New beginnings - 25% Truth, 80% Bollocks

[RobertT]

I think the thing I'm toying with/finding hard to balance is how much of this is usual football business and business in general. Openness and transparency is good but if people aren't appropriately well-informed what is normal or not-normal practice, is it sometimes that people make a bigger thing out of things that aren't a big deal? I'm not at all being a happy clapper and I think the club has a lot of dodgy ongoings to answer for, but in general terms are there things which are worrying fans which are a bit of a non-story at times?

Depends - was anything Diamandis did illegal or big fry on it's own?  Maybe not.  It's entirely legitimate to use Consultants in business, to hire Marketing firms to do your work, to outsource printing needs etc.  Did he leave the club in a good place? No.  Was the business at risk and, therefore, the club we love to watch? Yes.

You don't even have to be a crook to place a football club at risk - the finances of football are a cluster fuck as it is.  We just happen to have two actual crooks at our club, sort of, maybe and an owner who seems to getting caught in serial lies for reasons we can't really work out for doing things we sort of don't think are that bad in isolation, while people keep sniffing around that were here under the previous ownership that is lambasted for being BAD.

[RobertT]

Could have been more up to date and used Sleepy Joe, but I get your drift.

hehe - the irony of course is that the other party over here has a chap in charge of the Senate who has frozen mid sentence twice in the past few months and is roughly the same age as the one you mock (don't take my mockery as some sort of love for that man either), and that other Party is going to nominate someone who is likely to be convicted of an actual crime, been sued multiple times for wrong doing successfully and is also nearly 80.  Nixon at least got out of the way.

Moving on, STFC.......

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

RobertT made reference to 'an air of Nixon.' Unless he meant Alan...?!

You know what, that’s who I thought!

[Mooneyraker]

You know what, that’s who I thought!

That's a sign you are in too deep on STFC/Football in general! 

The proudest day of Alan Nixon's life.

[UTR]

It’s gotten to the point now where I’m just exhausted of things like this continuing to come up and having to dig into them to find the truth (would be nice if we had a recognised group who did that for us). Had so much of it constantly during the Power era, I definitely didn’t clock onto it as early as others but was still early enough to see fans continuously shut down by the more (forgive me for using this phrase) “happy clappy” fans whenever they tried to raise concerns all the way up to just before it being too late. So I don’t blame any fan who thinks back to that and digs into anything untoward that comes up.

Not saying this regime is anything like that but it’s still throwing up consistent negative conversation points and handling itself pretty poorly in areas imo that just doesn’t help itself. There’s the manageable debate points of budgets, running everything as cheaply as possible, poor structure and then there’s having to have conversations about who actually runs the club, it’s never ending.

By chance I’ve not managed to get to many games so far this season but I’m already getting towards exhausted with it which is a shame because Flynn sounds like he’s onto something this season. Going to try and just stick focus to the football related matters from now on because it’s mentally exhausting keeping up with the off pitch issues and fair play to anyone who can keep digging through them. Hoped we would have left most of this circus behind since moving on from the last ownership.

[DMC]

I was like that UTR but the games have actually helped. I can't be fucked with anthing to do with the club off the pitch now if i am honest.

If there was not people benefiting from the homeless inititives i am doing with them i would have cancelled that by now as well if i am honest. It's hard when you see the good in a few of the people there but know their hands are tied but after 2 years i have given up on hearing time and time again that it will all be ok soon

I will just watch the football have a little moan now and then and not ask questions anymore as 9/10 times the answer you get isn't the right one anyway

[JoeMezz]

By chance I’ve not managed to get to many games so far this season but I’m already getting towards exhausted with it which is a shame because Flynn sounds like he’s onto something this season. Going to try and just stick focus to the football related matters from now on because it’s mentally exhausting keeping up with the off pitch issues and fair play to anyone who can keep digging through them. Hoped we would have left most of this circus behind since moving on from the last ownership.

This is spot on for me. For me, it's a case of watching (and hopefully enjoying the team) and that's about it. I can't really control what's happening behind the scenes and I commend people who give it a go, but for me I can't really be bothered with it.

[Jimmy HaveHave]

This is spot on for me. For me, it's a case of watching (and hopefully enjoying the team) and that's about it. I can't really control what's happening behind the scenes and I commend people who give it a go, but for me I can't really be bothered with it.

Same here, I can't control anything on what's going on behind the scenes and without all the facts I struggle to understand some of what's being leaked out but fair play to those who have the energy to persevere. 

[Wobbly Bob]

... I commend people who give it a go....

Absolutely & it's to be applauded, but there is always a time when there is a risk of sounding like scratched records.
At which point the relatively silent majority either lift the needle or continue to grin & bear it.

[Bennett]

24 May 2023
Axis plumbing NSW pty Ltd put into liquidation down under.

23 July 2023
"This is nothing to be concerned about as this is an old and in-effect redundant company within the Axis Group where there are a large number of companies currently trading," chief executive Rob Angus said.
https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2023/july/club-statement-axis-group/

6 September 2023
A spokesperson for Mr Morfuni said: “Mr Morfuni does not own Axis Plumbing NSW Pty Ltd, either wholly or partly, and it is not part of the Axis Group.

"He is not involved in the liquidation of the company and neither he nor the Axis Group are liable for the debts owed by Axis Plumbing NSW Pty Ltd to any third party.”
https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/23772519.clarification-story-swindon-town-owner-clem-morfuni/

How would RA have known it was an obsolete company if not informed by Clem in order to make his statement on 2 months later?
Did Clem say he sold the Axis plumbing etc prior to liquidation?
Does the company effectively become the property of the liquidator once liquidation proceedings have started? If so - is this how Clem not involved in the liquidation of the company

I don't care to know about Axis or Clem's finances, but something between these two statements from the club (RA)/Clem's spokesperson don't add up to me.
I am sceptical enough to think that the statements are partial truths intended to obfuscate the whole truth for some reason.
I care because the club has been dragged into this and I don't think Clem and by extension the club, is being open and honest with the fans (even those who don't care)

[RobertT]

I believe Clem ceased to be a Director of the company in question about two or three months prior to the Liquidation event.  Likely, the lawyers are suggesting he was not responsible, Liquidator may be trying to determine otherwise.  Outcome - nobody is telling porkies, but the truth is unknown and/or unclear.

[mexico red]

I still havent mentally recovered from my Diamandis dirty protest.

Living a few thousand miles away also stops me from getting banned for speaking out on HTV.
I will leave it the younger mob and just dribble into my beard

[horlock07]

The obvious question is - if he was neither involved nor owner before it went into liquidation, who was? Was the business sold as a going concern 2 months before it shut? Fat chance of that.

This was where the adver piece went to shit. As I noted at the time I suspect that docs on the aussie version of CH would probably explain it (a cursory google flagged that up to me) but their journalism didn't appear to stretch to spending a few quid downloading them.

[RobertT]

This was where the adver piece went to shit. As I noted at the time I suspect that docs on the aussie version of CH would probably explain it (a cursory google flagged that up to me) but their journalism didn't appear to stretch to spending a few quid downloading them.

I don't believe the Adver has backtracked though - it's clarified that Clem was not a Director of the business on the date of liquidation, but not gone any further because it is true he was not.  The issue was that he had only just ceased to be and his statement suggested it was just a dormant business, when in fact it owes people money.

There is a grey area around whether or not someone in Aus is trying to determine whether Clem has a level of financial responsibility to the creditors - something Clem denies, to be clear.  The Adver has not confirmed either way on that front - leaving it still open for further research.  And even if a local Liquidator was trying to hold Clem responsible, I guess that would be subject to legal actions, locally.

[Wobbly Bob]

Might be worth a quick check of Australian company law, but in the UK there would be no way he could be held liable if he wasn't a director at the time.

Who knows, he might even be a creditor of the liquidated company. Unlikely, but would historic outstanding director loans be covered in the event of liquidation?