Gretna pin faith on last-ditch bid
Last updated 11:44, Thursday, 15 May 2008
A BUSINESS consortium is on the brink of saving Gretna from extinction with a last-ditch bid to buy the club.
The News & Star understands an offer to buy the debt-ridden club will be made tomorrow – 24 hours before they were due to receive a winding-up order.
The businessmen trying to take over Gretna are being backed by the influential Gretna Supporters’ Society, a fans’ group fighting to save the club, which has debts of £4million.
The financial crisis was sparked by owner Brooks Mileson being forced to withdraw his financial backing following an illness. If the deal can not be struck up tomorrow, the administrators controlling the stricken club’s affairs will padlock the gates on Saturday and issue the few remaining staff with redundancy notices.
Glasgow football agent Paul Davies has been leading the chase for the club.
Gretna Supporters’ Society action group secretary Anton Hodge said: “I’m sure something is going to happen in terms of a bid being tabled.
“We’re feeling much more confident that something concrete is going to happen before the deadline.
“Things are looking hopeful.” If a deal is agreed, the newly-formed creditors’ committee, made up of five individuals owed money by the club, will vote on whether to accept the offer.
The creditors’ committee is made up of the SPL, the Inland Revenue, Dumfries architect Alastair Barron who designed the new ground and Cumbrian businessmen Maurice Watson and Malcolm Dunn.
Dunn, chairman of the Gretna Supporters’ Society, said: “The club deserves saving.”
Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell has also joined the fight to save the club and will meet with the Scottish Football League tomorrow morning to discuss the club’s future.
The MP wants to ensure that should a credible bid be made for the club, the process of rejoining the Scottish Football League would be made simple. He said: “I want to see Gretna re-admitted to the SFL. There is local support for the team, as personified by the supporters’ association, and people want the club to carry on playing in the SFL.
“I want to make sure the SFL understand there is support locally for Gretna continuing – the team was successful in the football league and can be again.
“Fans should not be punished and should not lose their football club playing in a competitive football league because of what happened behind the scenes, providing the league is satisfied with any new financial arrangements.’’
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