Mounts Bay chief executive Roger Moyle has warned the club faces an uncertain future in the current financial crisis.

The club have enjoyed seven promotions in eight years with the backing of local businessman Michael Leah.

Moyle warned: "Without that support we wouldn't have brought in the quality players and coaches we have, but Michael has had a tough year.

"To categorically state that our future is 100% financially secure is not possible," he told BBC Radio Cornwall.

Until the end of last season Mounts Bay had charitable status, meaning they could not run up any debts.

"That stood us in good stead at the start of the this season because we could not be in the red from last season," Moyle told BBC Radio Cornwall.

We're under some sort of threat. We don't have a lot of assets Mounts Bay chief executive Roger Moyle

"When you hear that Waterloo this season have had to cut player's wages and Birmingham, one of the favourites to get out of this league, have gone cap-in-hand to their relatively small spectator base appealing for funds, I would expect us to be in some form of deficit come the end of the season."

The Bay use their Penzance rivals the Cornish Pirates Mennaye Field as their home base. And in common with the Pirates they rely on one major sponsor.

The Pirates' main benefactor is owner Dicky Evans, while Bay rely upon businessman Michael Leah, who is their chairman.

Moyle added that Bay had set their player budgets for the 2008-09 season back in March 2008, way before the financial crisis began.

"The biggest cost of all is players' budgets and there's no way that we'd have fixed the same player budget now in January 2009 [as we did] in March 2008."

"We're under some sort of threat. We don't have a lot of assets.

"In the long-term the status that we play at will be financially driven," he concluded.

The club, which was promoted from National Three South at the end of last season, are currently 11th in National Two.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version