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    The piece is as follows should anyone be interested:



    A tale at once of the moment and as old as time this week, as this column looks at a sad, nicely made little film called Buried Alive: The Bury FC Story, which is viewable on the YouTube platform of football film-making channel Copa90.

    It is only 20 minutes long, and absolutely worth that investment for anyone who has an interest in football beyond the brightest lights of the big six. Film-maker Nick Manser meets the fans and directors – at Bury’s level, these are often one and the same – who explain how a club founded in 1885 was ejected from the Football League last year due to financial mismanagement.

    Fools and knaves have always been there or thereabouts when football clubs were to be run, but it was Bury’s special misfortune to have two owners in a row who could not keep the club afloat. Stewart Day, a property developer, bought them in 2013 but it turned out he was building a house on sand. With debts mounting in other parts of his empire, he eventually had to flog the Gigg Lane club to Steve Dale, a businessman made of solid iron pyrite, for one pound.

    It did not take Bury fans long to realise they had vacated the frying pan for an even warmer location and, despite achieving promotion to the third tier, the familiar tale of unpaid players and tax problems unfolded taking the club to the brink. They have had two winding-up petitions over unpaid tax dismissed by the High Court but have defaulted on a plan to help settle their outstanding debts.

    At time of writing, Dale has been unable to pay the club’s debts, and liquidation appears the most likely outcome. A phoenix club has been formed that may begin life in the 10th tier: a bloody shame for a sporting institution that twice lifted the FA Cup.


    Here is Dale, speaking to the BBC and quoted in the film: "I never went to Bury, it’s not a place I frequented, so for me to walk away from Bury and never go back is a very easy thing to do, because I don’t do anything up there. I didn’t even know there was a football team called Bury to be honest with you, I’m not a football fan."

    It doesn’t sound like the sort of sentiment you would expect from a fit and proper person to run a football club.

    There is a nice anecdote from one Bury fan who relates how a dozen of them took a minibus down to Loftus Road in fancy dress ("We had a 20-stone Andy Pandy … Tarzan was driving, there was a chicken and a mad monk") for the final game of the season in May 1998. Results went Bury’s way and they stayed up by the skin of their teeth, and who should go down instead in 17th place? Manchester City. "That was a great moment, us staying up and them going down to the third tier for the first time." Wistfully, he concludes: "Well, they can laugh at us now."

    Well, yes and no, I suppose, given the news this weekend about City and financial fair play. Turns out that having Sergio Aguero and Pep Guardiola and billions in foreign oil money is no guarantee against having people who are stupid and greedy – or both – involved with your football club.

    Clearly one would rather be a supporter of City than Bury this morning, but who knows where it might all end up for the Etihad wannabe super club. The club can obviously survive not being in Europe, or Guardiola departing, but what if the oil money were to dry up, for whatever reason?

    The lesson of Bury, surely, is that a series of poor decisions made by people who should arguably never have been allowed anywhere near the running of a football club can rob a community of a beloved, important asset. Much like homelessness or a mental health crisis, thinking that it could not happen to you is a failure of compassion but above all of imagination.

    Sooner or later it will happen to a Premier League team, and nobody will be able to say the writing was not on the wall.

    Comment


      Originally posted by Giggler View Post
      Sooner or later it will happen to a Premier League team, and nobody will be able to say the writing was not on the wall.
      Sadly it won't be one of those that deserve it.

      Comment


        Originally posted by Gangster Octopus View Post
        Sadly it won't be one of those that deserve it.
        I understand the sentiment but I'm not sure any club deserves it. I can think of several owners, like the loathsome Dale, who I'd be happy to see lose their ill gotten gains but sadly, as can be seen here, they usually walk away unscathed. It's the supporters, the town and the local economy left counting the costs.

        Comment


          If this season gets abandoned and doesn't count, could Bury re-apply for their place in the league?

          Comment


            No, getting thrown out of the league for breaking its rules is totally separate from the league not finishing. Similarly, points deductions for Bolton etc should be carried over to the new season if it comes to that (in reality, I think they'll finish the season in June in place of the Euros).

            Comment


              Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
              Similarly, points deductions for Bolton etc should be carried over to the new season if it comes to that
              Balls they should! I think they probably will be though.

              Comment


                Phoenix club Bury AFC launched today.

                [URL]http://twitter.com/OfficialBuryAFC/status/1249336470575255552[/URL]

                Comment


                  Wish you the best of luck.

                  Comment


                    Good luck!

                    Comment


                      Fingers crossed.

                      Comment


                        Excellent. All the very, very best with it. Enjoy it.

                        Comment


                          Good luck with this, I hope you are able to protect the ground.

                          Comment


                            Good luck with this - I very much hope to see AFC Bury at a NW Counties ground near me next season.

                            Comment


                              Good luck and hurry back!

                              Comment


                                Does this mean that the old club won't get into the pyramid?

                                Comment


                                  Phoenix clubs and the shells of original clubs have both been in the pyramid before, there's nothing technical to stop it happening.

                                  Comment


                                    The very best of luck to you.

                                    Comment


                                      good luck, but also have fun!

                                      Comment


                                        Is there anywhere I can read about what the plan is for playing football in 20/21 or whenever football comes back should it be later than that?

                                        Comment


                                          Originally posted by TonTon View Post
                                          Is there anywhere I can read about what the plan is for playing football in 20/21 or whenever football comes back should it be later than that?
                                          Lots of speculation all over the web but unless you're in Belarus or Nicaragua nowt decided yet.

                                          Comment


                                            The old club did not apply to join the NW Counties League so won't be in that tier or above next season, as I understand it. 9 clubs were accepted for promotion along with the phoenix Bury AFC and a new club from the Isle of Man.

                                            https://www.theguardian.com/football...glish-football

                                            https://www.nwcfl.com/news-articles.php?id=8121

                                            Comment


                                              The problem is that the league restructure that would've allowed for an influx of promotees/ new clubs to the NWCFL has been postponed as a result of the decision to expunge this seasons results. However, there seems certain to be some clubs folding as a result of the usual mismanagement at that level, as well as the unknown impact of Covid-19, which may offer scope for lateral movements and/or a small number of new/promoted clubs to enter at Step 6.

                                              Comment


                                                They shouldn't have expunged the results in that case. Just honour the tables as they stood.

                                                Comment


                                                  Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
                                                  They shouldn't have expunged the results in that case. Just honour the tables as they stood.
                                                  It's a minefield though - just using the NWCFL Prem as an example, there's a six game difference between some teams. Longridge in 6th are 10 points behind the 2nd placed team but have 4 games in hand so could realistically have overtaken them. PPG would be fairer but even that isn't a great solution.

                                                  Comment


                                                    So as it stands, does Bury AFC's admission depend on a club going under or taking a voluntary demotion?

                                                    Comment

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