Hard working Dunfermline fans have saved their club from the shame of liquidation.
Yesterday BDO announced that a CVA put together by Pars United had been accepted by creditors allowing the proud Fife club to remain in business, retaining the football link that started in 1885.
Having watched Rangers move into liquidation a year ago the Dunfermline support set differences aside to get together under the Pars United banner to rescue their club from extinction.
Rather than look around for passing billionaires or blame the SFA, SPL or the BBC, Pars United worked with BDO who announced the deal yesterday for the club that has suffered back-to-back relegations under the stewardship of John Yorkson and Gavin Masterton.
“If it wasn’t a football club you would never have given it a chance,” admitted Bryan Jackson of administrators BDO. “But the fans came good. They kept the doors open.
“I’m very relieved because we did inherit a really difficult situation. If you go back to day one, we had a month’s arrears of wages we couldn’t pay, we had literally no money and we didn’t have any players to sell.
“We didn’t really have anywhere to go but because it was a football club, I said then it was 50/50 and that’s what I always felt.”
The bulk of the clubs £10m debt was owed to Lloyds Banking Group with various groups owned by Masterton owed around £3m.
David Murray’s favourite banker abstained from the CVA vote with Lloyds accepting the only offer on the table.
After a highly emotional day at the club former player and manager Jim Leishman was delighted that his club had avoided liquidation.
He said: “When I’m asked about what has happened today, I can feel my eyes welling up with tears.
“This has been so tough, especially when you know the people involved at the club. The staff here become your friends, as do the supporters.
“Marvin Stewart, a boy in our club shop, raised more than £10,000. Then you’ve got the young boy who recently was on the East End Park pitch and said ‘sorry I can’t give more but my dad has lost his job’.
“Then the kid handed over two five pound notes that he’d earned from his paper round.
“I’ve read letters from people saying they wished they could donate more. But all those pennies have added up to thousands of pounds – and they deserve the credit for making this possible.
“There were times when I had to face up to the fact that there might not be a Dunfermline. I’ve thought that many times in the last few months.
“There were times when we asked ourselves ‘where is the money coming from’ and ‘how can we get there’? Our aim initially was just to have a football club.”
While Dunfermline have been saved from liquidation the future of Hearts looks bleak with no sign from Ukio Bankas that they’ll accept any offer of less than £5m for Tynecastle Stadium.
Their fans done nothing, it was that D Murrays fav banker that got them saved loved to see them and jamfarts go with sevco
Unbelievable that they ran up such high debts, what’s the point in filing audited accounts etc every year if no one is acting upon the info within them. I hope they turn it around and the fans keep coming thru the gates. People may want this club or that club to die, but it will not benefit Celtic in the long term. Except rangers as that was just really really funny.
Dunfermline FC……..Always have been ………Always will be !
Well done the fans ,kept your dignity ……unlike the peepul
What;s this shyte DIGNITY are you all thick you have no dignity, you robbed people out of money you call that DIGNITY
I have never liked Dunfermline, to me their style of play has always been boring at best but I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a tinge of relief for their supporters.
I think the dignity they have earned is due to the way they looked inwardly to try and get out of trouble instead of blaming every man and his dog for their predicament.
So the people who have lost their dignity is Masterton and Yorkston and not the supporters. Unlike Orc fc who’s presence in Scottish football is an embarrassment.
Hail hail