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Last night, we brought you the news that Aston Villa legend Peter Withe had resigned from his managerial position at Stockport Sports FC. No reasons were given by either the club or Withe, and rumors began to circulate on twitter that the club had seen it's financial backing pulled. Obviously, for a team so low in the pyramid, every dollar counts, and the loss of backing would likely be a crippling blow to the team.
In an email from Richard Smales, the club's Commercial and IT manager, the claims of dire financial straits were called "utter nonsense."
Reports that the clubs backers/funding has been withdrawn is utter nonsense, we are all at the club to build for a bright future it just happens this wouldn't be with Peter Withe in charge unfortunately.
The claim seems to be corroborated by the team's announcement today that they have reached a long-term agreement to stay at the Stockport Sports Village, which is quickly becoming known as one of the best venues in the NWCFL.
In an earlier email, Smales told me that they've had numerous applications come in for Withe's vacated position, which is apparently positive sign for the club, since it hasn't even been advertised yet.
When I contacted the club's chairman, John Hindley, however, he was loathe to provide any more details, saying that a club statement would be coming soon:
@7500_robert @7500toholte yes robert there will be an official club statement soon, thanks for your articles
— JohnHindley (@hindley_john) November 20, 2012
Meanwhile, Peter Withe himself has been graceful on his twitter feed today, sending words of encouragement to his now-former players.
The Saxon's have another match at 2000 GMT, and hopefully we'll hear some more after that. Be sure to keep checking back for details as the story develops.