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Bury Expelled From EFL as Bolton Have 14 Days to Complete Takeover
Tuesday, 27th Aug 2019 23:42

Bury’s expulsion from the EFL was confirmed late this evening after their proposed takeover collapsed this afternoon prior to today's 5pm deadline, while Bolton Wanderers have been given another 14 days in which to find a resolution to their takeover’s ongoing impasse.

An EFL statement on the expulsion of Bury, the first club to be expelled since Maidstone's liquidation in 1992, reads: “Despite repeated requests to its owner Mr [Steve] Dale over a sustained period of time, the necessary evidence in respect of how the club would meet its financial commitments, has simply not been provided and, as a result, attentions turned to securing new ownership at the club.

“At its meeting on 24th August 2019, the board agreed a short extension to 5pm today (Tuesday 27th August) to enable Mr Dale and the club to explore the possibility of a proposed sale with C&N Sporting Risk Limited, with Mr Dale having accepted their offer.

"Following due diligence, C&N Sporting Risk Limited opted not to pursue its interest.

“Therefore, having fully considered all available options, including a number of late expressions of interest provided to the EFL, the EFL board has unanimously determined with enormous regret that Bury’s membership be withdrawn.

“The EFL board had maintained that there could be no further suspensions to the fixture list and that these ongoing concerns and the integrity of the competition were a significant factor in the decision.”

Debbie Jevans CBE, the EFL’s executive chair, said: “Today is undoubtedly one of the darkest days in the League’s recent history. The EFL has worked determinedly and tirelessly to avoid this outcome and it is with a heavy heart that this situation has been forced upon us.


“The EFL has to place the integrity of our competitions at the heart of every decision we make, and we simply cannot allow this unacceptable situation to continue or countenance the prospect of postponing further fixtures.

“I understand this will be a deeply upsetting and devastating time for Bury’s players, staff, supporters and the wider community. There is no doubt today’s news will be felt across the entire football family.

“No one wanted to be in this position but following repeated missed deadlines, the suspension of five League fixtures, in addition to not receiving the evidence we required in regard to financial commitments and a possible takeover not materialising; the EFL Board has been forced to take the most difficult of decisions.”

Bury’s expulsion means League One will now comprise of 23 teams this season with only three relegated. Town will have fixture free Saturdays on November 2nd, when the Shakers were due to visit Portman Road, and 28th March when the Blues were set to visit Gigg Lane.

Meanwhile, the EFL have given Bolton further time to conclude their takeover by Football Ventures which was close to being completed on Friday before collapsing on Saturday.

A statement on the EFL website reads: “Despite further exchanges with the administrators over the course of the Bank Holiday weekend, and right up until today’s deadline of 5pm, a resolution to ongoing impasse in negotiations regarding a completion of sale at Bolton Wanderers has not yet been found.

“The EFL board has therefore taken the decision to lift the suspension on the notice of withdrawal, which was issued as per the EFL’s insolvency policy when the club entered administration in May 2019.

“As per the League’s articles of association, this will now give the club 14 days (11.59pm on 12th September, 2019) to meet all outstanding requirements of the League’s insolvency policy or its membership in the EFL will be withdrawn.

“In respect of the situation at Bolton Wanderers, the administrators now have this period of time to successfully conclude a change of control with a preferred purchaser, or provide sufficient evidence that they are in a position to fund the club for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.”

Executive chair Jevans added: “Despite repeated assurances, we are extremely disappointed that we are still not in a position to reach a successful resolution with the sale of Bolton Wanderers and have therefore taken the decision to lift the suspension on the notice of withdrawal. I again urge all parties to finalise the proposed takeover.

“The reality of this action is that there are now 14 days to secure the club’s long-term future, and I sincerely hope we can find a way through these challenging circumstances for the benefit of all those who have an association with the club.”

A statement on behalf of Paul Appleton, Bolton's joint-administrator, reads: "We note the statement from the EFL lifting the notice of withdrawal of suspension and giving 14 days to find a solution and complete a deal for the sale of the club.

"All parties have been in continuous dialogue throughout the day and are working closely together this evening in order to bring a deal to completion. We will continue to work through the night if necessary. There will be a further update as soon as possible."

A previous statement from Appleton said that "the club is currently not in a position to carry on trading and, as such, the process of closing down the company will commence on Wednesday", however, this is unlikely to begin while the current discussions are continuing.

If Bolton are unable to complete their takeover before the new deadline then they will join Bury in being expelled from the EFL and their results this season - including Town’s 5-0 win at the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday - will be expunged.


Photo: Action Images



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Bluearmy_81 added 08:42 - Aug 28
Comments, yes. ME has money, and lots of it. It's just he chooses not to spend it to the degree sufficient (last season) to see us be competitive. Instead we were a laughing stock. You defend this man. You boggle my mind.
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Gilesy added 08:44 - Aug 28
I do think if people like Henry Winters concentrated on teams like Bury a bit more often, there might be a bit more equity within football. The huge salaries and the massive clubs in the Premier League are there because England has a uniquely rich and deep history and structure. With the Burys and Rochdales and Oldhams of this world, there wouldn't be the Utds and Liverpools. I think therein lies the answer.
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Gilesy added 09:01 - Aug 28
Ok Bluearmy - do you see the difference between not being competitive in the Championship and being Bury FC?
1

Bluearmy_81 added 09:09 - Aug 28
Do you see Gilsey how both are not mutually exclusive to each other?!! You can be competitive without becoming Bury!! 40 odd teams above us are managing it! The most extreme case of 'better the devil you know' I've ever seen with you lot...
-5

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 09:15 - Aug 28
Bluearmy - you just rant but don't get the point .
The point being we can't just throw cash at it without breaking FFP . The club runs at a loss . Only so much loss is allowed .
It's no good you just saying Evans doesn't invest . He does. If you want to criticise his choice of managers or other issues fine . So are you saying he should just ignore FFP ?
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ChrisFelix added 09:20 - Aug 28
The huge influx of money into the Premiership has come from elsewhere in the world. I'm afraid the Chinese Americans aren't interested in watching Bury on TV. Only Chelsea Liverpool & the like. When the word Premier league entered our world & the few who joined the club the end was neigh for our many small local clubs
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Bluearmy_81 added 09:21 - Aug 28
No but its a convenient excuse. It doesn't limit us to the degree Evans fails to invest. Rotherham have spent more than us, what's their gates?!! Go figure...
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Cookycrew added 09:24 - Aug 28
The silence from the Premier League Clubs is absolutely DEAFENING.

I hope to see the day when one of those self-interested, Obscenely Rich, Premier League clubs also goes into Liquidation.
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 09:26 - Aug 28
Bluearmy no they haven't !!! Where do you get this from ? Rotherham spent 0.6 million this summer . They signed lots of free transfers. This is your problem . You hate him so much you ignore facts. It's also not an excuse it's fact !!! I pointed out to you that even Leeds had to sell and you just ignore it and come out with an incorrect fact about Rotherham.
You totally destroy any creditability your point of view may have with your ignorance of the facts and I'd any ones dares to point out something contrary to your opinion you label them an Evans lover .
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Bluearmy_81 added 09:37 - Aug 28
How much have we spent bobble?
-2

BeattiesBackPocket added 09:40 - Aug 28
Dozzell s bobblehat you can't blame fans for being cheesed off where we started and now where we end up under evans' tenure surely? Championship challengers to league one? IF we ever went up to challenge again or we even got promoted to the premier league then fine he'd be flavour of the month like any manager would be so why's it hard to grasp that people think he's done a sh!te job? Same as mick they both saved us let's not forget that but that doesn't mean fans shouldn't be able to let the owner know what he's done since taking us over isn't good enough. For every Bury owner there's Norwich or Southampton or Burnley. We lost a considerable amount of money in assets like Norris, leadbitter etc because the owner or his puppet let these assets we'd paid millions for leave for nothing!? Is that right!? Do you think in any other part of his business he'd let money slide at a loss like that? No. It's not just our debt it's HIS he made a lot of the debt initially himself through NO fault of managers or anyone else. Do you not think he should have invested under mick when top? Again no one else's fault. So hey if fans want to grumble about him it's our prerogative he's closer to the bury manager in that he's come in now lost interest and that's where it goes wrong for a lot of clubs.
This is a sad day seeing bury and for me money's killed our game from championship level down now.
1

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 09:45 - Aug 28
Bluearmy apologies I have fat fingers, that should have read 0.5 million. The same as us , and we currently sit top of the league, so I'm not sure what your point is. You also conveniently just ignore the other points I made .
3

lightingblue added 09:51 - Aug 28
It is a real shame. Surely there has to be a point where the relevant organisations need to step in. Doesn't have to be financial. Surely it can have the power to take the rains of the club and find a suitable owner/buyer. I appreciate they have been given time but I guess both Bolton and Bury will not get the vast sums that the like of city and Utd get. Partly due to the big boys being a more attractive project. We are in some ways in a similar boat. We don't have the trendy city lights of London or Manchester. But there are other ways round the situation. The EFL need to step up. It's always easy to say do this that and the other by a certain date. There has to be a reason why these deals keep on collapsing. Is it greed ?
These club are more than a football club. They are part of the local community. Furthermore, people have lost their jobs, there living, there source of income.
Football has become a poison and greed. It's ethically not right. Peoples are now unemployed. The community loses its soul. Football is more than money. Unfortunately I've a gut feeling there is more to come.
1

Bluearmy_81 added 09:52 - Aug 28
Wrong, they've spent 600k. 600k is more than 500k. So my point is you're talking sh ite
-4

JewellintheTown added 09:52 - Aug 28
Cat amongst the pigeons for you broken record fans.
Didn't Evans appoint Hurst because we asked for him as our favourite, because he was the "young, hungry, lower league manager who could unearth young gems and you all didn't mind if we went down as long as long term we rose again?".
I'm not an Evans-is-our-Saviour supporter but from what I can tell WITHOUT HINDSIGHT, he's mostly done what WE asked for and appointed fan favourites, supplied money within constrained support (burned by previous managers wasting funds - again in hindsight of course). He placed his long term trust in them and got burned, followed in the footsteps of the Cobbolds and didn't kick out managers at the first loss. That could have gone either way, but we'll never know, we sadly only know the current outcome.
Not an Evans lover, but on the flip side, he's taken the same gambles and risks which any of us could have taken and often believed were right, and done the best he thinks. IN HINDSIGHT, he could have invested in another club with decent financial returns but he gambled WITHOUT HINDSIGHT and chose us.
Some need to grow up and stop dwelling on hindsight opinions, knowing YOUR opinions will never be put to the test like Evans have. Being entitled to an opinion does not mean its always right.
On the flip side, we're doing great, having fun again with the beautiful game and seeing positive on and off field results. Top of any table, that's got to be worth being optimistic about, hasn't it?
6

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:01 - Aug 28
Bluearmy no they haven't and even if they had so what . We are top! You still haven't commented on Leeds and that point , because you cant .
Beattie pocket no of course I understand that and as I've said lots of times I'm no ME lover, he's made lots of mistakes . However what p*sses me off is people like Bluearmy who constantly quote incorrect facts and if you dare to point something out they don't like you are labelled as Evans lover or unambitious or a happy clapper .
Criticism is fine as long as it's accurate. His isn't .
2

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:05 - Aug 28
Bluearmy I just googled it . Rotherham spent £504,000 on a forward from Plymouth .
The rest of their signings were free transfers and loans .
1

Bluearmy_81 added 10:20 - Aug 28
And the season before we spent less than Burton Albion did the previous season in the Championship. They went down then we went down. Can you see a correlation?!! 😂 Hope you get over your Stockholm syndrome soon...
-2

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:22 - Aug 28
See what I mean. Get prices wrong and you just make childish comments.
Grow up
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Bluearmy_81 added 10:30 - Aug 28
My net source said 600k. 504k is still more than 500k so you've just disproved your own point. 😂
-3

TimmyH added 10:33 - Aug 28
Sad day for Bury football club with all it's history, shame on the big clubs close to them that didn't even attempt to help them with some sort of payment which could have helped them for a period to sort out their financial mess...but that's the way football is going sadly.
2

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:58 - Aug 28
Bluearmy um what is your point exactly? That Rotherham have spent 4k more than us ?
You do know we currently sit top of the table right ?
3

Bluewelshman added 11:06 - Aug 28
Just to answer Bobble's query:- 2 FA cups!

COYB
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Westy added 11:07 - Aug 28
No Club is immune from this. Sadly I can see it happening more and more. Several reasons for this but as I see it the origins of this go back to the formation of the Premier League when the biggest Clubs wanted a larger share of the cake. It instigated the breakup of a tried and tested league format - Divisions 1, 2, 3 & 4.administered by the English Football League meaning a lesser distribution of money within the game. Having said that, I expect in time, Bury will reform and work their way back into the league in the same way that Wimbledon have done.
0

MurcianITCC added 11:09 - Aug 28
BA81, you are absolutely pathetic. Posters raise points and if you don't like them you either ignore or resort to playground insults.
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