With the new season starting in just two days, a lot is still to be completed at Home Park, not least the completion of sale of the club itself. Contracts were supposed to have been signed back in early July but as yet the money needed to seal the deal hasn’t been forthcoming. A contingency plan has been created by The Argyle trust should the deal fall through, personally I believe that administrator Brendan Guilfoyle should have scuppered the deal a long time ago. Bishop International have delayed consistently and have been far too cloak and dagger about the whole deal when other bidders have been open and transparent from the outset. The funny thing is that Paul Buttivant’s bid was dismissed because the consortium he represents were judged to not have the finances to fund their bid; it seems that the preferred bidder’s don’t have the readies either. Guilfoyle today has urged the preferred bidders to complete the deal by mid August or he’ll have to make some hard choices. If the sale of the club falls through and the club gets liquidated then Guilfoyle needs to face some serious financial and legal penalties for his mismanagement of the administration process, it’s clear that Guilfoyle and Ridsdale have orchestrated the whole deal!
Pilgrims manager Peter Reid has done well to build a squad for the start of the season with everything going on off the field. Reid has signed goalkeeper Jake Cole, defenders Durrell Berry, Robbie Williams and Ladji Soukouna, midfielders Luke Daley and Conor Hourihane, and striker Warren Feeney. Loan deals have been signed with defender Ben Gibson and striker Tom Hitchcock plus a handful of players from the youth system to make up the numbers. The problem is that there is no money to pay these players come the end of the month as Bishop International who were supposed to be bankrolling the club for the first year haven’t stumped up any cash, I seriously doubt that Ridsdale will dig into his sizeable pockets to pay the players. To be honest I am amazed that any of these players signed on the dotted line given that players and backroom staff have not been paid in eight months! That light at the end of the tunnel is still very distant!
Update [5 August 2011 @ 14:20]: After Administrator Guilfoyle urged the preferred bidders to complete the deal yesterday, today has brought the news that the preferred bidders have the money and will complete the deal by next week. Call me sceptical if you want but I find this news hard to believe, with all the delays and cloak and dagger dealings, I’ll believe it when I see it happen. I’m not happy about Ridsdale owning the club or the separation of club and stadium but at this point, a day before the season kicks off in anger, I just want the future of my home town club secured, I want this administration process over and done with, it’s dragged on long enough!