The dream of promotion to the Premiership in five seasons has finally ended at Notts County with the sale of the club and the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swede will stay on in the purely honorary role of joint life president.
The dream of promotion to the Premiership in five seasons has finally ended at Notts County with the sale of the club and the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swede will stay on in the purely honorary role of joint life president.
After the somewhat mysterious Munto Finance, believed to have Middle Eastern connections, pulled out as backers of the club, Peter Trembling took over. The club was in risk of being wound up in two weeks’ time if it did not settle an outstanding tax bill of £324,000. It is also being pursued by brewers Marston and defaulted on £37,000 in legal fees owing to Nottingham Rugby Club after pulling out of a ground sharing deal.
Now it’s back to reality with the club acquired by a consortium led by a former chairman at another League 2 club, Ray Trew of Lincoln City. He has paid £1 to buy the club from Trembling but he will have to deal with debts which are more like £4m than the £1.5m reported. Trew commented, ‘Those who think the club is £1.5m in debt are living in cloud-cuckoo land. The club has a backroom staff that Premier League clubs wouldn’t carry.’
Peter Trembling ttold Radio 5 that ‘The important thing is Ray Trew and his consortium can bring a semblance of stability to the football club and I can see them being there for some time to come.’ In an earleir interview, he said, ‘The new owners are not of the £25m-plus ilk but they do know the football business and most importantly have sufficient funds to ensure the imminent survival of this football club.’