The overcoat men : how two unsung heroes staved off the bulldozers and saved their football club from oblivion

The story of two men who almost single-handedly saved their football club from extinction. In the early 80s David Kilpatrick and Graham Morris spied architects' plans to turn Spotland, the home of their beloved, beleaguered Rochdale AFC, into a housing estate. They set about saving the club but first had to take on the 'enemy within' - fellow directors. They worked tirelessly, persuading companies to write off debts while securing loans and donations, a tricky proposition when your club is bottom of the Football League. Meanwhile, the town of Rochdale was on its knees, the last of the cotton mills closing down. The limit of most fans' investment in their club is routinely the price of a season ticket. Directors often risk their houses and businesses, sometimes forfeiting marriages, families and their health in the name of their club. People such as Kilpatrick and Morris - moderately wealthy local businessmen - who serve on football club boards are the unseen, unsung heroes of football, even in the modern age. "The story of two men who saved their football club from extinction. Secret plans to turn Spotland, the home of Rochdale AFC, into a housing estate are spied. David Kilpatrick and Graham Morris set upon a desperate mission to save their beloved, beleaguered football club. The Spring King is toppled and his staunch but jaded boardroom acolytes ('a mobile drinks party') are moved on. They then have to take on what many fans consider to be the 'enemy within'. They work tirelessly, persuading companies to write off debts so they can buy back the land on which the club stands, a tricky proposition when you are skint and bottom of the football league. Meanwhile, it's the early 1980s and the town of Rochdale is deep in recession, the last of the cotton mills closing down. The limit of most fans' investment in their club is routinely the price of a season ticket. Directors risk their houses and businesses, sometimes forfeiting marriages, families and health in the name of their club. Even in the corporate age, these Overcoat men - self-made local businessmen serving on club boards - are often the unseen, unsung heroes of football."--Page 4 of cover