In all my life I have heard fewer ridiculous excuses than he was anxious about bad stuff coming out, so he shouldn’t be able to pay those he owes.
Also, the HMRC debt is said to be equivalent or more than when he took over. If he paid 80% of debts off, how is this happening? We have former staff and players not paid, endless CCJs from after he took over and a bill to the taxman. Just what is his money he says he has ploughed in being spent on, besides current player wages?
If you accept what Hilton has said (easier for some than others) about his reasons for non-payment of creditors, what does he hope to achieve? The club’s credit rating has been smashed to smithereens, any goodwill from existing suppliers will have been eroded and all future business involving existing and new suppliers will generally now be dealt with on a proforma basis. No 30-days, no 60-days, no 90-days, and this will create a much bigger cashflow problem than the one he is currently experiencing.
The National League also has an unusual arrangement with HMRC where they receive information relating to clubs’ PAYE, NI and VAT submissions and payments, so they will be aware of the situation and this will be dealt with by means of a transfer embargo if it is not addressed.
From a credit rating and cashflow perspective, he’s just blown his knee off.
