Ramrob

I don't have any sympathy with MFC at all, but what a complete and utter mess for all involved.
Depressing that's it come to a game of 'He said, She said'. ?
Has nobody thought to get all relevant parties round the same table at the same time (real or virtual) and actually talk to each other properly? Instead of all these claims and counter claims?
Of course the EFL seem to be the main protagonists in all this, but starting to wonder what Quantama have actually been doing for the last 3/4 months. Just feels like this could have all been resolved weeks if not months ago.
Thanks – I needed to vent my frustrations!
 

Us appointing a former player seems to be a kiss of death to their former clubs. First Chelsea, now Everton. If Wayne goes are there any ex-Boro players aspiring to move into management?

Currently talking with various members and fan groups privately to compile key points that can be pinned on the forum to be shared with the media and MP's.  

Three parties have made offers, any one of which would allow the club to exit administration with a substantial payment to creditors.
These offers need clarity, that the claim by Boro and the potential claim by Wycombe do not qualify as Football Creditors.
The football creditor rule is not defined in the EFL regulations, it is part of the Articles of Association of the Football League Limited, of which all clubs are minority shareholders (the golden share).
The football creditor rule is in Article 48, which clearly defines what constitutes a football creditor, copied below from Companies House.
The rule clearly states that it is to cover payments of "debts due". How possibly, can an unproven, unquantified claim such as Boro's be consider a debt due?
If the EFL is suggesting that any claim by a football club or employee, which is unproven, should be classified as a football creditor it would create mayhem. And, bona fide football creditors with debts due, and other preferential and unsecured creditors would lose out as a result.
The EFL can't have this both ways. If they choose to say Article 48 does not qualify Boro's claim as a football creditor the EFL are suggesting they might be sued by Boro.
However, if they choose to say that Article 48 should be interpreted (which is a wild stretch) in a way that Boro should be classed as a football creditor then it is almost certain that the EFL would be sued by the Administrators and the creditors including genuine football creditors, and HMRC for their easily quantified losses. 
The EFL also risk being sued under section 994 of the companies act for acting prejudicially against the interests of a minority shareholder of the football league ie. DCFC.
We need to apply pressure on the EFL to get off the fence, see that their actions alone are preventing the Administrators from getting a deal agreed. 
Article 48 says that Boro's claim cannot be a football creditor and the EFL must state that and stop this nonesense.
"48         FOOTBALL CREDITORS
48.1      Where a Member Club defaults in making any payment due to any of the following persons, 
the Member  Club ('Defaulting  Club')  shall be subject to such penalty  as the Board may decide 
and subject also to Article 48.2:
48.1.1        The League, The FA Premier League and the Football Association;
48.1.2        any of the Pension Schemes;
48.1.3        any Member Club and any Club of The FA Premier League;
48.1.4        any holding company  of The League and any subsidiary  company  of that holding 
company;
48.1.5        any sums due to any full-time employee or former full-time employee of the Member 
Club by  way  of arrears  of remuneration  up to the date on which that contract  of employment is 
terminated. This excludes for these purposes all and any claims for redundancy,   unfair   or  
wrongful   dismissal   or  other   claims   arising   out   of  the termination  of  the  contract  
or  in  respect  of  any  period  after  the  actual  date  of termination;
48.1.6        any  sums  due  to  the  Professional  Footballers  Association  in  repayment  of  
an interest  free loan together with such reasonable  administration and legal costs as have been 
approved by the Board;
48.1.7        The Football Foundation;
48.1.8        The Football Conference Limited trading as "the National League";
48.1.9        The Northern Premier League Limited;
48.1.1O      The Isthmian League Limited;
48.1.11      The Southern League Limited;
48.1.12      Any member club of the League or organisations listed in Articles 48.1.8 to 48.1.11 
inclusive;
48.1.13      Any County Football Association affiliated to The Football Association; and
48.1.14      Any Leagues  affiliated to The Football Association  and any clubs affiliated to any 
County Football Association recognised by The Football Association.
48.2      Subject to the provisions of Articles 48.3 and 48.4, the Board shall apply any sums 
standing to the  credit  of  the  Pool  Account  which  would  otherwise  be  payable  to  a  
Defaulting  Club,  in discharging  the  creditors  in Article  48.1.  As  between  the Football  
Creditors,  the  priority  for payment shall be in accordance with the order in which those 
Football Creditors are listed in Article 48.1.
48.3      If,  having  discharged  all Football  Creditors  in  any  preceding  class  of  Football 
 Creditor  (as
· required by Article 48.2) the sum then available is not suffident to discharge in full the 
Football Creditors listed in Articles 48.1.1, 48.1.2 or 48.1.4 the Board will decide the 
allocation.
48.4      If,  having  discharged  all Football  Creditors  in  any  preceding  class  of  Football 
 Creditor  (as required by Article 48.2) the sum then available is not sufficient to discharge in 
full the Football Creditors listed in Article 48.1.3, 48.1.5, 48.1.12, 48.1.13 or 48.1.14 the sum 
will be allocated pro rata amongst the creditors of the same class.
Note - Clubs are reminded that any assignment of future entitlements from the pool account are 
subject to Article 45 and this must be brought to the attention of the other party. Furthermore 
assignments must be in legal form and registered with the office. Assignments are given priority 
according to the date and time of registration."

Went on this morning .
Think I got my points across

Think where we would be if our team on a shoestring budget hadn't been robbed by a team in breach of FFP in a final. And QPR got almost no punishment.

2014/15
Middlesbrough vs Bournemouth - Bournemouth failed 14/15 FFP, Middlesbrough missed out on autos
2015/16
Ipswich and Cardiff vs Derby and Sheff Weds - DCFC and SWFC failed periods comprising of the 15/16 season, taking playoff places off Ipswich and Cardiff
2016/17
Leeds vs Sheff Weds - SWFC failed a period comprising of the 16/17 season with Leeds missing out on the playoffs
Blackburn vs Birmingham - BCFC failed a period comprising of the 16/17 season, finishing the season just 2 points above Backburn who were relegated
2017/18
Barnsley and Burton vs Reading and Birmingham - Reading and Birmingham failed periods comprising of the 17/18 season, finishing 3 and 5 points above the relegated sides
Preston vs Derby - DCFC failed a period comprising of the 17/18 season, taking a playoff place off Preston
2018/19
Rotherham vs Reading - Reading failed a period comprising of the 18/19 season, finishing 7 points above relegated Rotherham
Bristol vs Derby - DCFC failed a period comprising of the 18/19 season, taking a playoff place off Bristol City
2020/21
Sheff Weds vs Derby - If Derby's points deduction was applied to 20/21, SWFC would have stayed up due to DCFC not putting the effort in to stay up on the final day 
 
Have I missed any?

As @Ghost of Clough said, it would be good to see a time line  of this whole saga with appropriate quotes from the the EFL during the whole process.
Remember this started with Mel trying to level the playing field by skirting around FFP issues by smart business practice. (not defending him) There were no rules in place against what we did with amortisation. They were signed off as OK for three years. After Mcguires intervention we got hauled before the EFL and found guilty of a communication breech only. We got a £100k fine. They were "disappointed" and appealed. Etc etc etc. 
I have a strong sense of fair play but what has happened, including the embargoes and everything else needs laying out fully so those trying to help us understand just how corrupt the EFL are. 
 

Does anyone remember promotions on cereal boxes always used to say "this offer does not affect your statutory rights" and when I was little I always wondered what that meant and how a free toy in the box was going to land me in the middle of a £45m compensation claim from a man who may have issues with unfortunate hair.

The worst reply from Rick Parry was one of the early ones where he said that maybe other people should focus on the matters at hand than seeking ways to cover up their past mistakes and blame other people. (I can't remember the exact phrasing).
You mean the way your organisation has spent the best part of 2 and a half years doing everything in their power to hinder Derby County, while seeking to bury YOUR mistake of waving through our amortisation policy a few years ago, letting us believe that we were OK to carry on using it and therefore being complicit in at least some of our overspend?

and far worse than that - they're claiming against us when their claim (if they have one) should be against the EFL (and possibly Boro who delayed the whole process).....

I don't think I'd be ready for Rooney leaving to be added on top of the already heartbreaking situation we find ourselves in.
The compensation money would probably fund us until the end of the season at least, but would the club be as appealing if he goes? Sponsors, potential owners, players... all cited Rooney as a pulling factor for us. If he goes, do players decide they'll leave after all? Does the amount buyers are willing to pay drop?
I've seen enough this season with Rooney to tell me I want him to be involved with Derby for a long, long time. He's my favourite manager since McClaren 9 years ago, and if he keeps us up he'd definitely eclipse that. Maybe he would still even if we don't stay up.
I thought that if the worst comes to worst, and we end up with a phoenix club, Wayne and his American friends might want to buy us. He wouldn't manage us, but at least he's involved.
To summarise, I really do not want him to go to Everton. Not sure if I made that clear.

Nixon is simply unable to run a story on Derby without adding some fear and uncertainty. It's a relatively positive story so to even things up he added some totally unnecessary detail about Curtis having a release clause but crucially no detail on if he actually wants wants leave or if another club has offered him a deal.
It's honestly pathetically predictable reporting.

Just lodged these questions with the EFL.
"I have some questions I would like answers to/an understanding of the efl's view on.
1. Doesn't the action being taken by 'Boro and Wycombe go against an EFL directive from 2019, stating clubs should not litigate against each other?
2. How are 'Boro and Wycombe's claims viewed as a debt by the EFL when they are simply that, a claim, that has not been through the court process?
3. How are Derby meant to resolve a claim against them when the administrative law states that such processes are not to commence or continue whilst a company is in administration?"

@richinspainl promised to revert on your query. I am less intoxicated now. Actually Big Dunc above has explained the position of the EFL very well. In a nutshell they are saying these are our member rules, which DCFC and 71 clubs signed up too, comply in one of 3 ways or you will remain under sanction, and I guess ultimately they can kick us out of the league. The lawyers of EFL will I imagine at this stage be saying all you can do is implement the rules you have been mandated by the member clubs. To do anything different leaves you potentially exposed.
I would imagine that Quantuma’s position is that In an administration, a statutory moratorium automatically arises under IA 1986, and that no legal process or proceedings may be commenced, or continued with, against the company in administration or it's property without either the administator's consent or the permission of the court.
To be clear neither Boro or Wycombe have commenced a legal process; they are trying to ‘extort’ money via the EFL rules route. I doubt either fancy the costs of a High Court battle especially if they were to lose (and be then forced to pay DCFC defence costs). By proceeding down the EFL rules route there isn’t really any downside for the parasites. If a LAP finds in favour of Derby the parasites only have to make a small contribution to the hearing costs - I think those costs being shared by the member clubs (you couldn’t make it up!). If DCFC lose the LAP, I have read on here (so treat with care) that the LAP decision is binding and there is no appeal. Any new potential buyer will be particularly fearful of the risks of a LAP. A high court claim process is much more preferable to a new owner, because a) there is some very real cost jeopardy to the parasites, and b) there is a rights of appeal process, and quite a lengthy one which I think might include CAS.
How this gets resolved is really beyond my knowledge, but I think Quantuma strategy will be as follows:
1) obtain legal counsel as to next steps.
2) with a view to injuncting the EFL to prevent them putting any obstacles up from announcing a preferred bidder, continuing as a going concern (I.e. to be able to trade as a Championship football club) and progressing the administration involving getting creditor approval from the list of creditors detailed back in November (so to be clear excluding the parasites). If they get the injunction, the EFL would have to comply although their Lawyers might try some appeal. Not sure on what grounds - I can’t believe membership rules would be allowed to be superior to statute.
3) Quantuma will also want the injunction ruling to confirm that no claims can be made by the parasites until Derby are out of administration, i.e. (ideally) a new owner is in, a CVA has been agreed, and we are back to being a Club under any third party control. Ideally though, from our perspective, they can also use the injunction process to determine that the rules of the EFL are unfair, and are open to allow for vexatious claims to be brought forward, and should be struck from the rule book. That would be ideal, but I doubt the Court would want to interfere in membership rules per se, unless they were considered illegal or unlawful.
4) Quantuma may also want to explore with EFL the options they now have representing DCFC under EFL rules. It seems to me that there are two approaches here. A) The EFL has via their processes made a decision as to DCFC penalties (i.e. points deduction, and wage/signing constraints). That should be full and final, and not open to other Clubs making separate claims thereafter. There would appear no other precedence for this; I am unaware of any member club trying it on independently after an EFL decision? What grounds at there for the parasites to be allowed to do what they are doing.  B) If A) is batted away, what is the potential for DCFC to now claim against QPR, after all if it is a rule book matter, rather than a statute process, that is king, there would appear to be no limitation of time on making a claim against QPR for their FFP cheating in 2014.
Note at all times these are the musings of an increasingly senile old man, with no legal training or practice experience. It is all very much fwiw, and as I often say to my two kids, a little knowledge can often be a dangerous thing.
#UptheRams
#DucktheEFL

This team has matured exceptionally fast over the past season or so.
Bird and Knight look to be players with 300+ appearances to their name. Festy and Tommo are having the sort of impact on the team we wished he had from Butterfield and Anya... they cost us £10m!!! 

Another impressive showing by Festy today. Granted he’s not yet the finished article but the lad can tackle, has pace and has some badly needed flair. One to watch. 

I think it's beyond heartbreaking the looming possibility that this squad is going to break up. Every single player who has played for us this season has been a credit to the club, they've all given absolutely everything and we could ask for nothing more. Today was just another brilliant example.
Any of our players who leave will have my full support wherever they end up, it's clear to me that none of them would choose to leave if they had a say in the matter. 

Hanny
Briefly, so we can enjoy the glow of today’s victory. 
I’ve spent a lifetime working on restructurings and a few years recently teaching about them at a top institution. That’s not to say everything I post on here will be right.
But for what it’s worth, my take is that this will all get sorted, as much as anything  because for us to be liquidated or to lose the share is an irrational result. And my (more amateur) footballing view is that IF Rooney can keep what is left of his squad together, there is a decent chance we will stay up. 
I really do apologise if I have pi$$ed you off and even more if I have increased the anxiety all of this throws up. In my case that anxiety (and anger) has resulted in me posting more than I should have done.
This is a proper apology, not like Boris’
 

I've sent him an email telling him that I'm a Nigerian prince, and I wish to forward him £100m that he is owed, but I first need £10m to get my money out of the country. Once that's sent over, that ought to cover Derby's costs until the end of the season.
Think he might fall for it, you know.

Got back about two hours ago.
Four pints at the match three pints of Jaipaur after the match. 
Great performance what a result that wiped the smile off the EFL
 
 

Can't say Mun(c)h about this. ☺️

What a team we have. I would love to see the data from all those sports bras and see the difference between a couple of seasons back and now.
These men; they are men - not boys not lads, they leave everything on the pitch, every game. I am so proud to be part of this magnificent quest we are on. The EFL haven’t an ounce of sportsmanship in their twisted, regressive, genetically flawed DNA. I hope for justice now but it’s a faint hope, but I know for certain that this team will be remembered. Our newly promoted midfield general is 19 years old  has tenacity, drive, maturity and determination far beyond his years. Our club Captain, in the late autumn of his career, is playing football of the highest order game after game. Our team Captain has transformed from being troubled and petulant into the fine skilled footballer we always hoped he could be. 
 
Anyway, hyperbole aside .. what a cracking day. Tight game but we played proper football, kept them at bay and did the goal scoring thing pretty damned well.
Joz was ok but Fozzy made a difference winning headers and Colin just doesn’t tolerate bullies does he !
10/10 for every player, Pointless singling out anyone in what is a real team; but can someone explain why wrapping your arms round an opponent or two handed  pushes within 2 yards of a well placed assistant referee is allowable ? I saw one or the other on 5 occasions. 
 
Fight to the end, I love this team, it’s special and a certain chubby scouser needs credit for sticking it together with glue and sawdust ( extra sawdust from tree felling work available next week I hope )