Accountants brought in to sort out the affairs of Oxford United paid themselves almost twice as much in fees as they raised for the club's creditors.

The firm, Kroll, which was appointed to oversee the payment of the club's debts, told creditors they were powerless to stop Firoz Kassam effectively selling the Manor Ground to himself. They then charged fees of £196,531.17 for their services.

But they raised £101,795.32 for unsecured creditors, who received 4.4p for every pound they were owed because the club was insolvent.

Creditor Patrick Nally, who was owed £36,000, said: "I was gobsmacked at the handling of this affair before and now I am even more so. It beggars belief."

Kroll's fees were itemised as £50,000 for nominees' fees, £40,273.99 for legal fees, and £106,257 for supervisors' fees.

The firm, formerly Buchler Phillips, also charged £3,514.35 for telephone, postage and stationery expenses.

But a Kroll spokesman said: "All fees drawn would have been approved by appropriate creditors at the appropriate time."

A letter from Neil Cooper and David Buchler, both of Kroll and who were appointed as supervisors of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) between creditors and Oxford United, tells creditors the "consideration received by the company for the sale of the Manor Ground, Headington, was less than the secured debt against the ground."

It added: "Therefore there were no surplus funds available to the CVA from the sale for distribution to the CVA creditors."

One of Mr Kassam's firms, Firoka (London Park) bought the ground for £6m and sold it to the Nuffield Nursing Trust, owner of the Acland Hospital, for £12m earlier this year.

Trevor Lambert, a spokesman for fans' group OxVox, said: "The alternative to the CVA arrangement is that the club goes out of business and unsecured creditors get nothing.

"I sympathise with the small creditors, but I think it's time to move on."

Kroll has previously been criticised for charging United £617,000 when the firm acted as receivers for Robert Maxwell's personal estate in 1992.

Mr Kassam was unavailable for comment.

In 1992 Kroll acted as receivers for Robert Maxwell's personal estate of which the club formed part, following his death.

It was criticised in a parliamentary report chaired by MP Frank Field for its high charges, amounting to £167 an hour.