Club must invest time in providing the detail
By Owen Houlihan
Comment
SPORTSDESK COMMENT
HANDS up who knows the identity, or even nationality, of the new consortium supposedly in the process of taking over at Swindon Town?
Lithuanian? American? Martian? Latest rumours seem to suggest this takeover may have its origins in Portugal.
advertisementBut that's just the point.
Why are supporters reduced to a guessing game when it comes to finding out who could soon control their beloved club?
Did the Glazers remain anonymous while their bid to take control of Manchester United progressed? George Gillett and Tom Hicks at Liverpool? Or Thaksin Shinawatra at Manchester City?
Not at all.
Their identities were in the public domain long before formalities were completed.
Yet all we hear are that new investors' are progressing with due diligence with a view to taking over within eight weeks.
With many financial issues to be ironed out maybe this time is needed. And due diligence is, of course, a process that takes place away from public gaze.
But there seems little logical reason why the identity of this new consortium needs to be kept a closely-guarded secret.
Surely it just invites suspicion that this takeover is not quite what it has been claimed to be?
The need for transparency is especially pressing in the light of the letter sent to the club's creditors regarding the issue of the CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) balloon payment last week.
Administrators urged them to defer the payment of £900,000 by up to another year, no later than May 2008.
It is clear Town are requesting the extra time in the belief that this takeover will throw up the funds necessary to settle all outstanding debts.
But having seen the club fail to meet its CVA requirement at the end of last month, are creditors not now entitled to more hard facts and information as to just how the club are going to settle these bills before agreeing to such a deferral?
Reading some of your excellent responses to our back page story last Friday, it is clear you feel as much.
That feedback also threw up a number of questions the Town hierarchy and administrators should be answering with extreme haste, such as:
Should negotiations with these new investors break down, how are Town going to meet their responsibilities?
Why have the club not provided evidence of the identity of these investors and their ability to repay the CVA to creditors, to aid them in making their decision?
If Town are relying on new investment to help pay off the debt, why has the administrator not made any official mention to creditors of the fans' consortium takeover proposal, which also pledged to settle all CVA debts some months ago?
Could this deferral proposal be classed as a renegotiation of the CVA, leaving Town open to the possibility of a 10-point deduction under the Football League's rules?
The new investors could also do their bit to ease concerns.
Accepting that much of the nitty-gritty must stay behind closed doors for now, how about a strong statement of intent to reassure fans and information about their identities and backgrounds?
As well as providing a much-needed update, it would surely show creditors there is a better than decent chance of their money being paid back soon.
In the absence of this, and given what has transpired in the past, why wouldn't any self-respecting Town creditor move to have the club wound up next month?
Meanwhile, the perplexing arrival of Rufus Brevett as Sporting Director' has merely added to the mystery?
Putting aside what that role actually entails, is there not a danger - with due respect to Brevett - that this appointment could undermine the good work of Paul Sturrock?
How often has appointing anyone over the manager's head ever worked in football?
There are plenty of questions to answer - in addition to the ones posed by one of my colleagues earlier this month.
Announcing the new consortium's proposed involvement earlier this month, club director Bob Holt proclaimed: "This is fantastic news for all the loyal supporters of Swindon Town Football Club.
He went on to add that the move would "disperse forever the dark financial clouds that have for too long hung over the County Ground.'' If true, great. But as one of our correspondents observed last week, "trust us, it'll be alright' does not cut it any more.''
