PRESS RELEASE ON BEHALF OF CHESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
CHESTER SAVED

Chester City chairman, Mark Guterman has today announced a package which alleviates the current financial crisis at Chester City and looks to secure the future of the club.

The restructuring package which has been formulated by the Chairman and his lawyers is in six specific areas and consists of:

• New finance introduced to the club
• A new agreement with Bankers
• Support and assistance from the PFA
• Sale of three players
• Assistance from the Football League
• Agreement reached with Inland revenue to satisfy their claim and resolve the outstanding debt

Earlier this week Mr Guterman talked about bringing six or seven avenues together to help re-structure the club. These have now been put in place by the Chairman and his team securing the club's future. The remainder of the players who were owed money will be paid in full early next week.

Announcing the restructuring package, Mr Guterman said:

"I would like to thank the players, staff and the suppliers who have been supportive during this difficult period. It is imperative that the structure of finance for lower division clubs is changed. In the last couple of weeks it has been Chester City which has been under pressure. Next week, it could be any other second or third division club. Indeed, I am aware of 15 to 20 clubs who are in a far worse predicament that Chester City. If we are to save our national game and maintain the important role which is played by lower division clubs, more funds must be provided.

There is more money than ever before in football, and yet clubs like Chester City face financial ruin on a regular basis. This madness has to stop and the people at the top of the game have to sit up and take notice.

The lower division clubs are the lifeblood of the larger clubs, without us they can't compete in the cup competitions or survive in bringing young players through. Fifty percent of footballers in the Football League come from the lower divisions. On this basis we need a small crumb from the feast.

On a personal level, people have asked my why I have waited until now to put more money into the club. The answer is that I had to be sure that my money would make a difference and not simply disappear into a black hole.

Finally, I must thank the fans for their patience. I know I have not been able to communicate much to them over the past weeks and I know this must make them feel 'out in the cold'. I would like to say to the fans that I have always been, and always will be, completely committed to Chester, and even though I personally have had to take some bad press during the past few weeks, particularly from the local press in Chester, the most important thing is that we have managed to save Chester City FC."

Issued on behalf of Chester City Football Club Limited by Mere Communication Ltd