RIP Scarborough Football Club

[Guest nufc_geordie]

From the BBC:

 

Scarborough FC go out of business

Scarborough FC

The Seasiders had been accepted into the Unibond League for next season

Scarborough Football Club has gone out of business with debts of £2.5m.

 

The former Football League club was wound up at Leeds High Court at a hearing on Wednesday morning.

 

Boro hoped the local council would lift a covenant on their McCain Stadium so it could be sold for residential use to cover debts and finance a new ground.

 

But the judge hearing the case felt a rescue package was unlikely in the face of mounting debts which include a sum of £820,000 owed to the Inland Revenue.

 

 

Despite the support of Scarborough Borough Council and the company's creditors, the club simply ran out of time

 

Statement from Scarborough FC

 

A statement from Scarborough read: "While it is sad to see the demise of a club with a proud history of 128 years, the club's finances have for a number of years been in a very poor state and the company has been in and out of various insolvency proceedings.

 

"Recently the club has been trying to sell the McCain Stadium for development to fund a move to an out of town purpose built stadium. However, this move has been fraught with difficulties.

 

"Despite the support of Scarborough Borough Council and the company's creditors, the club simply ran out of time. The company's total debt amounts to £2.5m.

 

"Rob Sadler and Mike Saville of Begbies Traynor have been appointed joint liquidators of the company and will now be liaising with Council to agree the disposal of the stadium in order to achieve the best return to the creditors.

 

 

606: DEBATE

Today is a very dark day for the people and town of Scarborough

 

AC

 

"Whilst it is disappointing to see any club go out of business, the making of the winding-up order at this time allows the newly constituted supporters' trust an opportunity to reform and apply for membership of the North East Counties League.

 

"Hopefully this will ensure football for Scarborough in the coming season."

 

The Seasiders, a League club until 1999, had been accepted into the UniBond League for the 2007/08 campaign after suffering a second successive relegation last season.

 

That will no longer happen but supporters may now look to form a new club, playing at a lower level and ground-sharing with another local team.

 

Things like this bring the harsh reality of the state football is in in this country. The top leagues get richer but the lower leagues down to grassroots get poorer. There is no way that a club with a 128 year history of majority league football should end up like this.

 

To me it makes a mockery of the way Leeds have basically used a back door to prevent the same fate! Their debts to the Inland Revenue were written off whereas Scarborough were punished? Where is the fairness in that?

 

I hope they do set up a new team, and start a fresh and someday make it back to the upper eschelons  of English football.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

did leeds get to write off revenue debt? they are usually the top of the list when it comes to administration

[Guest nufc_geordie]

Aye the Leeds revenue debt was written off, well to the point that they only pay back 1p in every £1 that they owe. Funny how it's Leeds High Court now doing the opposite to Scarborough. That sort of thing should never be allowed. Leeds should have been made to pay that back regardless then they would have been folded as well.

 

 

Bates unhappy with Inland Revenue

Ken Bates

Bates arrived at Leeds in January 2005

Leeds chairman Ken Bates says the club had to go into administration due to the actions of the Inland Revenue.

 

Bates told BBC Radio Leeds: "The Inland Revenue acted extremely unreasonably.

 

"Over the last two-and-a-half years Leeds have paid between £15m and £20m to the Revenue, but our cash flow dried up and we asked for a holiday."

 

"The Revenue said no and put foward the petition to wind up the club. I'm sorry small creditors have lost money, but that is totally down to the Revenue."

 

Bates added: "We were happy to pay everyone over a period of time.

 

"The fault for Leeds United creditors should be place fairly and squarely at the Revenue's door.

 

On Monday Bates regained control of Leeds Utd following a recount of votes taken at last week's creditors' meeting.

 

After putting the club in administration with debts of £35m on 4 May, Bates required 75% of creditors' votes to buy the club back.

 

The recount showed that 75.2% of creditors backed his plans to offer them just 1p in the £1 of debts owed.

 

Bates, formerly owner of Chelsea, arrived at Leeds Utd in January 2005, when he bought a 50% stake.

 

The club went into administration last month, a move that meant it was docked 10 points which ensured its relegation to League One.

 

Leeds Utd's financial problems stretch back several years.

 

In 2001, Leeds reached the semi-final of the European Champions League, however, despite spending millions on players, the club failed to qualify for the competition in the following seasons.

 

This failure to qualify led the club to rack up huge debts. In October 2003, Leeds reported a pre-tax loss of £49.5m for the year to 30 June 2003, which at the time was a record annual deficit for a Premiership football club.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

I don't think the revenue counts as an ordinary creditor in terms of a penny in the pound

 

and you can hardly say they went easy on Leeds and hard on Scarbrough

[Guest DavB93]

Knew this was coming, my mate is the reserve goalkeeper for them. Well use to be anyway.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

no more ITK

[Guest king harry]

They are 2 million in debt, if they palyed a pre season friendly at say newcastle, sunderland, and Boro, they could clear most of that. Wrexham were almost in this situation, and they got helped out by big clubs such as Liverpool.

[Yorkie]

My local club.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

My local club.

 

you can't have 2 clubs

 

/stevie

[Mick]

I've been to Scarborough once to see us play them in a friendly, the drinking was good but the football was as boring as hell, it's still a pity and like somebody said, we could have helped them by playing them pre-season.

 

It's crap when we can't help the local'ish clubs out.

[NE5]

My local club.

 

you can't have 2 clubs

 

/stevie

 

Vicky thinks all Geordies should live in Newcastle 

[Matt]

Their financial woes didn't stop them having a wage bill close to £5k a week in a division where half the sides operated on half the amount.

 

Sad to a see a club go, but they went out the same way they got into trouble- terrible financial management.

 

They already had a manager and list of players ready if they got the cash from the sale of the ground. The town is probably better off with a new club under more sensible ownership.