It's not my fault - former owner

The men, who were allies at The Grove less than a year ago, are now locked in a war of words after behind-the-scenes troubles spilled onto the field, as the Yeltz kicked off a player short on Tuesday.

The club is in crisis just 16 months after Maison's high-profile takeover that included the appointment of Ron Atkinson as a "consultant."

Halesowen-based Alex Cowley has become the latest player to leave, with the club unable to meet wage commitments.

But Pitt has denied Maison's claims in a recent online interview that he inherited a club in debt when he took over in October 2007.

The long-serving former chairman said: "I'm disappointed with Morell Maison's innuendoes as to the financial state of the club when he took over.

"He did his own 'due diligence' and I even stayed on until the end of that season to help him and his staff in the transition. I paid some of the bills as a gesture of goodwill.

"In the 15 years of me being at Halesowen Town FC, the club has always been financially sound with a good name in the community.

"As with any takeover there will be debts outstanding. The debts at Halesowen were controllable and monies in excess of the debts were left in the club."

Pitt also hit out at Maison's stated ambition to make the Yeltz a full-time club and added tat the decrease in sponsorship that Maison has blamed for the current crisis was inevitable.

He said: "The infrastructure has never been in place for full-time admin staff. That's why everyone worked voluntarily.

"I've also carried on helping Morell with cashflow problems to help out Halesowen. I must be top of his creditors' list but I'm in negotiation with the newly-appointed chief executive, Guy Simpson, regarding a payment plan."

Maison bought Pitt's shares in late 2007 for a nominal fee and took over the running of the club on and off the pitch. But his eventful 16 months at the helm have drawn criticism from supporters, some of whom have met to discuss forming a fans' trust.

They say the Atkinson link was a PR stunt. Certainly "Big Ron" departed officially three months after the takeover.

Maison later brought in a chairman, Martin Kearns, who also stayed for just three months.

Maison spent heavily on players for the end of the 2007-08 season and succeeded in leading the club to the promotion play-offs in the British Gas Business League Premier Division.

But they lost to Team Bath in the final and this season – Maison's first full campaign – has brought controversy.

Maison was involved in a post-match altercation with striker Dean Brennan after a defeat at Chippenham, with the player leaving soon after.

The current owner said of Pitt's claims: "I'm not going to wash the club's laundry in public. It's an ongoing situation and Nigel does not rank as the highest creditor at the club.

"We've lost most of our first-team squad, because we couldn't keep paying them.

"At the end of last season we lost 43 sponsors and the donations we received have dried up to zero. It's not just a question of the sponsors not being able to continue, it's a situation where we've not been able to arrest the slide."