EXTRAORDINARY scenes at Laverstock & Ford brought about a huge exodus of staff last Thursday.

The Laverstock & Ford Sports Club Committee, who oversee the football club, asked football club chairman Gino Nardiello to resign. They dismissed him after he refused, and the management duo of Robbie Elliott and Ryan Chard, who only took on their roles this summer, left by mutual consent.

“I'm a bit upset and angry at the moment,” Nardiello told the Journal.

“They told me I had lost my energy and drive for the job. I'm disappointed at the way this has been done behind my back.”

Nardiello, who led Laverstock into the Sydenhams Premier as manager in 2007-08, has been involved with the club for nearly nine years. A number of key personnel resigned in the wake of the dismissals, including vice chairman, and club stalwart, Robbie Trim, treasurer Michael Eyers, commercial manager Keith Noble, child welfare officer Fiona Trim and committee member Brian Dear. The football club decided to withdraw the under-18s team from the Wiltshire Floodlight League with immediate effect, and the under-14s have been disbanded too.

“It has taken nearly nine years to build this club up from scratch, with good people, many of whom I brought in. Now a lot of them are gone and we will see where the club goes from here,” added Nardiello.

“The president of the Sydenhams League called me and said he fears for the club.

“I don't understand why the managers had to go, because we had started the season with tough fixtures, so I feel sorry for them too.

“I never saw it coming, and I think I deserve better than the way it was carried out. It felt like a lynch mob. I would never, ever go back now.”

The Sports Club committee declined to comment at this stage.

Stock did pick up their first league win of the season on Saturday, 4-3 at home to Andover New Street.

They looked up against it when they were a goal down and a man down, after a red card, but stormed into a 3-1 lead by half time. Laverstock went 4-1 up before Shane Lock hit two to complete a hat trick. The home team's goals came from Jordan Caira, Craig Haywood, Sam Matthews and Kieran Mulcahy.

They are at home to Fleet Spurs on Saturday.