The Club Charged By The FA

[Crackity Jones]

Thanks PaulD. By doing that though aren't the legal bods condoning financial involvement from someone not allowed to do so.

[Legends-Lounge]

Thanks PaulD. By doing that though aren't the legal bods condoning financial involvement from someone not allowed to do so.

In a way yes but the law has no primacy over the rules of the governing body as such and is a separate issue.

[Power to people]

Do we read anything into that Clem & Standing have teamed up in court - is there a mutual agreement to stop Power I assume ?

Ref the sale when Clem comes back with an offer is to purely down to LP to accept / reject the offer or does Standing have a say in it as he claims to be 50% shareholder, assume if his offer is better than Able then Power will have no option to accept it as it would be deemed in the best interest of stfc.

Will Power have 1 last card to play though so he can walk away laughing ?

 

[Shrivvy Road]

I may be being thick as usual but i can see Power selling to Clem/Standing on the condition they sign something to not comment on the state of the books as such. There is a reason Power has not shown them or wanted to but with due diligence now happening I would imagine there are a few skeletons to come out

I think an agreement with them to let him piss off quietly would be in his best interests now as I imagine that's what able would be doing

[horlock07]

Do we read anything into that Clem & Standing have teamed up in court - is there a mutual agreement to stop Power I assume ?

Yes, I would also imagine that there is a saving to be made on legals by them pooling resources. As noted on this case, and the previous ones Standing seems to be using a QC rather than just a solicitor which suggests to me from experience that a) he is throwing the sink at things and b) he is pretty confident of winning and the opposition picking up his legals costs

I may be being thick as usual but i can see Power selling to Clem/Standing on the condition they sign something to not comment on the state of the books as such. There is a reason Power has not shown them or wanted to but with due diligence now happening I would imagine there are a few skeletons to come out

I think an agreement with them to let him piss off quietly would be in his best interests now as I imagine that's what able would be doing

I think a key consideration in all of this is who the various companies owe money to, if its just loans amongst themselves as far as I am concerned they can fight like rats in a sack for all I care, the issue will be what 3rd party creditors are there as much a with Bury and Bolton it will be the local companies getting 5p in the £ I will, feel most for.

[tans]

What if money has been taken from the club by the owner (transfers, competion money, etc), then put back in to the club as a loan with a high interest rate?

Wouldnt suprise me in the slightest

[Power to people]

What if money has been taken from the club by the owner (transfers, competion money, etc), then put back in to the club as a loan with a high interest rate?

Wouldnt suprise me in the slightest

That may be a consideration what level of interest is being charged, as a lot is surely loans, and you would guess its not going to be interest free, someone will make a profit.

Does it not need looking at also to ensure things like the DJ transfer money was put back into the club and not used to line someone's pockets, or is that something for after takeover has been completed ?

It does surprise me Clem only needs 1 week to do his due diligence and confirm his offer, that does seem short, I know time is short but 1 week is very short, unless I suppose he has a team of accountants working round the clock.

[pauld]

Thanks PaulD. By doing that though aren't the legal bods condoning financial involvement from someone not allowed to do so.

Arguably, but the legal process is different from the football regulatory process. The court's priority will be to keep the business functioning until some kind of resolution or sale can be arrived at, and in terms of Standing not being allowed to fund a football club, one could argue that that horse has well and truly bolted. It's also not entirely clear that Standing will be putting more money in personally, it may be the judge said something like "that lot have to produce funding between them" so it would be open to Morfuni to fund it all himself. It would certainly be ironic if Morfuni also ended up on an FA charge for allowing/helping Standing to fund the club as a result of the court's order.

[pauld]

Yes, I would also imagine that there is a saving to be made on legals by them pooling resources. As noted on this case, and the previous ones Standing seems to be using a QC rather than just a solicitor which suggests to me from experience that a) he is throwing the sink at things and b) he is pretty confident of winning and the opposition picking up his legals costs

Being awarded costs is one thing; recovering them may be another!

[horlock07]

This made me smile (through gritted teeth) in the Advertiser piece...

 The judge questioned why Mr Power wouldn’t entertain the Axis bid to buy the club. He asked Ms Thornley: “What I don’t understand is whether Mr Power’s reluctance to engage with an Axis bid is really based on the terms of that bid...or whether it is just based on an animus – he just doesn’t trust them.”

Ms Thornley replied: “It’s not the latter, as your lordship described it, but it is both of those things to a certain extent. He doesn’t trust Mr Morfuni or Mr Standing and he doesn’t believe that the [Sales and Purchase Agreement] put forward is anywhere near as good as the offer from Able.”  

BTW I owe Ms Thornley an apology, she is not a solicitor she is a barrister just hasn't taken silk.

Does anyone know anything about this John Everly who is now being mentioned in association with Able?

[JBZ]

I know a number of excellent and very able junior (i.e. non QC) barristers.

I also had a quick look at the online CV for LP's counsel and it appeared to be impressive.

I confess, I also chuckled at the reference to 'just a solicitor'.  I am sure that this wasn't meant in a derogatory sense   

[horlock07]

I confess, I also chuckled at the reference to 'just a solicitor'.  I am sure that this wasn't meant in a derogatory sense   

Solicitors are like most professionals I encounter on a daily basis, some are good some are dreadful, usually the ones who think they are good are actually the most dreadful! 

This made me smile, insofar as it just shows how blunt court proceedings can read when recorded in print.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/19244321.town-bosses-respond-trust-stfcs-support-morfuni/

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Does anyone know anything about this John Everly who is now being mentioned in association with Able?

I reckon this fella fits the bill

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johneverly

[RedRag]

*FA. We're not facing EFL charges. Yet. And not a cat in hell's chance these charges will get "lost in the mists", that's wishful thinking on an epic scale.

Why do people struggle so much to remember the FA and League are different bodies?

Thanks for the distinction.

The charges may not become "lost in the mists" but there would be considerably more (presumably unhelpful) evidence available to the F.A. if there were ever an open Court hearing between Standing and Power.  THis would be in neither of their interests.  This, along with the apparent cashflow crisis at STFC, point to a settlement.

The key point of my post, perhaps obvious anyway, was that the sale of the club is of no concern of the Court.  It is within the "gift" of the owner(s). However, whilst Power retains sole control but club ownership is credibly contested by Standing, the Court is concerned to protect Standing against potential losses to the asset he potentially (part) owns.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Doesn’t Power have to respond to the FA charges this week?