AFC TOTTON’S membership will be given a choice of paths to take at tomorrow’s full members’ meeting at the Testwood Stadium (7pm).

Ed Holmes, chairman of neighbouring Totton & Eling FC, will put forward a proposal on behalf of Testwood Park Ltd to take on AFC Totton’s £185,000 debt and buy the freehold title of the stadium for £1.

But Nick Ferguson, a businessman from Hayling Island, met representatives of the financially stricken Southern League Premier Division outfit over the weekend and will tell club members that, with the right leadership, the Stags can survive without the need to sell their ground, which was built at a cost of £2.9m less than three years ago.

Ferguson, 57, is currently registered as a director of five companies – BT Bottle Gas Ltd, BT Colour Pages Ltd, Caring United People Ltd, Gosport Gases Ltd and Speak Out Now Ltd. He has no previous football club experience, apart from playing, and describes himself as “just a football fan who would like to try and get Totton sorted out”.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo, Ferguson said: “Totton’s a mess and, unless people put their cards on the table and tell the 100 or so members what’s going on, it will never be saved.

“They need a meeting ASAP because if the people there are not capable of running it, they need to put in somebody who can.

“Totton have got a stadium that cost over £2m to build and if they took out a mortgage for £200,000, the place would be up and running tomorrow.

“I can’t see why anyone would want to let the ground go for £1. “You’ve got people batting for Ed Holmes and people batting for the Totton club and I’ve said to the members that I will try and help in whatever way I can. “I’ve found out more about the club in the last week than they’ve found out in the last year.

“I couldn’t take the club on as it is because it’s such a mess with the members, committee, trustees and everyone else. The paperwork’s all scattered around and you can’t get to what you want to look at. “But if they want advice I’ll give it to them and if they want me to manage it for them and sort things out, I’ll do it. It could be easily sorted with the right people in charge.”

Holmes, a 66-year-old retired businessman from Hedge End, is a former referees’ committee chairman.

He worked as a group transport manager for electrical retailer Curry’s and later moved into property development and ran an aviation company hiring out aircraft to business people. His proposal has received a cool reception from some Totton members with one fan, who wished to remain anonymous, saying: “Ed Holmes has said he’s prepared to take on the debts and buy the ground, but he’s not said anything about keeping AFC Totton going. It could be that his club Totton & Eling end up playing there.”

Last night Holmes was unavailable for comment.

With members not due to vote on tomorrow’s proposals until an extraordinary general meeting on Monday, July 15, there is also the fear that Totton could go under beforehand if they don’t pay back the £10,000 extension on their bank overdraft by July 1. The club, however, are trying to get the repayment period extended.

AFC Totton members are also wary that, if the ground is signed over to Holmes for £1, it could be sold off for housing further down the line. Alf Peckham, one of the ground’s four trustees, is adamant that legally the ground must remain as a sports facility for the people of Totton. New Forest District Council were unable to confirm the exact legal position yesterday, but stated: “The argument for developing the sports ground, which went to planning appeal at the time, was that it would replace sports facilities in the town centre with new state-of-the-arts sports facilities on the edge of the town.”