Now Clyde face administration in 7 days

Last updated : 14 August 2009 By Fargone
Clyde threatened with closure by Hugh Macdonald 14 August

Clyde have plunged into a new financial crisis that may sink the club.

The Broadwood Stadium Company is pressing for repayment of the £230,000 that the club owes. It is understood that a letter from the company has been sent to the club warning of legal action.

The club could, therefore, be forced into administration with seven days.

The action follows non-payment in May and June of instalments to the company, which runs the facility on behalf of North Lanarkshire Council.

A source close to the council said: "The patience of the council has been exhausted. It is as if Clyde are getting a free hurl'. There have been meetings to cut budgets within the council yet almost a quarter of a million pounds is owed by a football club. The council does not want to cut jobs in the public sector while not receiving money from the club. This, after all, is council taxpayers' money."

The stadium company also has a legal responsibility to trade at a profit and this has been severely compromised by Clyde missing out on payments. "The stadium company has a duty to act responsibly," said the council insider.

The football club has three payment agreements with the company. The first concerns pre-2005 debt, the second takes it from 2005 to April 2009, and the third plan came in that month.

The company had sent a letter to the club then and it is understood an instalment was paid the next month. But the June and July payments have not been made and there is pressure on the club to come up with the money. The letter will warn that litigation is inevitable if the debt is not addressed.

Clyde were embroiled in a controversy with the council in April over a letter sent then about the debt to Broadwood Stadium Company. The payment plan formed then was seen as a way forward but the issue has blown up again within days of the start of the new season.

Clyde, who were relegated last season, started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat at Peterhead. Dougie Bell, assistant manager to John Brown, also resigned this month.

The Broadwood Stadium Company said last night: "We cannot comment on confidential commercial negotiations but the company remains committed to active dialogue with Clyde Football Club with a view to finding a way forward for the future."