Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Mitchell hits out at 'asset stripping' claims
Cherries chairman Eddie Mitchell has strenuously refuted claims he is asset stripping the club.[LNB] Mitchell's comments come as star striker Danny Ings today looks set to complete a club record £1m move to Burnley.[LNB] The 19-year-old would become the fourth player to be sold by the club this summer and the seventh in the past 12 months.[LNB] And while all the transfer fees have been undisclosed, estimates suggest Cherries will eventually reap around £3m from the sales.[LNB] News of Ings's imminent departure revealed exclusively by the Daily Echo on Saturday met with a mixed reaction from supporters.[LNB] Some felt it would be good business for a player who had made fewer than 30 appearances while others were miffed at the prospect of another sale.[LNB] Mitchell, who has so far declined to comment on the Ings deal, attempted to allay some of the concerns of the supporters when questioned by the Echo last night.[LNB] In response to suggestions he was asset stripping, Mitchell replied: That's rubbish. Any money coming from sales will be put back into the club. Some will be to replace players and some will be to develop the club so it has a solid background.[LNB] Asked where the money had gone, Mitchell replied: It has gone into the club for addressing situations that needed addressing straight away. It has gone into the stadium, bringing the youth back in-house and signing new players. We have addressed numerous situations that people are not aware of.[LNB] Mitchell said the club had spent £10,000 on a temperature-controlled ice bath to replace the wheelie bins previously used by the players during their warming-down routines.[LNB] He also said transfer deals were structured, generally over four years, with Cherries receiving stage payments for players rather than a lump sum.[LNB] Mitchell added: My honest view is that the supporters and the people that follow Bournemouth should be very grateful for the position I have got the club into. We are in a fantastic position compared with when I came in. The club was probably a week away from going out of the league.[LNB] Since I have been here, I haven't drawn a penny in wages and have worked tirelessly for the past two years. The club is debt free, self sufficient, enterprising, going places and looks and feels good. What more could anybody want[LNB] There are a lot of people who want to invest in our club and I don't mean tuppenny-ha'penny investment. I mean people who have got a lot of wealth. These things will come to fruition as and when.[LNB] Asked whether he had any money tied up in the club, Mitchell replied: I have put money into the club that hasn't been repaid and so has Jeff Mostyn. We are both very passionate about the club and are not champing at the bit to get it back.[LNB] We are both working men and are not a charity. We wouldn't write it off but we wouldn't take it out and jeopardise the club. It is our part of helping the club go forward. If there was a situation where we could take it out then we would. Having said that, we both love the club, hence the reason we put money into it in the first place.[LNB] Other than myself and Jeff, the club is debt free and we are not strangling it to get the money out. We have looked at it long term and are both very ambitious and have the desire to go forward.[LNB] Mitchell also said the club was up to date with stadium rent to landlords Structadene.[LNB]
