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Articles about football clubs facing or going into administration.
Dunfermline have chosen to go into administration rather than be liquidated. Revenue & Customs had served a petition for liquidation at the Court of Session over a tax bill of £134,000 with a deadline of 5 p.m. today. A group of fans has clubbed together to pay the administrator’s fees.
There is strong evidence that Coventry City is in the process of leaving the Ricoh Arena. Staff have been told to move to the training ground at Ryton and stock in the Sky Blues shop has been taken out and loaded into transport. It is being rumoured that the Sky Blues will play their games up the M6 at Walsall’s Banks’s Stadium.
Today Coventry City and their owners Sisu were in the High Court in London to face an administration order application from Arena Coventry Ltd. (ACL), the operating company of the Ricoh Arena, but events have taken an unexpected turn. The latest news is that the hearing has been adjourned until Tuesday as it is evident that some complex issues have arisen which require further consideration.
Most people in football, including the football authorities, would like to see the Pompey Supporters’ Trust (PST) take charge at Portsmouth. The club has a particularly dedicated set of fans who have suffered a lot. More generally, it would be a natural experiment that would allow us to see whether a supporters’ trust can work at a ‘big’ club. Lessons can be learned from any problems that arise and how they are dealt with.
Coventry City FC face administration after the Ricoh Arena’s operating company, Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) went to the High Court in London claiming that they are owed £1.3m in rent by the club. Coventry City’s owners, hedge fund Sisu, dispute the terms of the lease.
Another step towards the exit of Portsmouth FC from administration and its acquisition by the Pompey Supporters’ Trust has been taken with the provision of a £1.45m bridging loan by Portsmouth City Council. The loan will enable the Supporters’ Trust to take control of Fratton Park along with property developer Stuart Robinson once the court case with Balram Chainrai’s Portpin group has been resolved.
Taking Portsmouth out of administration and into the ownership of the Pompey Supporters’ Trust (PST) has never been a straightforward process. As PST spokesman Colin Farmery said today, ‘We always expect the unexpected.’
Some ‘ambiguities’ emerged in today’s High Court hearing which suggested for a time that the Football League might be wavering in its support of the PST bid and considering again that led by the Keith Harris consortium.
The consortium led by Keith Harris has made a revised bid for Portsmouth. He offered the Pompey Supporters’ Trust (PST) a 15 per cent stake in the club, plus a seat on the board. He also proposed a 10 per cent discount on season ticket prices for the next three seasons.
The High Court hearing on the future of Portsmouth Football Club has been adjourned again for seven days until 21 February. It is believed that an issue involving the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is the reason for the latest adjournment.
The behaviour of the PFA was raised by Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt at prime minister’s questions this afternoon, but Dave Cameron was careful not to criticise them directly, confining himself to emphasising the importance of the campaign to save Pompey.
The Football League has blocked the proposed takeover of Portsmouth FC by the group led by Keith Harris. This is not so much a vote of confidence in the fans’ takeover by Pompey Supporters Trust (PST) as an expression of concern about the further uncertainity that would result from the new bid.