WE'RE IN THE RIGHT HANDS

Blues’ relief as takeover bid collapses

- John Lyons

CHESTER chairman Andy Morris has expressed his relief that the club are staying under fan ownership – and believes others should consider following suit.

When the original Chester City went bust a decade ago, it was the supporters who founded phoenix club Chester FC. They enjoyed three straight promotions to the National League, though have since slipped back to the second tier.

When the Blues hit on hard times in 2018, local businessman Stuart Murphy came forward with the offer of a donation of £1m over three seasons.

But last week things ramped up a notch when a plan by Murphy to take over the club became public knowledge.

If it had gone through, it would have meant that ‘City Fans United’ lost control of the club. However, Murphy announced earlier in the week that he had ‘reluctantly’ withdrawn his offer, while the club stated that he had notified them that he planned ‘to end his association with the club forthwith’.

Talk of a takeover had clearly become a hot potato.

City Fans United chairman Morris told The NLP: “It’s been a difficult few weeks. When Stuart put forward his approach everyone had an opinion and going through the process it did split the membership.