It seems safe to say that York City Football Club is in a state of turmoil at present. Having recently been relegated from the Football League with games to spare, it naturally saw unrest amongst their long-suffering fans. There are also increasing financial difficulties and now there are problems at boardroom level. A troubled future seems to be ahead for The Minstermen.
On the 23rd April, York were once again relegated from the Football League to the National League. Having spent several seasons outside the Football League, they returned in 2012 with the hope that they could once again establish themselves as a league club. A 17th place position on their return was not ideal but they avoided relegation and forward steps were possible.
The next season they made the League Two play-offs, but were narrowly beaten in the semi-final. At this point the club seemed to be heading in the right direction and with a move to a new stadium planned, the future of The Minstermen looked at its brightest for quite some time.
There was an air of optimism heading into the 2015/16 season, but as many fans know, optimism tends not to stay for too long in football. Nine new signings were made to help strengthen the squad, however just one win during pre-season was a concern.
Results did not improve once the new season began and after just two wins from 15 games, manager Russ Wilcox was sacked in late October. Former striker Richard Cresswell took over as caretaker manager before ex-Celtic defender Jackie McNamara was appointed. Unfortunately there was no quick upturn in fortunes as it was just before Christmas before York recorded just their third victory of the season.
This win took them out of the relegation zone but they were soon back at the foot of the table. One defeat in five games during late January and early February proved to be a false dawn. York were only to win one more game between 16th February and 30th April, the day they were relegated.
If relegation was not bad enough, a sibling rivalry seemed to come to the surface at the turn of the year. Communications and community director Sophie McGill decided not to sit in the directors’ box alongside her brother, club chairman Jason McGill and her father, fellow director Rob McGill. She instead sat with fellow supporters.
Earlier this week, McGill decided her stay at York should come to an end. Soon after her father, Rob McGill announced his departure from the club leaving just Ian McAndrew and chairman Jason McGill as the only board members. Speaking of her departure, Ms McGill said: “I am proud of the good things which I have been involved with at the club, in particular the growth of our community activities, which led to the formation of the York City Foundation. I am sorry my departure follows such a difficult season, which has been challenging for all my family, as well as all York City fans. However, I know everyone at the club will be determined to regain our Football League status as soon as possible. I will definitely be continuing to support the club in the next campaign and will be buying a season ticket in the Popular Stand, where I watched matches before I became a director.”
As well as problems with fellow family members departing, Jason McGill also has to tend to the pressing affair of the club’s finances. The chairman has appealed to fans to help find up to £1 million to help the club through the next two years until the stadium move is complete. The club’s liabilities have also grown from a reported £1.5 million in 2010 to £4.7 million in 2015. The bright side of this is once the club has moved grounds in two years it is predicted that the club’s finances should improve significantly.
It’s certainly going to be a tough year or two for those connected to The Minstermen. At least one season away from the Football League plus boardroom and financial problems will not make the near future easy for their loyal supporters. Everything is crossed in York that a quick return to League Two will happen and that the new stadium, once opened, will host league competition and be a roaring success both in football and financial terms.
