No miracle cure (From Barry And District News)

No miracle cure

THE doctor in charge of saving Barry Town has spoken of the problems she faces in keeping the cash-strapped club alive.

When it looked as though everyone had left Barry Town AFC to sink into a sea of debt, two doctors vowed they would not give it up without a fight.

Dr Liz Davies, pictured, is now the only active director of the beleaguered club and she is determined to save it.

But Dr Davies is not making any glamorous promises about the future.

"Dr Richard Stott and I have been the team's doctors for a number of years and we have a great respect for its achievements.

We aren't making any promises, but we'll do our best to make sure the club remains at the top of the Welsh League."

A full-time GP, Dr Davies has the hard task of balancing her practice and the running of Jenner Park.

She said: "I love my job and my patients.

But I also have great feelings for the club. While we didn't ask for the burden of sorting out these problems, we felt we had to.

"We're putting together a finance package.

I cannot say much about it yet, because it depends on negotiations with various people. But I'm quite hopeful we'll succeed with it.

"Our relationship with the Vale of Glamorgan Council has improved radically.

I have to say they have been at no fault in the past, and we are very grateful for their recent support."

There has been so much speculation about the situation Barry Town AFC are facing now. Dr Davies admitted: "We inherited massive financial problems. Finding a team has been difficult, although I cannot over-emphasise the loyalty of our players and fans.

"The support we've received this past two weeks has been incredible, and the droves of people who turned up Friday gave us encouragement we needed - and a real boost to the players.

I want to say thank you to Paul Stewart and his band for entertaining everyone at the last game, and for the supporters club, who've made themselves available for menial tasks.

Both the fans and the players have been out canvassing support with leaflets, and will be doing so again for Saturday's match."

Looking to the future, Dr Davies knows it will not be a smooth ride, and offers no hard-and-fast solution.

She added: "Like I said, we make no promises, but I would like to see Barry Town back at the top of the Welsh League at the end of the season - right where they belong."