Excerpt 2 from Book 2 'It Came To Pass...'.

We need to change things around pretty damn quick if we hope to salvage our reputations. This club’s outgoings far outstrip its income and it doesn't take a genius to predict that this is a recipe for disaster. Both of us have a lot invested in this club and I’m not just talking about passion and desire. If we don’t start liquidating our assets soon we’re going to go down with it!"

"Look Charlie," Amos opened his arms in a gesture of affinity. "I started with nothing, not even a proper education and I built this empire up from rubbish and sweat. I’m not gonna abandon it now ‘cos things are looking a bit rough. I love this club; I am this fuckin' club and I’ll fight for it ‘til my dying breath. The fans are still hungry for success and I should know. Above all else I'm still one of them. I’m a fan Charlie; I’ll do everything I can to bring the glory days back to these terraces. I don’t want to hear no more talk of running away. We’re gonna face this crisis square on; and by God, we’re gonna win!" He thumped the table to emphasise his determination.
"I bought this club when we were in the dregs of the old 3rd Division, playing in front of two men and a dog in a leaky old barn, on a quagmire of a pitch. I built it with spirit, with devotion and fucking hard graft. With your help we became one of the best teams in Europe. We've got a stadium that's the envy of Wales and a squad of players any Chairman would kill for. We did it once and if we have to, we could do it again. But things aren't that bad; we can bounce straight back into the Premiership, you know we have the talent and I’m gonna make damned sure these overpaid tossers have the desire. We’ll be back in the black before the end of the season. And we’ll be back in the Premiership!"

"I too began with nothing," said Charlie. "And I am also, first and foremost, a football fan; so I know how you must be feeling. But consider this. If this club goes bankrupt - which it shows every likelihood of so doing - then we could go bankrupt with it. And even if both of us could ‘pull our sleeves up’ and start all over again, we’d have to do it from The Chilterns."

"What do you mean?" Amos’ eyes narrowed as he looked suspiciously at his Chief Executive.

"What I mean is; under section 427 of The Insolvency Act, 1986, we’d effectively be banned from politics and have to give up our seats in the Commons. You can't be an MP if you're a bankrupt!"

"Oh! I see…" the cogs in Amos’ brain clicked and whirred. "So, have you got any ideas?"

"Yes," Charlie's tone portrayed no emotion. "I own twenty-one percent of the shares in Ducaponddi City Plc. and you own thirty percent. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Fifty-one percent, a controlling interest. I think we need to sell all of our shares before they become completely worthless. The club is already £20 million in debt and that’s not counting the outstanding loan on the stadium; I’m afraid you may have to write that one off. The shares have dropped eighty percent since the beginning of the season and the longer we wait the worse it is going to get. By the start of next season, if we don’t get back into the Premiership, I doubt if we will be able to give the damned things away."

"Yes but how? As soon as it gets out that we’re bailing, the whole business is going to crash around our ears. We can't do that to the Ducks!"

"Think with your head for once and not with your heart, old chap. The markets close in a couple of weeks for the Christmas, New Year break; if we can sell our shares, secretly, during that break, nobody will find out about it until 5th January, and by then it’ll be all done and dusted. The longer we delay the less we will be able to salvage. I have already put out some feelers, in strictest confidence of course, and I think I’ve found us a buyer. But don’t hold out too much hope of making a profit. I believe you bought the club for £1? Well, if you're lucky you might just get that back."

"It’s that bad?"

"Nobody is investing in football anymore, especially outside the Premier League. If we can persuade our secret buyer to purchase our shares and take over the mounting debt, we might yet salvage our seats in parliament. It’s that bad!" Charlie nodded gravely.

"So, who is this mug who wants to buy the Ducks then?" Amos grinned. "Does he know how bad the situation is?"

"No, I don’t think he does; but as they say ‘Let the buyer beware!’ I’m not even sure he knows that much about Welsh football, I get the distinct impression he thinks he is buying Cardiff City and the Millennium Stadium."