Halifax skint

[Marrafan]

2 hours ago, Neutralfan7 said:

Like a rugby/"journalist" page 

Hardly call them journalists

They haven’t done anything to warrant a points deduction. If they don’t play Sunday that may come into operation. The biggest problem is if they go into administration. Will the RFL allow them another licence? It’s not a given going into administration and reforming.

[Sports Prophet]

Whatever rises from the ashes, please don’t let it be called the bloody Panthers.

[Agbrigg]

6 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Whatever rises from the ashes, please don’t let it be called the bloody Panthers.

I quite liked the bombers suggestion they made in the past

[Griff]

1 minute ago, Agbrigg said:

I quite liked the bombers suggestion they made in the past

They've certainly bombed quite a lot this season.

[Sports Prophet]

2 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

I quite liked the bombers suggestion they made in the past

Change their jumpers to black with a red sash while they’re at it… nah, Halifax is just fine.

[JonM]

2 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

There needs something doing to prevent club administrators from killing clubs with thousands of fans because of poor management.

What do you suggest? It's a problem that affects other sports too, particularly non-league football, and there doesn't seem to be an obvious answer.

Very often, directors of our clubs are people with very little (or no) experience running an entertainment business, let alone one with all manner of employment, medical, stadium health and safety and other legal requirements. Many championship clubs will have one, or a few full-time employees running the club day to day. In some respects, amateur clubs have it better, because you hopefully have a group of volunteers with a much wider set of skills and knowledge who can take on things they're good at/ interested in. I think it's also the case that the amount of abuse and criticism directed towards those running pro clubs puts off a lot of people. 

My club, Widnes, had its most successful period as a members' club, owned by season-ticket holders who voted for a committee to run the club each year.  We had a good spell as a limited company under a chairman who got the new stadium built, communicated with fans well and seems to have been well regarded throughout the sport. Then a short spell with an owner with links to organised crime who used the club as a vehicle for VAT fraud and who also bankrupted a neighbouring soccer club. The reformed club was then owned by a local, genuinely wealthy benefactor who subsequently lost interest and moved down under, leaving behind a CEO whose actions bankrupted the club fairly quickly (side note, his 'leadership' podcast and blog seems not to mention his bankrupting a 120 year old institution beloved by tens of thousands of people, https://www.thelonelyleader.co.uk/blog ). The current board is essentially made of up of people who are lifelong fans, some with experience of coaching, playing or running amateur clubs, others with some business experience in other fields, none of them are particularly wealthy.

There's been a few attempts to move clubs to a supporter-owned model, but none of them really seem to have taken yet.

[RigbyLuger]

3 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Clubs need to become sustainable from their own operations. If a benefactor/s becomes available, then that is an added bonus.

The irony of Wakefield fans hailing Matt Ellis as a saviour when the previous regime were trying to be as sustainable as possible (though not wholly, as that seems impossible.)

[The Blues Ox]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

Fans would be better putting up their money aside and being part of any phoenix club. I really do think with those kind of debts and HMRC pressure that is the likely outcome. Coldly speaking as a business decision its also the best outcome, short of a big benefactor, and I do have every sympathy with creditors that don't get paid while I say that.

100% agree. I just have a sneaky suspicion though that the money they are trying to raise this week is to simply get the players to agree to play Sunday's game.

[gazza77]

37 minutes ago, RigbyLuger said:

The irony of Wakefield fans hailing Matt Ellis as a saviour when the previous regime were trying to be as sustainable as possible (though not wholly, as that seems impossible.)

Wakey is a good example of the circular nature of finances within the game. The previous regime ran a broadly sustainable model, but the reality of that meant a team at the bottom of the table and crumbling facilities for many years. The new regime may also be aiming for sustainability, however the club has needed significant investment to set the sustainable benchmark at a higher level. 

After years working in the NHS, I see some similarities. You need to be able to invest to both save and grow, and long term sustainability needs short term investment, which isn't always possible.

[LeeF]

2 hours ago, The Blues Ox said:

No and that is the worrying thing. A couple of weeks ago or so the stand in chairman put out a message painting a bright future when infact he was lying about what was going on, I am not sure at this point how anyone can trust a word that comes out of what remains of our boards mouths.

That 30k is just a Go Fund Me page that was set up independantly of the club. By all accounts the situation is much graver than that and the amount is a lot more than that but its delaying the inevitable.

LeeF sums it up nicely here. HMRC not granting the extension simply means enough is enough and they want this over and done with as soon as possible so they can move on to the next thing. The fact that they are begging people to lend them 1k or more as loans is a disgrace. They know full well those people would never get their money back what a total bunch of charlatans.

Personally I see the only way forward at this point is to wind up the club, take the admin hit this season and if it is enough to relegate us then so be it but as long as it means all the current board are gone and no longer have anything to do with the club can only be a good thing. Next thing speaking to other local clubs about playing at a ground that we can afford to play at, that will never happen at the Shay where the council does not allow either team to make any money on anything other than attendance.

Unfortunately your last paragraph seems the best way forward. The lack of information is always a concern 

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, The Blues Ox said:

100% agree. I just have a sneaky suspicion though that the money they are trying to raise this week is to simply get the players to agree to play Sunday's game.

If HMRC are knocking then that will be the one focusing their minds. They can fudge the rest (not that they should but they can) but not HMRC.

[Neutralfan7]

Worse than imagined... £80K needed for "urgent debt" and then another £120-£150K to get them to the end of the season.....

[Just Browny]

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers-news/club-statement-halifax-panthers-financial-update/

 

[Griff]

8 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers-news/club-statement-halifax-panthers-financial-update/

 

That Long Term Financial paragraph is just fluff. Surely they've been doing that for years.

[Damien]

10 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers-news/club-statement-halifax-panthers-financial-update/

 

That's such a terrible statement that I can't be bothered going into it to say why. Every line just reeks of either complete mismanagement or fluff.

[Click]

11 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers-news/club-statement-halifax-panthers-financial-update/

 

Those numbers look huge for a PT Rugby League team. I don't unfortunately see them being able to get out of this hole, can only see administration as the future.

[Dave T]

Jesus Christ. Surely they aren't seeing the season out.

[Neutralfan7]

What will happen with the league structure if they go bust I wonder?

Edited September 6, 2024 by Neutralfan7

[LeeF]

1 hour ago, Just Browny said:

https://halifaxpanthers.co.uk/panthers-news/club-statement-halifax-panthers-financial-update/

 

Bearing in mind there are only c5 weeks of the season to go the true “urgent” debt figure is nearly a quarter of a million. That’s an astronomical figure.

I genuinely feel sorry for the Halifax fans because that reads as financial mismanagement on a massive scale and the future must be extremely bleak. 

[Damien]

3 minutes ago, LeeF said:

Bearing in mind there are only c5 weeks of the season to go the true “urgent” debt figure is nearly a quarter of a million. That’s an astronomical figure.

I genuinely feel sorry for the Halifax fans because that reads as financial mismanagement on a massive scale and the future must be extremely bleak. 

That is just to get to the end of the season as well. What do they plan on doing for the 4 months after that, when they will have no income, before the season starts up again?

[LeeF]

2 minutes ago, Neutralfan7 said:

What will happen with the league structure if they go bust I wonder?

Depends when they go bust. If it’s before the end of the season then with they will, after a points deduction, presumably take the second relegation place.

If it’s after the season then they will presumably start next season in the Championship unless they finish in one of the relegation spots.

This all assumes that they reform.

If they don’t then the Championship will run with 12 a season early and they will accept a second new club into League 1

[The Blues Ox]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

That's such a terrible statement that I can't be bothered going into it to say why. Every line just reeks of either complete mismanagement or fluff.

I'm sure some will be taken in by it. As someone posted on the Fax site, the Fax Trust seem to be just blindly handing money over that they are raising at this point which is just madness and is delaying the inevitable. Its just lie after lie at the moment.

[sheddingswasus]

1 minute ago, The Blues Ox said:

I'm sure some will be taken in by it. As someone posted on the Fax site, the Fax Trust seem to be just blindly handing money over that they are raising at this point which is just madness and is delaying the inevitable. Its just lie after lie at the moment.

The Halifax trust should be saving money in case needed to form new club

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

That is just to get to the end of the season as well. What do they plan on doing for the 4 months after that, when they will have no income, before the season starts up again?

Did you not read the press release? They'll get more fans, more sponsors and more money and be fine. It's a shame they only thought of this now.

[LeeF]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

That is just to get to the end of the season as well. What do they plan on doing for the 4 months after that, when they will have no income, before the season starts up again?

I’m seriously struggling to understand those figures. It makes Whitehaven’s £14k, which was bad enough, seem like small change.