Demise of Gr£tna FC


St Mikey

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Nice little bit in todays paper regarding Gretna,when/if they finish bottom of the SPL,they may find themselves getting relegated to the 2nd division,when they won promotion to the 1st they had promised the SFL that Raydale would be renovated to at least 1st division standard,obviously nothing has been done to the ground,its crazy to think that a relegated team from the SPL doesnt have a ground to meet 1st division criteria,but just going by what the papers say the ruling body seem determined to act on them.........bout feckin time

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Let's hope so!

Anyone know what the criteria are for SFL stadia?

This would be a great kick in the ass for these cheats. They thought they'd get away with not having a stadium as they'd not be in the SPL anyway - if they got hoofed from the SFL League 1, then that would be fantastic!

Does the Unibond have criteria?

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Interesting article in The Times yesterday which would seem to indicate that they could be even more in the shit by the end of the month.

I read that as well. After reading that yesterday and the relegation article, which is also in the Daily Express, I can't help but grin every time I think about Gretna. Hope they go straight to 2nd Division!!!

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How would the double relegation thing work though?

If this was someone not getting promoted to the SPL they would simply not have any relegation, however, it's not so simple with the SFL because of the play-offs. Currently, Stirling will be relegated and Clyde will play-off with Peterhead, Raith and Airdrie. If Gretna get sent to the second division then what happens? Will Stirling enter the play-offs in place of Clyde? Will Stirling get relegated and we get two of four from the play-offs?

It all seems a bit complicated really and in the face of complicated decisions the suits at the SFL usually cave in so I expect Gretna to be a 1st division team next year if they still exist.

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The press always go with the worst case scenario, being the doom and gloom merchants on every team outside the OF. I would imagine that Gretna will be in the First Division next season unless of course Brooks pulls the plug, which the Times seemed to believe could be a distinct possibility, in order to try and save his Heartshape company, Gretna's biggest creditors

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I notice in the Telegraph article there's a quote from the SFL saying: "No one ever envisaged a scenario when a team coming down from the SPL wouldn't meet our criteria. This is a very real concern." Surely though the result should be exactly the same as if it was a club coming up the way, though - i.e. they don't get in (perhaps their place in the SFL set-up should be given to a completely new applicant).

I'd be very surprised if any of this happens to Gretna, though. If Raydale isn't acceptable for the First Division, I imagine they'll just ground share with someone again. I'm sure Stranraer or Queen of the South would happily take the extra income.

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Why didn't the SFL take action when Gretna were buying their way up through the leagues? Surely they could've denied them promotion to the First Division in the same way the SPL denied Falkirk promotion.

I'd be very surprised if the SFL took such an action although judging by press reports, any decision to upgrade Raydale/apply to groundshare won't be taken until Brooks is fit and well again, which could take some time

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Im trying to find the article where i read recently that Brookes has admitted to losing over £4 million with Gretna fc(this article was from a while back)just how much more of a loss has he made since then,add to that the £600,000 contract agreement with Motherwell this season for the groundshare,everybody knows Brookes is rich (understatement methinks,fookin minted) but business comes first,just how much more is the man prepared to lose,hes done his dream and led them to the SPL,now he should put his rational/business head on and walk,Gretna may just find their level in the 2nd division.

In response to Blueheavens post,Gretna had an agreement with the SFL regarding renovating their ground when the won promotion to the 1st,they only went unpunished because the buggers had won promotion to the SPL,i do agree they should not have been considered for our division with a heap like Raydale.

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Was it this one?

From the Times (full article via link in post 83 from The Big Cheese)

Current financial information on Gretna FC is not available from Companies House but the accounts for the year ending May 31 2006 shows a loss for that year of £1.87 million and accumulated losses of £4.14 million. The balance sheet to May 31, 2006 shows a deficiency of £4.085 million underpinned by funds advanced by Heartshape Ltd, Brooks Mileson’s company, of £4.95 million. At that date, Gretna received a letter of support from Heartshape that it would not request repayment of the £4.95 million until at least March 31 2008.

Interestingly, the accounts to December 31, 2005 for Heartshape Ltd, whose group activities include insurance broking, credit management, property development and building services, show a loss of £1.883 million and a balance sheet deficiency of £1.617 million. This raises serious questions over Heartshape’s solvency, particularly when they are due so much money from Gretna. The accounts to December 31, 2006 for Heartshape should have been lodged by October but were not. The auditors resigned in January 2008.

Even if Gretna were to go down the route of administration, it would be a viable one only if an administrator could see a way of finding a buyer if and when the club had been turned around and with Gretna’s successes having been so directly linked to Mileson’s millions, that might be a difficult task. If Mileson were unable to continue his support for Gretna, then, for such a meteoric club, liquidation might be a possibility, leaving followers of Gretna with only the type of romantic memories so long associated with their home town.

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All this just makes me think, what would have been if Grady didnt score in the last minute. It just shows that the SFL and the SPL need a good fkn shake! We are part of this joke called Scottish Football and just all sit there an excpet it. The management of the Scottish game needs a good looking at.

To me there is little future for Gretna, unbeliveable how they were allowed in the first division with a unsafe ground! Could they not just write a letter today : to postpone any stadium upgrades for one year? (just like they did when promoted?) seems if they could do it last time around, why they could ask for dispensation again? The lower standard of game is always working on the basis of moving goalposts, and the rich keep geting richer in the elite top flight.

Fairness???? Gretna invest in players, build debt and get out of the league by means of promotion, knowing fine well they palmed off the SFL on the stadium criteria. (this does not seem fair in any sense?) Look what other teams have been subjected too, why on earth were Gretna allowed to get away with daylight robbery full of broken promises from the outset?

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Lets add to this that their plans are/were to build an eco friendly stadium for "the people of Gretna" to which they expect the government (tax payers) to chip in to help them pay for it,their reasons for this,they want to further boost the areas tourist attraction.......... fookin shambles of a club

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Was it this one?

From the Times (full article via link in post 83 from The Big Cheese)

Current financial information on Gretna FC is not available from Companies House but the accounts for the year ending May 31 2006 shows a loss for that year of £1.87 million and accumulated losses of £4.14 million. The balance sheet to May 31, 2006 shows a deficiency of £4.085 million underpinned by funds advanced by Heartshape Ltd, Brooks Mileson’s company, of £4.95 million. At that date, Gretna received a letter of support from Heartshape that it would not request repayment of the £4.95 million until at least March 31 2008.

Interestingly, the accounts to December 31, 2005 for Heartshape Ltd, whose group activities include insurance broking, credit management, property development and building services, show a loss of £1.883 million and a balance sheet deficiency of £1.617 million. This raises serious questions over Heartshape’s solvency, particularly when they are due so much money from Gretna. The accounts to December 31, 2006 for Heartshape should have been lodged by October but were not. The auditors resigned in January 2008.

Even if Gretna were to go down the route of administration, it would be a viable one only if an administrator could see a way of finding a buyer if and when the club had been turned around and with Gretna’s successes having been so directly linked to Mileson’s millions, that might be a difficult task. If Mileson were unable to continue his support for Gretna, then, for such a meteoric club, liquidation might be a possibility, leaving followers of Gretna with only the type of romantic memories so long associated with their home town.

The auditors resigning part is terrifying.

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I'd like to see them leapfrog Kilmarnock and finish second bottom and see what the SPL do. Both the SPL and SFL bent the rules to allow the 'dream' to happen so now let's see how they deal with egg on their faces

They would probably take the top 2 from Div 1 which means even more that we need to overtake the coags!

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