TAFFY Richardson insisted Wimborne Town’s financial crash had been no surprise to him and revealed: “I got more money there than I ever did at Poole.”

In a hard-hitting assessment of Magpies' woes, Richardson said the club’s outgoing board should shoulder full responsibility for amassing debts of approximately £110,000 – not past personnel.

The Cuthbury favourite, a member of the 1992 FA Vase winning side, argued that Southern League survival should be achievable without a playing budget.

And despite missing out on the manager’s job in November, he hailed boss Simon Browne as “the right man for the job”, as well as backing incoming chairperson Paula Henley to get monetary matters back on an even keel.

Richardson, who switched back to Wimborne from Poole for a brief spell in September 2011, told the Daily Echo: “The problems were a shock when I first heard but then not so much when I thought it over.

“I know roughly how much some people got in wages at Wimborne. Crowds have gone down, they haven’t had a big benefactor and I know they paid good money.

“When I went to Wimborne for a month, I got more money there than I ever did at Poole. I took it because I was offered it but I couldn’t work out how they managed it and I was not one of their best-paid players by a long way.

“I could understand it if the club had been massively successful, if they had done a Salisbury, had an FA Cup run or won leagues but they haven’t won anything or done anything.

“Responsibility doesn’t lie with whoever is running a team. I run my business and if it goes bust, that is my fault.

“You’re not going to make money in football but you still have to run it as a business and look long term for the pitfalls – that cannot have been done.

“If the manager asks for money for players and gets it, he is going to take it, end of story. I don’t blame any player or manager.”

Henley has announced the playing budget has been scrapped altogether with expenses for travel to matches now the only provision but Richardson says that does not necessarily spell doom.

“They have a chance,” he added. “This is not the Southern League of 10 or 15 years ago, I don’t think the standard is anywhere near as good now, it is more of a glorified Wessex League.

“There are players lower down kicking about that would jump at the chance to help out Wimborne.

“Simon Browne is no mug, he knows how to get a team to play, can organise very well and is the right man for the job.

“It will be hard, he didn’t do pre-season so hasn’t had the chance to stamp his authority on it but if they survive and he gets them really fit next season they should be okay.

“There are enough bad teams lower than them at the moment to stop them dropping down as long as they can organise themselves.

“Money should never be your motivation for playing. Sometimes, it is a necessity but they have some good players, some of whom will play. Where else are they going to go?

“I’ve never met Paula Henley but to me, she seems to be doing the right things. She has put herself in at the deep end and I admire that.

“She has been up front in trying to deal with the problems and could be the one to grab it by the horns.I think they’ll be okay.”

Richardson continued: “It is a shame. I look at the old days, we won the Vase with no money and didn’t get paid, all we got was a tracksuit as a bonus.

“We asked for a bonus. They said no but we all stuck around and we were all there the season after.

“The club lived within its means and was one big family then. It hurts quite a lot when I think back to what it was like.

“The one thing that upsets me about Wimborne is they don’t seem to embrace their past. They seem to dislike good the good things that have happened.”