AN EFL chairman has confirmed they will be stepping down after a “vendetta” against his club.
Andy Holt will be leaving Accrington Stanley after Saturday’s home game against Chesterfield.
Andy Holt will step down as chairman of Accrington StanleyRex
GettyHe will leave the club at the end of the League Two season[/caption]
The League Two outfit are safe and are nine points clear of relegated Carlisle.
Holt has claimed that he has had enough of a “vendetta” from the local authorities.
The club have been hit with a series of sanctions which include the removal of a planning permission and a licence to sell alcohol on non-matchdays.
Accrington Stanley have also been handed a noise abatement order.
This has led Holt to announce his decision to step down from the club at the end of the season
A statement read: “This is the last straw.
“Accrington Stanley Ladies Day, an event that never happened until we started it, was held at Fence Gate during the DAYTIME, whilst our multi-million pound facilities stand empty, silence because of the council and councillors working against their club behind my back, as though I didn’t know what was going on.
“The undermining of the club has gone on since day one. And I mean day one, long before I took the club on.
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“The councillors voted to remove our planning permission because of the noise complaints.
“Following advice from the head planner, we paid to reapply, only for the councillors to turn it down again. After council advice to appeal and more wasted cash, they did the same.
“Not content, the council’s staff snooped on the club to build evidence to put a noise abatement order on us.
“Not content with that, they removed our licence to sell alcohol on non-matchdays.
“It’s been a vendetta, with some councillors actively working against THEIR OWN CLUB.
“Whether we had planning permission or not, they have powers to stop the club trading.
“Whether they stripped us of our licence or not, they still have the power to stop us trading. Now they have imposed conditions on matchdays that cannot possibly be adhered to.
“The club has no opportunity to generate income bar putting prices of tickets etc. up. Prices that are high enough already enough for hard-pressed supporters.
“We are not Premier League and don’t have the desire or opportunity to rip fans off.
“It’s a mistake for the council to think I will continually replace funds, missing as a result of not being able to trade, forever.
“I’m not wasting any more of my life arguing with the council, councillors or MPs that should support the best asset in the town. If they can’t see the blindingly obvious, that’s their problem.”
Holt continued in his statement to insist that he has had a “great” time at the club.
“I have done my ten years after next week’s home finale. We’re safe, and having thrown many points away through naivety this season, we’re a young team that is getting better.
“We have a great club, great staff, more organised than ever, run properly by two top managers, a great medical team, and rigid training routines.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve done as a team, turning Accrington Stanley Football Club into a professional club. It has the opportunity to feed the town for generations to come, if only the council, councillors and MPs support it.
“I’ve had a great ten years, including with Coley [John Coleman] and Jimmy [Bell]. Players like Billy [Kee}, Seamus [Conneeley], Yosser [Mark Hughes], and Seany [McConnville] will always hold a special place in my heart, as will the rest of them. In John [Doolan] and Ged [Brannan], we have two top quality professionals.
“Two of my friends. We have a great group of fans, they give everything for their club. I know many of them personally now, a major plus for me.
“I will end my time at the club in any executive capacity after the last game on Saturday.
“The club must become financially stable if the great future in front of it is to be realised.”
Holt joined the board of Accrington Stanley back in 2015 and assumed control of the club later that year.
The club was on the verge of folding when he took over.
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