Gateshead fans warn club's future at risk as takeover stalls
Gateshead supporters fear for the club's survival amid unpaid wages, a stalled takeover and a possible HMRC debt, with the team bottom of the National League.
Gateshead fans are warning that the National League club's existence is under threat as they wait to see whether new investment arrives. The concern follows director Mark Nellist's resignation and withdrawal of funding support in September, which left players and staff unpaid this month while a proposed takeover by American private investment company Flacks Group remained delayed.
On the pitch, Gateshead are bottom of the National League with four points from 15 games and have lost their past nine league matches. They have no permanent manager: Lee Cattermole was dismissed on 4 October and Ben Clark has been in interim charge since, claiming a first win in his seventh game as Stoke City Under-21s were beaten in the National League Cup. The league form has not improved, and an FA Cup replay defeat to eighth-tier Stafford Rangers ended hopes of a cup pay-day.
David Geddess of the Heed Army podcast told BBC Look North that the situation is deeply worrying and that he seriously believes it could be the end of the club. He pointed to Gateshead playing in a rented stadium with no assets, and added that the club's lowly position makes it an unattractive proposition for buyers. He also described the takeover as tangled in a legal issue involving another party that had tried to buy the club, and warned that HMRC involvement would make matters worse.
According to Flacks Group, another company, Shoreline Limited, sought to buy the club in March and later filed court documentation confirming its agreement was null and void before entering negotiations with the current ownership. Flacks said it could not proceed with its intended acquisition because Shoreline had not responded to requests to confirm it was not interested in purchasing Gateshead.
Gateshead are the smallest club in the National League, with average home attendances this season of 643, and are believed to owe more than £200,000 to HMRC. They have not had a home league game since 3 October. Mark Ferguson, MP for Gateshead Central and Whickham, spoke to the Independent Football Regulator on Wednesday, saying the club's future is up in the air and that time is running short. For supporters, Geddess said the priority is infrastructure so that the same situation does not recur.
Image: Shutterstock / BBC Sport
