Chairman of fast-rising club makes plea for help to continue remarkable story through non league

Chairman of fast-rising club Peterborough Sports makes a big plea for help to continue their remarkable story through non league.

The Cambridgeshire outfit have stormed through the tiers of English football in years gone by, and it’s been hard work getting to the highest point in their history, reaching the National League North, in which they sit 11th.

In 2006–07 they won the Peterborough & District League Premier Division, and by 2012–13, they were promoted to Division One of the United Counties League after finishing third.

In 2015–16, Peterborough Sports were United Counties League Division One champions, earning promotion to the Premier Division, and also won the League Cup, beating Holbeach United on penalties in the final, as well as the Northants Junior Cup and the Hinchingbrooke Cup.

The following campaign saw them win the Premier Division with 112 points, earning promotion to Division One South of the Northern Premier League; while also retaining the Hinchingbrooke Cup.

In 2018, the Turbines were transferred to Division One Central of the Southern League, and in 2018–19 the club were Division One Central champions, earning promotion to the Premier Division Central.

They finished as runners-up in 2021–22, qualifying for the promotion playoffs.

After beating Alvechurch in the semi-finals, the club defeated Coalville Town 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the second tier of non league.

But now, unless they get new investors, they have reached their limit after the owner/chairman Grant Biddle put in £600k in the last five years.

He said to Peterborough Telegraph that the club have a transfer embargo in place while they clear a small debt to the HMRC.

Breaking news as @PSLFC seek new investors to help a remarkable Cinderella Story to continue https://t.co/Jwq5uxhi7r

— Alan Swann (@PTAlanSwann) January 3, 2023

“I’m in my fifth season at the club, but I don’t have the resources or the time to take the club any further,” Biddle said. “I am 61 and still work at my business on a full-time basis.

“I’m still very committed to the club. What we have achieved is incredible really, but we really could do with some help from fresh investors just to sustain the level we are at now. I would stay and help if needed, but I would also be prepared to sell the club to someone capable of keeping us at our current level or maybe take it further.

“We are easily good enough to compete on the field, but off the field it has become difficult.

“We pushed the boat out to get up last season and we did fall behind with our HMRC payments hence the transfer embargo. We have made great strides to get that debt cleared, but until the final £5k is paid we cannot even sign a kid from Cambridge for £100 a week. The National League are very strict even with some higher profile clubs than ours.

“We had a mid-table budget in the division, but we have reduced those payments with player departures which has left us with a minimal amount of players. We haven’t had a full substitutes’ bench in some games.

“There are many clubs who pay out considerably more, but they have 4G pitches they can hire out five days a week.

“We are told we have to have a 3,000 capacity stadium, but we have gates of 300 so we certainly don’t need one.

“It’s a great club with an outstanding manager, some excellent players and a loyal and supportive fanbase so if anyone is interested in helping out financially they are welcome to contact me.”

For those interested in giving the club a helping hand, they are advised to contact Grant Biddle by e-mail at grant-biddle_@tiscali.co.uk.

Meanwhile, the Sports manager Jimmy Dean has praised ow far his side have come ahead of their home game against Southport on Saturday afternoon.

Talking about life at the club on and off the pitch, he said via Peterborough Telegraph: “Grant didn’t do himself justice with his comments this week,” Dean said. “He deserves a lot of credit for where we are as a club and for what he has achieved.

“Thanks to his efforts and those of the team Peterborough Sports is on the map. Anyone who decides to invest in us will become involved with a club that is thriving on and off the pitch.

“We are the envy of many non-league clubs who spend more, but achieve much less.

.@PSLFC boss sings the praises of his club, his players and his chairman as investors are sought, plus a big game against a former Football League club on Saturday. https://t.co/cmTXzCiPu4

— Alan Swann (@PTAlanSwann) January 6, 2023

“We do need help to sustain our current level as we are competing against much bigger clubs who attract crowds 9-10 times the size of ours.

“Let’s hope some help comes forward so we can maintain our position in National League North, but also continue to make strides on and off the pitch.

“But Grant has a legacy at Sports that most can only dream of across the non-league network and he deserves applause for everything he has done and continues to do.

“When we talk about the £600k he has put in we need to mention how he funded the shortfall in our revenue when we had no income from a clubhouse.

“Not only did he do that for two years, but he also went one further and helped build our very own clubhouse, the Turbines Tavern, from which the club will benefit for as long as we are here.

“He has built stands, a turnstile block and even paid £15k for a new irrigation system.

“There are hundreds of other little bits that have cost him money and he has always delivered.

“On the pitch he has helped give us a side that is competitive at National League level. Grant gave us promotion in our first full season in Step 3 and has now made us competitive at Step 2 level.

“It has been a struggle at times this season with a transfer embargo in place for a couple of months, but my players have been magnificent. I can’t praise them highly enough for being so flexible and understanding of our situation. As we can’t bring players in when we’ve had injuries some have been playing out of position without a murmer of complaint.”

Here’s what social media users said as the chairman of fast-rising club Peterborough Sports makes a plea for help to continue their remarkable story through non league…

@MrAshJay: 🤣 team with tiny crowds spends £600k financially doping their way up the leagues finally runs out of cash. Shock! Good luck but I can’t see why any investor would want to inject vast amounts of cash into a club with crowds of 300 and posh minutes away.

@JamesLoader16: Cinderella 😂😂😂😂 club with bigger budget than others climbs the leagues. Exciting? Yes. Magical? No

@TonyMowles: Sooner this business model, particularly when funded by an HMRC loan, falls foul of a new Independent Regulator the better, end Financial Doping asap. Remember this isn’t a victimless crime, another club lost out on promotion. My club isn’t much better but doesn’t make it right

@PhilWeeks15: spending on a fortune on huge names… what a cinderella story that is

@PaulGC84: Peterborough Sports would benefit exploring the fan owned model & living within their means. They were always going to hit a ceiling & this is it. Avg attendance of approx 400. Need at least double that to remain sustainable. Also shouldn’t have binned their youth teams.

@PhilJenkins86: Chairman has pumped £600k in a few years on crowds of 300. Never sustainable. 😂

@up_utp: Maybe they could start by not paying players 600 quid a week *awaits them to deny it even though it’s true

@andyhutchcraft: A few years ago I turned up at Sports to buy 3 season tickets for me, my son & nephew. I was told that someone would come to see me to sell them. Nobody did, & I never got the tickets. Great club, but I can see how they have got into financial trouble. 🙁

@TheCanaryHatter: Always going to happen. Just the latest in a long string of non league clubs buying their way up on a completely unsustainable model. See you on the way back down. 👍

@theposhfan: They’ve done fantastically well but this was always inevitable. I just don’t see how any investor sees the clubs infrastructure, assets or gates as a viable investment opportunity. This city just doesn’t have enough football fans to support two professional teams at this point.

@Lisa7Barletta: Think ud have a bigger attendance if posh didnt play at home the same day but obviously thats not down to you

@salopia_floreat: 600K? What a joke.

@chrishurling: Oh dear!!!

@renny_overton: My heart bleeds for them, would be such a shame for them to go crashing back down the leagues when their owner can’t afford it anymore

@up_utp: Spent 600k in four years and paying players 600 quid a week, hardly a Cinderella Story

@onesamaaron: Looks like Kaine swerved a curveball here. Chairman is spent up having spent 600k of his own money. Will be relegated this season if their ground isn’t up to scratch by the end of March. Stark warning to all those wanting these magic investors…they soon can’t sustain it

@DarranPearce: So they basically spent more money than they can afford to get promoted and then moan that they shouldn’t have to improve the ground to 3000 capacity even though it’s clearly in the rules.

@TrailOfDebt: Calling these inevitable boom-bust clubs “remarkable Cinderella stories”, after all these years of Durhams, Ferribys and Rushdens, is deeply irresponsible.

@PhilJenkins86: Chairman’s spent £600k in FOUR years. But I was told it was all sustainable 🤔🤔🤔🤔

@lukegraham1986: Another breaking story @JonDunhamNT not too far away…showing how difficult it is to sustain yourself at @TheVanaramaNL level now, @KTFCOfficial juggling ground improvements whilst staying competitive on the pitch, easy to forget Latimer Park was a Step 6 facility 9 years ago!

@joshua_afc00: Inevitable. Definitely impressed with their signings this season though. Peter crook was conistent for Boston and is a very good keeper for this division and Connor Kennedy had a cracking season last year. Good mix of signings and squad retention so plaudits to the chairman.