14 August 2007 :: by
Veritas
News breaking this evening suggest that Cardiff City chairman Peter Satan [that's not his real name - Ed] Ridsdale is facing a new financial meltdown (for the second time in his football career).
Talksport has reported that Cardiff City are facing a claim for £30 million from the club's former backers. The
Langston Corporation, a company claiming to be the club's principal financial backer, have initiated legal action against Cardiff, accusing their board of mismanaging the club's accounts and misleading supporters over their monetary health in the year ending May 2006. Well that description could easily be applied to Ridsdale's time in charge at Elland Road! So is their any truth in this claim? Peter Ridsdale, also
known as Teflon for the way none of the shit flying around from the bankruptcy of Leeds United (a club of which he was simultaneously chairman AND managing director) managed to stick to him, has stenuously denied any money is owed describing the claim as an "ill-informed mixture of fiction and general confusion". Wow! Again, a perfect description of his time at Elland Road!
Sadly for Ridsdale, who is to write a book about his time at Elland Road (here's a precis of it - "Mommy, mommy, mommy, a big boy ran up, spent all the money and ran away again and everyone thought I had done it, blub! blub! blub!)
Ridsdale did a similar Nero impression at Elland Road. He happily claimed everything was OK whilst Elland Road burned around him, so excuse me if no one listens to a word that comes out of his mouth over the present claims.
Classical literary allusions aside - I hope they take him and Cardiff City to the cleaners and make their pips squeak. Happily I can now go and relax with a glass of wine and contemplate my worthless, framed, share certicate from Leeds Sporting plc, but suddenly life doesn't seem quite so bad.
Listen to those footseps behind you Ridsdale, can you hear them? That's Justice - she may be blind but she's gonna catch up with you this time - and there's several hundred thousand Leeds fans about to break into a £30 million chorus of Marching on Together that you'll never forget fat-boy! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Please feel free to have your say on this delightful mess for Ridsdale - on our 'Screw You Ridsdale' forum
Here's the statement issued earlier by London lawyers Hextalls LLP, on behalf of the Langston Corporation:
"Hextalls LLP acts for Langston, the principal financial backers of Cardiff City Football Club. We have been instructed by them to commence proceedings against the club to recover funds amounting to more than £30million.
"Our client's claim is that this sum is due for payment now as a result of the club's inability to meet certain deadlines as well as breaching the terms of its loan agreement in respect of the capital sum plus interest.
"It had been hoped to resolve the matter privately and in confidence but the club has repeatedly ignored numerous requests to discuss the debt and its implications.
"As a result of legal proceedings commencing, the issues have now become public and therefore this statement is being made.
"The court action is being taken reluctantly but our client has been left with no alternative following the club's failure to respond to repeated approaches.
"Our client has serious and increasing concerns about the club's present administration and its ability to manage the club's financial affairs. In the event that the club cannot meet its liabilities to our client, then the alternative is for the current board of directors to resign and our client endorse the appointment of a new Board and new management.
"The club's board has also been advised by us that its recently submitted accounts for the year ending May 2006 do not reflect its true financial position. Clubs are, of course, governed by the Football League concerning their solvency and (as has recently been seen in the case of Leeds United FC) circumstances can arise causing a 10-point deduction.
"We are conscious that this situation will cause concern and anxiety among supporters, players and employees but the club's failures left no alternative.
"The situation has been compounded by the fact that for three months the club's chairman ignored repeated communications regarding the seriousness of the financial situation and there must be concerns if other Directors were not informed or if informed, took no notice. This increased the gravity of the situation and led to final representations being made to the club on 2 August 2007 with a request to respond within seven working days. In the event, an unsatisfactory response was received requesting an unacceptable delay until the end of August.
"It should be stressed that our client remains committed to the club. It was their support that enabled the previous financial problems to be resolved and the stadium project to proceed."
