THERE was a rumour at one stage of Stanley switching their name to Harchester United, the fictional football club from the Sky TV series Dream Team.

And, after a dramatic 2009, it would have been quite apt, although this year’s events at the Crown Ground seemed too far fetched even for the scriptwriters’ imaginations.

A betting scandal, players banned, a long drawn out takeover, a massive tax debt, the club minutes from a winding up order . . . there was never a dull moment.

And all this was going on while the Reds continued to preserve their League Two status on the pitch, manager John Coleman celebrated a landmark 10 years in charge and the team has gone from strength to strength.

What 2009 will be most remembered for though is how near the club came to a repeat of 1962 and being wound up all over again – something most fans thought would never happen. The lesson, though, had not been learnt.

The Reds had always been run on a tight budget by former chairman Eric Whalley so news of a £308,000 tax debt which filtered through with the Reds due in the High Court on June 10 was greeted with shock and horror by most fans.

Stanley didn’t have to go to court then with chief executive Rob Heys and chairman Dave O’Neill saying they had agreed a ‘deal’ with HMRC to pay the debt off over a year.

Still, despite the outward calmness at the club, there was a sense of panic outside of it with Accrington-born millionaire Ilyas Khan, a Stanley fan, coming to the fore offering to virtually pay off the tax debt in return for a share-issue and openness.

O'Neill – the new chairperson since March – insisted he didn’t need Ilyas and his Fighting Fund and the wrangles continued through the close-season.

By September, the debt reared its head again as, in fact, the June case has just been adjourned and this time the Stanley officials had to go before the High Court.

And it was made clear - Stanley had to pay the full debt off in eight weeks as there was no year-long agreement – or bye-bye Accrington Stanley again.

This prompted what was a superb effort from the fans with the "Save Our Stanley Fund" raising more than £100,000 and good relationships with clubs such as Burnley and Blackburn, who both played the Reds in fund-raisers, and Bury supporters who were vocal in their support of the the Reds after Stanley had helped the Shakers years ago.

That was the good side of it.

But the chaos continued in the boardroom and, despite assurances from the club up until the last minute that they could pay the full debt and had the money available, just a day before what would have been the final hearing a statement was put on the web-site that the club was going to ask for a further extension.

Khan saw this and turned up unexpectedly at the High Court on November 4 knowing it was last chance saloon – there was going to be no further extensions and basically the club was minutes from being wound up.

Khan stood up in court with former director Peter Marsden and offered to pay the remaining debt and, after six months of nail-biting and wondering if there would be a club, the bill was paid, Stanley were safe and Khan was the new king.

That would be enough intrigue for one club over a year but, for the Reds, there was even more as the betting scandal came out in the open this year.

This was dating back to May 2008, the final game of the season against Bury, when the bookmakers alerted the Football Association that there was a lot of money placed on a Bury win – more than £300,000 when an average League Two game is around £25,000.

After a year long investigation, then Stanley captain Peter Cavanagh was charged, in April, with putting a £5 accumulator on the game and Reds defender Robbie Williams £1,000 on a Bury win. Ex-Stanley players David Mannix, Jay Harris and Andy Mangan, then at Bury, were also charged.

It rocked the club with then-chairman Whalley slamming it as ‘disgusting’ and threatening to sack the players if they were found guilty.

And the FA said: "These players were all in blatant breach of the rules. Three of the players, (Mannix, Harris and Williams) were Accrington players at the time and actually bet on the opposing team, Bury, to win. Actions which would shock any fair-minded football fan."

As it happened, Whalley had left by the time it all came out in July when Williams, who had already left the club at the end of June after nine years at Stanley, was fined and banned for eight months with Mangan, Harris and Mannix also fined and banned after being found guilty.

Cavanagh's case was heard on its own in August and he had been training with Stanley during the summer. However, despite his low amount, he was similary punished with an eight month ban. At appeal, their fines were reduced but not their sentencing and the scandal has tainted the club.

To add to the year of chaos, there was the long-winded takeover which still hasn’t been officially declared as having happened.

Dave O’Neill came to the club as general manager but, when long-serving chairman Eric Whalley decided enough was enough after guiding the Reds into the Football League, O’Neill decided to buy Whalley’s 51 per cent shares in Stanley.

Since March it has been a case of ‘has he or hasn’t he?’ with O’Neill officially declared as taking over as owner of the club but with Whalley still listed as owner at Customs House as recently as last month.

Whalley’s departure, after 14-years as chairman guiding the Reds from the UniBond First Division into the Football League, was somewhat lost as the tax bill dated to when he was at the helm with some fans angry at the ex-chairman while others stood back and appreciated all he did for the club in financing their march to the dreamland of League Two.

And hitting the headlines didn’t stop there as Stanley players Ian Dunbavin and Bobby Grant pleaded guilty to affray in the Steven Gerrard nightclub incident and in July both were sentenced to community service punishments.

An eventful year indeed – and that’s without even mentioning what went on on the pitch in 2009 . . .