Scunthorpe United's recently published annual accounts stated that United are £630,917 in debt although when we asked Mr Garton how much the club were in debt he refused to be drawn on the exact level of monies owed.
While Scunthorpe appear to be improving on the pitch, speculation suggests that off it the club is in serious decline.
Many clubs have been hit hard by the loss of TV money in recent times. In just the past few weeks Leicester and Barnsley have both fallen into administration and are now trying to reschedule their debts to prevent their clubs going bust.
The following extracts are taken from Steve Wharton’s report published on the 17th of October 2002.
"The past 6 months have been the most difficult I would suggest in the history of the English football league".
"We at Scunthorpe are in a better position than many 3rd division clubs having raised £350,000 from the recent rights issue of new shares. However our accounts for last year show another disappointing performance".
"To miss out on the playoffs was very costly in terms of lost revenue and despite a good cup run the receipts were only modest and once again we did not feature in any televised games".
"The result of a relatively poor season has produced a loss of £81,139 which on the face of it may look quite respectable especially after allowing for £119,294 depreciation".
"However there is an exceptional item and timing difference that enhance the figures".
1. £200,000 repayment brought forward into this accounting period as a result of ITV digital liquidation.
2. Approximately £100,000 reduced costs for an 11 month period to June 30th.
"The important thing now is for Scunthorpe United to remain solvent and still try to achieve promotion if at all possible".