Town in turmoil - LATEST 

 

Walking away: Andrew Fitton, seen here attending Town's last home game calyx multimedia

The future of Swindon Town Football Club is hanging by a thread today, with news that the proposed takeover of the club by Andrew Fitton has collapsed.

 

It is understood that the Ramsbury-based businessman has been unable to finalise details to take control at the County Ground due to a major snag.

 

The problem is believed to revolve around the issue of the ownership of any potential stadium re-development rights in the future.

 

With mounting debts and the threat of a winding-up order at the High Court looming large, the club's board are doing everything in their power to secure funding to ensure the immediate future of the club and avoid the threat of closure.

 

The members of the board are keen to assure fans that the break-down in talks is solely between the major shareholder and the consortium, and has nothing to do with the directors.

 

The next 24 hours will be a crucial period for the club and fans will no doubt be desperate to find out what the future has in store for the beleaguered club.

Weekly press call

With all the off-field issues surrounding the club, Dave Byrne and Ady Williams were keen to talk about football matters in our weekly video interview.

Following the Town's dismal performance against Carlisle, Byrne and Williams are hoping the players will show a bit more desire against Southend this coming Saturday.

"The players that are given the shirts will have to show they are willing to fight for the cause and wear it with pride," said a defiant Byrne.

But with all the injuries and the impending suspensions, the managers know that it's a case of 'going with what we've got' for the trip to Roots Hall.

"We have got 11 or 12 players unavailable, 5 or 6 of whom would be in the starting line-up, and that's a massive hole to fill," added Williams, "but I'm looking forward to seeing the response from the lads."