Potential Buyers

[SuperNickyWroe]

Maybe because you can have more positive influence by sitting inside the tent than outside?

Well, that didn't work really did it?

[exilegull]

Well, that didn't work really did it?

How do you know? Perhaps it could have got even worse, sooner. Perhaps her presence there prevented money being siphoned out the club. Or perhaps indeed there was nothing practical that could be done as the club simply is not capable of being run solvently full-time without external injection.

Sometimes the only option available is to try and work with the devil and hope for the best.

[Willowgull]

The only positive I can see about the club going into Administration; the Administrators will now decide upon the preferred bidder (if any of them are suitable).

This begs the question; are any of the bids suitable? Why wasn't Osborne able to come to agreement with any of the bidders?

The Administrators will now look to streamline the club I suspect and look to make savings where they can. Money can't be spent without their say so.

[exilegull]

This begs the question; are any of the bids suitable? Why wasn't Osborne able to come to agreement with any of the bidders?

Its likely it has gone into adminstration so an agreement can be reached with all creditors.

[wbw]

Its likely it has gone into adminstration so an agreement can be reached with all creditors.

All of whom will lose an awful lot of money.

[Willowgull]

Yes, very good point Exilegull. Obviously we don't know what debts the club has. But if a new bidder can come to an agreement I guess it is in their best interests?

[exilegull]

Yes, very good point Exilegull. Obviously we don't know what debts the club has. But if a new bidder can come to an agreement I guess it is in their best interests?

Yes absolutely - Osborne is by far the largest creditor but the cleaner the slate any new bidder can start with the better.

[Nick Potkins]

Can people please show a little sense when questioning why Mel and George are still working for the club. There is paperwork to do, accounts to pay and keep. Plus hundreds of day to day tasks to keep the club running. We would not have a game tomorrow without certain blocks being in place. Would you prefer the new owners to pick up a going concern or a club dumped by all and not completing the season. Like it or not, they may be more critical than ever right now.

[CornishGull]

From what I can tell it's being tainted by association.

You don't know the half of it, she played an essential role in Osborne's capture of the club and was actually sacked by the Philips consortium as a result. Her place on the board is for services rendered to Osborne.

[Pikey_Gull]

You could possibly call it Corporate Espionage

[Southampton Gull]

Oh when the truth comes out.....

[AJW]

As some will notice, this is my first post. I am not a TUFC fan but am a non league football fan. I am not here to gloat as it is not good to see any club in trouble and the people who suffer the most emotionally are the fans, who like me want no more than a team to support and an enjoyable match day experience.

My reason for registering for the forum was that I have experience of dealing with football clubs in an insolvency process and the National League when one of the member clubs enters an insolvency process. Firstly dealing with the administration, I can only imaginem some severe cost cutting by the Administrators. Any debts incurred during the administration rank as a first charge against the receipts in the administration. They rank before any fees due to the administrators, as administrators like to get paid, they are unlikely to be prepared to see the losses continuing on the scale that they have been.

In an administration, the administrators have 14 days from the date of their apppointment to decide which if any employment contracts they adopt. If they continuing employing an individual beyond the 14 period, the payment of wages becomes an expense of the administration as against an unsecured claim. I personally would expect a number of staff, including playing staff to be let go within the next 14 days.

For a football club this is the worst time of year to enter administration. Revenue is about to dry up with only two home games left this season. Football clubs normally get through the close season from season ticket sales and sponsors paying a sizeable chunk of the sponsorship money. Due to the uncertainty of how the club will come out of Administration most sponsors are not going to pay the until this is resolved. Season ticket sales are also problematical. Will people buy a season ticket not knowing where or indeed whether the club will be playing next season. Often card companies will not release the season ticket money, where the payment was made by card, to the club due to the risk of them being liable for charge backs if the club fails to fulfil its fixtures.

Whilst in theory the administrators decide who to sell to, due to the football authorities requiring all debts settled or an agreement with the creditors before sanctioning a transfer of ownership, this alters the position quite dramatically. From what I understand CO is the largest creditor by some distance. If he is not agreeable to doing a deal on his debt with a potential purchaser, the transfer of ownership will not be approved by the FA or the league. This means that often the only purchaser the administrators can proceed with is the one that offers CO the highest percentage of his debt.

The next problem is the National League who are tough to say the least in this situation. There first concern is to have 24 teams in each of the three divisions complete the season and not fold during the season. At the very least they normally seek a bond being given to the League to enable it to make good any loss to clubs by losing a home fixture ot travelling to a game, whose result is later expunged. Any bond is likely to be approaching, if not in excess, of a 6 figure sum. Who will pay this bond?

If the club does not meet any requirements laid down by the league, the likely outcome is expulsion from the league. Throughout the football period leagues seem keen to pass the problem of financially troubled clubs down to the next level below. Expulsion from the league, if is going to occur will occur at the AGM. The options are therefore to get a deal completed and approved by 19 June or find the money for a bond by 19 June. Getting any sale approved by that date is nigh on impossible. From my past experience Southern League football, or no football, arethe most likely outcomes.

Hopefully, a deal is virtually done in principle. This at least gives the club a fighting chance of avoiding expulsion from the league.

[gullsgullsgulls]

Meanwhile in Swindon… GI have formally requested a change to their planning permissions to remove the requirement to build a stadium as part of the agreement to build houses on the Speedway site.

Just in case anyone on here was still of the view that Osborne was a positive force in Torbay.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/new ... nning-row/

[The Great Muta!]

Great post , I don't hink anyone with their marbles intact ever thought CO was positive force, ever, you only had to look him up and down and hear his BS, and you just knew what his game was from day one.

[GULL 67]

The boy and me are going to Gloucester on Monday but I must admit I am wondering if there is any point if we are going to get kicked out of this league anyway. So very sad.