Wrexham in Admin: Reaction

By Albatross
January 12 2005

It's a move that has been coming for a long time: Wrexham, promoted with Pools two seasons ago, have gone into Administration and face a ten point penalty. Unfortunately, their situation is just the latest of a long line of clubs in crisis.

Assuming that the new rules are followed to the letter, Wrexham will find themselves plummeting into the relegation zone on just 14 points - and with the inevitable constraints of being in Administration, they'd be facing an uphill struggle to avoid relegation.

The situation Wrexham find themselves in highlights a number of issues - about the points deduction, the problems of the ownership of ground and club, the number of people in the game more interested in making money than in the sport itself....

Let's start with the points deduction. This is a particularly tricky point, and one that illustrates the problems and differences at opposite ends of the footballing spectrum. The thing that prompted the rule to be put into place was of course the situation involving Leicester City: having built a new ground and been relegated from the Premiership, they went into administration, payed a fraction of what they owed, and still managed to win promotion. Rightly or wrongly, it was perceived that the Foxes had essentially had their cake and eaten it - a brand new stadium that was effectively given to them at a huge discount, allowing them to concentrate on signing some quality players instead of paying off the money that was owing. The situation was of course not quite that simple - but the sight of a team that was pleading poverty earlier in the season gaining a place on the Premiership Gravy Train with a new, debt free stadium to boot stuck in the craw of many on the game - not least the fans and Chairmen of the many clubs that have had to make hard decisions regarding the balance between ground development and team building.

So it's there to prevent teams getting an advantage that others consider unfair. However, the Wrexham situation sees a club owner that seems to be willfully trying to put them out of business - or at least in a situation where he is left holding on to some highly valuable real estate at the club's expense. Administration seems to be possibly the only way to get rid of current owner Alex Hamilton - and even then the ownership of the ground may remain with him. Bids from the Supporter's Trust and former chairman Mark Guterman were either turned down or not responded to, despite the fact that Hamilton would have made a healthy profit from either deal. Under the circumstances the ten point penalty seems excessively harsh.

The problem of the ground ownership is something that even administration may not be able to solve though. In a situation depressingly similar to that faced by York City, it seems that the ground and club have been separated - leaving Hamilton as the club's landlord. Wrexham have already been given notice to quit the Racecourse, and it leaves them in a precarious position - with no other suitable premises currently in the town, they'd probably have to try and sort a groundshare with the likes of Chester or possibly Tranmere. As other clubs have found, this can be like a slow death if they can't return to their roots sooner rather than later - it drastically weakened Wimbledon and made them prey for Franchising; Brighton decided that it was better to play at the tumbledown Withdean Stadium than continue to share with Gillingham while they tried to find a location to build their new ground at; and Charlton never really thrived away from The Valley.

The problem is, how do you address this? You can't simply state that the ground must be owned by the Football Club - as there are plenty of teams that are tenants to their local council or the like - Hull City is one example. Indeed, one of the most hopeful things for Wrexham is the support they have from the local authorities - the Council has said that not only will it refuse to give planning permission unless the ground is retained, but also they have made noises about being prepared to buy the ground from Hamilton to secure the future of the club. No doubt many other clubs across the land are wishing they had such wholehearted support from their local Town Hall!

It may be that the best approach is for all councils to adopt a policy of refusing permission to develop a ground site for other purposes unless an alternative stadium is provided within the council's boundaries. Some clubs have already benefitted from such policies - Doncaster may not still have a ground had their council not made that stipulation, and it could well have saved Clydebank from years of exile and eventual takeover by the backers of Airdrie United. This would still allow clubs to look at moving grounds, but would make sure they would stay close to their roots, and lessen the value of the ground to property speculators looking to make a fast buck.

Because when it comes down to it, the problems are about money. We have a game riddled with agents looking to milk cash from clubs, property speculators looking to get their hands on the frequently valuable locations grounds are in, transfer deals where an important consideration is boosting shirt sales overseas (Beckham to Madrid anyone), and the larger clubs looking to take an increasingly larger slice of the TV and Sponsorship pie. Gone are the days when a local businessman with a few hundred thousand to invest could be the saviour for a lower division club; now, even the smaller clubs need someone with millions to spend. The supply of them seems to be drying up - increasingly, the owners are no longer locals, or even in some cases British. Pools are far from the only team with owners that have links to Scandanavia.

So where now for Wrexham? Hopefully they will be able to use Administration as a way of forcing a change of ownership - and with the local council in support hopefully they will also still be able to keep playing at the Racecourse. Their Supporters Trust is working hard and finding innovative ways to raise funds (including using a premium rate phone line), and with a lot of effort and a bit of luck they will find a way to pull through. How long before another club ends up in the same sort of mess? Unfortunately, that may come all too soon.