National League side Woking are reported to have been within days of entering administration.
Only a £600,000 loan from the parents of owner Drew Volpe has saved the Cards from falling foul of the football authorities but the future appears very unclear with Volpe willing to sell the club for just £1.
After Volpe’s business partner John Katz departed the club in June this year, the club has been unable to stem the losses emerging from an over-budgeted 2022-23 season and the subsequent quest for survival which cost Darren Sarll his job midway through the season.
Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey, the American revealed how close the club came to struggle to start the new season in just under three weeks’ time but the injection of cash is hoped to be enough until new owners arrive in the coming weeks.
A rumoured takeover would see the club back on an even keel although preparations for Michael Doyle have no doubt been hampered since the return to pre-season training amidst the uncertainty of the finances off the pitch.
As previously seen, takeover talks don’t always run smoothly, and while the situation Woking find themselves in is very different to that of Southend United, there has been questions asked over whether the Cards will find themselves subject to the same penalties imposed by the National League board to the Essex side.
The Shrimpers were asked to provide a bond of £1million but to be returned once Ron Martin has fully relinquished control of the club. It remains to be seen whether the league would impose a similar request on the Kingfield outfit to ensure there hasn’t been a lack of parity within the rules.
Having tried to compete with the likes of Wrexham and Notts County two years ago, the unsustainable nature of not having sufficient cash reserves saw the side take a tumble down the table last season and survive on the last day of the season.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire gave his own views to the same BBC radio station, remarking the Cards had lost £25,000 a week in finishing fourth in the table with last season likely to top those figures.
It highlights once again the precarious nature of running a football club if the pockets aren’t deep enough to cover the losses. The National League is one of the toughest divisions to get out of with only two promotion spots available.
The loan secured by Volpe will not go far despite the owner’s claim that once the season begins the pressure starts to lessen, especially if the team doesn’t hit the ground running and projected attendance figures are not matching the amount of supporters coming through the turnstiles.
It might be a rocky start for Woking supporters until the club can get themselves in good shape financially. With every passing day, there must be some frustration for Doyle as targets get tired of waiting for a contract offer and sign elsewhere.