Wigan Fans again :)

Not sure if this has been posted, but very informative and basically states they dont have a chance

https://www.footballlaw.co.uk/articles/wigan-athletic-fc-takeover-to-administration

 

Some of the comments on the Wigan forums had me feeling a little anxious. They certainly have a point, but to overturn the points deduction would require the EFL to admit their own incompetence. That’s what reassures me the most.

 

It’s not up to the efl though

 

It does provide a level of reassurance that they are whistling in the wind. I'll still feel relieved though only when it's over.

I am confident in one thing, that our board will take the matter further if Wigan win their appeal and we are relegated. It won't be the end of it. Having stated their intentions, they would have to follow through on that.

 

Jesus Christ, that's some convoluted take over process; anybody would think it's been designed as a money laundering / tax evasion / vested interest scam. SCAM being the modum operandi.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....ed-into-administration-au-yeung-investigation


This makes interesting reading, although it’s a few weeks old.


It’s not the responsibility of the EFL to ensure that an owner pays its clubs debts. The supposed new owner had proven they had funds to keep the club afloat and passed the owners test by proving they don’t have an unspent criminal record or unspent bankruptcy!


Wigan have been shafted by their previous owners, they had a requirement to fund circa £25m to meet the ongoing liabilities in the next few months and they’ve clearly engineered their exit by using an offshore shell company to engineer the sale, migrating their financial and legal responsibilities. The supposed new owner placed the company into administration immediately, before that entity could be liable for any ongoing costs. Force majure does not cover for an owner changing their mind to not fund their financial liabilities. It’s a shysters trick but unfortunately it’s legal, no laws have been broken, but the result is Wigan are screwed as a result. As the article states they will hold an enquiry to how this happened, but unfortunately the horse has bolted and the previous owners have no accountability and are sat in the Far East with their feet up.


Legally they have no chance of appeal and I would be astounded if the administrator sanctions 500k from money the don’t have, to fund an appeal that clearly has no substance or any realistic chance of success. If their losses were 500k due to Covid and they weren’t loosing millions a year they might have a point, but a club turning over £12m a year, with a wage roll of £20m, spending £6m+ on transfer fees with no income to cover the costs. Previously the owners paid the bill but not this time! The owner put the club into voluntary administration. How can they possibly claim force-majeure, or hold the EFL to account?


I’m not worried for Barnsley but I do feel sympathy for genuine Wigan supporters. Flu starting as it may be, We have to be thankful that our foreign owners are not spending money and sanctioning inflated player contracts the club cannot cover under its own operating capital. Otherwise we could easily be in Wigan’s position.

 

This is about the best summary I've seen for it. It's about time a club got taken to pieces for this kind of business.

As you say, it's **** for Wigan fans, but they'll just start again, Wimbledon have done alright. If it's what need to happen to fix the game, it's what needs to happen. Next stop Derby and Wednesday.

 

Just think of Sheff Wed. They have a turnover of £25m and a wage bill in excess of £45m. Plus whatever their running costs are plus transfer fees! If the fisherman packs his bags and does what the Wigan owners have done they are finished!

Derby at least the owner Mel Morris is a genuine Derby fan, he’s less likely to do a runner and leave them in the brown stuff!

 

Could happen to any club including us. Rubbish for the fans but that's just how things are.

 

The thing that reassures me the most is that the appeals panel is made up of lawyers, rather than football's old boys network

 

Ok well that's somewhat reassuring. The article attached to this thread seems pretty water tight too right?

 

Yeah. That was my interpretation too prior to reading that article - http://barnsleyfc.org.uk/threads/wigans-argument.293798/

I'm a practising litigation solicitor and I really can't see how they ever succeed.

 

That makes me feel a bit happier!

In my head there’s no way they can succeed, but this is Barnsley we’re talking about.

What would you give their chances? Are we talking a less than 1% shot? (Don’t worry I won’t be quoting you in the future )

 

I would never say that anything that falls to the discretion of any given judge or panel on any given day is 1%. If something is a no hoper then the furthest I would ever advise a client is that it is about 20% on an arse covering basis because I have, on rare occasions, seen some truly baffling decisions. Me saying that I can't see how they ever succeed is based on my assessment of the matter but is probably over-egging it a bit given that it falls to the discretion of 3 individuals and how they see it on the day. I think that a finding in favour of Wigan is very unlikely but I would never rule it out entirely. The thing that concerns me most is that if a ruling is made in favour of Wigan it appears that we would have real difficulty in challenging that decision.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12098320/wigan-administration-sale-buyers-wage-bill/

Yet they have 500k to fund an appeal that’s got NO credibility, but want a buyer to pay £1m in wage bill before august. They will be in administration for months until their liabilities are manageable.

 

Can discretion be a factor here? Presumably it’s based upon an objective review of the rules and whether they have been applied correctly. Or are you thinking that their interpretation of Force Majeure is open to discretion?

 

Well they seem like a nice bunch.

 

What most of them can't seem to grasp is that they have been living beyond their means for years and now it has come to bite them on the arse