Cherries In Crisis - 31/01/2007

AFC Bournemouth chairman Abdul Jaffar has urged support for the consortium that is bidding to take over the club. The club are £3m in debt and may face liquidation should the takeover not go ahead. The consortium, led by Hampshire based financial consultant Jeff Mostyn also includes Jaffar and Cherries associate director Steve Sly. The triumvarite have reportedly already pumped £3m into the club. The club no longer owns its ground, banqueting suites and club shop which were sold off and then leased back to deal with an earlier financial crisis. Bournemouth was one of the earliest examples of supporters taking over an indebted club, but a problem that all owners have faced is that while there is a large local population, substantial portions of it have little interest in football.