie wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 1:17 pm An absolute disgrace this has happened.
The FA need to get involved. Historic clubs being wound up because "owners" get bored.
Owning/running a football club is not a usual business, you are there to keep it going, if you have no intention of carrying on then pass it on to someone else, or give to a supporters ground.
It is completely unacceptable that this is happening more and more.
I tend to agree (except the FA getting involved... when do they ever solve anything!) and I wonder how much the supporters were consulted about any of this between the initial statement in May and the 'winding up' statement the other day? Walton Casuals has been in existence since the 1940s and have many dedicated followers. There is something not right about a board of directors who by all accounts have been there five minutes deciding to wind it up. Were they trying to sell the club? If so, why? Surely it can't be worth anything. Casuals play at a council owned facility. They don't have any debt according to the statement. So why can't it just be handed over to supporters? In the worst case scenario, you just play with minimal budget and get yourself relegated to a more manageable level. All very odd although I suppose there's plenty happening that I'm not aware of.

Re: Walton Casuals

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 6:43 pm
by Lord Elpus
It probably comes down to a lack of volunteers and proper infastructure, as well as a lack of finance. You can't run a club without people to run it.
I'd agree that it's a shame that it can't just be handed over to whoever wants to take it on, but maybe no one even came up to suggest that?