By JOHN BULLEN JUST how hard is it keeping a Non League club going?

Well, I received a graphic illustration this week in a press release from Radcliffe Boro director and club secretary, David Murgatroyd.

It does highlight the problems involved, but down at Stainton Park they appear totally geared up to deal with every eventuality!"

Murgatroyd says: "The face of football has changed and not just the professional game. Long gone are the days when a club could survive on just gate receipts alone.

"Top names like Liverpool and Manchester United now raise only 40 per cent of their income through the turnstiles, despite gates of between 40,000 to 55,000 spectators paying an average of £20 per ticket!

"Here at Radcliffe, we are no different with overheads totalling around £30,000 per year and gate receipts, even including last year's record-breaking season, only providing around 40 per cent of that total.

"To attract quality players you have to pay decent wages. Coach travel to away games averages around £300 per trip and the cost of upkeep on the ground is phenomenal. We have recently spend £7,000 to upgrade our floodlights and are currently planning a further £100,000 outlay for a new stand. "This is in addition to the almost completed magnificent £130,000 astroturf/floodlit amenity which will be ready by October/November. Next on the agenda will be the redevelopment of the changing areas.

" At Radcliffe, the Board has agreed that the wages bill should be financed from external sources. To achieve this we will be fully utilising our most precious asset, the Stainton Park complex.

"Fortunately our stadium lends itself to the developments being introduced. A full programme of events is being planned to enhance the excellent entertainment that already exists at the Boro.

"This will include a huge Gala Day scheduled for next May. In the pipeline is also a Celebrity Golf Day. Line Dancing has recently been introduced in the Boro Clubhouse and we are soon to start aerobics classes. We run regular car boot sales and our Summer Soccer Coaching Schools proved highly successful.

"A new lottery will be introduced shortly of which we have high hopes. We are actively involved in building closer links with the local business community and the local Council, who have already shown 100 per cent for us this season. "The club is rapidly becoming a business. It has to. The appointment of Kevin Glendon as a full time general manager will be a major breakthrough for us. He will provide the communication lines that we have been needing for so long and will be the focal point of the club, managing both the team and the commercial side.

"Links will be set up with groups such as the Chamber of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce and he will act as our ambassador to the local Council.

"Kevin will have a full time assistant in Neil Thompson and the two together will bring Radcliffe Boro to the forefront of semi professional soccer.

"They can continue in the happy knowledge that there is the total support of a hard-working Board of Directors which includes a multitude of varied talents.

"The Board no longer sees the football club as a hobby. It must be run as a business if it is going to bring the sort of success the community of Radcliffe has deserved for so long. The Board is committed to taking the club to new heights that many would never have imagined. "The intention is to make the dreams of the people of Radcliffe become reality but reciprocal involvement is needed. Events, activities - and most important the football - need - and deserve - the support of the local community.

"It may only be a dream but without dreams there is no incentive and, whether we succeed or fall, we can say one thing - WE HAVE TRIED.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.