Our Scotland - www.our-scotland.org

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:14 pm Post subject: Gretna consider administration

Gretna contemplate administration

Gretna are considering going into administration as the Scottish Premier League's crisis-hit bottom club fights for survival.
Club officials emerged from a day of talks with insolvency experts Wilson Field Ltd to say that a final decision on Gretna's future had yet to be made.

But BBC Sport was informed that options would be considered over the weekend, with a statement likely on Monday.

Just 501 fans - a record SPL low - watched Thursday's match at Fir Park.

Interview: Gretna physiotherapist Kenny Crichton

Speaking before Friday's meetings, chief executive Graeme Muir was hopeful that Gretna will not go into liquidation.

"I don't think it is just as bad as that, but we have a difficult situation at the club," he told BBC Sport.

All we have done in the past few weeks is patch it up, but we are in a bit of a corner now

Gretna caretaker manager Mick Wadsworth

"Does any club have a future when only 501 fans turn up?

"Dundee United did not bring many fans through, so I think many Scottish clubs are facing problems.

"We've been battling through the last three weeks and getting us to the end of the season is paramount."

Gretna's financial problems broke into the public domain when the club was late with player wages while owner Brooks Mileson was seriously ill in hospital.

"Thankfully, the payroll is up to date, but we have other creditors and we are trying to resolve that," said Muir.

Gretna have picked up just 16 points from 28 games in their first season in the top flight.

And, after Thursday's 3-0 defeat by Dundee United, Wadsworth could give no guarantees that Gretna would stay afloat until the end of the season.

"There's a lot of difficulty at the moment," he said.

"The finances and the survival of the club is on everyone's minds and that takes precedence. We are on a sticky wicket, put it that way.

"People have worked really hard to keep the thing going.

"All we have done in the past few weeks is patch it up, but we are in a bit of a corner now.

"I'm worried about the immediate future."

No money has been forthcoming from Mileson since he was discharged from hospital last month after being hit with a brain infection.

"Brooks is very ill," said Wadsworth. "We have no direct contact with Brooks.

"Everything is through Craig, his son, and it has been a tough call for Craig. We have got no financial assitance from that corner because Brooks is ill.

"If his illness is going to be long term then he has every right not to be worrying about a football club next season.

MY SPORT: DEBATE
I hope Myles can make a full recovery. He and Gretna brought a lot to Scottish football

clovisguy

"What we do hope is that we can cobble it together to get through this season so there is a graceful withdrawal if necessary.

"But our major hope is that he gets better and picks up the reins again, because without him we are in a very difficult situation."

Thursday's attendance was less than half the previous low between Gretna and Inverness and came after the match was postponed twice in six days.

"I think the SPL have let us down," said Wadsworth, whose club have been sharing a ground with Motherwell this season.

"To turn a game round in less than 48 hours when our public have got to travel the best part of a 200-mile round trip, I thought it was unfair. We wanted to play in a fortnight's time.

"I bet there were a lot of people who didn't know this game was on, Rangers and Everton were on telly, Bolton were probably on another channel."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/gretna/7282594.stm

_________________
Visit the Our Scotland Blog at http://our-scotland.blogspot.com/

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:29 pm Post subject:

Gretna are now playing their upcoming matches in Livingston.

It is laughable how football is conducted in the SPL.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/f...ll/teams/m/motherwell/7298496.stm
_________________
Visit the Our Scotland Blog at http://our-scotland.blogspot.com/

Cymro · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject:

Feel really sorry for them. Seems that the owner meant well in putting all that money into the club to ensure success but sadly it was too much too soon meaning the lack of financial basis to the growth was unsustainable. Very sad. Feel sorry for the fans. Would love to see a fans buyout of the club

Morph · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:39 pm Post subject:

It does seem to be a funny set up though. I cant understandwhy they cannot pay the players. Surely someone can authorise the payments other that Brooks.

I do also hope that he gets well soon, this is more than football its a mans life
_________________
"An oppressive government is to be more feared than a tiger"

azzuri · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 3792

It's not up to Brooks Mileson any more. The club is now in administration, and it's wholly up to the administrator who gets paid what...
_________________
"Every single person on this planet is unique. Just like everyone else..." - Random Guy in Edinburgh Pub

Possibly the funniest site in the world, 'The Daily Mash' - http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/

skip · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:22 pm Post subject:

football in this country is all wrong.

rangers and celtic both have huge overdrafts - but at least they have assets and a huge support base if things go wrong.

hearts accounts are to reveal an increase in debt upto approx £40m

gretna have been bankrolled since 2003 up thru the divisions and into the scottish cup final thanks to a sugar daddy owner.

eddie thompson has put a few million into dundee united - paid a fortune in compensation to managers and coaches he's sacked.

Boyle of motherwell invested money and then turned them over to the administrator to clear out his out of control wage-bill... then somehow comes back to take the reins once the dirty work was done.

these are clubs that if their main backer walked away could have serious difficulty surviving. even if they can break even, i do not think they could pay back they debt that they owe.

look at what happened to livingston when the bubble burst... administration and fallback. Dundee Administration and fallback. Bill barr at ayr took them into a top division 1 side and a good cup team for a couple of years but they never got promoted and their ground wasnt uptneeded taken upto premier standard - he pulled the plug on the bigger name players and now they are in the doldrums. Then airdrieonians went out of business and returned as airdrie united. They are repeating the same mistakes - getting smaller crowds than the old airdrie AND having to pay rent on the New Broomfield Stadium. The sums cannot add up - so they survive on the generosity of a local businessman

I think someone should actually compile a league table of our best run clubs. These are the clubs that live within their means - get the odd cup run or league success on merit (not buying success) and dont carry much debt. some of them - like morton and thistle nearly had to go to the wall before they learned the lesson - but at least they have adjusted.

you would probably find that the best teams in scotland would be:

Brechin citty
forfar
montrose
queens parkthistle
morton
hamilton
etc etc

bottom of the table must surely be hearts (in debt, trying to rebuild tynecastle, not having as much success on the park, untrustworthy owner, always compensating former managers and coaches, huge wagebill).

nobody seems to learn the lesson that teams need to be able to pay for themselves. many fans are also short-termists who demand instant success at any price... when thats the thing thats killing their clubs.
_________________

Morph · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:31 pm Post subject:

I know that azzuri but what am saying is that if Brooks had kept paying they would not be in administration. Why could someone else not authorise the payments
_________________
"An oppressive government is to be more feared than a tiger"

azzuri · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 3792

His personal finances are fucked too it seems. He couldn't keep the club afloat!
_________________
"Every single person on this planet is unique. Just like everyone else..." - Random Guy in Edinburgh Pub

Possibly the funniest site in the world, 'The Daily Mash' - http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:36 pm Post subject:

David Bingham amongst the 22 players that Gretna have just laid off

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/gretna/7312756.stm
_________________
Visit the Our Scotland Blog at http://our-scotland.blogspot.com/

Rinty · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject:

"you would probably find that the best teams in scotland would be:"

Stranraer are pretty well run by a committee and operate within their means, Celtic in recent years have show that you can compete at the top level to an extent while spending within your means.

Clubs who are subsidised by a millionaire donor are always dodgy.

Once, following an unfair subsidy of Real Madrid by local govt, there were proposals that clubs should be limited to only spending what they turn over on players. That would still allow subsidy as a club cant really be viable if spending more than 60% of their turn over on players. But it would limit the milesons, romanovs, murrays etc.

Fedayn · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:54 pm Post subject:

Morph · Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:25 pm Post subject:

there should be a more rigid ownership test to protect clubs from this type of investment.

Certain contracts could be signed with the SFA, although this may put of some types of investment however looking at Gretna and Hearts would this be a bad thing?
_________________
"An oppressive government is to be more feared than a tiger"

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:52 pm Post subject:

Looks like Spartans are ready to pounce.

Should this not be a chance to look at restructuring the leagues entirely though and introducing a pyramid system to the other senior leagues in the country?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/7325676.stm
_________________
Visit the Our Scotland Blog at http://our-scotland.blogspot.com/

RadgeJougal · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:16 pm Post subject:

Isn't Colin Fox going to try and take them over?