Death of the Silkmen

Like the main character in Arthur Miller's famous play, Death of a Salesman, the FA and Football League have  the inability to accept change in themselves as organisations and society as a whole.

The winding up of Macclesfield Town in the High Court, a season after Bury were let down equally badly, shows how the “Fit & Proper Person’s Test” which the Football League have and the FA’s “Owners & Directors Test Regulations” are not worth the paper a football manager’s contract is written on.

 

Supposedly designed to protect football clubs from unscrupulous owners and directors it seemingly does nothing to protect clubs once someone deemed suitable takes over then becomes unsuitable. The Governing bodies of our sport have failed to adapt to the likes of Amar Alkhadi and Vincent Tan and though they have passed their initial tests they have failed to act once problems have arisen. 

 

The EFL and FA have their own interpretations of what is required, both very similar and the FA have one section which specifies what Directors should adhere to;

 To promote the success of the company: A director must act in a way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of the members as a whole. There are factors that a director should take into account. These include, but are not limited to: - the likely consequences of the decision in the long term; - the interests of the company’s employees; - the impact of the decision on the Company’s reputation; and the need to act fairly as between the members.

Now, I’m no lawyer but this paragraph could easily be applied to Amar Alkadhi the bloke who is Macc's owner. He failed to pay, on behalf of Macclesfield Town FC, the players wages, tax to HMRC and other creditors. Surely this isn’t “promoting the success of the company” or taking the “likely consequences of the decision in the long term”.

 

From my position as a football supporter with no affiliation to Macclesfield Town it appears that the club and its supporters have not been protected by the EFL, who seemingly couldn’t wait to get rid of the club given their appeal against the decision to dock the club points but not enough, originally, to relegate them out of the EFL’s hair.

The FA have not had a very good Summer. It started way back with the null and void decision for those clubs at Step 3 and below and has continued with the lack of action in protecting Macclesfield Town. Their rules, which I have quoted above could surely be used against Alkhadi.

 

The problem football has with unscrupulous owners is a weak Governing Body, poor regulations that do nothing to protect clubs and nothing in law to give powers to the relevant authorities to rid these people from our clubs.

The EFL failed to adequately control Alkhadi during his term as owner. Similar to my local club, Chesterfield, Alkhadi resigned as Chairman yet remained majority shareholder, exactly the same scenario with Dave Allen at the Spireites when his soother was lobbed from the perambulator. Though Chesterfield suffered 2 relegations and ended up out of the League Allen tried to salvage the situation by throwing money at the problem , unfortunately for him and the supporters the men spending the money (or not spending in John Sheridan’s case) weren’t good enough. Thankfully we now have new owners and a debt free club so though Mr Allen oversaw the worst few season’s in the clubs history, given the fall from the Football League, we do still have a club.

The FA have shown yet again that when it comes to taking decisive action they just aren’t up to the task. They should have regulations in place which permit them to install independent people to run clubs who fall foul of the owners and directors regs and be allowed to strip owners of their assets when it comes to the protection of football clubs. As soon as players aren't paid action should be taken, it's very often the first sign that things are amiss at a club. This is also where Government needs to work with the football authorities to put in place laws that allow the Governing bodies to implement the relevant regulations. Without a concerted effort from the FA, Football League and Government then unscrupulous owners will be allowed to turn their back on clubs when they get bored or decide they’ve spent enough. This debacle, just like Bury last season, affects local businesses which are owed money, supporters who have lost their club, and the town in general which loses a valuable local asset and facility.

The Football Supporters Association (FSA) have started a campaign called “Sustain The Game” partly in response to the impact of Covid19 on clubs finances but also encompassing the need to have firm regulations set by Government to protect clubs from rogue owners.

 The FSA’s 5 point plan is copied below;

  Protect our clubs – football clubs are community assets and an important expression of individual and local identity, they deserve legal protection and urgent support to secure their future;

2.    Transparency – everyone has a right to know who owns their club, and how clubs and the authorities operate. Owners are custodians of clubs on behalf of all of us;

3.    Financial controls – fans want rules with real teeth which are independently enforced, clubs and leagues can’t be left to regulate themselves;

4.    Strengthen the pyramid – football as a whole is wealthy, but we need a smarter and fairer use of the money in the game to encourage sustainability;

5.    Supporter engagement – fans are the lifeblood of the game, they need a voice in their clubs and on all issues that affect them and their communities.

Check out the FSA 's campaign here

I've little confidence in the FA & EFL voluntarily seeking change to give themselves the power to act so its vital that supporters join the FSA campaign and fight for change that will save our clubs.

All Photographs are of Moss Rose in the 2016/17 season.