dkw Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I'm not sure how good this blokes sources are, but if true then it's not looking good for Widnes. @GaryCarter_1979: I’m told no player or member of staff at Widnes will be paid tomorrow after the collapse of a takeover bid. If investment is not secured by Feb 25, the club risks falling into administration. Club will meet players and staff tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerjon Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 minute ago, dkw said: I'm not sure how good this blokes sources are, but if true then it's not looking good for Widnes. @GaryCarter_1979: I’m told no player or member of staff at Widnes will be paid tomorrow after the collapse of a takeover bid. If investment is not secured by Feb 25, the club risks falling into administration. Club will meet players and staff tomorrow. That would be hugely worrying news. The best case scenario if they do go into administration is there's a pre-pack waiting to take them out of it but that pretty much ensures local companies etc get screwed. Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Won’t the “Liverpool Three” just swoop in and rescue them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Rumours have been on going for a while now, but hopefully this is just malicious gossip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moorside roughyed Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Just read the statement on the club's website and I've got my fingers crossed for them. This kind of thing seems to happen all too often in our sport. The loss of any club let alone one the size of Widnes is something we all should hope does not happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Chopra Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I don't see how this is possible. Doesn't a club relegated from SL have the right to terminate all contracts as necessary? Widnes will still have the highest TV payout and one of the better crowds, so surely if they've cut back player spend as needed, they should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 minute ago, Toby Chopra said: I don't see how this is possible. Doesn't a club relegated from SL have the right to terminate all contracts as necessary? Widnes will still have the highest TV payout and one of the better crowds, so surely if they've cut back player spend as needed, they should be fine. I read that they owe a large sum to the local council relating to stadium use. Somewhere in the region of £300k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Unfortunately it seems SOC has gone full circle with the club, and we are facing admin again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Ste Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 What will be will be. We start again. I just hope all the creditors are paid accordingly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREPOSTEROUS Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 So what are the chances Widnes could be bought out of administration and relocated to say Liverpool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Chopra Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, DoubleD said: I read that they owe a large sum to the local council relating to stadium use. Somewhere in the region of £300k Yes, seen the statement now. Looks like they've budgeted based on money they were promised which never appeared. They're not the first club to make financial commitments based on an investor promise but nothing concrete. We really are going to need some sort of rule to stop this happening. It's an unnecessary crisis. A club of Widnes size should never be bankrupt, even after relegation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 It’s a shame this is happening. But in a cold hard world of sports business Widnes may well be th sort of cherry that would attract new investment. After all they did state they had been. Approached to sell their SL spot and resisted the temptation to do so. I believe, if i recall correctly, that approach was rumoured to be from the union mob that run out of the Ricoh at Coventry. Not being in SL will mean that interest may not be there. Administration would mean resetting the clock financially, tempered by a loss of the better players in a fire sale a la the Bulls scenario. Debt free, points reduction, good academy, some passionate fans. The O’Connor period went stagnant and lacked both imagination and investment. The ground is good. Lots of positives for the right investor and cheap as chips as sporting teams go, especially if its buying out of administration, far cheaper than buying it with the council debt in place. Having spoken to a few Widnes fans at the Toronto match in Newcastle, I think they knew this was coming and just want it done and sorted so they can rebuild hopefully with an investor that can help the club go forward instead of languish in mediocrity. Not sure they want Koucash but the other investors mentioned seem to be welcomed although a sticking point seemed to be O’Connors relationship, or lack of, with those people. Whatever the result is they have the fans, the ground and the academy to rebuild better than they are now I think. Good luck to them and their fans. Great bunch deserve better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 8 minutes ago, Kris said: It’s a shame this is happening. But in a cold hard world of sports business Widnes may well be th sort of cherry that would attract new investment. After all they did state they had been. Approached to sell their SL spot and resisted the temptation to do so. I believe, if i recall correctly, that approach was rumoured to be from the union mob that run out of the Ricoh at Coventry. Not being in SL will mean that interest may not be there. Administration would mean resetting the clock financially, tempered by a loss of the better players in a fire sale a la the Bulls scenario. Debt free, points reduction, good academy, some passionate fans. The O’Connor period went stagnant and lacked both imagination and investment. The ground is good. Lots of positives for the right investor and cheap as chips as sporting teams go, especially if its buying out of administration, far cheaper than buying it with the council debt in place. Having spoken to a few Widnes fans at the Toronto match in Newcastle, I think they knew this was coming and just want it done and sorted so they can rebuild hopefully with an investor that can help the club go forward instead of languish in mediocrity. Not sure they want Koucash but the other investors mentioned seem to be welcomed although a sticking point seemed to be O’Connors relationship, or lack of, with those people. Whatever the result is they have the fans, the ground and the academy to rebuild better than they are now I think. Good luck to them and their fans. Great bunch deserve better. Not sure it will be that rosy if they go into administration. If they owe £300k to the council for stadium use then I can’t see the fall out of that going down well unless it is settled in full Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Think they’re a good buy if you’re an investor. Good ground, good history in the game, good youth products at the minute and a good history of players from the town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 What is always frustrating is how modest the sums of money usually are in a sporting context. Shows how little we have coming in as a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private Baldrick Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 minutes ago, Dave T said: What is always frustrating is how modest the sums of money usually are in a sporting context. Shows how little we have coming in as a game. When you consider that footballer Aaron Ramsey is going to be on £400K per WEEK it certainly does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Plow Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, PREPOSTEROUS said: So what are the chances Widnes could be bought out of administration and relocated to say Liverpool? I think that’s what Koukash and co tried to do before. Not sure they’d table another bid after their first attempt collapsed, although if Koukash really wants a Liverpool club this right now is his best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire Setter Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Ironic that Widnes should finally succumb when they’ve been so careful with their spending over the last 10 years. Especially when you compare it to those big-spending days which led to them almost going bust but surviving by the skin of their teeth... A small but loyal fan base is there so Koukash would be silly to relocate the whole operation if he purchased it IMO... Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCKonstantine Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Kris said: Whatever the result is they have the fans, the ground and the academy to rebuild better than they are now I think. Good luck to them and their fans. Great bunch deserve better. I wasn't particularly thinking they were a great bunch when they were booing and shouting over the Canadian national anthem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Bath Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said: Think they’re a good buy if you’re an investor. Good ground, good history in the game, good youth products at the minute and a good history of players from the town. Strictly speaking they havent got a good ground, the council have a good ground and it appears they might not have been paid by the chemics (apologies, never accepted the vikings name) for their use of it ...therein lies part of the problem. Isnt the ground used by other teams as well? If so the council might not be dependent on having the RL team play there if they cant pay a market rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yipyee Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 11 minutes ago, Anita Bath said: Strictly speaking they havent got a good ground, the council have a good ground and it appears they might not have been paid by the chemics (apologies, never accepted the vikings name) for their use of it ...therein lies part of the problem. Isnt the ground used by other teams as well? If so the council might not be dependent on having the RL team play there if they cant pay a market 2 hours ago, Cheshire Setter said: Ironic that Widnes should finally succumb when they’ve been so careful with their spending over the last 10 years. Especially when you compare it to those big-spending days which led to them almost going bust but surviving by the skin of their teeth... A small but loyal fan base is there so Koukash would be silly to relocate the whole operation if he purchased it IMO... Good luck Not so dumb to relocate, if they kept their training base in Widnes and the academy and played a few games in Widnes and take the big games to the city it could work! Most football clubs train nowhere near the ground anymore. It would keep their identity and player base whilst exploiting the opportunities in the bigger city! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Prince Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 4 hours ago, DoubleD said: I read that they owe a large sum to the local council relating to stadium use. Somewhere in the region of £300k But how could the council allow 300k deficit to go to waste? If they had ensured Widnes paid on time then Widnes could not, or should have not been able to spend silly money on players. Further more Widnes were always going to be bottom but were still busy spending money on the off chance of staying up through these middle 8s. If then they had stayed up they would still have got SLmoney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yipyee Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 7 hours ago, Rupert Prince said: But how could the council allow 300k deficit to go to waste? If they had ensured Widnes paid on time then Widnes could not, or should have not been able to spend silly money on players. Further more Widnes were always going to be bottom but were still busy spending money on the off chance of staying up through these middle 8s. If then they had stayed up they would still have got SLmoney. But did we have jeopody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spidey Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 12 hours ago, PREPOSTEROUS said: So what are the chances Widnes could be bought out of administration and relocated to say Liverpool? Zero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spidey Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 11 hours ago, Toby Chopra said: Yes, seen the statement now. Looks like they've budgeted based on money they were promised which never appeared. They're not the first club to make financial commitments based on an investor promise but nothing concrete. We really are going to need some sort of rule to stop this happening. It's an unnecessary crisis. A club of Widnes size should never be bankrupt, even after relegation. Problem is blokes who were in charge of the budget included their own salaries and have now jumped ship now the proverbial has hit the fan. SOC I believe is the only one left, and he’s had little interest in the club since he moved to Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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