Deep pockets for the Millers?

The club no longer owns Millmoor, the fans on the board have no big money to throw in and no local businessmen so far fancy casting themselves as saviours. So what to do for the Yokshire club?

Well, plenty of clubs have been in this ‘situation’ in recent years. Just think, Oldham were so close to losing their battle that they came asking for money at Bloomfield Road. Now look at them, 7th in the league, with our best midfielder for years, and an excellent manager at this level in Ronnie Morre (how ironic). They also have plans for a new stadium, which is clearly not cheap. Oldham did have backers, after they scrounged for money, who do finance the big wages, but this just shows what going bust could do for a club like Rotherham. This maybe not true for The Millers, but we have heard it all before, haven’t we?

Rotherham were owned and supported financially for years by Ken Booth, the pensioned chairman. But when he reached 83, and with no family who wanted the club, he wanted to sell. There was nobody interested though, so a group of fans, in 2005, bought the club for £1. They put in £100,000 between them, with Booth clearing a £3million overdraft. In exchange took he ownership of Millmoor. He then loaned £600,000 to cover losses until last summer, and now wants it back, leaving RFC unable to pay it back. Couple that with losing £140,000 a month, it doesn’t look good.

They do however, have David Seaman helping them, Sheffield Utd donating money, along with all the buckets full of money at grounds up and down the country. Plus, they had the audosity to ask Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich about saving them! It is the most public case of its kind and they are trying their best.

But do they deserve to survive? Is this the same club that were chanting at Oldham when they were in trouble? I think so. Why should any football fan (or Russian billionaire for that matter!) dip into his pocket and give to this hypocritical football club?

They will not go bust, nobody in this situation ever do. Time will tell though………