At a well-run fans forum this evening, United chairman Kelvin Thomas and WPL owner Ian Lenagan both gave professional and informative presentations to keep the 250 or so in attendance very happy.

Jim Smith
First off, Kelvin confirmed that Jim Smith resigned as a paid director a few months ago, when he realised the perilous state of the club's finances. However, Kelvin stressed that Smith was still heavily involved and was influential in bringing in Chris Wilder and advising him and generally helping out.

Points deduction
Kelvin admitted that the club was at fault for the initial error over Eddie Hutchinson's registration. The registration form had been posted to the Conference offices but apparently had failed to arrive, and the club had missed that the confirmation slip hadn't been returned. The club has since changed its procedures so that two signatures are now required to check returns so that the mistake can't happen again. The club decided against appealing against the points deduction because there was no legal basis for an appeal. The rules had been applied correctly and the punishment, according to the rules, had been relatively lenient. However, the club did have issues with the procedures at the Conference office and had received no answers to the questions posed in a recent press release, and the club will continue to look for answers and accountability from both the Conference and the FA.

Finances
Ian Lenagan then took the floor to expound on the club's financial situation. He explained that, as with all businesses and sports clubs, the last 12 months had been extremely difficult for United, who had lost