After starting the fanzine Bury Me In White in 1998- which went onto gain the highest sales figures of any unofficial Bury FC produced fans magazine.- I was then approached and asked to become Media Secretary of the official Bury FC Supporters Association.-this being a fans group closely allied to the club. I was then one of two elected fans ambassadors who travelled to the European Parliament in Brussels as part of a fans lobby group from most of the professional clubs based in the North West region. This having been organised by MEP Arlene McCarthy. The massively important subject under discussion was the proposal by the European Parliament to stop Football Clubs being able to ask for a fee for any Youth Players that had been through a football clubs Youth System Academy.- Therefore the clubs would have been investing massive time, money and resources to nurture talent to which they would be entitled to no future income from.

For the 'heinous' crime of being one of several supporters holding a banner which read ''ROBINSON OUT NOW!''- referring to Bury FC Chairman Terry Robinson. This having took place at a Bury FC FA Cup match away to non-league Northwich Victoria which saw the Shakers beaten 1-0 and knocked out of the Cup- I was illegally de-selected from my role as Media Secretary of BFCSA. BFCSA committee members had totally negated any official channels that entitled me and any other member the Right to a hearing and with all members getting to vote on the outcome of any decision. This was by-passed and no such proposal was put to any of the membership other than a small section of the committee. Bob Cohen -the 'chairman elect' of BFCSA- ALSO then with any other of the committee failed to turn up at an official hearing in Blackpool that was being conducted by the National Federation of Football Supporters Clubs-this being the official body that oversees and governs in regard to Football Supporters organisations that are formally run with a constitution. It was from there that I and others followed the correct channels with a Steering Committee, Constitution and fully ratified framework by the Nat. Fed. Of FSC that we then formed an independent supporters organisation= BASE- Bury's Alternative Supporters Enterprise.

BASE was formed - I being elected as Spokesperson- and this was an organisation with FREE membership - unlike the BFCSA that charged for its membership and ignored the rules of the constitution. We immediately attracted support from former Bury players that included heroes of mine and many fans- Mark 'Spike' Carter, Wayne Entwistle and Jamie Hoyland. As well as regular meetings for fans at the Waterloo Pub we organised travel to away games through shared transport and sought to gain fans representation at board level through buying shares within the club on a pooled basis.

The situation was nothing short of disgraceful and clearly showed a conflict of interest in having Commercial Director Neville Neville on the Bury FC board when he was a Manchester United supporter and was allowing the main club sponsor Birthdays the greetings card retailor to sell MUFC merchandise in a Bury FC Club Shop. Only could this idiocy take place at Bury Football Club. BASE began negotiations on behalf of supporters with Birthdays to have the merchandise removed. The attitude of Birthdays was disgusting and they refused to do so. An official Boycott of that store and all its retail outlets was put in place with many Bury fans putting black or blue gaffer tape over the sponsors name on the replica shirts they were wearing to attend games. Birthdays retail stores around the country were also targeted when attending away games that had one in their town.

BASE Spokesperson- me- and BASE correspondent-David Harrison present the petition containing 1,748 signatures of Bury fans opposing Birthdays selling MUFC merchandise in the Club Shop on Gigg Lane. The campaign continued throughout the rest of the season with Picket Lines being deployed by myself and many other supporters blocking the entrance of the Club Shop at home games. Victory was finally achieved at the end of that season when Birthdays announced they would no longer have any association with Bury FC and withdrew their support-their alienation of Bury fans had clearly now started to hit them in their pockets! The Club Shop became solely operated by the Football Club.

BASE - through sponsorship from the Waterloo Pub and Bury Me In White fanzine- anyone noticed how many different hats I'm wearing at this point! LOLZ - then made available to all members of BASE and anyone wanting to join- FREE travel to our away game at the JJB Stadium for the league game against Wigan Athletic. 3 coaches and a double decker bus then set out from the road down the side of Manchester Road park near the Waterloo Pub and approx. 300 fans had FREE transport there and back for a memorable Boxing Day treat!

Confirmation of my presentation to the creditors of Hugh Eaves . The presentation by me was done on behalf of BASE to purchase and run Bury FC. Our bid was based on the pledges from existing BASE members and therefore did not take into consideration any future pledges from other Bury supporters wanting to become involved in an official launch to buy the club to take place in the future. We from our existing members had offered a sum of £200,000. Although the offer the Bury Times were reporting on was from a meeting that took place between the creditors and myself and David Harrison as on behalf of BASE back in October of the previous year!

Having had my name on the front page of this BURY TIMES I now had my photo on the back page of the same issue! The amount of people now buying me free drinks in the Waterloo was also increasing- albeit as a non-alcohol drinker I do confess I did take the odd blue wicked as my straight edge capacity began to falter as the intensity of proceedings seemed to intensify.. For the 3 years previous the Bury Me In White fanzine which I formed -had with other supporters been calling out the disgusting way the club was being run by Chairman Terry Robinson and his fellow board members. We had called out the over-staffing of the club off the field with friends and family members being employed on a 'gravy-train' heading from one financial crisis to the next and of constantly hearing the same rhetoric of everybody 'working tirelessly' whilst we were exposing people rolling in late and finishing at 3pm. There was quite simply constant ridiculous financial mismanagement . When Mr.Robinson departed the club it was revealed he had taken out a mortgage on the ground to try and meet #the Clubs latest financial shortfall and that with the high interest that it was accruing there was now around 1 millions pound debt outstanding. It really was a case of ''HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO!''

The Club pull their masterstroke!!! (SIC) With BASE having booked Bury Town Hall and with all the paperwork in place to launch an official bid to buy the club. Remaining Directors Neville, Smith and Mason announce on the day of our launch bid -Friday March 1st- that the club has been placed into administration and unless the outstanding debt is met by supporters there will be no club! This being something that they had organised with the administrators earlier in the week and they were now turning round to us to use our meeting at the Town Hall to stop our launch and tell the hundreds of fans present that unless £400,000 was raised within 2 weeks it was curtains! Same old same old- they make a massive debt and its up to us to try and raise the money to address it.. They knew.. if we had launched our 'Shares for Shakers Supporters' the vast majority of fans had had enough and wanted a say in how their Football Club was to be now run.