Interesting points re: our going into admin in 2002

[TornadoShaunUK]

I came across this rather interesting quote regarding our administration in 2002, from a member on a Crystal Palace fans forum while I was looking for some opinions from their fans about Alexandar Tunchev.

These are the facts (I know because I was one of the creditors):

Leicester went into administration after being relegated in 2002. They did everything possible to avoid going into administration, they sold several players for a total of around £10 million and sent as many players as possible out on loan to save on wages. Two of their players played much of the season for no wages. An offer was accepted for Muzzy Izzet but he didn't want to go to Middlesbrough.



The collapse of ITV digital, which led to reduced income and a temporary depression in the transfer market meant they couldn't shift as many players as they'd have liked. The likes of Matt Elliott and Tim Flowers were made available on free transfers but there were no takers.

The major creditors all agreed to restructure the debts the players agreed to defer some of their wages. It looked like they'd survive the season without administration.


But Eric Hall changed that. Leicester had sacked Dennis Wise (for breaking a team mate's jaw), and Hall started legal proceedings to wind the club up over a small amount he was owed. He did it for revenge because the club had sacked his client. The only way to protect the club from the legal action was to go into administration.


It's not true to say they paid 1p in the pound - none of the creditors received that amount. The majority of what was owed was taken over by the consortium that took them out of administration, so was paid in full, or is still being paid.
Most of the debt was football creditors and the stadium loan. They still owe something like £15 million on the stadium.
Unsecured creditors weren't so lucky. The taxman got something like 10%, but smaller creditors ended up with nothing.


The reason Leicester got so much criticism was because they did well on the pitch despite being in administration. Ipswich and Derby, who were relegated at the same time as Leicester also subsequently went into administration, but didn't get anywhere near the same flak for it.


Leicester were promoted the season they went into administration, but because of the debts the new owners took over they could only afford free signings and were inevitably relegated again immediately.

Needless to say it made interesting reading. We obviously get a lot of grief even now from fans of other clubs and many of them do not know the whole story, and indeed many Leicester fans don't know the whole story either or they forget certain things that happened. Thought I would share this with you, it seems like it is a genuine source of information having found it on the forum of another football club, so I'd say it was highly unlikely this was 'made up'. Thought I'd share it with you all.

 

[SwedeFox]

I wouldn't leave my kids with that Eric Hall fella.

 

[Hazzman]

Nice to see someone sticking with the facts and being fair. It's forgotten that Derby and Ipswich went at the same time.

 

[Jeff]

it seems like it is a genuine source of information

I wrote it.

It was in response to the usual crap about us using administration to keep out Premiership squad together.

 

[Mawsley]

Does Eric Hall really eat babies or does he put them in a blender first?

 

[TornadoShaunUK]

I wrote it.

It was in response to the usual crap about us using administration to keep out Premiership squad together.

Nice work. What were you doing on a Crystal Palace forum? :icon_lol:

Now you need to repeat the feat on some Notts Forest and Derby forums who seem to have particularly misguided feelings about our actions from that era....

 

[Jeff]

$

What were you doing on a Crystal Palace forum? :icon_lol:

The same thing as you.

Now you need to repeat the feat on some Notts Forest and Derby forums who seem to have particularly misguided feelings about our actions from that era....

I do it whenever I see lies being written. Most people seem to think we kept our whole Premiership squad and got a free stadium out of going into administration.

 

[TornadoShaunUK]

It is a pain. We do still get a lot of aggro from it, and Derby fans are some of the worst for it which is rather hypocritical. I recently joined a Forest forum and they were asking me about my feelings on the current Thai owners and where we will end up if we don't get promoted. Understandably they all think we are ****ed if we don't go up. It's not just them but alot of the neutrals see it as being one of those 'too good to be true scenarios' where we will wind up in admin again and "cause many small local firms to go out of business". I guess it doesn't help that they had the whole Munto Finance thing go up in smoke just down the road....

 

[bocadillo]

I wouldn't leave my kids with that Eric Hall fella.

You haven't got any kids.

 

[Mawsley]

You haven't got any kids.

I have and I'm always up for free babysitters.

 

[SwedeFox]

You haven't got any kids.

Good point. I could now change that to "I wouldn't buy a car from him" but then you might point out that I couldn't afford a car which would be an equally good point as your first one - thus making my argument null and void.

I will have to have a long, hard think about this. And a long, hard wank. Work and pleasure go together like a whore and cabbage.

 

[Lincs Fox]

I remember watching a documentary about Justin Fashanu a while ago and the kind of views espoused by Eric Hall were straight from the Stone Age. A truly awful individual.

An interesting article nevertheless, certainly has far more balance than some of the tabloid journalism on the very same issue anyway.

 

[Blue Maniac]

I remember watching a documentary about Justin Fashanu a while ago and the kind of views espoused by Eric Hall were straight from the Stone Age. A truly awful individual.

An interesting article nevertheless, certainly has far more balance than some of the tabloid journalism on the very same issue anyway.

Welcome

 

[David Gwilliam]

I was told by a cleaner at Belvoir Drive that the thing that threw the players into panic was that the laundry ladies were going to lose their jobs. The players joined together to pay their wages. Footballers wives do not wash the kit.

 

[Kettering Pete]

I tthink it was because of our administration that they brought in the points deduction rule

 

[SJN-Fox]

I was told by a cleaner at Belvoir Drive that the thing that threw the players into panic was that the laundry ladies were going to lose their jobs. The players joined together to pay their wages. Footballers wives do not wash the kit.

WAGs don't do anything do they? (Apart from other footballers).

 

[Lincs Fox]

Welcome

Why thank you! I'd post a link to the clip from YouTube but I need 10 posts first.

 

[Steven]

Why thank you! I'd post a link to the clip from YouTube but I need 10 posts first.

 

[Leesoh]

Nice to see someone sticking with the facts and being fair. It's forgotten that Derby and Ipswich went at the same time.

This still irks me, even to this day. Sheepshanks was one of the more vociferous chairmen calling for us to be deducted points, yet he quietly took Ipswich in and out of administration, and without any transfer embargoes, if I remember correctly.

 

[H T B]

This still irks me, even to this day. Sheepshanks was one of the more vociferous chairmen calling for us to be deducted points, yet he quietly took Ipswich in and out of administration, and without any transfer embargoes, if I remember correctly.

Not quite, didn't they sell Darren Ambrose to Newcastle with the intention of taking him back on loan. When they went into administration, they couldn't take him back, so he was left rather red faced.