CASH-STRAPPED Bashley are on the brink of folding after chairman Mike Cranidge called a meeting for members to vote on the club’s closure.

As exclusively revealed by the Daily Echo’s Twitter feed, notice of the emergency general meeting (EGM) on Thursday, March 13 has been circulated to the members-owned club’s 38 affiliates.

The resolution is to dissolve Bash at the end of the season “unless adequate funding is forthcoming and executive vacancies filled”.

Cranidge, initially a supporter who reluctantly took the reins over the summer, estimated the club’s shortfall would be between £40,000 and £60,000 by the end of the current campaign.

Bashley’s chairman, who was keen to stress the club remains debt free, made an appeal for financial assistance 11 days ago but with no sign of an added cash injection on the horizon, the New Forest outfit’s 67-year history seems set to be wiped out.

Any decision to close could be reversed if a backer came forward before the deadline to resign from the Southern League without penalty arrives on March 31.

The club could still be saved up until April 30 but would almost certainly lose out on entry to the FA Cup and FA Trophy, competitions with application deadlines of March 31. 

The Bash chief explained: “Most of our members are pensioners without the means to help out so we really are depending on the life vice-presidents who helped to build up the club to come forward to save the day.

“It is the final rallying call and I cannot believe those people will let it go in this way. I’m not confident but still optimistic.”

Should members vote against the proposal, Cranidge said he would be forced to resign immediately.

He added: “I would have to stand down and the club would be in their (the members’) hands.

“Even if somebody came in with £10,000 it wouldn’t help. We need someone to step forward and support the club long-term.”