I think most things in this update fans should be concerned about.
Hilton said previously he saw the debts when purchasing the club, so he knew what mess he was taking on. The tax bill was paid but it seems the other creditors haven’t. These will include small independent businesses that depend on the cash.
Is this why there is a new kit supplier, new arrangements for booking the away travel because those companies were not paid?
Didn’t see any reference to the pensions, are they now being paid?
I think the academy decision is very sad. Those young scholars that were taken on and are now being released have had their education and football dreams damaged. Local kids will no longer have a pathway to become a pro footballer at their local club.
The academy has started to produce some decent players recently, with 6 members of the current squad being academy products, plus a few more sold.
No other owner has had an issue with ground safety. Some of the safety measures you need to have in place will be regardless of the level of football and the number of fans. Others will be based on the number of people watching, some based on the likelihood of trouble. The gates so far are higher than some games when we were in league 2, so hard to see why being in NLN would justify a significant reduction in stewarding costs, other than less away fans and no more weekly protests.
Hilton is hoping the club doing well on the pitch will keep the fans quiet. That strategy unravelled under Swann and will do so much quicker this time I suspect unless he finds money to pay the debts.
