IT'S OVER!

AT LAST, it's all over. On Friday P&A Partnership have agreed a deal to sell the club to Akkeron Group and the deal has been signed and sealed. Peter Ridsdale has been appointed Chairman of Football Operations (no surprise there really - he's been hanging round like a bad smell for ages) who set out his stall for rebuilding the club's fortunes, and new owner James Brent has outlined his aspirations for the future. Now the FL is due to give back it's 'golden share', one last technicality left and administration is finished. Then it's down to PCC to buy back Home Park and the process of dragging the club back up to standard begins.

Argyle went into admin in March, but the sorry saga has been going for over a year with players and staff not receiving any pay since this time last year. In that time many have left, others have struggled on, supports - in austere times themselves - have given a vast amount of money, organised vigils and garnered the support of numerous other clubs through Fans ReUnited. And it is such a relief that at last PAFC can start to get back to being a football club once more. A glass of champagne for all!

CVA-Accepted

Last Friday Argyle's creditors agreed to the CVA and accept less than a pound return for every £1 invested in the club. That hurdle over with, the next is the announcement of the preferred bidder - who is rumoured to be neither of the forerunners so far.

Following the end of season 1-4 blow-out loss to Orient in traditional Argyle style, now begins the process of rebuilding (yet again) the club both on and off the pitch for the start of life in League Two in a few month's time. Certainly the 60% of income cap on wages will be interesting to watch being played out, with many players still on Championship wages. A few will most certainly be leaving, and already loanee and first choice keeper, Button, has returned to Spurs following the end of his contract. And so another era in the history of Argyle is set to begin. Let's hope it's done correctly this time.

You've Never Had it so Good

A misquote by PM Harold MacMillan, sometimes atttributed to Margaret Thatcher. MacMillan was of course talking about post war 1957 Britain that the Conservatives had built and we all know what came of them. Similarly a few years ago the Green Army had never has it so good; the club were riding high in the 2nd tier of English football with a bright manager and a youngish up and coming team, but yet on the verge of a second successive relegation, this time into the 4th tier of the football pyramid, as Liam Byrne wrote to his successor at the demise of NuLabour, 'Sorry, there's no money left'.

During the flying high times, the board were lamenting the 'never had it so good' message to all, with promises of Premier League football and a(nother) 5 year plan, and many believed it. Though as is clear to all the personal greed of those in charge, the reluctance to let go or seek investment, got in the way of the real goal of a football club - success. Instead, as even now in administration, property development took over. The World Cup bid was in the main a quick fix way of getting the stadium finished, and the surrounding area covered in money making property, and when that inevitable fell, as there was no longer any strong footballing foundation, the club crumbled. Even still, the direction Guilfoyle looks to be sending the club appears to be the same, with no attempt to market the club to anyway, and only property developers interested.

And so, as Argyle head into another history repeating recession, how long before the Green Army have never had it so good again?

We'll Never Play you Again

How often words come back to bite you on the arse, especially those that sang the song at Exeter all those years ago. Well now it looks like the shoe'll be on the other foot as Argyle are teetering on the edge of League One, with one dainty push to send them plummeting down to oblivion. As it is the escape clause involves Argyle winning verses Southampton (who are still pushing for Championship promotion following Huddersfield's win) and Orient, and everyone else losing. Thus, relegation is odds on. The second Devon derby, Argyle lost 1-0, though the rumours doing round Exeter's home pub were that it was 1-1 just before full time, mean that Argyle may very well not being playing Exeter for a while, but the wrong way round. Following two impressive wins, the inconsistency of the team reared its head again, when the Greens could really show any fight in the last 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in Home Park, precious little is happening regarding finding an investor, with the Trust, Guilfoyle and others hedging their eggs in one basket of J Brent; though Buttivant has now offered a future that squares more with what the fans want his bid is being publicly derided by those with the sway. The list of PAFC creditors was published recently and is a telling one, if printed full size, it would have taken up 2-3 sides of a tabloid paper, meaning the debt is in the region of £17m. As Argyle look like they've buggered up survival in the league, will survival in the world end in the same fate?

Here come another one

Not 1 but now 2 new potential bidders for PAFC, making a total of 3 possible new owners - aren't we being spoilt(!?) Once you got settled with the idea of Brent taking the reins, along came Bullivant, and now an unnamed Irish consortium. However, so far only Brent has satisfied Guilfoyle he has the necessary funds, with Bullivant poised to make his swoop for the club this week. More delay, less public interest?

Dodgems

Just when you think Argyle are going in one direction, bang!, and off they go in another. The bid from Truro FC's Heaney has fallen through - much to the delight of many of the Green Army who publicly castigated the bid (on the premise that he was just a guise for Todd, Gardener and co). And incomes Brent. Not too sure who James is, except that he served on some Plymouth development board, and is interested in property - like all the other bids. A bit of digging (OK, nicking) reveals Brent formed Akkeron - a real estate/hotel/farming/regeneration-type-business - and is head of Citibank, which includes Ridsdale and involved in bids for Cardiff, Hull and Charlton. Brent was allegedly introduced to PAFC through Plymouth City Council. But even so, wait for the next bumper car to come along and the Pilgrims will go flying off in another direction, so don't get too happy or attached to any idea until something actually happens. However, what is most evident is that all this is so boring that people are starting to lose interest, including me.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Anyone have any idea what's happening? Peter Reid was interviewed in today's People newspaper; he states that he has a squad of 13 - 3 of whom are goalkeepers - there's no money to fine players for being late etc, and no one has been paid since December (even still the FA are levying their fines). Meanwhile the news from Home Park and Guilfoyle is deafening by its absence. The preferred bidder has still not been announced with any press conferences being confined to cut backs and redundancies; there's some sort of problem with the bidders not being as confident in themselves or the club to take over immediately or to pay the staff before the end of the season. So what have the un-magnificent 7 actually done to a club once lamented as being well run? To reduce it to one run on pride and fans' charity, and to make it so impossible for someone to take over easily? Guilfoyle still maintains that it is possible for the club to be liquidated, which is no comfort for anyone especially when you have no idea what's going on and if any effort is actually worth it.

Chris Dawson

How revealing that CDS supremo Chris Dawson has invested in Yeovil Town, when, at the height of the problems with Argyle when asked he stated he was not a football person, and would never consider investing in Argyle. So why the sudden change of heart, and what is so wrong with the Greens that he would set his sights on the greens 72 miles away and not those on his doorstep?

Perry & Croft

The happenings at Argyle are akin to a Perry and Croft ilk of sitcom.

Home Park is turning into such a French farce ('Allo 'Allo); none of the bidders are willing to pay the staff until the end of the season, forcing them to accept contacts deferring pay or get lost (and not get JSA due to making themselves unemployed!). This thus raises the question of why anyone is bidding - is it just to acquire an asset at a cut down price and sod the football/staff/supporters, or are they not financially affluent as they should be to support a football club - and thus just resuming the cycle that has dogged Argyle for years/decades/centuries? Others demand that PCC take pack Home Park, but with most of the city not giving two hoots about PAFC, and after their expenditure on an Olympic sized swimming pool (Hi-di-Hi), that ain't ever gonna happen. Even so, all the bidders are property-centric allegedly, so HP will be the biggest asset, so never mind the football club. Will the new lot cut off the branches that keep PAFC Ltd alive (Oh! Dr Beeching) too?

But 'Don't Panic Mr Mainwaring!' (Dad's Army) says Guilfoyle, although the HMRO are pushing for a football club to be liquidated and wound up, Brendan is adamant that won't happen to Argyle.

Meanwhile the Trust is sitting round trying to do something but isn't sure what - their demands are for the new owners of the club to co-operate with them, but they are still very new with little funds and no way to represent their members outside of Plymouth in decision making save for a closed message board that has banned a portion of the members. Yet the heart is in the right place, but will it be just a case sucking up to their betters - the directors (You Rang M'Lord?), rather than a proper representation of the fans?

What'll happen next? Monday is the next milestone, with the club's creditors due to start to respond to deals. 'Glass of water for Mr Grainger' (Are you Being Served?).

Guil-foyle's War

Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle has started the process of slimming the club down and recovering money to pay creditors. His first move has to close down Centre Spot and make 15 staff redundant. I hope the board are ashamed of what they've done to those who gave their all to the club and now have no hope of getting any money they have been owed in recent months, but I fear that with the rumours and quotes going around, they have the cheek to actually want to be involved in the take over bids! Unbelievable, but no so when you consider how money grabbingly greedy they have all been. Let's hope that none of the vultures get their mitts on Argyle, neither do they get any of the return from Guilfoyle they've hoping for.

Another Suitcase in Another Hall

Many times in the history of Argyle comes the question 'so what happens now?'. Managers leave, boards leave, players leave. But nothing as big as administration has (in living memory) happened before. So what happens now?

Obviously, Argyle still play - fighting for survival in League One, rather than survival full stop. Which is all that can happen, as, until the administrator has done his stuff, nothing can happen. Once creditors have been paid off as far as possible, a new board needs to be sought. What does this mean day to day for fans?

What happens to the free buses on home days (currently paid for by supporters association)? What happens to coaches to away days (currently paid for by supporters again)?
What happens to the football special tickets on Great Western? Presumable FGW are not being reimbursed the difference, so why should they still offer the deal.
What happens on home match days? The ticket prices will be what? What'll happen to the staff and stewarding, and police and ambulance cover, and catering? They're not being paid, why should they provide the service?
What happens to Centre Spot in the mall, and the merchandising?
What happens to the sponsorship deals? Presumably no one will touch Argyle with a barge pole any more.

Who knows until it happens.
Let's all just go to Buenos Aires for the streets are paved with gold.

End of the Beginning

"This may not be the end, this may not be the beginning of the end but it may perhaps be the end of the beginning" Winston Churchill

Argyle finally, though quicker than expected, went into administration today. Not that it wasn't unexpected, but it finally means that the greedy directors who led the club into the mire have finally gone, hopefully never to darken the doors of Home Park again. There are apparently 3 parties interested in PAFC, who wouldn't touch it whilst the current directors still had their mitts on the place, which should now hopefully come forward with a more coherent, football-fan orientated business plan. The thought that the (now ex-)directors really believed they can have some involvement in nu-Argyle is laughable, but now even they should get their comeuppance in the loss of any hoped for returns. However, the other creditors - namely local business, staff, the Youth Trust etc - will be the biggest losers. What hope is there now of investment from the local area if and when nu-Argyle is launched? At least Argyle still exist, just. And the bunch of wasters should be long banished from the Theatre of Greens.

Desert Rats

After "administration is not an option" administration is very much the option following the notice of intention, which triggered the 10 point deduction ensuring League Two football next season, that's if a buyout happens within 10 days. After Gardener and Todd deserted the rapidly sinking ship at Christmas, Kagami and Synan deserted when their promised money never materialised, Stapleton has deserted to the desert with a holiday to Dubai. The poor man hasn't been able to enjoy his holiday due to the inconvenience of his own actions on his toy; he hasn't even been in the sea yet! Add in that Barclays have refrozen the club's bank account and thus no one is getting paid. Still on the bright side the desperate need to asset strip means you can pick up a replica short for £10.

In all truth, I expect that the majority of the city and south west couldn't give two hoots if Argyle cease to exist by the end of the week, but that is because the club has always been at odds with the public, and those what had caught the bug have been let down on numerous occasions. Gordon Sparks stated that this is not the first tome that Argyle have been on the brink, and like everything that happens at the Greens, there's nothing new under the sun. The supporters have been let down successively by various boards, and as usual it will be them that suffers. Especially considering the amount of money that they have donated through to the club - such as the Trust loan - what will become of that now?

Plymouth with it all to do

Plymouth Argyle are facing a real battle to not just stay in League One, but also to stay in existence. Following a run of five consecutive league losses, the news today that the club is due to be docked ten points by the FA after admitting that it has started to take steps towards appointing an administrator will have come as a real blow to their chances of staving off relegation this season. After that point deduction, Argyle will find themselves five points behind Dagenham & Redbridge who currently occupy the bottom spot in the table, and manager Peter Reid admits that from there, it will take "championship-winning form" to beat the drop.

The good news, if there is any at present, is that the club still has time to do something about their fate – although it would require something around ten of their remaining fifteen remaining fixtures to stand any chance of collating the points that they will need to continue playing League One football next season – and although this is unlikely, they aren't mathematically relegated just yet. Anyone looking to bet on football wouldn't back them to escape though.

This feat will be made all the more difficult by the fact that the players and staff are yet to be paid for their efforts in January. It's easy to ask that all the playing squad simply look after matters on the pitch, and let the moneymen take care of what happens off it, but if they are failing to be paid for the work they have put in to date, there is precious little motivation other than playing well in a bid to be snapped up by another professional side. Meanwhile, the Notts Forest betting suggests the former League One side are set to head off to Premier League glory.

Former boss, Ian Holloway has spoken of his sympathies for Peter Reid and his squad's plight this season, but such sentiments will do little to assuage the rage felt by the Plymouth fans – in 2007 Holloway tipped them for promotion to the Premiership before leaving to join Leicester. But at least with the administration process starting, there is no chance of the Pilgrims being wound-up this season – and next year, albeit from League Two, they can once more begin their assault on the summit of English football.

The latest on Plymouth’s financial trouble

It was announced this morning that Plymouth Argyle would enter administration due to their inability to pay a large tax bill owed to HMRC of around £300,000, due tomorrow. The club will incur a ten point penalty which will take them into the relegation zone and eight points from safety and bottom of the league.

The club posted a notice highlighting their intention of appointing an administrator to deal with the implications of going into administration. Having been subjected to three winding up orders already from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the club now look to have admitted defeat in the fight to avoid a point’s deduction.

Plymouth now have ten days to appoint an administrator or find someone willing to invest in the club. Peter Ridsdale will now work alongside David Hinchliffe from Walker Morris Solicitors in the search for a suitable party.

Supporters had been given hope when Ridsdale announced the club had cleared a tax bill of around £500,000 in January.

The notice of intention means the club are protected from creditors and won’t face a winding up order from HMRC. The players are still awaiting wages from January having received their November and December wages late.

It is an all-time low for the club having fallen from the Championship last season.

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Argyle on the brink of financial meltdown

No, that isn't just a dramatic headline designed to turn heads, it is the exact words of the man tasked with digging Plymouth out of large financially induced hole.
Despite the midweek win over MK Dons giving fans hope of light at the end of the tunnel, Peter Reid will once again see his team dismantled as the Argyle board desperately try to balance the books.

Peter Ridsdale, hardly a man who inspires confidence when it comes to financial management, has been blunt in his appraisal of the club's current plight.

"The one thing that I don't think has got through to Argyle supporters is this club is on the brink of meltdown financially... Unless I can raise enough money to get through the season this club could go out of existence," he said.

Nearly £550,000 has been raised already this month with the sales for Craig Noone, defender Reda Johnson and striker George Donnelly and it must be galling for Peter Reid to contemplate further departures from an already paper-thin squad. Fans would no doubt keep an eye on the live score goalwire than the books, but the financial reality of things is starting to hit home.

Reid is unable to buy anyone either as a transfer embargo is still in place until a £265,000 tax bill is settled, despite the Pilgrims paying £1 million back to the HMRC already in recent weeks.

The one positive to come out of the current situation is the performance of the players in that magnificent win in Milton Keynes – a side with the best home record in League One. Sometimes a backs-to-the-wall mentality and spirit, no doubt encouraged by a battler like Reid, can yield positive results even in the most testing of circumstances. The latest football scores seem to be swining in the Pilgrims' favour, and perhaps this change in fortunes will be reflected off the pitch.

Argyle will need to sum up much more of that spirit in the coming weeks as their battles continue - both on and off the pitch.

So, in short, What's happened?

Well who better to explain then Matt Slatter from the BBC, with a succinct account of what's happening to PAFC and the implications for football.

1 Down...

Keith Todd is leaving Argyle as Executive Director come 1 January, with Stapleton resuming control. 1 down, 6 more to go. Although the return of Stapleton will further split the Green Army, those who hail him as a hero from the McCaughly ashes and those who castigate him for bring about this mess in the first place.

Blue Christmas

Argyle have now received their 4th winding up order from HMRC, this time against PAFC Holdings Ltd, to be heard in court in January, ahead of the ones received in the last few months. Argyle hope to petition the judge to hear all 3 at the same time in February, however this is looking decidedly dodgy. For the cub to receive 3 orders within a matter of months means that the ghost of PAFC future could well come true and end up in the graveyard; no remorse from the NWO and a turkey on Christmas Day will sway the taxman. Apparently the staff at Argyle have finally been paid, along with the 2 grand donation from fans, but even this is too little too late for the NWO. Such incompetence now means that youngster Connor Clifford is unable to stay for the arranged loan extension, meaning a much weaker team to field. For many fans have turned against the board after giving them the benefit of the doubt and a 4th winding up order is too much to stomach and extremely frustrating and yet the silence from Home Park is deafening. Argyle may no longer exist in 2011.

Ridsy Out

So even Ridsdale won't touch Argyle with a badge pole. Many saw this as the only chance, others were cringing at the thought of him taking over. But if Ridsy won't touch us, who will? And why won't he? Have the board got a plan C now?