A very interesting documentary, it’s nearly an hour long, think it was when Pools were in the N.L. as it was during Covid.
https://youtu.be/lhs6B8FyDKc
Well worth a watch how National League Chairman of clubs who were on the National League Board distributed National Lottery grant money during Covid. The Initially it was thought it was going to be based on gate receipts, it wasn’t, no one can work out the formulae except 7 of the Chairman of clubs who were on the board received more than they would have done if the grants to clubs were based on gate receipts. None of the N.L. Board members were available for comment and ignored phone calls and emails. Amazingly some the afore mentioned clubs have had some considerable ground improvements.

Do any of them work for FIFA

Probably of similar type.

So depressing to go back there Jamie. It's bad enough for Pools to be hanging above the trapdoor back into the NL; realising that the same old boys' club that twisted the distribution of Lottery funds to their own advantage in 2020 are still in charge makes it even worse.

Not depressing some thing has to be done about it, the video was only released 12 days ago, btw depression is an illness.

These same people are probably business men as well so is it safe to assume that they were fiddling the other Government funded schemes during the pandemic. There needs to be a full and robust investigation into what went on, not only in their football related activities but in other spheres as well. If they are found guilty of the misuse of public money they should have the full weight of the law thrown at them. The only snag is the consequences that will apply to the innocent supporters of their clubs.

So are these chairman named?

This subject was discussed on the Non League Forum and yes the Chairmen are named.

I was the fixture secretary for a League where one of the officers who I worked with closely went on to become Chief Exec of the National League and he was an excellent administrator (Not a bad Football League Referee as well!). I'm sure any of these shenanigans did not happen under his watch.

All Leagues should be run by non club personnel that are therefore completely neutral.

One is the Halifax chairman, but Jim Parmenter of Dover Athletic was the biggest toerag. He was on the NL Board when the they decided not to share the £10 million from the National Lottery fairly (according to the clubs' average gate receipts, all lost when fixtures were being played behind closed doors) in favour of giving all NL teams the same amount. So Dover, with just about the smallest crowds in the division, made a packet.

When the government and Lottery decided not to hand over another £10 million to the NL Board because of the outcry about the way the money had been divvied up, Parmenter spat his dummy out, resigned from the board and tried to get the NL season abandoned. You'll remember that Dover was the only club that refused to play its remaining fixtures in the top division. Bit rich, as he'd made a nice 'profit' on the first £10 million!

If he'd succeeded in getting the season stopped, we wouldn't be worrying about Pools getting relegated back to the NL because we wouldn't have been promoted in the first place.

I have just watched the doc. Great viewing but shameful that nobody in authority gives a stuff at the dodgy dealings.

Watching that documentary was like going back in time, it was ridiculous. Even after the conditions of the funding were stated in Parliament, they got the money and the group of seven did just what they liked.
Reading the spreadsheet, we being in the top five for attendances, lost £83,000 by this very unsatisfactory excuse for accounting.

Watching that documentary was like going back in time, it was ridiculous. Even after the conditions of the funding were stated in Parliament, they got the money and the group of seven did just what they liked.
Reading the spreadsheet, we being in the top five for attendances, lost £83,000 by this very unsatisfactory excuse for accounting.

David Bernstein, former chairman of the FA and Manchester City, whose independent inquiry into the matter, commissioned by the National League, was never published.

Again, call me a cynic but why commission a report that’s relevant to fans as much as owners and do the equivalent of burying it on a moonless night in fog?
When this happens, you can hear the sound of alarm bells ringing.
If the inquiry could substantiate their actions why not publish it? Surely even those being questioned would be more than happy to justify their actions?
But….. when it’s not, you inevitably draw your own negative conclusions.

hope he kept his copy safe but i doubt anything will come of it. on the whole financial farces goig on during covid this is small beer really. even in sport who really gives a damn about the national league. even if it is looked at i just cannot see money being re distributed now as those who had it will have spent it by now and claim the poor tale.

if its unpaid volunteers they are lucky to get what they do get. if there is money about the queue would be the length of the golden mile.

In the documentary one of the ‘lucky’ 7 signed 2 players with the money they received.

think chesterfield pushed the covid regulations as far as they could with furloughing anyone they could and bringing in new players. it was really borderline rule breaking.

We weren't far behind on £73k shortfall.

at the end of the day who were those clubs that we were told would all fold due to covid. just another scare story to come out of that period.

Certainly not a scare story fact, some clubs gained thousands others were deprived of thousands by a system of distribution of money which was never revealed, did you watch the documentary ?

Certainly not a scare story fact, some clubs gained thousands others were deprived of thousands by a system of distribution of money which was never revealed, did you watch the documentary ?[/quote]
did watch it but my comment was about league clubs as wel as non league ones. if my memory was correct someone came on the news on about up to 12 league clubs not getting through the covid outbreak. guess what, they are all still with us.