ANOTHER week, another seven days of claim, counter-claim, defence and denial – and at the end of it all we are still not presented with a clear picture.

Forums can be a harsh and unforgiving environment – places where the casual observer and the knowledgeable contributor can be mistaken for one and the same.

The news that Lee Power will be coming onto the Swindon Town board in due course, subject to the Football League’s various and widely undefined checks, has brought further confusion to a situation where fans are quite rightly concerned where the club is being led under its current leadership.

One thing is for certain, the board of Jed McCrory has found it hard to communicate thoroughly and effectively with supporters – and as a result elements of distrust and doubt have infested the public arena.

Power’s past business dealings and the fate of several of the companies with which he has been associated are murky to say the least, and given that the fanbase at Town has been on a heightened sense of alert for some time the facts and figures available through Google searches, trawls through Companies House and various character references have not eased anxieties around the club.

Much of the nervousness must surely go back to the fact no official explanation was given of the nature of the embargo which hung over the club for so long. The reasons behind its implementation and the seemingly random information which had been fed via a sporadic drip into the public domain also didn’t help. Now doubt has usurped hope, and that’s a recipe for concern.

My understanding is that the restrictions put in place by the Football League revolved around the need for funds to be ring-fenced which covered a deficit brought about by the high running costs at the club. That is to say a sum of money is also believed to have remained in escrow during the Andrew Black years to cater for any general over-spend incurred by Town operating at the significant levels we have seen in recent months.

If that is the case, then when Mr Black cut his ties with the club back in January the necessary amount needed to cover the club until the end of the season is likely to have been removed and until it was replaced on a pro rata basis the authorities implemented an embargo.

Remember, the issues with transfers began on January 31, after the exchange of contracts between the relevant parties, when Marlon Pack, Danny Green and Bradley Wright-Phillips’ proposed transfers to Swindon – which were all signed off at club level before the deadline – were blocked.

Why it took so long to deliver that figure and satisfy the League is a more pertinent question. No answers have been forthcoming and, as with many takeovers, the paper trail is confidential and difficult to trace.

But when board members of a club’s holding company are appointed without due explanation of intent, as was the case with Greg Hall, the palpable tension multiplies. I have been told Mr Hall no longer has ties with the club, though no documentation exists publicly to prove it, and that the current board declined the £1.2million offered by a group represented by him, instead opting to pursue those monies down different avenues.

Sources have told me that Mr Power is well connected within the football world. I’m reliably informed that he played a major role in bringing the three Tottenham loanees to the club, although how is another question that still needs to be answered.

Other sources have questioned the potential new director’s ways of doing business, and we have to ask what he plans to get out of Swindon Town during his association with the Wiltshire club.

But then again, why does anyone get involved in football? Making a quick buck, especially at League One level, is no mean feat.

Cast your minds back to Andrew Fitton’s takeover of Town. What did he have to gain from bringing together his various resources and contacts and saving the Robins from the verge of yet another semi-Apocalypse? Thanks to his efforts, and those of his consortium, Swindon is where it is today.

What Fitton & Co had, which McCrory does not, was £500million behind them. Back then the identities of Andrew Black and Sir Martyn Arbib remained private for some time, but their net worth was well published. That takeover also stalled and restarted, as the engine coughed and choked, and nerves were frayed.

It seems that McCrory is the community man that Fitton also was – a man who involved himself heavily in non-league before diving into the Football League. On occasion it could be said he has been plagued by naivety when dealing with fans.

He does not have the wealth of a Black or an Arbib – the Advertiser has seen an accountant’s letter, which purports to be his personal proof of funds, which claims he is worth £7million – and while Power may have money, again it is not easily sourced.

Regardless, what Fitton did when he arrived at the County Ground was deliver a defined plan, a blueprint for sustainability and success. When he stepped down, the sustainability stepped down with him.

The current board have not had his and Jeremy Wray’s cohesive agenda, at least publicly, and that is what rankles with supporters. McCrory and Steve Murrall – have agreed to take part in a meeting with board members of supporters’ groups, arranged by the Advertiser and scheduled for next week, to discuss these issues.

That is a start, but McCrory was also open to the idea of a general open forum when I made the enquiry this week.

Should that happen, and I for one will push hard to make sure it does, then you will be able to hear from the men in charge of our club directly on how they plan to take it forward. Right now, that openness is the best solution.