Wigan Athletic Enter Administration

[Banana]

But what do the rules say?

There are no rules. They went out the window with Bolton last season.

 

[kaebess]

Was it on here or on the radio. There is a 2 million payment due soon from the Premier league. Which of course will be held back

 

[looneytunes]

F*** em. Never forgiven them for ruining the last days of my youth in 1985. Can't we just sign their first team squad before Saturday?

As much as I have sympathy for their supporters I have little for the club the way whelan destroyed orrell rugby club. Allegedly having the orrell clubhouse burn down followed by wigan buying a player for the exact insurance payout an orrell steward told me on a visit there.

 

[Banana]

F*** em. Never forgiven them for ruining the last days of my youth in 1985. Can't we just sign their first team squad before Saturday?

lol

 

[Ealing Bee]

As much as I have sympathy for their supporters I have little for the club the way whelan destroyed orrell rugby club. Allegedly having the orrell clubhouse burn down followed by wigan buying a player for the exact insurance payout an orrell steward told me on a visit there.

Didn't know about Orrell RFC.

Anyhow, you have to have sympathy for the Latics' loyal fans, also the staff (and players?) who are being made redundant. And it seems what the new owners have done is outrageous.

But amidst all this talk about the club being "the beating heart of the community" etc, it should not be overlooked that until comparatively recently, Wigan Athletic were a non-league club in a rugby league town. And even after getting into the league in 1978, they were decidedly lower-league, and destined to stay there, until Whelan bought them in the mid-90's and pumped money in.

Which is not to deny them their achievements since, nor to let them die unmourned.

But perhaps some perspective might help?

 

[LeedsW5]

Didn't know about Orrell RFC.

Anyhow, you have to have sympathy for the Latics' loyal fans, also the staff (and players?) who are being made redundant. And it seems what the new owners have done is outrageous.

But amidst all this talk about the club being "the beating heart of the community" etc, it should not be overlooked that until comparatively recently, Wigan Athletic were a non-league club in a rugby league town. And even after getting into the league in 1978, they were decidedly lower-league, and destined to stay there, until Whelan bought them in the mid-90's and pumped money in.

Which is not to deny them their achievements since, nor to let them die unmourned.

But perhaps some perspective might help?

Also Orrell went the way of almost every northern RU side upon professionalism. Waterloo, Sedgeley Park, Otley, Preston Grasshoppers - all perfectly viable in an amateur game where all you need is a good group of lads and a chairman to buy the beers. Upon contact with the cold, hard economics of professionalism they disintegrated as they weren't (and never had been) viable.

The idea Orrell would be going as anything other than what they are (a well-run amateur team) today while trying to compete with Wigan, Saints, Wire & Widnes for rugby watching crowds, plus the huge number of local association football clubs, is for the birds.

 

[looneytunes]

It was whelan turning orrell pro which killed the club all likely part of his successful plan to turn orrells ground into wigan warriors training facility. I would expect orrell would be in the third tier at least nowadays. They always made the cup quarters and always in the top two divisions. Now they are at the same standard as chiswick.

 

[hanworthbee]

If they stay up and don’t come out of administration having Not paid their creditors enough In the ££ they could start Next season on minus 27 points.

 

[Ealing Bee]

It was whelan turning orrell pro which killed the club all likely part of his successful plan to turn orrells ground into wigan warriors training facility. I would expect orrell would be in the third tier at least nowadays. They always made the cup quarters and always in the top two divisions. Now they are at the same standard as chiswick.

It would appear Maurice Lindsay of Wigan Warriors RLFC was in cahoots with Whelan, too.

And lo and behold, look which sports company is looking to "rescue" Wigan Athletic now...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/53322411

 

[Ealing Bee]

Wigan Athletic: Preferred bidder chosen, says administrator Gerald Krasner

A preferred buyer for Championship club Wigan Athletic has been chosen, says administrator Gerald Krasner.

Krasner said the bidder has until 12:00 BST on Thursday to sign a letter confirming their lawyers are holding the entire funds.

He added that contracts have to be exchanged by 31 July.
(More here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53498844

 

[Ealing Bee]

"Former Wigan Athletic owner Au Yeung Wai Kay has agreed to waive the £36m owed to him by the League One club.

It means the money can be used for the "benefit of the club" and will not need to be repaid by a prospective buyer.

The funds will also help pay creditors their minimum return as the Latics try to avoid further sanctions next season."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53851995

Hmmm. I wonder what persuaded him to do that?

I'd love to think that someone in the Foreign Office mentioned to him that his application for one of the 3 1/2 million "British National (Overseas)" Passports currently being offered to Hong Kong residents has mysteriously got "lost in the post" lol

But nah, we're not capable of such measures, at least not for the sake of some Northern football club....

 

[Ealing Bee]

Wigan Athletic's administrators are confident that a deal to sell the club can take place in time for them to start the 2020-21 League One season.

Begbies Traynor set a deadline of 31 August to sell the club, otherwise they may not be able to start the season.

On Wednesday, the Latics' supporters' club said they aim to raise £500,000 by Monday to secure the club's future.

"I'm still optimistic that one of these deals will come to fruition," administrator Gerald Krasner said.

During a press conference held on Thursday, he continued: "I've got what I call the frontrunners. I've got two different groups of Americans and I've got two UK bidders.

"One of the UK people has got the wherewithal to do it, but has got certain conditions, so we're still talking to these people."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53932948

 

[ruislip bee]

Wigan Athletic's administrators are confident that a deal to sell the club can take place in time for them to start the 2020-21 League One season.

Begbies Traynor set a deadline of 31 August to sell the club, otherwise they may not be able to start the season.

On Wednesday, the Latics' supporters' club said they aim to raise £500,000 by Monday to secure the club's future.

"I'm still optimistic that one of these deals will come to fruition," administrator Gerald Krasner said.

During a press conference held on Thursday, he continued: "I've got what I call the frontrunners. I've got two different groups of Americans and I've got two UK bidders.

"One of the UK people has got the wherewithal to do it, but has got certain conditions, so we're still talking to these people."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53932948

£500K! Is that all? I think BU still have that in reserve. Mind you we hope it will never be required.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Latest:

Wigan Athletic's administrators are "quietly optimistic" the Latics will be allowed to start the English Football League season despite being ownerless.

Begbies Traynor set a deadline of 31 August for the club to be sold but that passed more than a week ago.

"We have kept the EFL informed of the progress of selling the club and we are quietly optimistic that permission will be given," said a Begbies statement.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54085225

 

[TW3Bee]

I'm sure I read somewhere that they would be ground sharing at Leigh, but that could have been more Twitter b***ocks.

 

[looneytunes]

Wouldn't that be difficult with sale and leigh both playing there

 

[Chorlton Bee]

A Wigan fan on Twitter has just asked me about Josh Clarke, delighted if he gets sorted but could be very short term for him

 

[TW3Bee]

Wouldn't that be difficult with sale and leigh both playing there

So it must have been Twitter b***ocks.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Wigan Athletic's administrators say they have reached an agreement with a bidder from Spain to purchase the financially troubled League One club.

The bidder, who is yet to be named, has paid a "substantial" deposit and will pay non-football creditors.

That will ensure the club does not pick up a further 15-point penalty from the English Football League for the current season, the administrators said in a statement.

"We are now working with our lawyers and the bidder to produce all of the necessary paperwork to submit to the EFL so that successful transfer of the football share can be made at the earliest opportunity," the statement continued.

"The preferred bidder who has experience in football has made it plain that they do not wish for their details to be made public until such time as the sale is completed and we are respecting this anonymity."
Spain-based bidder agrees deal for Wigan

 

[Vid]

No one expected the Spanish inquisition

 

[Ealing Bee]

No one expected the Spanish inquisition

Would have worked with "Spanish Acquisition"

 

[Untouchable]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1326599245487611905

 

[wanderer paul]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1346426323389067265

Wigan could be in trouble here. Third from bottom of L1. Without an obvious buyer.


The prospective takeover of Wigan Athletic by Leganes owner Felipe Moreno has fallen through.

The club's administrators announced they had ended negotiations with the bidder on Tuesday morning.

They said in a statement that the bid had been reduced by almost 50% over the weekend and proceeding with it would have resulted in a 15-point deduction for the League One club.

Wigan are currently 22nd in the table, two points adrift of safety.

Moreno had initially been part of a Spanish consortium looking to buy the club before the English Football League rejected their application at the start of December because one of the group was subject to a disqualifying condition.

Moreno subsequently became the sole bidder and it had been hoped the deal would be completed at some point between Christmas and 1 January.

The Latics have been in administration since July 2020.

The 12-point deduction they received for entering administration saw them relegated from the Championship and they were then forced to sell the majority of the senior squad.

Manager Paul Cook left over the summer and his replacement John Sheridan also quit to take over at fellow third-tier strugglers Swindon Town.

The administrators added that they were "now starting to talk to other bidders who have expressed interest and will provide an update when there is any definite news".

 

[upnorthbee]

I just listened to the Administrator on Talksport, sounded absolutely rattled, although most would being questioned by Simon Jordan.

It just goes to show how important Dave Whelan was for Wigan, it's all quite sad.

 

[Ealing Bee]

I just listened to the Administrator on Talksport, sounded absolutely rattled, although most would being questioned by Simon Jordan.

It's not that long since (some) Wigan fans were saying they'd rather win the FA Cup and get relegated than lose the final and stay up.

I'm not by any means having a pop at them (I sympathise for their present plight), but it reinforces my own view that the League Cup is much less important to BFC than promotion. Winning the Cup would be great, but I fear fixture congestion during the run-in, esp if Bees have to go through the play-offs (again).

It just goes to show how important Dave Whelan was for Wigan, it's all quite sad.

(From May 2013)
"It has been an odd week for Whelan, who said that no words could express the emotions he felt on Saturday afternoon. As his club fall off the Premier League gravy train and he has to consider the possibility of losing his manager and Cup-winning squad to the realities of relegation, Whelan can take comfort from knowing that he has rebuilt his life from more crushing disappointments."
Wigan Athletic and the curious case of the relegated FA Cup finalists

 

[Shamrock_Bee]

I just listened to the Administrator on Talksport, sounded absolutely rattled, although most would being questioned by Simon Jordan.

It just goes to show how important Dave Whelan was for Wigan, it's all quite sad.

So sad for their fans and communuity; things don't look good. The fact it's a rugby league town probably doesn't help the business case for finding new owners; lets hope someone can save them, the Whelan family might step in.

The Wigan situation shouldn't be lost on us; we're a small club punching above our weight still heavily reliant on our owner. It shows how important the new stadium, deal with London Irish (pitch will be ok lol), hospitality options, and probably most important PL football etc would be in ensuring we can eventually comfortably operate as a self sustaining business. Even if promoted I'd expect the building/managing of the business will still be key.

Blackburn in the same part of the world as Wigan had a rich owner which brought once in a generation success but we'd have to say on the face of it they managed the business; yes they fell back on the field but continue to function safely so clubs can survive after rich owners are no longer there.

Good luck to Wigan

 

[Vid]

As a kid I used to spend holidays with relatives in Wigan. My uncle would take me to all the Wigan RL games home and away. On our walk to Central Park we would see the odd person in blue and white heading to Springfield Park. "Your going the wrong way" was the usual comment from both sides. They played in the Northern Premier league in those days.
The last game at Springfield Park was a second division play off against Manchester City. I wonder what happened to them.

 

[TW3Bee]

As a kid I used to spend holidays with relatives in Wigan. My uncle would take me to all the Wigan RL games home and away. On our walk to Central Park we would see the odd person in blue and white heading to Springfield Park. "Your going the wrong way" was the usual comment from both sides. They played in the Northern Premier league in those days.
The last game at Springfield Park was a second division play off against Manchester City. I wonder what happened to them.

Certainly Wigan Athletic fans hated the Rugby League club.

I remember the chant of "Oh Central Park is full of sh*t"

 

[Herbert]

So sad for their fans and communuity; things don't look good. The fact it's a rugby league town probably doesn't help the business case for finding new owners; lets hope someone can save them, the Whelan family might step in.

The Wigan situation shouldn't be lost on us; we're a small club punching above our weight still heavily reliant on our owner. It shows how important the new stadium, deal with London Irish (pitch will be ok lol), hospitality options, and probably most important PL football etc would be in ensuring we can eventually comfortably operate as a self sustaining business. Even if promoted I'd expect the building/managing of the business will still be key.

Blackburn in the same part of the world as Wigan had a rich owner which brought once in a generation success but we'd have to say on the face of it they managed the business; yes they fell back on the field but continue to function safely so clubs can survive after rich owners are no longer there.

Good luck to Wigan

Wouldn’t say Blackburn are a safely run club

 

[wanderer paul]

Wouldn’t say Blackburn are a safely run club

Blackburn Rovers - The incredible story of the Venky's turbulent ownership

An Audioboom post by Football Uncovered

audioboom.com

Listen to this. Well worth it, re Blackburn Rovers.