A View From a Truro City Supporter
When Truro City AFC was minutes from going out
of existence back in 2004, we owed a huge debt of gratitude to Kevin Heaney for
saving us, and to 'Mr Truro' himself, Chris Webb, for approaching him to do
so.
Little did we know then what the enormity of that debt would be.
Some were very suspicious from the start of
Kevin Heaney's reign as Chairman and owner. The man undoubtedly loved football,
but also a “successful” property developer, at least on paper, and in the
papers' Rich Lists.
Why would he want to save a club in deepest Cornwall he had no previous interest in?
Why would he want to save a club in deepest Cornwall he had no previous interest in?
It was soon apparent that the Treyew Road
ground, home to Truro City - given to the good Citizens of Truro and protected
by a Covenant since the 1950s - was the motive behind his apparently generous
gesture.
In December 2004 a lease was granted by the Trustees to Kevin Heaney, and then on 21st September 2007 the terms of the lease were varied to sign the freehold over to him. No surprise then that just four days later a charge was placed on the ground by Lloyds' Bank. (Ed. note: Remember them, Bears?) He had taken what amounted to a massive mortgage out on Treyew Road.
All the talk of financing the club from his largess was utterly false. The assets which had been in place for decades were now being stripped to fund the team and goodness knows what else was ripped away from the club. It certainly wasn't going back into the club itself.
Whilst the team enjoyed promotion after
promotion - breaking all national records in the process and an FA Vase Final
victory at the new Wembley against Totton - the Treyew Road site stayed in the
dark ages, with improvements only being made to satisfy ground grading
regulations, a sure indication that his 'end game' didn't involve football being
played at Treyew Road, a very prime piece of land in Truro.
By now 'Mr Truro' Chris Webb was embroiled in
the web of lies and deceit. What had initially been a last ditch plea for help
had now become a potential money spinner for the pair of them, with the very
existence of our club in the balance
Kevin Heaney was a main protagonist in the
'Stadium for Cornwall' project. This was of course as he didn't want progression
for the club in their longtime home as he wanted to get Truro City out of Treyew
Road so the site could be developed.
During this time, his dictatorship showed no
ends. Many people, most lifetime fans who had volunteered their free time at the
club, left because of his questionable dealings and actions towards them and
others. Most have still stayed away to this day because of him.
We had become one of the most hated clubs around
during his reign as local companies after local companies had to chase money
owed to them from non-payment. The old official supporters club was disbanded by
Heaney as the supporters' tea/food hut (which was a non profit making hut) was
stopped and outside caterers came into the club for match days.
A new Truro Independent Supporters Association
was formed which kept the fans together and arranged away day travel. This
didn't go down to well with the man at the top as he couldn't control us nor
touch any money raised by us. We had become the only voice speaking out against
his dealings.
Kevin Heaney's final crass act against us - the
fans, his 'customers' - with the realisation that his time was up was to sell
the ground for over two-million quid, remove himself from his directorship of
all his companies (leaving his Russian girlfriend as director) and going
bankrupt.
The only possibility of the club being handed
over when he sold the ground was again ruined by him, a bit of It's my ball
and if I can't play with it then nobody can. A deal was in place to see the
club move forward but he and his 'new' club Chairman, Chris Webb, made sure it
didn't happen. In fact, Chris 'Mr Truro' Webb himself told the players, ''We
would rather see the club back in Step 7 [of the English football pyramid] than
hand it over to anyone else.”
The players have had to contend with numerous
non and late payments of wages and bonuses, yet they have remained loyal to the
club due to the great bond they have with us fans. After enduring years of ill
treatment it's still amazing how they have stuck around. That shows the bond we
have.
So here we are today. No ground ownership, in
debt, the players are our only assets, and with very little hope. The Heaney
Factor is still haunting us and holding many people back as they believe he is
still in some control even though we are in administration. The fans have been
brilliant and with the larger football family showing great affection and
willingness to help, all are working wonders to try and save the club and our
proud 123 years history from going down the drain.
Whether we will succeed in survival is anyone's
guess, but we will keep trying.
-------------------------------------------
David added in his email to me, “We are a very proud bunch of what you would call, proper fans. The buzz is amazing in what you are doing for us, as we have a very large contingent of Rangers fans. The whole Britishness and patriotism is so highly regarded. We have many lads here that have been around football in this country and abroad with the teams and clubs such as England, Chelsea, West Ham, Millwall, Spurs, Leeds, Newcastle, Gillingham, Plymouth, Arsenal, Barnet, Watford, Linfield, etc etc. All very proud people. Proper fans that all meet and follow the mighty Truro as now we live in Cornwall and it's football how it should be.”
The CRO's page for donations is up and running. You can chip in either five or ten quid to help save ths club for its community and supporters.
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