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Wales Online
13 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Ex-Wrexham AFC bidder and Chester FC owner dies as tributes paid
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Stephen Vaughan, an ex-bidder for Wrexham AFC and the former owner of Chester City, has passed away. His son, also named Stephen Vaughan, confirmed the news of his father's death in a post on Facebook. In a heartfelt tribute, Vaughan Jr, who himself had a stint as a player and later as an owner at Chester City as well as a director and manager at Bangor City, stated: "Absolutely devastated, the best man I've ever known. RIP Dad our hero". Vaughan Sr's tenure in football was marked by controversy, having acquired Chester in 2001 from American Terry Smith and subsequently guiding the club to promotion back into the Football League in 2004. However, his ownership took a turn for the worse when the Blues plunged into financial turmoil, entering administration with debts amounting to £8 million following their relegation in 2009 – the same year Vaughan became the first owner to fail the Football Association's 'fit and proper person' test. The Vaughan family, led by his son, bought the club out of administration, but issues persisted both on and off the field, culminating in Chester's expulsion from the Football Conference in February 2010 and subsequent dissolution in the High Court a month later, reports the Daily Star. Vaughan was also jailed for 15 months for fracturing a police officer's cheek in a drunken rage, during a disturbance outside his home. His career also spanned boxing promotion, directorship at rugby league club Widnes Vikings, and chairmanship at Barrow. His family was also involved with Bangor FC. He was also part of a consortium that tried to take over Wrexham football club back in 2011. He bought Maltese club Floriana in April 2012 with his son, who captained Chester during his father's ownership and was appointed president soon after. The Vaughan family ended its association with Floriana in February 2014 but continued to have an involvement in Maltese football as sponsors of Mosta and Hibernians. His son's Facebook post was filled with tributes from friends and family, with many simply posting "RIP" and broken heart emojis, while another said: "So sorry to hear this sad news Ste, condolences to you and the family". A second added: "Condolences to the family Ste! What a gent your dad was!" And a third said: "So sorry to hear this awful news about your Dad RIP. Sending my deepest sympathy and condolences and prayers to you and all your beautiful family." Boxer Derry Matthews also paid tribute to him, and said: "They say he only takes the best and he's taking one of the greatest men ever, my first ever manager who got George out of retirement to train me, thank you for everything Ste. "People in the boxing world are going miss you, no one could do a prep talk before a fight like you, you would have me wanting to walk through walls and with you by my side in changing rooms we could beat anyone. "Gutted for my mate @stephen_vaughan_85, Pat and all the family on the loss." Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox Find out what's happening near you
North Wales Live
2 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Ex-Wrexham AFC bidder and Chester FC owner dies as tributes paid
Stephen Vaughan, an ex-bidder for Wrexham AFC and the former owner of Chester City, has passed away. His son, also named Stephen Vaughan, confirmed the news of his father's death in a post on Facebook. In a heartfelt tribute, Vaughan Jr, who himself had a stint as a player and later as an owner at Chester City as well as a director and manager at Bangor City, stated: "Absolutely devastated, the best man I've ever known. RIP Dad our hero". Vaughan Sr's tenure in football was marked by controversy, having acquired Chester in 2001 from American Terry Smith and subsequently guiding the club to promotion back into the Football League in 2004. However, his ownership took a turn for the worse when the Blues plunged into financial turmoil, entering administration with debts amounting to £8 million following their relegation in 2009 – the same year Vaughan became the first owner to fail the Football Association's 'fit and proper person' test. The Vaughan family, led by his son, bought the club out of administration, but issues persisted both on and off the field, culminating in Chester's expulsion from the Football Conference in February 2010 and subsequent dissolution in the High Court a month later, reports the Daily Star. Vaughan was also jailed for 15 months for fracturing a police officer's cheek in a drunken rage, during a disturbance outside his home. His career also spanned boxing promotion, directorship at rugby league club Widnes Vikings, and chairmanship at Barrow. His family was also involved with Bangor FC. He also bought Maltese club Floriana in April 2012 with his son, who captained Chester during his father's ownership and was appointed president soon after. The Vaughan family ended its association with Floriana in February 2014 but continued to have an involvement in Maltese football as sponsors of Mosta and Hibernians. His son's Facebook post was filled with tributes from friends and family, with many simply posting "RIP" and broken heart emojis, while another said: "So sorry to hear this sad news Ste, condolences to you and the family". A second added: "Condolences to the family Ste! What a gent your dad was!" And a third said: "So sorry to hear this awful news about your Dad RIP. Sending my deepest sympathy and condolences and prayers to you and all your beautiful family." Boxer Derry Matthews also paid tribute to him, and said: "They say he only takes the best and he's taking one of the greatest men ever, my first ever manager who got George out of retirement to train me, thank you for everything Ste. "People in the boxing world are going miss you, no one could do a prep talk before a fight like you, you would have me wanting to walk through walls and with you by my side in changing rooms we could beat anyone. "Gutted for my mate @stephen_vaughan_85, Pat and all the family on the loss."
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Why Aberdeen's loss-making business model can give them edge on rivals
Brighton owner and professional gambler Tony Bloom buying a 29 per cent stake in the Gorgie outfit for £9.86m and a consortium comprising the 49ers Enterprises and American tycoon Andrew Cavenagh completing their £75m takeover of the Govan giants has sent ripples throughout the game in this country. Whether Aberdeen can build upon their historic Scottish Gas Scottish Cup triumph over their Parkhead rivals at Hampden back in May and add more silverware to their trophy cabinet has, despite the arrival of no fewer than four new players at Pittodrie in recent weeks, scarcely merited a mention. The announcement this week that chairman and majority shareholder Dave Cormack and director Tom Crotty have promised to plough in £8m of fresh investment has hardly given those who occupy boardrooms across the land palpitations either. Read more: That is, even on these shores, a trifling amount in the modern game. Plus, the vast majority of it will be spent building an indoor pitch at their training ground. The hour-long Red TV interview with Aberdeen-born, United States-based software entrepreneur Cormack that was posted on You Tube on Wednesday, however, was fascinating and suggested that more good times may well lie ahead for the north-east outfit in the forthcoming campaigns. Even if he did say, 'We're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club'. Much has been made about how data analytics will drive Hearts' recruitment efforts now that Bloom, who has enjoyed great joy with Brighton down in England and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise over in Belgium using such methods, is a major player behind the scenes. Hopes are high among the Jambos support that Jamestown Analytics, the company owned by the mathematics whizz who is known as The Lizard on the poker circuit, will be able to unearth a few outstanding players for affordable fees in the transfer market who can enable them to compete with larger and richer rivals. It was a route which Rangers decided to go down back in 2023 when they overhauled their scouting department, brought in a raft of new personnel to key positions and moved to a data-led operation which relied more heavily on video analysis than had previously been the case. But Cormack, who stated that he expected Swedish manager Jimmy Thelin to bring in around eight new recruits in total before the summer window closes on August 31, pointed out that is exactly the approach which Aberdeen have been taking for some time now. It is a strategy which has enabled them to turn a profit on their incomings and outgoings and to spend far more money on transfer fees and player wages than they would be able to if they relied on gate receipts, sponsorship money and television income alone because they are confident they will recoup their outlay and more further down the line. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) They made in excess of £8m from the departures of Bojan Miovski (Giron), Duk (Leganes) and Connor Barron (Rangers) last season. The year before that they banked over £3m from Ylber Ramadani (Lecce) and Ross McCrorie (Bristol City) being offloaded. Three years ago, the sales of Calvin Ramsay (Liverpool) and Lewis Ferguson (Bologna) swelled their bank balance by over £7m. A couple of seasons before that, Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest) and Sam Cosgrove (Birmingham City) exited for over £5m. 'We have got a squad planning and recruitment team in place now which I think will stand us in good stead,' said Cormack. 'Everyone is talking about these analytics and algorithms which everybody is using. But we have been using those for five or six years now. Miovski, Ramadani, a number of players, have come through that. We have tapped in to that.' The Aberdeen chairman expects winger Topi Keskinen, who featured prominently for Finland at the European Under-21 Championship finals in Slovakia this summer and scored goals in draws with the Netherlands and Denmark, to be the next recruit to bring in a sizeable return on their investment. 'There is a reason we have paid £1m for Topi,' he said. 'Listen, in the last five years we have managed to sell just over £20m worth of players. That is significant income for us. The trick is balancing that with being competitive. 'Our scouting needs to be excellent so we can unearth and get value from players. But people want to come to Aberdeen now because they know they will get an opportunity to move on to a bigger club.' Read more: Cormack has come in for fierce criticism from supporters and media commentators – including from this correspondent – during the six years that he has been chairman despite the huge sums of money which he has personally ploughed in to his boyhood heroes. Before Thelin was brought in last summer, he had a poor track record when it came to appointing managers. The team's results at home and abroad had often left a great deal to be desired because of his bad choices. But he is hopeful that Graeme Shinnie and his team mates can improve further despite having to deal with European group stage football once again next term – something which they struggled badly with when they got into the Conference League two years ago – and play against revitalised Hearts and Rangers teams. 'It's always good to have competition,' he said. 'It's never a worry, it's a challenge. This multi-club environment is an approach other clubs (Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers) are taking is new. But I think it is important we focus on what Aberdeen are doing. You will never get all of your recruitment right. The industry average is 50 per cent. We need to be at 70 to 80 per cent. 'Listen, if I fall under a bus tomorrow I don't want to leave the club in a poor financial position. It has to stand on its own two feet. But we're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club. What we have got today is a player trading environment which is allowing us to punch above our weight in terms of recruiting and player wages.'
