Cala Corporation

[mrpotatohead]

The Directors are working as usual until they hear othewise, , but it is up to Cala (his choice) to pay the wages, using his backers money, he knows that EFL approval is a formality.

[Posh]

This is my personal view.

Cala finds the money to buy the club (as of Friday no deal had been done according to Cala himself). This means he has to buy the shares from Abdullah, pay outstanding creditors and the wage bill, and agree a deal to purchase the assets of PMG Leisure. If a deal is done then he's the owner and we have no other choice. All I and others, such as Directors of Portsmouth FC, the State of California and the Securities and Exchange Commission have done is warn you of what we're about to face. My view is that he'll try and float the club on some tiny US stock exchange with tales of English football awash with billions in cash and how he promises them the opportunity to take advantage of that. When it doesn't work he'll have taken out loads of money in management charges. If it does then, well I won't hold my breath. Irrespective, we'll need a well organised Trust to try and kick back when anything goes wrong.

Cala doesn't find the money and the deal falls through. Abdullah is still the owner. He made assurances to the Directors of Morecambe FC that he will continue to fund MFC, at least until another buyer can be found. Directors, together with the backing of the fans, must do all we can to get him to honour that agreement in order to safeguard the future of the club.

Cala has no money and Abdullah refuses to put more money in, thus losing his 'investment'. The only outcome is administration. We would then be deducted 12 points and the club would now be in the control of an administrator. The first thing they would do is to review the cost base. I'm sure they would come up with agreements with the EFL, for example, to not commit to Reserve fixtures; and possibly, close parts of the ground, such as the away end and Berlin wall; close the downstairs bar on match days; shut the club shop, except for match days; and this would inevitably mean redundancies. The EFL would ensure the club sees out the season's fixtures. The administrator would then seek a buyer. It would be the fan's job, via the Trust, to ensure the Christie legacy is intact, thus removing the possibility of the land being used for anything other than football. Aside from player's wages, which are covered in an agreement with the FA, PFA and EFL, other debts, such as bank debts and loans could be written down to virtually zero and give a new purchaser the ability to start from nearly a blank sheet of paper. In this process, under EFL rules, a Supporters Trust would have to be consulted about a buyer and the administration process. In my view, only someone local could realise the potential of the club by operating it is a community-focused club that works with the community to bring in income.

No Cala, no Abdullah and no buyer, while in administration. Then the Supporters Trust would be the only option to buy the club. It could raise funds through a Community Share issue. However, it couldn't run the club at a loss and either it would have to break even or accept playing at a lower level.

Again, this is just my personal view.

[black morse]

This is my personal view.

Cala finds the money to buy the club (as of Friday no deal had been done according to Cala himself). This means he has to buy the shares from Abdullah, pay outstanding creditors and the wage bill, and agree a deal to purchase the assets of PMG Leisure. If a deal is done then he's the owner and we have no other choice. All I and others, such as Directors of Portsmouth FC, the State of California and the Securities and Exchange Commission have done is warn you of what we're about to face. My view is that he'll try and float the club on some tiny US stock exchange with tales of English football awash with billions in cash and how he promises them the opportunity to take advantage of that. When it doesn't work he'll have taken out loads of money in management charges. If it does then, well I won't hold my breath. Irrespective, we'll need a well organised Trust to try and kick back when anything goes wrong.

Cala doesn't find the money and the deal falls through. Abdullah is still the owner. He made assurances to the Directors of Morecambe FC that he will continue to fund MFC, at least until another buyer can be found. Directors, together with the backing of the fans, must do all we can to get him to honour that agreement in order to safeguard the future of the club.

Cala has no money and Abdullah refuses to put more money in, thus losing his 'investment'. The only outcome is administration. We would then be deducted 12 points and the club would now be in the control of an administrator. The first thing they would do is to review the cost base. I'm sure they would come up with agreements with the EFL, for example, to not commit to Reserve fixtures; and possibly, close parts of the ground, such as the away end and Berlin wall; close the downstairs bar on match days; shut the club shop, except for match days; and this would inevitably mean redundancies. The EFL would ensure the club sees out the season's fixtures. The administrator would then seek a buyer. It would be the fan's job, via the Trust, to ensure the Christie legacy is intact, thus removing the possibility of the land being used for anything other than football. Aside from player's wages, which are covered in an agreement with the FA, PFA and EFL, other debts, such as bank debts and loans could be written down to virtually zero and give a new purchaser the ability to start from nearly a blank sheet of paper. In this process, under EFL rules, a Supporters Trust would have to be consulted about a buyer and the administration process. In my view, only someone local could realise the potential of the club by operating it is a community-focused club that works with the community to bring in income.

No Cala, no Abdullah and no buyer, while in administration. Then the Supporters Trust would be the only option to buy the club. It could raise funds through a Community Share issue. However, it couldn't run the club at a loss and either it would have to break even or accept playing at a lower level.

Again, this is just my personal view.

Thanks for your point of view Posh. Makes these 'possibilities' very clear and commitment to the Supporters Trust vital whatever the outcome.

[marky No.1]

In a nutshell

https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/no ... be-fc-deal

[SupermarketShrimp]

he knows that EFL approval is a formality.

It really isn't.

[mrpotatohead]

Things are moving very fast, clearance is expected for his 4 directors this week, and he has apparently at least one backer with proof of funds.

[Kendalshrimp]

Things are moving very fast, clearance is expected for his 4 directors this week, and he has apparently at least one backer with proof of funds.

Surely tho if a deal isn't done by tomorrow then players won't be paid still as Cala stated in a interview ?

[Christies Child]

What will be, will be but looking into Cala's previous associations with football clubs is he really the person we want to take control of our club?

PMcG isn't blameless in all this, far from it BUT maybe he refused Cala in the summer because he knew exactly what type of person Cala was and (despite some thinking otherwise) Peter actually did have the long term interests of the club in seeking a buyer who was prepared to give him the guarantees about our clubs long term future.

PMcG was obviously duped by Lemos there is no doubt about that but he still deserves some amount of credit for bank rolling the club for all those years and providing the means for us to get FL status after decades of failure.

I'm very much on my own judging by some of the posts on SVs about PMcG but for me he deserves some credit for what he has done for our club over the years.

So it's probably a new regime under Cala.....

[KenH]

I'm very much on my own judging by some of the posts on SVs about PMcG but for me he deserves some credit for what he has done for our club over the years.

No you're not on your own for the credit he rightly deserves for getting the club into League 2 - no-one can take that away from him. Unfortunately, history won't remember him fondly for what happened next, i.e. the disastrous move to the globe, the gym, the boar steaks, lack of engagement and alienation of the fan base, 2/3 long term directors resigning publicly saying they didn't agree with the club's direction, etc. Just how much of that was his fault will never be known, but sadly, he was in charge so has to take the rap for it.

Yes, he led us to the top of the hill, but he also led us down again! If he'd sold out 4/5 years ago, or had taken action to stop the rot, he'd be a Morecambe hero.

[Christies Child]

I'm very much on my own judging by some of the posts on SVs about PMcG but for me he deserves some credit for what he has done for our club over the years.

No you're not on your own for the credit he rightly deserves for getting the club into League 2 - no-one can take that away from him. Unfortunately, history won't remember him fondly for what happened next, i.e. the disastrous move to the globe, the gym, the boar steaks, lack of engagement and alienation of the fan base, 2/3 long term directors resigning publicly saying they didn't agree with the club's direction, etc. Just how much of that was his fault will never be known, but sadly, he was in charge so has to take the rap for it.

Yes, he led us to the top of the hill, but he also led us down again! If he'd sold out 4/5 years ago, or had taken action to stop the rot, he'd be a Morecambe hero.

Did you state that at the time? What was the alternative other than to stay at a crumbling CP that itself needed a considerablr amount of money spending on it to comply with FL regulations....never mind the Health and Safety issues connected with both the main and Christies Avenue stands.

The Globe is far from perfect but it's a much better stadium than CP ever was even after money may have been spent on it, which would have to have been self funded which would have resulted in a far worce balance sheet than we now have.

There are too many posters who are using the sale of our club as a vehicle for long standing personal vendettas against PMcG...for reasons best known to themselves.

[mrpotatohead]

I hope you aren't including me in that last bit CC, I have no axe to grind on a business or personal level with him, and am an open critic, I didn't trust him concerning the clubs long term future.but as owner, it has been up to him what he did with it, I feel bitterly disapointed with rhe way things have turned out, but I am not at all surprised.

[shrimper]

The best scenario would be that Cala fails to get EFL clearance; then (and I don’t know if this is even possible) neither he, Abdullah, nor G50 are able to keep any shares they’ve agreed to buy, by default of not paying the promised sums for them.

Or they all accept they don’t want to take any further part in the club and say they are prepared to hand them back, so long as they can recoup whatever (if any) funds they’ve put in so far.

Then Peter (IF ownership would revert to him in the above circumstances) does the sensible thing and offers to hand the whole lot over to a local consortium, made up of existing and possibly previous directors. Maybe taking a smaller amount out himself by way of sale.

Then the people we want in charge continue to run the club. There may also be people out there – locally – who may have been willing to invest previously but not while Peter was wanting whatever he originally wanted for his shares; and certainly not while all this mess was going on.

Administration may intervene in any of that – but that still may not be the very worst thing.

Of course, by the time I’ve posted this – it may all be done and dusted and we actually have a new owner, approved.

[Morecambe Jack]

It would be the fan's job, via the Trust, to ensure the Christie legacy is intact, thus removing the possibility of the land being used for anything other than football.

Whatever the result of the next few days, this has to be a priority of the Trust for me.

[Christies Child]

The best scenario would be that Cala fails to get EFL clearance; then (and I don’t know if this is even possible) neither he, Abdullah, nor G50 are able to keep any shares they’ve agreed to buy, by default of not paying the promised sums for them.

Or they all accept they don’t want to take any further part in the club and say they are prepared to hand them back, so long as they can recoup whatever (if any) funds they’ve put in so far.

Then Peter (IF ownership would revert to him in the above circumstances) does the sensible thing and offers to hand the whole lot over to a local consortium, made up of existing and possibly previous directors. Maybe taking a smaller amount out himself by way of sale.

Then the people we want in charge continue to run the club. There may also be people out there – locally – who may have been willing to invest previously but not while Peter was wanting whatever he originally wanted for his shares; and certainly not while all this mess was going on.

Administration may intervene in any of that – but that still may not be the very worst thing.

Of course, by the time I’ve posted this – it may all be done and dusted and we actually have a new owner, approved.

The ideal outcome for me....Cala and his co conspirators get what they deserve and PMcG does what should have happened some time ago, the club reverts to a local based consortium made up of existing and former Directors

[shrimper]

...but... I do realise all of that may just be very wishful thinking, I'm not even sure if that'd be possible if the will was there.

[mrpotatohead]

He had the opportunity to do something like this before , but chose not to.

[Keith]

My problem kendalshrimp is I don't know who PMG sold to in the first place...

If you find out, will you let him know?

I'm very much on my own judging by some of the posts on SVs about PMcG but for me he deserves some credit for what he has done for our club over the years.

Unfortunately, history won't remember him fondly for what happened next, i.e. the disastrous move to the globe, the gym, the boar steaks, lack of engagement and alienation of the fan base, 2/3 long term directors resigning publicly saying they didn't agree with the club's direction, etc. Just how much of that was his fault will never be known, but sadly, he was in charge so has to take the rap for it.

Yes, he led us to the top of the hill, but he also led us down again! If he'd sold out 4/5 years ago, or had taken action to stop the rot, he'd be a Morecambe hero.

Did you state that at the time?

The Globe is far from perfect but it's a much better stadium than CP ever was even after money may have been spent on it, which would have to have been self funded which would have resulted in a far worce balance sheet than we now have.

There are too many posters who are using the sale of our club as a vehicle for long standing personal vendettas against PMcG...for reasons best known to themselves.

Many, many, MANY people gave feedback as to what was wrong with The Globe. Much of it could have been put right with minimal cost. The 'fans bar' for example, is anything but. Even the name. Our heritage was sold off, given away or thrown in a skip when we left Christie Park. Many people said that it was as though PMG was trying to wipe out any reference to Christie Park. The fact that it took multiple seasons to get the catering half right. Customers were giving the type of feedback on ShrimpsVoices that marketing companies are paid a fortune to gather. Not only was it ignored, it was publicly dismissed by Peter.

If you sit in the PMG stand and drink in the Wright & Lord suite it is an improvement upon Christie Park. If you stand in the home end, it was a deterioration. Lots of customers said their match day experience had declined. Their views were dismissed in a 'let them eat cake' manner. As a result, lots of customers stopped coming.

Peter's legacy SHOULD be a positive one. He SHOULD be remembered fondly. Instead, history will view him as the person who screwed the club up. Instead of the Peter McGuigan Stand being forever named in his honour, it will be sponsorship, sold to the highest bidder. And at the moment, Joan's Wool with £10 and a bag of off-cuts would be enough to secure it

[Freez]

Erm, Barbara' s wool has an offer on the table!!

[Christies Child]

Allow me to disagree Keith...OK

[morecambegeek]

Allow me to disagree Keith...OK

No one is stopping you disagreeing.

[mrpotatohead]

Deep down CC knows the truth, PMG has screwed up his legacy ,but I doubt he cares and thats the sad thing, to be spoken of with disdain in 50 years rather than reverence is his choice, the matter in hand is the dispicable cad replacing him, and what to do about him, the rotter!

[bill ding]

Erm, Barbara' s wool has an offer on the table!!

Did Barbara knit yours and swidz headgear for Wembley ??? (see photo 70 of 73 in old Wembley photos)

[Loyalsupporter]

Peter's legacy SHOULD be a positive one. He SHOULD be remembered fondly. Instead, history will view him as the person who screwed the club up. Instead of the Peter McGuigan Stand being forever named in his honour, it will be sponsorship, sold to the highest bidder.

To be bluntly honest

IF we survive all this, the last thing I want to see on the front of our ground, is a constant reminder of the guy that almost ended us. (years of appreciation, destroyed)

I would much rather we had a statue of Joseph......... Barnes Christie out the front, as a constant reminder of who created us and tell the story on a plaque, in Josephs honour

[marky No.1]

Weird to think that Joseph could be taking over tomorrow. He said Diego didn't do his homework, wonder if he knows the reason for his potential purchase was created by - Joseph.

[shrimper]

The first 'no-deal' seems to have been a situation of 'agree to buy shares, then try to get the money to actually do it'.....money not forthcoming.

I see this going the same way, then back to square 2, then (I hope) back to square 1.