My comments in red:
Coventry City can confirm temporary home fixture arrangement with Northampton Town
Coventry City FC has today confirmed a temporary arrangement with Northampton Town FC to play home games at the Sixfields Stadium for the next three seasons.
Is this statement from the administrator? The club is in administration and the administrator is running it isn't he? Also, I thought the administrator said he could not do a ground deal because he has no players etc?
This arrangement has been provisionally ratified by the Football League.
"Provisionally" being the operative word.
Tim Fisher, the Sky Blues' Chief Executive, stressed that the move to play games at Sixfields was part of a bigger plan to develop its own stadium in the Coventry City area.
Why is Mr Fisher commenting? The Football League statement makes it clear the golden share is with CCFC Ltd. If this is an Otium statement it should be on the Otium website or at least state this is reproduced on the CCFC website on behalf of the prospective purchasers of the club.
Tim Fisher said, “We are very pleased that the Football League has found our plans acceptable. Nobody wanted this day to come but we feel we have no choice but to take this course of action and that the only credible future for the Club now lies in owning its own stadium. Building a stadium that is ours in the Coventry area and which will generate revenues we can put on the field of play is necessary to ensure the club can succeed under the FIFA Fair Play Rules.
Interesting choice of rules there Mr Fisher - according to the Fifa website: "Fair play is a fundamental part of the game of football. It represents the positive benefits of playing by the rule, using common sense and respecting fellow players, referees, opponents and fans."
“If there had been an economic option which would have allowed us to stay at the Ricoh we would have pursued it. There was no proposal on the table in time for us to make realistic plans for the coming season. We could not wait any longer.”
And this option makes more economic sense than the one put on the table in January does it Mr Fisher? If so, please provided the data to back this up. Also, at the fans forum didn't Mr Fisher say he had "moved on" from playing at the Ricoh - that hardly suggests he was inviting anyone to put an option on the table.
“Over the last month or so – through a series of forums – we have made it clear this move is not a game of brinkmanship or a negotiating strategy - it is the only credible option. If our plans did not show a clear path for returning to the Coventry City area they would not have been approved by the League.
Forgive me if my memory is failing me here, but didn't Mr Fisher say we would have struck a deal for a site by now? Does the Football League know where this is? Are we allowed to know? Has Sisu/Otium submitted a planning application too? One would assume the Football League would ask for that as an absolute minimum indication of intention.
“The Club and its owners acknowledge the support of the League, Northampton Town FC and the Northampton Borough Council for working constructively to provide a port in what is hoped will be a temporary storm. We are currently working on detailed ticketing and travel plans to take into account the inconvenience caused to supporters by this move and will provide further information very shortly.
Again, can this happen while Coventry City Football Club is in administration?
“If the City Council and ACL had truly wanted to support the Club, it would have taken up the offer made by SISU to pay off its debt and extend the lease. Instead it used £14 million of public money to stop the deal happening. The suggestion that the Club could play “free” whilst “it is administration” was, as the administrators pointed out, not one which they or indeed the Club could accept or which had any value.
When did Sisu make the offer to pay off its debt and extend the lease? The council took over ACL's loan in January, so for this statement to be chronologically accurate I assume Mr Fisher would have had to have made his offer before then? If so, why were the rental discussions still taking place in January?
“The proposed new stadium makes commercial and economic sense, providing new prospects to the City, incorporating commercial opportunities that support the revenues and development of the Club and secures its future. The project has momentum and the negotiations with the site's vendors are progressing very well.
Again, I was under the impression from what Mr Fisher said at the fans forum that this would have happened by now.
“We have much to do before the new season, including working with the League to approve the restructuring of the corporate ownership of the club and the swift resolution of the administration of CCFC Ltd which will see the transfer embargo lifted. We hope that the fans will support the Club’s players and staff through what, we accept, will be a difficult transitional period, towards independence and a stable long term home venue.”
How is the corporate ownership of the club restructured? Does this just mean the Otium take over, or does it mean something else, maybe the merging of Holdings and Limited, or the liquidation of Limited?
