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Bradford City's creditors have applied for the club to be taken into administration a second time after the club defaulted on a payment required by its Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA). Bradford have had difficulty in meeting the terms of their agreement. Former striker Ashley Ward, now at Sheffield United, is believed to be on £880,000 basic for the remaining year of his contract which is being paid to him in annual instalments until 2006. A report from an accountant in November showed that the relegation theatened club was still making losses and needed £2m just to make it to June.
The club's problems have been complicated by a feud between the Rhodes family and former chairman, Gordon Gibb, both major shareholders at Valley Parade. The feud took a bizarre turn when Gibb addressed the crowd from the side of the pitch before the match against Crewe. However, it may be that the outlines of an agreement have been reached. The Rhodes family will put another £5.5m into the club to add to the amounts they have already poured in, Gibb will write off his investment and hand over his shares, but his pension fund, over five years, will sell the stadium back to the Rhodes family for £2.5m.
City asked their players to take a 50 per cent pay deferral, but the players believe that this latest request is an attempt to make them pay the price for problems that should have been sorted out by the club's board. The Professional Footballers' Association has its own concerns because it loaned the club more than £1m during its previous crisis. The club's problems date to the so-called 'six weeks of madness' in the summer of 2000 when Geoffrey Richmond signed very expensive contracts with players, notably Benito Carbone for four years at £40,000 a week. What all this suggests is that administration does not necessarily solve fundamental problems at a club.
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