Unbelievably, Bury's winding up petition in the High Court was today adjourned to allow them time to pay back smaller creditors. If that money is available in the next fortnight, why the heck have some of these not been paid in the last month? My guess is they are still away with the fairies thinking a buyer in going to knock on the door tomorrow and they will be reinstated in League Two by Monday. Quite possibly these local creditors will have their hopes raised again.

Their latest 'white knight' pulled the plug earlier this week after due diligence, too.

This is probably the last extension. There can't be too much in the way of income, and the debt interest due must be racking up.

I wouldn't imagine they have a ground to play at and certainly don't have any management or players. They need to band together and form a pheonix club. They probably still have the fanbase which would help them climb the leagues quite quickly. Plenty of nearby clubs in their area where they could potentially groundshare with.

Unbelievable news. They are in denial. The best thing they could do is take the hit and move on. According to the BBC the Bury North MP is sounding out certain groups with a view to get them in the 5th or 6th tier of the football pyramid due to, amongst other things, their heritage.

In my opinion, I don't think that a majority of their fans have realised yet that playing at their old ground is not an option in the near future. It is going to be a very painful process for some. I wish them well but they need to get real.

I'm never quite sure about the ground situation but I think it goes hand in hand with Dale's ownership and they (the Trust and fans) desperately want to see the back of him. They have four or five players, that always amazes me, who won't stay to play in step seven and any groundshare will need rent - and they have no money coming in until they have a team with a league to play in. Sadly, it's payback time for last season's 'success'.

I've said this before but it will bear repeating - just before they were expelled, the budget they hoped to stay in the league on projected a loss of £1.5m this season. In other words, continuing to sign players they couldn't afford.

pembsexile wrote:Unbelievable news. They are in denial. The best thing they could do is take the hit and move on. According to the BBC the Bury North MP is sounding out certain groups with a view to get them in the 5th or 6th tier of the football pyramid due to, amongst other things, their heritage.

In my opinion, I don't think that a majority of their fans have realised yet that playing at their old ground is not an option in the near future. It is going to be a very painful process for some. I wish them well but they need to get real.

Evening Michael,

I think that whilst the club will no doubt have to start playing at a much lower level that does not necessarily mean that a new club need be formed.

To my memory four established league clubs, Halifax, Aldershot, Wimbledon and Chester, went bust or were forced into oblivion post Newport County's demise. All reformed and found themselves within a few years back at Conference/National level.

Were Bury as a limited company were to survive but begin again at level eight I don't see the problem.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

pembsexile wrote:Unbelievable news. They are in denial. The best thing they could do is take the hit and move on. According to the BBC the Bury North MP is sounding out certain groups with a view to get them in the 5th or 6th tier of the football pyramid due to, amongst other things, their heritage.

In my opinion, I don't think that a majority of their fans have realised yet that playing at their old ground is not an option in the near future. It is going to be a very painful process for some. I wish them well but they need to get real.

Evening Michael,

I think that whilst the club will no doubt have to start playing at a much lower level that does not necessarily mean that a new club need be formed.

To my memory four established league clubs, Halifax, Aldershot, Wimbledon and Chester, went bust or were forced into oblivion post Newport County's demise. All reformed and found themselves within a few years back at Conference/National level.

Were Bury as a limited company were to survive but begin again at level eight I don't see the problem.

Evening Brendan,

Perhaps I came across as a bit harsh on them. I do feel for their fans. I agree that they don't definitely need to reform. Bury Utd, Bury AFC, AFC Bury etc, aka Newpôrt County AFC. The important thing is to get the mainbase fans to accept that the pheonix club is the real Bury. At this stage in their existence, more than ever before, the fans are the real club, not the suits.

My main gripe is that plans are afoot to get them to play in tier 5 or 6 as soon as is practically possible. I don't see why they should be seen as a special case because of their size and heritage. Take the hit, regroup, get a new stadium, and with their fanbase they should be back in the league in, oh, say 25 years. Simples. On a serious note, realistically they should be able to do it a bit quicker than we managed it. However, they need to get real.

The follies of financial mismanagement in football have massive repercussions. As per normal, the fans are the ones who suffer for the incompetence of the owners. As I have said previously, I have no easy answer to this problem, but there just has to be a better way.

They'll either need to reform because they're about to be wound up (next time, once it is absolutely clear they have no income and a lot of debt), or because Mr Dale somehow has kept the reanimated corpse of the original club going long enough for the debt to continue to cripple them in non-league as well.

Given that the debt is tied to the ground, a new club won't be able to play at the ground unless they find a way of buying that charge out (as Portsmouth did with Fratton Park, funded by a short term loan from the local council who were duped by a bunch of hilarious lies about the club's value to the local economy). Unless they can come to an arrangement, the cost of buying out that charge will prevent anyone using the ground until the owner decides it's not in their interest to have the ownership or charge any more. They won't be able to find the millions (and increasing) that's worth to release Gigg Lane for their use.

On the bright side, some of their fans have already taken steps to form a new club.

Pembs, I think there is a degree of misinterpretation by the MP (Frith?) who mentions the National League system when he actually means the Pyramid. Bury will, in whatever guise they survive, appear in the Pyramid, which goes down to level 8,9,10?? But that has been read as an attempt to join the 'National League', as in levels 5 and 6.

excessbee wrote:Pembs, I think there is a degree of misinterpretation by the MP (Frith?) who mentions the National League system when he actually means the Pyramid. Bury will, in whatever guise they survive, appear in the Pyramid, which goes down to level 8,9,10?? But that has been read as an attempt to join the 'National League', as in levels 5 and 6.

Indeed. Politician speak eh? I can't blame him for trying to do the best for his constituents, particularly with a general election coming up. However, for me it is a case of optimism/positivism v reality. They need to get real.

The problem with continual optimism and positivity is that sooner or later reality will come and bite you in the arse. Get it over and done with in my opinion. It seems that it is going to be a brutal 6 months or so for some fans until the inevitable happens.