I do agree that until his report is produced for the court we don't really know where we are.
However I think some are criticising because he is expressing opinions on what CCFC Holdings should/are doing. He has no authority to speak on behalf of Holdings, nor has he any right to ask them to pay Limited's bills.
Your graciousness does you credit
<br />The Alan Higgs Centre Trust have warned Coventry City that they could lose the facility next season and the Academy’s prized Category Two status.<br />
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Lawyers acting on behalf of the Trust have written to administrator Paul Appleton claiming that the Football League have confirmed that the club’s ‘golden share’ is held by CCFC Ltd, currently in administration, rather than CCFC Holdings.<br />
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They also claim that FA rules dictate that an academy can only be run by a member of the Football League holding a golden share.<br />
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The Sky Blues stopped using the centre earlier this month.<br />
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Peter Knatchbull-Hugessen, chairman of the Trust, said: “We at the Higgs Centre have an agreement with CCFC Ltd and when they were put into administration Mr Appleton wrote to us and said he didn’t need to use the centre because he didn’t have the Academy.<br />
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“So we asked questions. We asked where is the Academy and he said nothing about that really.<br />
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“So we asked the Football League and they said ask the Football Association.<br />
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“So we wrote to the FA and they said, quite unequivocally, that the licence is with the club that is in membership of the Football League. And as we know and was confirmed again on Wednesday when MP Bob Ainsworth met with the League, CCFC Ltd are the member of the Football League.<br />
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“Therefore the Academy is in Ltd, and as we have an agreement with Ltd my question is why is the administrator not prepared to operate the Academy which is his responsibility because that is where the licence sits.<br />
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“The Academy, as far as I am concerned, is vital for the value of Coventry City Football Club. You only have to look at what Dario Gradi has done at Crewe to see the value of an Academy, or the product of Manchester United’s Academy – Beckham, Scholes, Neville...<br />
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“An Academy is a vital part of a football club so why is he not operating it?<br />
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“Why is the administrator putting at risk something that is of real value? The Academy is a way of making the club more competitive against other clubs because you can develop your own talent and some of those you are going to move on.<br />
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"Gael Bigirimana is the most recent example of a really good sale, so why is that not part of his plan? He could have asked the FA just as easily where does the licence sit? A letter comes back and it tells you.”<br />
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Knatchbull-Hugessen insists that the Allard Way facility was specifically designed to house the football club’s Academy as well as being for community use.<br />
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And he has real concerns that the club are at risk of losing their Category Two status, which is just one step down from the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United, and includes Premier League funding to the tune of £480,000 a year.<br />
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He said: “Their grant of near half a million pounds a year for a Category Two academy is on the strength of that licence, and that licence, according to the FA, sits with the entity that is a member of the Football League.<br />
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"And the Football League are quite clear in writing and to Bob Ainsworth this week that it’s in CCFC Ltd that holds the League share.<br />
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“This is about the future of the Academy. We need to get the Academy back in otherwise they’re at the last chance saloon. In the agreements we have with CCFC Ltd the trustees could have, the moment they went into administration, cancelled the agreements and gone out and found new tenants.<br />
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“We haven’t done that because the reason it was built in that way was so that the Academy could be there.<br />
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"The charity didn’t spend that amount of money to build a community sports and leisure centre with facilities including a full-sized all weather pitch and indoor fourth generation facility that could be used by an Academy for any other reason.”<br />
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The various age groups are currently using Warwick University as an interim measure but as part of their category status the Academy has to provide various facilities including treatment rooms, homework areas as well as all weather facilities.<br />
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“If the centre isn’t used now they will get away with it because the weather is good and they don’t need to be inside,” said Knatchbull-Hugessen.<br />
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“We have written to the owner and everyone saying, come and use it and we haven’t had any substantive replies at the moment so we will, because we will have to, let out those facilities to other clubs, local clubs who will want assurances that they’ve got a whole season.<br />
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“They won’t want to take on something that might disappear from under them and might even want more than one season, which is quite reasonable, but once we’ve let the facilities out then that’s it, unless they pay the bills very fast, they’ll be in danger of losing a Category Two Academy because I can’t see any other venue locally that offers the required facilities.”<br />
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City’s administrator Paul Appleton issued a statement which read: “I am somewhat puzzled by the stance taken by the Alan Higgs Centre Trust in relation to the Coventry City Academy.<br />
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“For many years, the Trust were content to be paid by Coventry City FC Holdings and to deal with CCFC Holdings on that basis.<br />
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“This was the situation that prevailed historically despite the fact the Trust were fully aware of the division within the club between Holdings and CCFC Limited which held the Licence for the premises.<br />
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“Why they have elected not to continue on that basis following CCFC Limited entering administration and the Holdings offer of a compromise deal, is a question only the Trust can answer.<br />
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“It certainly can’t be because they fear contravening compliance regulations of either the Football Association or the Football League. Both those bodies were completely aware of the situation within the Club and have raised no issue with it either before Limited’s administration or subsequently.”<br />
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But Knatchbull-Hugessen responded: “The agreements were with Ltd and specified that all staff and insurances and everything else were in Ltd and the assumption of anyone dealing with the football club was that Holdings and Ltd were integrated and therefore if payments came from one side or the other it was as though it came from Coventry City Football Club.<br />
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“Now we are told they are two totally different entities, in which case they were in breach of the agreements all along.<br />
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"If he is now telling the Trust that they have been in breach all along it’s up to them to rectify that breach and come back as CCFC Ltd or there have to be completely new agreements which we have been trying to avoid.”
Exactly OSB.
Football league rules are quite clear on this. The academy has to be in the legal entity that the Football League has granted the Golden share to. The Football League has quite clearly stated that according to their records they have granted the Golden Share to CCFC Ltd, and that is why the Football League deducted the 10 points from the club on entering administration.
The AEH therefore legally MUST have any contractual arrangement for the use of its facilities by a category B academy with the legal entity to whom the Football League have granted the Golden Share. This is not a matter of choice on the part of either party - it is a MUST.
For the administrator to try and dodge the issue by claiming that historically the EAH have had no problem accepting PAYMENTS from CCFC Holdings rather than CCFC Ltd is disingenuous to say the least, and in my opinion is a poor attempt at diverting attention from the real issue being addressed by the AEH, which is the CONTRACTUAL position and not the issue of who is paying for the services provided under the contract.
The AEH know that they must have a contract with CCFC Ltd, which is in administration, so the AEH have no option but to contact the administrator concerning the use of the academy facilities. For the administrator to then deny any responsibility and start talking about historical payments is to my mind pointing towards a serious bias towards SISU and is in breach of the required independence of a court appointed administrator.
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say that the Trusts lawyers have written to Mr Appleton to inform him that the football league have confirmed that the mysterious GS was with LTD, I also believe ACL and our one and only Bob Ainsworth have also confirmed this.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the FL have only ever come out and said they believe/think it was with LTD.
In the style of Cuba Gooding Jnr from Jerry Maguire. SHOW ME THE MONEY...(letter) as there has been no official paper n black & white from anyone to confirm this.
Before you say, I know Sisu have not provided anything to prove the contrary.
I just want to see his finished and get back to the reall deal FOOTBALL PUSB.
It does nothing of the sort, it points to the fact CCFC Ltd are not in a position to pay the bill because they have no money.
Again, more attempts to muddy the waters with spin, legalese and talk of contractual complexities. Appleton clearly stated that no issue with the prior contractual arrangements have been raised by the FA subsequent to CCFC Ltd going into admin. Is he lying?
As for the serious bias allegation - you are actually accusing him of doing his job. He is an officer of the court whose role is to act in the interests of the creditors, and SISU are easily the largest creditor and a secured creditor to boot - but that would have applied whoever had appointed him. Of course there is some bias - that is what he is there to do.
I don't know this chap - I'll probably start to dislike him soon enough, just like everyone else in this sorry mess, but some of the stuff being aimed at him today is bordering on the hytserical if you ask me.
I believe that the Sky Blue trust should write to Mr Appleton expressing its concerns thaht it would appear that, in the opinion of the Sky Blue Trust, he is concerning himself in matters outside of his remit as Administrator in respect of seeming to show bias to Coventry City (Holdings) Ltd which is not a creditor when his duties are to administrate Coventry City Football Club Limited in administration only ?
Yeah that will put the wind up him.
Grenduffy,
I am not looking for an argument with you, but look at my edit point that I quote below and answer me why other people can so quickly establish these things when he denies knowledge of them?
EDIT: if he is not unbiased and is genuinely doing his job "to the best of his abilities", then why is it that other people were able to establish quite quickly where the golden share is, and other people were easily able to establish that the academy is in fact in Ltd. and is part of his remit as administrator? In my opinion it can only be that he is either biased or is not capable of doing the job the court appointed him to do. Why else is he so ignorant of facts easily obtained?
The F A have I believe stated that is where they believe the share to be. This is not binding in law.
We don't know. There may be evidence supplied by holdings that the share was transferred to them which needs to be analysed as does the whole relationship between these organisations
May take a long time but the administrator is appointed as a legal representative by the high court. He must be impartial.
The F A have I believe stated that is where they believe the share to be. This is not binding in law.
But the assertion was binding enough for the league to dock us 10 points, if is not so, why did sisu withdraw the appeal, its tantamount to a smoking gun in most peoples view, but "There's none more blind than them who wont see"
We have 2 companies which are as inextricably linked as Portsmouth's were, we need the courts to confirm this & rule that the group is in admin.
While SISU retain control there will be years of mediocrity... and pantomime.. can the fans really stomach that?
There are lots of people who believe only what they want to believe too though...simply to reinforce or justify what they want to see as an outcome - '& they ignore other stuff which may explain why other things are said & done.
The simple fact is he has made a statement which I interpret as asking a question, aligned to favour SISU perhaps on the basis that the main creditors of the company he administers are owned by them. Anything not out & out anti-SISU is seized upon by some as being biased toward SISU. Others have interpreted the statement differently & have already made their now, anti-administrator feelings known - I suspect because they are now realising that being in administration is not necessarily the best way forward & are already looking for someone to blame should it not bring the outcome they want.
We have 2 companies which are as inextricably linked as Portsmouth's were, we need the courts to confirm this & rule that the group is in admin.
While SISU retain control there will be years of mediocrity... and pantomime.. can the fans really stomach that?
Who cares that his report might give ammunition that Ltd and holdings are linked?
Who cares about checking whether sisu have moved the league share without the league's knowledge?
Who cares about the fact he's submitting a report to the court about our club when no information has come out of it recently?
Nope, he must be a corrupt c unit.
The paranoia of some (not all, genuine questioning perfectly reasonable) is utter utter madness. It's fans like that that'll destroy the club as much as anything else, because who'd want to come in and help the club if all they get is mindless abuse before they even do anything?
The academy are more than right to ask what's going on as they assumed the city wad the city regardless.
He's more than right to say he's not about to start paying the bill now, but someone else is offering to, , people who've paid it up to now.
The sheer hatred of some for a bloke saying he's not paying a bill is over the top and makes me sick to be a city fan.
As I say not all. The academy have asked a fair question, but theres a difference between asking a question and hoping for negatives because your life needs hate in it, and to play tge victim.
Coventry City as a club is critically close, in my view, to permanently losing all respect and support in its own city. Our once-loved club has been trashed by successive useless owners and many fans I speak to just don't care any more. They're finding better things to do with their time. Sisu seems to be impossible to deal with and ACL is painted into a corner. Talk about bald men fighting over a comb.
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