Boston Gate

A 'cheat's charter'?

Alun Thomas - a man with specialist local knowledge - explores Boston Gate

With the Rio Ferdinand business taking so much space in the national sports pages, the Boston United saga didn't get as much coverage as it might otherwise have done. But the non-League world has reacted to the verdict with unprecedented vitriol. 

Basically the facts are as follows: Boston, having pipped Dagenham and Redbridge to the Conference title on goal difference, proceeded to plead guilty to 16 charges of financial irregularities. They were fined £100,000 and will start the new season with minus-four points. However, many people, including Boston themselves, feel that they got off lightly. It was widely believed that the FA would demote the club two divisions into the Dr Martens Premier. Peterborough in 1968, Port Vale a year later, and Swindon in 1990 all suffered demotion and must now be wondering if they were playing to the same set of rules.

Dagenham, who were hoping to take Boston's place in the League, have labeled the outcome a 'cheat's charter', and their local MP, John Cruddas, has vowed to bring up the matter in the House, adding: 'There's all this talk from FA Chief Executive Adam Crozier about cleaning up the game, but this is how he will be judged'. Daggers chairman David Andrews posed the question: 'How can they deduct four points from playing in a different league?' 

And it's not just Dagenham who are up in arms. Hayes were relegated from the Conference but their local MP, John McDonnell, who is canvassing for the club to be reinstated, said: 'The verdict sends out the message that if you cheat you will prosper and the FA will turn a blind eye.' Other Conference managers voiced support. Former Wrexham stalwart Jake King, now in charge at Telford, pointed out: 'I could have taken Telford to the top of the League if could have paid players under the counter. Clubs like us are now being told that it pays to cheat'.

The FA was, of course, in a no-win situation. Should they demote Boston and punish the innocent parties, including 1,500 fans who had already purchased season tickets for the coming year? Or should they fine the club and face the wrath of the Conference, to all intents and purposes League Division Four? 
The £100,000 fine shouldn't pose a problem. Boston receive an immediate payment of three times that amount on promotion. And a win and a draw in their first two games would wipe out the four-point deficit (prior to defeat at the Racecourse in their third game, naturally). From a purely selfish personal point of view, I'm not too unhappy. Boston is a lot closer to my home than Dagenham!

Even Barry Fry couldn't avoid involvement. He received angry calls from Dagenham supporters after a Sunday newspaper erroneously named him as chairman of the disciplinary committee in the Boston case, having confused him with Brighton-based FA councillor Barry Bright! Still, for Mr Fry I suppose it made a change from receiving hate mail from Posh fans. 

It's not quite done and dusted for Boston, though. Flamboyant manager Steve Evans remains suspended by the new consortium that has taken over the club until individual charges against him and former chairman Pat Malkinson have been heard. And the new chairman, Des Wood, while sympathising with Dagenham 'to a certain extent', plans to appeal against the punishment on the grounds that the offences were committed under the previous regime.

Steve Evans is a controversial character in the Brian Clough mould. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him. Prior to taking over at Boston he was manager of my local club, Stamford. He worked wonders both on and off the pitch (notably regarding sponsorship) and took the club from the depths of the Eagle Bitter United Counties League to the Dr Martens Eastern Division, where some of the team he left behind finished a creditable fifth last season in a league only two promotions from the Conference. This despite serving a two-year touchline ban - none of your two-match bans in the Eagle Bitter! 

Steve Evans had, and for all I know still has, a high-profile job in the brewing industry, and before one Stamford game he promised the loan of his gold Mercedes to any player scoring a hat-trick. Leading scorer Carl Tallents (excellent name!) had notched twice before he was mysteriously substituted... Personally I wish Evans well, and wonder how many of the self-righteous Conference chairmen can say, hand on heart, that they have never made under-the-counter payments to a player. 

I think Boston will acquit themselves reasonably to life in the Nationwide, as clubs coming out of the Conference invariably do. Wrexham, Rochdale, Rushden and Hartlepool will, I feel, be there or thereabouts with Kidderminster and Bury as dark horses. Many people fancy Hull but Hull are the Wolverhampton of this division - they have the ground, the potential support, even a bit of history -everybody knows they should go up, but we will see.