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       #Post#: 10492--------------------------------------------------
       Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: flipmode
       Date: August 27, 2019, 6:18 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Sad news coming out of Gigg Lane tonight.
  HTML https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49451896
       #Post#: 10493--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: cwh
       Date: August 28, 2019, 1:10 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       This is sad news and it must be devastating for people who have
       supported them for many years -I think I read somewhere that the
       so called owner Steve Dale said that he didn't even know that
       Bury had a team when he acquired it but I may be wrong about
       that - it's such a shame when there is so much money sloshing
       around in the Premier League - I suppose others will follow - I
       have never understood the ruling that deducts points for
       financial irregularities  as this seems to punish supporters
       rather than anyone else - this happened to my team Luton a few
       years ago and that effectively condemned them  several years in
       the Conference - at least they survived
       Should there be some kind emergency funds available to Clubs
       like Bury, Bolton  Macclesfield  etc although where that fund
       would actually come from I'm not sure
       I just wish that some of these League 1 and 2   clubs and others
       received more publicity from the press/Tv - they seem to forget
       that there so many 'lesser clubs' all over the country supported
       by many people
       Nearly every paper/tv report seems to be about the foreign laden
       Premiership teams with interviews from managers and players
       which usually mean nothing - not everyone has  the slightest
       interest in these but loyally support all the many other clubs
       scattered
       around the country
       Let's hope the lower level of professional football survives
       #Post#: 10495--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: reflector
       Date: August 28, 2019, 1:27 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Very sad news but the finances of football have become ludicrous
       and, in the long term, unsustainable.  There will be an
       increasing number of Burys and Boltons as time goes on.  It
       seems inevitable that the rich will go on getting richer and the
       poorer will not survive.  Transfer fees and the wage demands of
       top players defy reality and sanity needs to be restored.
       .
       There was a time when the bigger clubs helped the smaller ones
       by buying their best players, thus providing financial support.
       Nowadays, with a greater reliance on players from abroad, the
       money no longer circulates within the domestic game. The mega
       millions that our Premier league clubs pay for and to players
       these days is now largely lost to the lower and non league
       Clubs.
       #Post#: 10498--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: Welshexref
       Date: August 28, 2019, 4:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       As a Wrexham fan I've been through similar emotions. I think
       clubs do need to look after their own finances better but it's
       very sad.
       A week of Alexis Sanchez's wages would have probably saved the
       club. Bury won't be the last club to go irrespective of what
       happens to Bolton. I believe it's only a matter of time before
       their will only be two full time professional leagues. The
       amount of money sloshing around at the top of the game is
       ridiculous. Millions paid for and to mediocre players.
       Sorry, rant over!!  :D
       #Post#: 10499--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: Hertsref123
       Date: August 28, 2019, 4:23 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       This is sad, I think the financial sustainability of football
       should really be looked at Bolton and bury aren't the first to
       be in this situation and they won't be the last I fear.
       #Post#: 10502--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: bmb
       Date: August 28, 2019, 4:43 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Very sad news  :'(
       I still remember sitting at the Winter Gardens when AFCB were
       within an hour of liquidation in 1997, just the worst feeling in
       the world as a fan.
       My then boss led the consortium that the saved AFCB on the 2nd
       spell of admin, which was the era cwh mentions. Completely
       destroyed Adam's marriage & business doing so but it saved the
       club! He's just bought Yeovil funnily enough!  Season 07/08.
       AFCB, Luton & Leeds all had points deducted, then Rotherham also
       went into administration. Season 08/09 AFCB & Rotherham started
       on -17 each and Luton on -30 I think it was!  How some of these
       owners pass the "fit & proper" test is beyond me.  I remember
       some Russians who wanted to buy AFCB before Maxim came along &
       when Adam did due diligence was warned by the Serious Fraud
       Office to stay clear of them as they were suspected of money
       laundering, nothing proveable at that stage, they later went
       onto buy & nearly destroy Pompey. We tried to warn Pompey to
       steer clear of them but were told we were bitter & jealous about
       the sale - still have that email sent at board level!! We were
       lucky & got the right Russian.
       I find it very sad that nothing has been done in all the
       intervening years to ensure that a) the fit & proper persons
       test is actually fit for purpose and b) that other measures have
       not been brought into place to prevent things reaching this
       stage.
       #Post#: 10504--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: Bakis
       Date: August 28, 2019, 4:57 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       This is deeply saddening but unsurprising given the evidence
       that has emerged.
       Let's hope the supporters can now concentrate on establishing a
       successor club, even if it has to be a long journey back to the
       previous level (Newport, Aldershot, etc) rather than a
       relatively smooth return up the leagues (Chester, Hereford,
       etc). One key to success is avoiding a split in the support
       which results in neither club making much progress (Northwich,
       Runcorn, etc). If a relocation is necessary, which it well could
       be, possible locations could include FC United and Salford, both
       of which would have an ironic aspect. There would also be
       Spotland of course.
       #Post#: 10505--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: bmb
       Date: August 28, 2019, 4:57 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Welshexref link ---
       >
       > As a Wrexham fan I've been through similar emotions. I think
       clubs do need to look after their own finances better but it's
       very sad.
       >
       > A week of Alexis Sanchez's wages would have probably saved the
       club. Bury won't be the last club to go irrespective of what
       happens to Bolton. I believe it's only a matter of time before
       their will only be two full time professional leagues. The
       amount of money sloshing around at the top of the game is
       ridiculous. Millions paid for and to mediocre players.
       >
       > Sorry, rant over!!  :D
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       I both agree and don't regarding clubs looking after their own
       finances.  In my experience & as an AFCB fan and we had 20 years
       of limping along from day to day, 10 years between our 1st & 2nd
       administration it's not just a case of looking after the
       finances, it's about getting in honest owners as well.  We were
       staffed with unpaid volunteers (I was one of them), our players
       were paid a pittance, they lived with supporters as not one of
       them could get a mortgage but we had unscrupulous owner after
       unscrupulous owner picking at the bare bones and taking taking
       taking from the club while a group of supporters kept it going.
       We had a group called the Friends of Pokesdown who were a group
       of local businessmen, never rich enough to buy or run the club
       but week in week out they raised the funds to pay the players,
       pay the bills etc. They are all still VP's at the club and now
       their fundraising goes to charity. After the fan led consortium
       in 1997 it was supporters who kept the club going until Adam &
       the consortium he led took it over & finally brought in Max.
       The Football league have to take some responsibility in relation
       to those they pass as fit & proper. As I mentioned in my post
       above we were warned by the SFO not to let one group anywhere
       near the club because of strong suspicions of money laundering,
       we didn't. The football league later passed them as fit & proper
       to take over Pompey despite those same warnings from the SFO to
       the FL.  Pompey went bust & those owners ended up with at least
       some of them going to prison for money laundering.
       #Post#: 10508--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: Ashington46
       Date: August 28, 2019, 5:17 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: bmb link ---
       >
       > [quote author=Welshexref link=topic=982.msg10498#msg10498
       date=1566983588]
       > As a Wrexham fan I've been through similar emotions. I think
       clubs do need to look after their own finances better but it's
       very sad.
       >
       > A week of Alexis Sanchez's wages would have probably saved the
       club. Bury won't be the last club to go irrespective of what
       happens to Bolton. I believe it's only a matter of time before
       their will only be two full time professional leagues. The
       amount of money sloshing around at the top of the game is
       ridiculous. Millions paid for and to mediocre players.
       >
       > Sorry, rant over!!  :D
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       I both agree and don't regarding clubs looking after their own
       finances.  In my experience & as an AFCB fan and we had 20 years
       of limping along from day to day, 10 years between our 1st & 2nd
       administration it's not just a case of looking after the
       finances, it's about getting in honest owners as well.  We were
       staffed with unpaid volunteers (I was one of them), our players
       were paid a pittance, they lived with supporters as not one of
       them could get a mortgage but we had unscrupulous owner after
       unscrupulous owner picking at the bare bones and taking taking
       taking from the club while a group of supporters kept it going.
       We had a group called the Friends of Pokesdown who were a group
       of local businessmen, never rich enough to buy or run the club
       but week in week out they raised the funds to pay the players,
       pay the bills etc. They are all still VP's at the club and now
       their fundraising goes to charity. After the fan led consortium
       in 1997 it was supporters who kept the club going until Adam &
       the consortium he led took it over & finally brought in Max.
       The Football league have to take some responsibility in relation
       to those they pass as fit & proper. As I mentioned in my post
       above we were warned by the SFO not to let one group anywhere
       near the club because of strong suspicions of money laundering,
       we didn't. The football league later passed them as fit & proper
       to take over Pompey despite those same warnings from the SFO to
       the FL.  Pompey went bust & those owners ended up with at least
       some of them going to prison for money laundering.
       [/quote]
       Well said, bmb, and this is the case with quite a number of
       clubs who are probably on very rocky ground, according to Five
       Live last night there could well be another 15 clubs who are
       walking a tightrope.
       The EFL must revise their scrutiny of possible owners because
       the situation at Bury has been crazy. It begs the question as to
       what criteria the EFL are using to decide on the suitability of
       anyone wishing to own a club, particularly in view of what
       happened at Portsmouth after the AFCB experience.
       Meanwhile, back at grassroots level, the struggle continues and
       the stuffing is knocked out of coaches and officials as costs
       continue to rise.
       Someone mentioned about the ground at Gigg Lane abd whaat will
       happen. Someone connected with a supporter group said that
       nothing could happen to the ground unless another stadium was
       built for the club. however, will they just say that the club no
       longer exists and the agreement was with them? Very sad.
       #Post#: 10510--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Bury expelled from the EFL
   DIR By: bmb
       Date: August 28, 2019, 6:08 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       We have a similar covenant on our ground. That section of Kings
       Park was left by a landowner many moons ago specifically for the
       purpose of sporting facilities. I can't remember the full ins
       and outs but I believe the athletics track next door is also on
       that land.  It was why AFCB had to do the sale & lease of the
       ground they did, when they did with extortionate rates & could
       never buy it back & one of the main reasons we remain in a
       ground too small for the PL.  I know ours has clauses on how
       near another stadium can be built & there is the lack of
       suitable land in the area. Our ground is owned by several - at
       one point the club itself owned the section from one penalty
       area line to behind the south stand, but whether it still does
       or not I don't know, then some is the S&L company another bit is
       council etc!
       I guess it all depends what the covenant itself says regarding
       Gigg Lane, who actually owns it, what the full agreement is &
       who it is with etc.
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