Notice to appoint administrators

[CornwallRam]

A few thoughts from a fitful night's sleep:

Mel wanted to push FFP/P&S to the limit. He also spent significantly on items that were FFP exempt, like the academy and the infrastructure. It seemed that he wanted to use his vast wealth to drive the club into the Premier League.

That was fair enough; it was his money and his train set. Now he's walking away from the club he loves and putting its very existence in jeopardy, because he's having to put £1.5 million per month in? That is a very large u-turn. Why?

 

Assuming the MSD thing comes to nothing and we go into administration, we get a 12 point penalty. I believe that's fair enough. It stops clubs from using it as a relatively easy way to walk away from debts, as has happened in the past.

What I'm struggling to see the point of is a two year transfer embargo. You can't argue against an embargo whilst in administration; a club without the cash to pay its way can't be allowed to increase its costs. However, the key for the club to survive is that a buyer is found quickly. An ongoing embargo is going to make selling the club as a going concern far more difficult. Surely the embargo should be lifted as soon as the football and hmrc debts are paid and the CVA is in place? It seems to me that this EFL rule is one which could easily drive a founder member to extinction. 

 

Finally, what we need now is a buyer. As fans, we need buyers to see our potential. Everyone knows that Rooney and the players are blameless here and deserve our support. I suspect that today's atmosphere will be excellent.  

What I think would help secure the future of Derby County would be big home gates over the next couple of months. The administrators will need cash to pay the bills, otherwise the doors slam shut. But if we can pack the stadium,  it will also send a message that we are a club worth buying. So please, everyone who can, get yourselves to the next few games.

 

[ScubaRam]

10 hours ago, Gaspode said:

We’ll hold the low points record for both the Premier League and the Championship…..

Now that is ‘the Derby way’

[CornwallRam]

18 minutes ago, NottsRam77 said:

So basically anyone now can take us over … can see falwaz rubbing his hands … that would literally finish us / me off 

 

He turned out to be a far better owner than Mel Morris.

[NottsRam77]

6 minutes ago, CornwallRam said:

A few thoughts from a fitful night's sleep:

Mel wanted to push FFP/P&S to the limit. He also spent significantly on items that were FFP exempt, like the academy and the infrastructure. It seemed that he wanted to use his vast wealth to drive the club into the Premier League.

That was fair enough; it was his money and his train set. Now he's walking away from the club he loves and putting its very existence in jeopardy, because he's having to put £1.5 million per month in? That is a very large u-turn. Why?

 

Assuming the MSD thing comes to nothing and we go into administration, we get a 12 point penalty. I believe that's fair enough. It stops clubs from using it as a relatively easy way to walk away from debts, as has happened in the past.

What I'm struggling to see the point of is a two year transfer embargo. You can't argue against an embargo whilst in administration; a club without the cash to pay its way can't be allowed to increase its costs. However, the key for the club to survive is that a buyer is found quickly. An ongoing embargo is going to make selling the club as a going concern far more difficult. Surely the embargo should be lifted as soon as the football and hmrc debts are paid and the CVA is in place? It seems to me that this EFL rule is one which could easily drive a founder member to extinction. 

 

Finally, what we need now is a buyer. As fans, we need buyers to see our potential. Everyone knows that Rooney and the players are blameless here and deserve our support. I suspect that today's atmosphere will be excellent.  

What I think would help secure the future of Derby County would be big home gates over the next couple of months. The administrators will need cash to pay the bills, otherwise the doors slam shut. But if we can pack the stadium,  it will also send a message that we are a club worth buying. So please, everyone who can, get yourselves to the next few games.

 

Great post… and yes your right any new owners need to see what an amazing and relentless fan base we are 

[Brammie Steve]

So now we are like “How do I reset my Etch-a-Sketch?”

”Turn it upside down and shake it!”

Or

”No problem is so big you can’t run away from it!”

(Linus in ‘Peanuts’)

How about a new Rams Song?

”Pick yourselves up, brush yourself down, start all over again!”?

We are Derby!

COYR!

Edited September 18, 2021 by Brammie Steve

[NottsRam77]

3 minutes ago, CornwallRam said:

He turned out to be a far better owner than Mel Morris.

Sadly and somehow thats true 

[Crewton]

1 hour ago, DerbySmog said:

Not true. All football related debts still have to be paid in full. This includes outstanding transfer fees, fines (to EFL or HMRC if outstanding) ,player and coaching staff wages. Failure to be able to do this mean the club is insolvent and luquidation would follow. 

HMRC aren't a secured creditor these days, nor classed as football creditors. They could issue a winding-up petition in order to try to recover their debt, but are more likely to agree a CVA provided that it recovers more than they're likely to get through liquidation. Undoubtedly, the club/new owners would have to get confirmation from HMRC that all debts have been satisfied for EFL approval to be granted. 

[G STAR RAM]

5 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

I assumed that meant once current debts are cleared and covid impact removed, we'd more or less be running at breakeven. Hard to argue against that with our current wage bill

So if we are so close to being sustainable why would MM choose to pull the plug now?

[Woodley Ram]

Stunned as I wake up in Cyprus this morning. 

I had a feeling something was up but wouldnt be alone in that, so could this be the 12 points with 3 suspended, if so that would be unfair on the likes of Wigan?

Lets hope we keep Wayne

That we dont get more than a 12 point deduction as there is a chance we could turn 12 points around.

Postive is that administration will clear a lot of the debts and I think the stadium is in Mel's name so shouldnt be part of it

We need new post Administration owners now, it would be good if this was part of the deal to bring them in.  

We need to really support them now.

[atherstoneram]

2 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

So if we are so close to being sustainable why would MM choose to pull the plug now?

I wouldn't say spending £1.3m - £1.5m per month is seen as close to being sustainable

[Oldben]

35 minutes ago, NottsRam77 said:

So basically anyone now can take us over … can see falwaz rubbing his hands … that would literally finish us / me off 

 

It's unlikely anyone can take us over in the same way as a home in administration.

Any new owners likely to be scrutinised by the efl. The efl will want assurances of available funds and likely to seek references over the new owners background.

[ilkleyram]

Somewhere in the UK somebody, probably an accountant, is waking up this morning and is about to become the most important person in our (footballing) lives.  Our Administrator.

They will have a number of tasks but the first job after introducing themselves will be to understand the figures and then work out a way of reducing and closing the (roughly) £300,000 per week difference between our income and our expenditure.  Most of that will be in wages and most of those wages will be largely untouchable because they relate to the players.  So some tough decisions will have to be made should any players be on a pay as you play contract, or near to an appearance generating payment to the club they left to join us, or a bonus payment or, indeed, anything else that serves to increase our outgoings. There will be negotiations with the players about taking reductions in pay, short or long term.  Some may be more willing than others. Wayne might find that the Administrator is helping him to pick his team.

Then there will be those whose wages are not so protected - the canteen staff, ticket office staff, groundsmen, physios, Academy staff and the rest.  If anyone leaves they won’t be replaced even if that means that pitches at Moor Farm don’t get mowed or prepared, even if the Cat 1 status is lost. Staff on furlough won’t be coming back, redundancies will happen.

After that comes the extraneous costs.  16,000 crowds?  Shut the North Stand.  Ticket prices? Up £5 per seat and £10 for away fans. New equipment for the gym? Cancel the order.

Alongside all that will be a wish to sell the club as a going concern.  There will be interest - from the numpties who are taking the mickey to those who are genuinely interested but have no money and (hopefully, please dear God) maybe one or two consortia who genuinely have an interest and have the resources to back it up.  But football’s general situation and ours in particular could, just could, generate no interest at all. If that’s so then the game is up.  

And what about the other players in this saga.  Expect FA from the FA, the custodians of our game, and nothing from the Department of Media and Sport or local Councils nor from the source of all this, the Premier League. There will be a collective shoulder shrug.  Sad but not our problem guv. The gleaming, sparkly football family's latest divorce. The PFA will want to ensure that their members are sorted out first and foremost.

Expect no positive help at all from the EFL.  They will hand out point deductions like confetti; they will apply their rules extra rigorously to try to prevent us from being taken over by the 3 Amigos part 2 - it will be slow and silent; they will take their time to agree a 2 year business plan should we successfully gain new owners and then monitor it strictly; they will make it impossible for us to buy German centre halves or even pay Shaun Barker fees; they will ensure that our ex-captain is rewarded for his drunken escapade.  They genuinely won’t want to lose us from the leagues (though they won’t care if we fall through them as Bolton did) but neither will they go out of their way to help.  It’s too important for them to have a big scalp to draw the others into line and to be seen to be acting tough rather than to go out of their way to be helpful. Good luck Reading and Swansea and others.

So if we are to have new owners they will themselves have a tough job to sort through all that lot.  It will take time and patience from them, and especially from us.  

We can help in the short term - buy home match tickets even if you’re not intending to go to the match, buy a new season ticket if you can afford to lose the money; help Wayne develop a siege mentality - us v them; support the players on the pitch, make them feel loved and wanted; pressure the EFL at the appropriate moments; pray to whomsoever your God may be for a bit of luck; hope that ‘the emergence of a financially sustainable picture’ means what it suggests and makes us attractive to a buyer; avoid the rumour mills on Tweeter and the rest (they’re really not good for your health)

We could do with Wayne staying, for this season at least.  His name will help to make us more attractive around the world; we are lucky that the transfer window is 14 weeks away; we will probably need the players to be flexible about their pay; and above all we will need a good Administrator, preferably one that will help manage the EFL, the PFA and generate interest from buyers.

Buckle up for the ride.  It might get rough.

[Anag Ram]

I guess where I’m at this morning is sad but waiting for more news. 

We have to see the impact of administration and whether someone comes in for us. I feel sorry for those who will be affected most, I.e. the staff, the players and the most vulnerable of our supporters. But also the businesses that will be negatively impacted by our incompetence. 

The saddest thing for me is the image of Derby County football club will be forever tarnished by this whole fiasco.

 I hope the players will continue to play with the passion they have shown, starting today.
 

 

[G STAR RAM]

11 minutes ago, atherstoneram said:

I wouldn't say spending £1.3m - £1.5m per month is seen as close to being sustainable

No but that would be ignoring the fact that we have had very little season ticket income this year.

[Angry Ram]

34 minutes ago, CornwallRam said:

What I think would help secure the future of Derby County would be big home gates over the next couple of months. The administrators will need cash to pay the bills, otherwise the doors slam shut. But if we can pack the stadium,  it will also send a message that we are a club worth buying. So please, everyone who can, get yourselves to the next few games.

The shame here is that a large chunk of that large crowd have already paid for those seats.. The rest, it seems, can’t work the technology to buy one.

Other than that, spot on.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Angry Ram

[davenportram]

Administrators

mel gone

EFL give points for administration

new owners

embargo lifted as Mel has gone (EFL beef with Mels methods why punish new owners administration enough)

 

terrible news but better than dragging it on with EFL a d it happening at the end of the season with higher debts.

 

[Angry Ram]

1 minute ago, G STAR RAM said:

No but that would be ignoring the fact that we have had very little season ticket income this year.

I’m not a season ticket holder, so a bit out of the loop as to current situation.. Didn’t people carry over from previously paid years, or purchased new ones this season? 

[I know nuffin]

18 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

So if we are so close to being sustainable why would MM choose to pull the plug now?

I wonder if it is something to do with his health. Just cannot get my head around him putting us into administration unless it makes it easier to sell in some strange way. You don't put 200 million into something then just walk away because of 1.5 million monthly losses. There is more to come on this story I suspect but cannot imagine what

[Pearl Ram]

I don’t know what I’m more cheesed off about this morning between being so wrong about Morris being a good thing for this club or the statement the club put out last night absolving him of any responsibility for where we find ourselves this morning.

Covid, it would seem has had no or very little impact on the other 71 clubs in the Football League yet it’s had devastating consequences for DCFC. Not the bloke calling the shots, nah, it’s all down to Covid. And they expect us to swallow that guff and think aw, poor Mel. 

Well, I’m not buying a word of that club statement, I think the club think the fans came down with the last shower and it is insulting. 

[secretsquirrel]

Only mentioned late in the bulletin on 5 live almost in passing-Thought it would get more attention-shows we are not really that significant in the football world-probably only mentioned and get any more coverage because of Rooney