Chester City FC wound up
 

It is being reported on Sky sports news this morning that Chester City FC have been wound up in the High Court this morning. What a sad and sorry tale this is and I hope this is not the complete end of the line for Chester due to one very irresponsible prat (doesn't really do him justice).

To all Chester City fans, I hope that you can restartyour club and salvage its history from the wreckage the Vaughan family has left you with.

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Also just been reported that the Chester sent no-one to represtent them in court, incredible!!

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RIP Chester City & Farsley Celtic too this week

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Farsley is another sorry story indeed, after finally agreeing deals with all their creditors so they could stave off liquidation, the administrators have seen to it that they will liquidate anyway as they wanted a figre close to £200,000 for their services, a figure Farsley can't afford. Absolutely stellar that move!!!

Cardiff have also been in the high court today and have been given 56 days to pay all their debts in full or they will be wound up and Southend Utd have also been in and have been given 35 days to pay all their debts in full or be wound up.

Its gonna get uglyer and uglyer over the next 12 months, how close we came to joining them and how many thankyous are just not enough to two guys named Khan and Marsden. Doesn't bare thinking about does it.

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Another sad day for football in this country :(

Hope they start again come August in the Unibond and who knows they could be back in the conference before they know it.

How many clubs is this going to happen to before the FA say enough is enough???
There are so many teams out there playing that the clubs cant afford its a joke.

It could and WOULD have been us if it wasnt for Mr Khan & Marsden, simple as that.

Long live ILYAS :D

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Sad story there. My Uni tutor is head of the supporters club and he said noone seems to no what's going to happen now. Rumour has it they are going to enter the North West Counties League along with Runcorn and Darwen next season.

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Sad day for Chester, glad i went to our 1st match in league away to them. Tho means theres an opening to reform - wonder whats going to keep Eric busy now :rolleyes: oopppss i said it. Deva forum is upbeat tho mightily relieved to get rid of Vaughan more than owt else - we sort of know that feeling.

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Are you suggesting the FA are at fault?
If so, why?

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There are too many clubs spending beyond their means - even premiership teams, man u has is it 700m debt, Portsmouth are in deep do do. Trouble is money has gone out of control in the world of football, stupid money & that is what is causing the problems - worse still for low league clubs which cant compete struggle with their bills. Something needs to happen to stop or cap the expenditure, also meaning that clubs get a grip & stop over pricing fans.

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Really feel for the Chester fans, hopefully they'll work their way up through the leagues again, but at least they know they've definately got rid of their albatross!

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Am I the only one who thinks this all started with Sky TV?

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Keep the faith!

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Sky is a factor, but also the wages, buying & selling of players has rocketed, foreign buyers of clubs who dont have interest at heart etc. The premiership itself has festooned this problem too, meaning the smaller clubs lose out on support, coverage & media.

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I wrote a paper on this topic a while back so ill give my 2 pence worth.

As we all know Sky TV has pumped literally billions into our game in the last 18 years since the inception of the premier league in 1992/93. Yes it has been a revolution and we have seen some fantastic football on these shores.

Unfortunately as a result of this just to be a member of the premier league and even finish bottom nets you around £35- £40 million in prize money and TV rights alone.

With the rewards for Champions League qualification being even greater its easy to see why so many teams are putting literally ALL their eggs in 1 basket in an attempt to win things.

You only have to look at Leeds United to see how quickly things can go wrong. 2001 Semi Final of the European Cup and now look at them. The main reason being Mr Risdale spending money they didnt have in an attempt to achieve champions league qualification the following season. When it didnt happen it was always going to end in tears.


I say its partly the FA's fault for a number of reasons............

1. Its a fact that a number of teams throughout the leagues (not just premiership) are taking HUGE financial risks in an attempt to get promoted or win a competition i.e Pompey being this seasons classic example. They money they are spending is obviously not sustainable and will eventually lead to a meltdown within the club. We have seen it on a number of occasions over the last few years.

2. This is not only happening in the premier league but also right down to the Conference North would you believe. With aparently Fleetwood Town's wagebill on a Level with League 2, if rumours are to be believed.

3. How these so called "Owners" can be given permission to take over and run football clubs is beyond me. I cant think of any other business in the world which will appoint a new owner without concrete proof they have the funding/ capital to begin with.

In relation to League 2 just look at Notts County. Yes they have some great players, but honestly can you see ANY team in our league paying players 16, 12, 10 grand a week?!?!?!?!

They went for broke with a plan for the premiership, when this so-called Munto finance took control, but they had no money whatsoever!!!

In my opinion the FA should look at its ownership rules, yes they have this... "Fit and proper" owners test, but it obviously is not working.

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Clubs also chased the "corporates" far too much, which inevitably in recession hits turnover badly!

Love Stanley, Hate Modern Football

PS Meanwhile, a certain team who are climbing high in League 2 pay a goalkeeper £1 million pounds a year..... Why aren't the FA asking any questions there........ Madness, & yes its the FA's & Premier League's fault. Once Sky lose interest what happens then?

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Was discussing this with Mr T the other night. Seems the capped wage rule only exists on paper. How can a club on the verge of administration a few weeks ago have a revenue which allows grossly high wages to be paid ?

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The FA should generate some sort of limit for all clubs based on income last season & historically, crowds, TV money etc etc. The PFA pay all players & the clubs can only spend an agreed total. No sugar daddies, live entirley within your means, dictated by an independant from outside the club

Easy, then we stop talking football "business" which is boring & start talking about football.

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Sad day for Chester, but as has been said, they will start up again - Welsh League I have heard - and are rid of the *****.

As for money in football and stuff, it started - and will end - with the Premier League and greedy ****** like the ones who now ironically would like to go back to green and yellow!!! Be careful what you wish for.

With Willie all the way on this one, keep it real!!!

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It is not an impossibility for Sky to go bump.

If they did would they take the whole Football League with them?

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football needs shaking up right the way through

1. an enforced wage cap based on last seasons turnover. Notts County would only have been able to pay Schmeichel a million a year if they had that in the bank from last season. No problem.

2. ensure that any new owners have bought the club outright and not used 'finance'. We saw with the Don fiasco that our new owner (who was but wasn't or is but isn't) didn't have a pot to pish in and couldn''t afford to pay the staff over summer. Consequently within minutes of him getting the keys we were asking the PFA to pay the players. If owner A wants a million for the club then new owner B must have the onions to pay it.

3. give ALL clubs a five year deadline to get in the black. Any club not in the black faces a relegation (or two if they finish in the relegation spots anyway). Man United would have to sell and not buy, and not pay astronomic wages for a season or two in order to service the ridiculous debts. The knock on throughout the leagues would be fairer competition and a dilution of the wealth. The only possible debt a club should have (IMHO) is an overdraft equivalent to two months wages just to ensure that it ticks over.

3. As Willie said, use the PFA to pay the players wages. Use the FA to pay all transfer fee's (instantly not staggered?) and tax bills. All gate receipts etc paid into a central pot and handed back as and when football bills are settled. Let the governing body administrate its member clubs. Any club that is struggling would be identified a lot sooner and sanctions or help could get underway long before the club gets into real difficulty.

that'll do for starters

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no, but the Premier League would probably implode leaving only clubs who haven't had to rely on their money. Burnely would be top of a league of one and would qualify for the Champions League

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Macca SUPERB!!

But in fairness, this time last year I + others thought DON was the future!! Guess garlic bread will have to do!!

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The Don could have been the future if he hadnt made a dogs cock of the SOS and if he'd had a few quid to actually sustain the club whilst there was no income. His ideas and his overhaul of the clubs infrastructure are on the money. But unfortunately for him it was a terrible start.

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That would mean teams doing well could spend more than teams not doing well. You need a level playing field with all clubs being capped at the same level

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Good Post Rob

But can't see the Elite of the PL coming anywhere near any of that

At the end of the day within the PL there is as daft as it a four league system with the top four, Europa League place, mid table and the mini league to stay in the Top flight.

The Championship, League One & even League Two are littered with teams that have tried to stay with the elite and then slid down the Leagues to start over again with huge debts.

I agree though that Football in general does need a massive overhaul but the Brand sells worldwide that is the "Premier League" and changes will be slow in coming but at least UEFA and particular Platini is taking a stand.

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I can't think of many that spring to mind, other than slicing the playing budget

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Yet another spot on post, though I am not sure that I understand No3 :o :o but, I am sure that if you are agreeing with Willie, it must be OK!!! :)

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I believe you have all got one thing regarding Manchester United seriously wrong here. Although the club are reported to be £700 million in debt, it is actually the Glazers who owe this money and they have tried to pass it on to the club, hence the reason they have had to sell their shares in the ice hockey team in the U.S. The other point is, the turnover the club have, it makes the turnover at Accy seem like pennies. Same goes for Liverpool, the American owners have also put the debt into the club, but it is them that owe the money not the football club.

Going on the the title of the thread, good luck with the phoenix club Chester and Farsley. Farsley reported to be restarting in Unibond 1 next season. Why not Chester City?

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The best business model for football and needed reforms could come from our cousins across the pond:

BBC News - American football faces financial reform

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Sad day for Chester.
A simple solution for stanleys future finances - get rid of O'neill.

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I hope Chester's fans can turn this around and that it won't take them 44 years.

The level of debt in the Premier League is frightening and sooner of later something's got to give. There was an excellent summary of each club's situation in the Independent last month:
The debt league: How much do clubs owe? - Premier League, Football - The Independent

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I don't think that Notts County actually pay their high earners wages. I think they are sponsored by Companies, so their wages aren't included in their 65% of turnover spending.

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All good points, and my tuppence worth is that the Government and MacWhinney must take some blame for introducing a law that allows football clubs, unlike any other business in this country, to ignore their duty to pay tax and money owed to HMIR.
I think I understand the argument why this was brought in but, as ever with Government meddling, the law of unintended consequences always trumps wishful-thinking from politicians.
If clubs had to abide by the financial responsibilities of other businesses it might just stop a few of them building up such debts that there is no option but suicide.
The financing of football has always been somewhat unconventional but the last few decades has seen levels of risk-taking that would make a banker blush.

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If Notts county are paying more than 65% then it should show up in their PAYE returns ?

just a thought

stephen

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Football clubs making PAYE returns? What next, tax?

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Which effectively makes the "rule" a sham....... and the FA obviously don't give a ****

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and to make it more of a sham said goalkeeper is on a £200k bonus for promotion, where is that going to come from! £7m in debt with average gates of 6000 it's going to take a while to pay that off. Also ref companies paying the high earners: living in Nottingham and knowing a fair few Notts fans(let's face it there are only a few) this is the first i've heard of this and when put to them they looked equally bemused. i suppose the whole farce may come out but to me they are in their position on bent/non existent money being paid to the likes of Schmeichel, Davies,Rodgers and of course our friend the murderer without whom they would be mid-table at best

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I think it is Munto finance who are paying the wages
Notts County wages for Schmeichel, Campbell stun Football League chiefs | Premiership News | tribalfootball.com

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I wonder if there would be financial synergies to be found by combining with other business interests to produce Notts County Football & Laundering Club.

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Munto Finance pulled out in November and appear to be a bit of a ghost company anyway so i haven't got a clue who is funding the club, if in fact anyone is as the new owner (ex Lincoln) certainly hasn't got the wedge to fund their debt and operating costs.

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Whatever way Notts County dress it up, it's cheating to have players on wages that they can't afford - and when the investigation into their financial affairs is finished I hope they get what they deserve, a points deduction

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For League 2 shareholder donations can be used to pay players on top of the turnover % allowed.

This is what everyone thought Notts were doing, and would have been within the rules.

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Football clubs are no different than any other company, football players do pay tax, when clubs get into difficulties its usually because they have not been forwarding PAYE of their players to HMRC