Football’s crisis clubs can ‘absolutely’ be saved – Nandy

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy claims that football clubs in trouble like Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe can “absolutely” be saved from the brink of collapse.

After a rough summer of issues, including delayed pay for players and staff, registration restrictions, and, in the case of Morecambe, a National League suspension, the future of both clubs is uncertain.

A bill to establish an independent football regulator was passed into law in July, giving it authority to monitor the men’s game in England’s top five divisions. The regulator won’t be launched until later in the year, though.

Nandy claims the regulator will be able to influence how it operates.

“These clubs are owned by their supporters. Without their fans, Nandy said, “They are nothing without us, and we are fighting for them forever.”

“No one should have to go through this,” he said. We knew right away that that had to be the last time anyone had ever experienced a collapse like Bury’s. There have been far too many cases of it since then.

In 2019 while playing League One, Bury was kicked out after a takeover bid failed, according to the English Football League.

Owners must be aware of their responsibilities as the club’s guardians and pass it on to the next generation in good condition, she continued.

They are “absolutely crucial to a town’s economic life,” I assert from personal experience.

Nandy praised Wigan Athletic, the organization she supports, as a club that was saved from a financial collapse in 2021 but who also faced additional financial difficulties.

“Wigan went straight to the point, and we were just in time to have the HMRC pull the plug because the players were walking away, the wages hadn’t been paid, and we managed to resolve the issue in the closing moments.”

Therefore, I’ve made it clear to the supporters’ groups and the local MPs to keep fighting.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his concern for the situation and suggested that the government step in.

He told Bauer Media, “There are already discussions going on.

Everyone should do the right thing and achieve the desired result, in my opinion, because there is a way out of this. It is really important.

Morecambe’s football team matters to the residents, the community, and the fans.

Owners Bond Group offered Morecambe for sale in September 2022, but a deal has not yet been finalized, and the club has since fallen into the National League for the first time since 2007. Due to two relegations in three seasons, the club has been in the National League for the first time since 2007.

The league gave the Shrimps a week’s worth of suspensions last week for breaking their rules, and Nandy urged him to sell the club in an open letter to Morecambe owner Jason Whittingham.

As a show of support for Morecambe’s opening Northern Premier League West game against Newcastle Town on Saturday, Bury are offering free entry to Morecambe supporters.

Sheffield Wednesday, a championship club, has lost £178 million between 2015, when Dejphon Chansiri bought the club, and 2024, respectively.

The North Stand at Hillsborough has closed because of concerns about the club’s structural integrity, manager Danny Rohl left the club by mutual consent in July, and the Owls are currently facing a transfer ban.

The new football regulator will conduct more thorough examinations of potential owners and directors, which Nandy claims will assist struggling clubs in getting into trouble.

The regulator [in the case of Morecambe] would undoubtedly affect the situation, Nandy claimed on Radio 4’s Today program. In situations where it would otherwise be lost, the regulator has the authority to compel the owners to sell.

There are some provisions in the bill that will make a big difference in the case of Sheffield Wednesday, which I am aware that many, many people are concerned about. For instance, laws give fans a lot more control over how their own club is run.

However, the independent regulator is still in its early stages, so the chance of Morecambe or Sheffield Wednesday becoming the next Bury is very real.

People have endured it, Nandy said, “I don’t want to sugarcoat this.”

“Bury is an illustration of how poor ownership led to their complete destruction. And it demonstrates why the legislation we just passed is necessary.