Football clubs need to remember that they are playing with people’s lives | Josh Gowling

Administration can strike at the very heart of a community, no matter what level of football it involves

When your club are on the edge of an abyss, it can shape your attitude towards football. In 2008, I was playing for Bournemouth when we started to hear things weren’t right. Our wages were being paid late and rumours began flying around the place. We had a meeting with the hierarchy and our fears were confirmed: we were going into administration.

I was 24 and had just taken out a mortgage for the first time. I had to borrow money to keep up with payments, while many of my teammates had mouths to feed at home. It was a turbulent period: we had 10 points deducted and, even though our squad pulled together and fought to the last, we were relegated to League Two. The club was so close to going under.