The Bury summer signing uberthread. WARNING - Contains tinpot material

[chief]

Out of interest, what is likely to happen to Gigg Lane now? From what I can gather it's still owned by Dale, so do Bury have a future there?

A few local teams could offer a ground share I suppose, with Rochdale, Curzon Ashton, FC United and Salford all nearby.

 

[Franchisor]

I hope Bury reform but I have this awful feeling there won't be the stomach for it, especially if they haven't got Gigg lane.

In an area with so many professional football teams, getting new young supporters interested in in a club so far down the pyramid is going to be nigh on impossible.

Mate we've got no professional teams in the area and we still struggle to attract young supporters lol!

 

[RLC]

Out of interest, what is likely to happen to Gigg Lane now? From what I can gather it's still owned by Dale, so do Bury have a future there?

I think the loss of Gigg Lane will be the saddest part of this whole episode. The club can reform with the same group of fans, but that part of the club's history is lost forever.

 

[Red Deserato]

A very sad day for all Bury fans who are going through the pain of their club be folded, especially those who have been fans for decades. What has happened pains me even as a non-supporter and the EFL should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen. I hope that they can reform and one day return to the football league. Now it remains to be seen what happens to Bolton and how it affects relegation this season.

 

[GodsGift]

Had to be done, but it never should have got this far in the first place. EFL are an absolute shambles. They've had more than enough warnings and yet they've done absolutely nothing about it. They have some nerve talking about the "integrity" of the league and complaining about having this situation "forced upon" them. Shaun Harvey has a lot to answer for.

 

[valefan16]

Sorry to see this and hurt by it as a fan of a club similar in stature.

You’ve been totally screwed over and could easily have been us this summer as well as many others.

Whatever happens I hope you push now for a Phoenix and rise back as quickly as possible. Stick with it and don’t let the memories and history die here and now.

We’ve had some good battles down the years and im absolutely gutted we ended up being you’re last battle in anger (and in a friendly), a part of history I wish we didn’t have to hold.

Good luck.

Now for the EFL... seriously sort your shit out, if it involves the member clubs pulling together to force reform then so be it.. how can Bury get in that mess then allow a guy who’s liquidated many businesses be allowed to take control? How when desperate to save the situation so you then approach a man who threatened to liquidate another member club four months ago!!

That is not a fit and proper test. Reform, look at the requirements of ownership and make sure this situation and that of Bolton is never allowed to happen again. It’s not fully your fault but you’ve done little to avoid the situation here and at other clubs.

These are our clubs, generations of fans, many at these levels are small but the heart of the communities and mean everything to many people.

Sort it out!

 

[WhiteRussian]

Mate we've got no professional teams in the area and we still struggle to attract young supporters lol!

Yes, I know. So imagine how much worse we would be with Chelsea or the Arse on our doorstep.

 

[AdamStag]

It is terrible news, but in a sense an event like this had to happen. The football authorities and the clubs might finally realise that the game in this country is broken and needs serious reform.

However, I am not holding my breath.

Quite possibly in fairness mate.

 

[WhiteRussian]

Sorry to see this and hurt by it as a fan of a club similar in stature.

You’ve been totally screwed over and could easily have been us this summer as well as many others.

Whatever happens I hope you push now for a Phoenix and rise back as quickly as possible. Stick with it and don’t let the memories and history die here and now.

We’ve had some good battles down the years and im absolutely gutted we ended up being you’re last battle in anger (and in a friendly), a part of history I wish we didn’t have to hold.

Good luck.

Now for the EFL... seriously sort your shit out, if it involves the member clubs pulling together to force reform then so be it.. how can Bury get in that mess then allow a guy who’s liquidated many businesses be allowed to take control? How when desperate to save the situation so you then approach a man who threatened to liquidate another member club four months ago!!

That is not a fit and proper test. Reform, look at the requirements of ownership and make sure this situation and that of Bolton is never allowed to happen again. It’s not fully your fault but you’ve done little to avoid the situation here and at other clubs.

These are our clubs, generations of fans, many at these levels are small but the heart of the communities and mean everything to many people.

Sort it out!

I do not want to defend the EFL but what can they actually do if someone buys a club who doesn't pass their due diligence, kick them out of the FL? Imagine the howls of fury if someone bought say Lincoln, EFL said you don't meet our criteria, we are kicking you out.

What else can the EFL do? Short of owning a majority share in every club so they have control, they have no legal right to stop any deal as far as I can see and no way, other than expulsion from the EFL, of having any teeth to enforce their will.

 

[valefan16]

I do not want to defend the EFL but what can they actually do if someone buys a club who doesn't pass their due diligence, kick them out of the FL? Imagine the howls of fury if someone bought say Lincoln, EFL said you don't meet our criteria, we are kicking you out.

What else can the EFL do? Short of owning a majority share in every club so they have control, they have no legal right to stop any deal as far as I can see and no way, other than expulsion from the EFL, of having any teeth to enforce their will.

You have to pass the fit and proper test for them to ratify it and release the golden share as I understand it? Our deal took weeks as it was waiting for EFL clearance

 

[Atavistic]

A dark day for English football and for Bury fans in particular, but it does feel like we've been close to something like this happening for a good few years now.

This has the feeling of a watershed moment for all levels of football in this country: if this can happen to a historic club like Bury (and maybe Bolton too if they can't sort things), it could be anyone else next. Football in this country is broken and the clubs and authorities need to realise that and push for change before the whole system implodes.

 

[Shrimper92]

Fuck Shaun Harvey
Fuck Steve Dale
Fuck the EFL

 

[Laker]

Just really sad for you Bury fans. We were on the brink 14 years ago (due to mismanagement rather than a corrupt owner) and I remember how sick it made me and all of my club feel. The fact you’ve gone one further than us.... I can only imagine how awful it must be. So horrible.

The EFL have a lot to answer for in this. The fit and proper test clearly failed Bury more than once. I don’t expect anything to happen as the EFL only care about their “brand name clubs”, little Bury (just like us) are just forgotten about and left to rot. It’s beyond scandalous.

And the EPL/Sky don’t help, sucking cash out of the lower leagues so there’s so little profit to run a club successfully and making these clubs vulnerable to owners like Day and Dale. Fuckers the lot of them.

I hope Bury can get a club back together and I hope the council do something to help them keep Gigg Lane. With or without the ground, Wimbledon have proven it’s possible. It’s painful but it can be done.

 

[WhiteRussian]

You have to pass the fit and proper test for them to ratify it and release the golden share as I understand it? Our deal took weeks as it was waiting for EFL clearance

I sort of understand that but my point is what would have happened to you if the EFL had decided your new owners weren't fit and proper and told them they wouldn't allow you to compete in the EFL if they bought the club? So then no one else came forward, you folded and the EFL would be hung, drawn and quartered for killing your chances of survival.

I just don't think the EFL has the teeth, or the inclination to kick out clubs whatever their owners are like if that makes sense.

 

[Back in the DHSS]

I’m lost for words. Sad sad day for English football.

 

[Stanleyfan]

Feel absolutely terrible for Bury fans - I've often been to Gigg Lane when Stanley haven't been playing and seen some great games there and met many fantastic people.
I hope they can reform and make their way back up again - us, Aldershot, Chester, Hereford, Halifax, Maidstone, Newport, Darlington, Scarborough have all had promotions since reforming - I am sure this will not be the end of football in Bury.

 

[Kim Mitten]

I sort of understand that but my point is what would have happened to you if the EFL had decided your new owners weren't fit and proper and told them they wouldn't allow you to compete in the EFL if they bought the club? So then no one else came forward, you folded and the EFL would be hung, drawn and quartered for killing your chances of survival.

I just don't think the EFL has the teeth, or the inclination to kick out clubs whatever their owners are like if that makes sense.

Why would they be? I certainly wouldn't castigate them, after all every European league and the non-league set up in this country does just that.
Look at Parma in Italy, they had a potential buyer lined up in their darkest hour who the league authorities did not feel was financially able to help the club long term or short term so they wouldn't ratify a sale and Parma went bust.

The professional setups in this country that run football, from the FA down are the least professional in all of sport, they allow clubs from the top of the pyramid to the bottom of league 2 to rack up huge debts and do nothing then have no backbone when the likes of Dale buy a club for £1.

Good luck to all Bury fans in the setting up of a new club and hope to see you back at this level one day.
It's not the end of football in Bury, might just be a bright new beginning.

 

[Bone Idle]

a very sad day for the supporters of bury football club! as someone who has lived through the loss of their club I know exactly what they are going through at this moment in time, and believe me its not a feeling I would wish on anyone, so now the good people who love and support bury have to get together and form a new club, for next season, it will mean starting in tier 8 the same as we had too, it took us 25 years to get back to the football league but who's to say bury can't do it in a quarter of that time, so to all bury supporters it may seem like the end of the world right now but believe me there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Good luck to you in your future endeavours.

 

[DN14 Spire]

RIP Shakers...we've all lost a great rival. Gutted for all your supporters.

It's a long road back from here but I hope this is not the end.

 

[markwwfc1992]

Such sad news, feel for everyone connected to Bury, especially their fans. The EFL have so much to answer for. How Steve Dale escaped doing one of the so called 'fit and proper' tests is criminal, and the consequence is that one of the oldest clubs in England is being thrown to the dogs. The man has a long list of failed businesses one after the other and the EFL are as much responsible for the demise of Bury as Dale and Day are.

As always the real victims are the fans. People who have supported their home town team for generations, and as stated in many interviews it's more than just a football club, it's a huge life force to the local community.

Hope to see a phoenix rise through the leagues one day so we can have Bury back in some capacity.

 

[Indian Dan]

Lower league clubs are ripe for the picking from all sorts of unsavoury characters. Brilliant businesses for money laundering. There are very few owners who actually have their club’s interests at heart - it’s all about extracting cash. From ludicrous interest rates charged on loans and in the old days pocketing the cash paid at the turnstiles.

Any dodgy dealings are hidden by abbreviated accounts published so nobody actually knows the financial health, or otherwise, of a club.

Maybe if clubs were forced into a financial examination every year - not for general public consumption - by an independent audit fans could sleep a bit better in their beds.

Or go the whole hog and force clubs to allow Supporters Associations to have a 50% stakeholder share.

Whatever, something has to change because, believe me, there are other clubs, right now, heading in the same direction and nobody will know until it’s too late - again.

 

[Pompey_Squinny]

Almost know how it feels but when you see names like Cala involved it is probably best to go down the phoenix club route.

Hopefully you will now get the assistance from the local council you'll need. Is the ground protected for sport use?

Bury is a cracking away day so we all miss out really. Two less games, a loss of revenue for all clubs and a joke of a competition. I hope Bury fans can get a club back together at Gigg Lane.

Bury certainly won't be the last, the system allows crooks to buy your club, wind it up and leave with millions. The fact we keep seeing the same names trying to get clubs says it all.

Play Up Bury.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Bury will reform it’s still a club in its own town separate from Manchester with its own community to rally behind it.

They now start the biggest fight yet......to get back gigg lane and will need their fans, local council and local press to do it.

Fcum can probably help Bury get off the ground a few involved there will know about starting a club off and probably owe some help to Bury as they played there a while ago when homeless.

Big issue in efl is wages...........they needed to clamp down on it years ago

 

[GFC4EVA]

Cant believe this has happened, expected it but to actually see it happen is unbelievable.
Good luck to Bury in what ever form you come back in.

Hopefully see you back in the football league at some point.

 

[Judge Red]

A very dark day. Gutted for Bury supporters. I imagine a number of other clubs are living hand to mouth too. I doubt my own club is self-supporting as we seem to be subsidised by a Turkish steel magnate. If he were to withdraw, who's to say there would be another buyer?
It's only about twelve years since we (Crawley) came within an hour of folding when we were a non-league club, but a (then) anonymous businessman bankrolled us. So when I say that I feel your pain, I really do know how it feels because, like many others, I wrote off our survival chances.
It's no consolation but all I can point to is AFC Wimbledon. Although it is officially a different club from the old Wimbledon, in the supporters' hearts it's still the same. Once the initial shock eases a little, maybe some of the more business-minded Bury supporters could look at a reformation and try climbing up the pyramid.
Best of luck whatever happens.

 

[Bartonyellow]

The focus now is making sure that crook gets not a penny out of that club and gets driven into prison for fraud.
The Club will live on, in another format in another way.. Hereford, Chester and Wimbledon fans will give you strength and encouragement after what they went through.
I feel desperately sorry for all Bury fans and today is a very sad day.
These stories chip away at my very soul and question the very fabric of football and how its structured.

 

[Pablosammy]

Gutted for Bury fans. I really hope this galvanises the fans and they come back stronger in time.

 

[Chris FGR]

Or go the whole hog and force clubs to allow Supporters Associations to have a 50% stakeholder share.

Whatever, something has to change because, believe me, there are other clubs, right now, heading in the same direction and nobody will know until it’s too late - again.

This. Always thought we should have similar rules to the German system.

 

[Indian Dan]

The focus now is making sure that crook gets not a penny out of that club and gets driven into prison for fraud.
The Club will live on, in another format in another way.. Hereford, Chester and Wimbledon fans will give you strength and encouragement after what they went through.
I feel desperately sorry for all Bury fans and today is a very sad day.
These stories chip away at my very soul and question the very fabric of football and how its structured.

He’s already got his money. He sold a chunk of Bury’s debt to his son in law and became a secured creditor - I think he paid £75,000 and it got him nearly 10 times that amount. He’s secured loans on Gigg Lane which no doubt will magically be transformed into a retail park or some such therefore pocketing more mullah.

Honestly, he needs . . .

 

[AnotherStagsFan]

Steve Dale is the villian but the EFL have done this.

Allowing a man with his history to buy a football club for £1 makes me feel sick. It’s a shame none of the other clubs will strike against the EFL - can you imagine if no one fulfilled their fixtures next weekend.