Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:03 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:30 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:41 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:52 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:10 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:37 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:43 pm
Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:01 pm
Nuclearblue wrote:PtB can you explain what Happened mate Cheers
Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:51 pm
PtB wrote:Nuclearblue wrote:PtB can you explain what Happened mate Cheers
Pretty much as Zabier put it.
Clydebank were in administration as Airdrieonians were liquidated. Our supporters group(I was on the commitee at the time) along with a businessman were in talks with the administrator to buy CFC and had raised the price required. Airdrie United FC(a company that had been set up to apply for the vacancy in the Scottish League) approached us and asked us to merge with them when Gretna were voted in ahead of them saying if we didn't merge they would buy us anyway. We refused and went on with our bid having been told that it was a set price and not a bidding war. AUFC were told differently and put in a higher bid which was accepted. The Scottish Football League gave it their approval and after a bit of haggling over legal issues we ahd to give up.
The administrator shafted us as much as anyone which was annoying as we had worked with him for a long time and helped pull in money for lots of different bills and to put towards wages etc. He made it quite clear it wasn't a bidding war, but when he changed the rules after taking legal advice he failed to advise us of this and we were convinced we had pulled it off. The deadline was 3pm on 9th July 2002, and we were all exchanging emails, calls and texts right up until that point "knowing" we had it in the bag, the club was ours and we'd be able to run it properly and start moving towards returning to the town.
At 3.02 we all got an email telling us we had been outbid. It was the sorest moment of my life once I had re-read it a few times and it sank in.
I should speak to Annis and start writing a book on it, with all the truths. Some bloke did a book on it before with both sides of the story but their side was laughable - some of the claims in it were beyond belief but they had convinced themselves they were doing the right thing. Many of their fans never went back after that happened, many open about the fact they didn't like what happened.
We were offered the chance to do the same thing to East Stirlingshire within days, but didn't.