DAVID Bosomworth admitted he had been stunned by the failure to bring Halifax Town out of administration last May.
The leader of the consortium that decided to put the club under the wings of Begbies Traynor did so confident that it would put an end to what appeared to be insurmountable debts.
But the move to create a CVA was blocked by the Inland Revenue and
led to the formation of the new club which will start life in the Unibond League Division One North at the weekend when they take on Bamber Bridge at the Shay.
"A lot of work and finance had gone into the club," he said. "You rely on professional advice and we were as shocked as anyone else when the club did not come out at the other end.
"It was a very very distressing time and we fully appreciated the feeling the fans must have been going through.
"Whatever the plans had been and whatever we had tried to do had been blown out of the water."
Despite the devastating blow, Bosomworth said that none of the consortium had considered quitting the Shay.
Many things went through the head of FC Halifax Town's chairman in the wake of the old club's failure to emerge from administration.
But he said that walking away was never one of them
"We were never in a position to make that decision," he said.
"Until you know what the choices are, you cant say what your feelings are about whether you can take it forward or even if you have a desire to take it forward.
"But because of the time that had gone into the old club, because of the funding that had gone into it and because we are not quitters there was a feeling that we should give it a go.
"Stuart and Bobby were on board with that - and that's what we have done.
"Devastated is the word to describe how we felt.
"You are dealt a set of cards over which you have no control.
"It was a case of regrouping as quickly as possible, but there were a lot of unknowns - our future involvement, how the club could go forward, which league it would be in.
The consortium appealed against the decision to place the new club in the Unibond League first division.
The feeling was that it was one relegation too many but the Football Association disagreed.
"We fought it on very front that we felt we could, with all the financial resources that it needed," said Bosomworth's fellow director Stuart Peacock.
"We did the best we could collectively and individually.
"However there comes a point when you have to accept what has happened and start from there."
Now the reality has sunk in, a manager has been appointed and a squad assembled, Peacock admitted he was looking forward to the season getting under way.
"I am thrilled that on Saturday there will be 11 players running out to play football," he said. "At one time there was an element of doubt."
The full article contains 532 words and appears in Evening Courier newspaper.
