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Gary Neville’s viral rant on football ownership and Derby County gets 2 million views

Gary Neville’s viral rant on football ownership and the current saga Derby County find themselves in gets 2 million views.

It’s been a week now since G Nev spoke on Sky Sports’ Friday Night Football with the possibility of Derby County being forced into liquidation on his mind.

The Championship club have been in administration since the beginning of the season, after owner Mel Morris called upon business advisory firm Quantuma to oversee the club’s affairs after failing to transfer ownership of the Rams to a new custodian.

Neville had promised to touch on the Derby situation earlier in the week after being attacked by fans on Twitter for not speaking up.

He kept to his promise and showed his seething frustration that Derby fans were at the stage of pleading for their club’s future.

Neville’s mother was company secretary at Bury for over 20 years and he kicked off his rant by reflecting on them going bust.

He said: “It feels like history is repeating itself from a few years ago.

“My Mum took the call on a sorry Tuesday night from the EFL to tell her that Bury had gone bust a few years ago and that was it, they were done.

“Someone at Derby will take that call in a few weeks’ time unless something big doesn’t happen.

“If Woolworths goes into administration nobody wants to buy it, it goes bust.

“If nobody wants to buy Derby in the next couple of weeks or months, however long that moment is… they will go bust. It is inconceivable that this can continue.

“No one can save Derby at this moment of time other than a buyer coming in. And that’s going to be damned hard work.

“There isn’t the regulation for football to step in and stop Mel Morris doing what he’s been going in the past few years.

“The owner of Derby has committed to costs that he can’t afford or he’s not willing to fulfil. he doesn’t just do that, he then walks away with the stadium. It’s horrific.

“Football clubs need to be treated like grade-one listed buildings and not like normal businesses on the street that are subjected to normal market conditions. We have to change the modelling in English football to stop this happening.

“We’ll continue to see more Derby’s, more Bolton’s, more Wigan’s, more Macclesfield’s, more Bury’s… some will survive, some will fall by the wayside. There is a way forward in the future if we can get this through Parliament in the next 12-18 months.

“There will be more financial monitoring, owners will have to fulfil the costs their committing to, they’ll have to do that.

“At the moment I feel desperate for Derby fans, they are waiting and can’t do anything about it because there are tens of millions of pounds needed to save that football club.”

He added: “Football clubs need to be treated differently then every other business in this country.

“Derby has a rich history of great managers and great players.

“Now tonight they are powerless and helpless to do anything about their club.

“Not just the fans, but the authorities and Government are powerless to step in and do anything other than try to find a suitable buyer.

“It is madness what is happening and we’ve got to stop it. I don’t know how to help Derby other than plead with someone to try and buy it and allow regulations to change in the next 12-18 months.

“This is has got to change. It’s beyond whatever the final straw would be. It’s more important than football because the reality of Derby going under and not being a football club anymore is inconceivable.”

www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies

LATEST EFL STATEMENT (27 January):

Following a formal review of revised financial forecasts at Derby County, the EFL and Quantuma (the Club Administrators) have today agreed a month-long extension to the deadline set for proof of funding to be provided.

The EFL Board had previously requested evidence by 1 February 2022 of how Derby County was to be financed whilst it remained in administration, alongside a financial plan that determined how the Club would fulfil its fixture commitments until the end of the current season.

Today’s development will allow the Club to meet its ongoing obligations whilst giving a further four weeks to continue the discussions with the interested bidders and relevant stakeholders in respect of a sale, alongside providing additional time to seek clarity on the claims from Middlesbrough and Wycombe.

It is appreciated that many people have been waiting to receive an update over the last 48 hours but given the complexity and ever-changing circumstances, our priority has been to provide clarity once there is a definitive position.

Our commitment as ever remains addressing the many challenges at hand and we will look to provide updates as soon as we are able to.

– STATEMENT ENDS –

Twitter users reacted as Gary Neville’s viral rant on football ownership and Derby County gets 2 million views…

@TheSincilBanker: All very true. But rich from someone who owns a club that is spending well beyond its means

@deanashtonsfoot: Spending beyond its means, but with owners who are capable & willing to cover the costs. That’s the key point! It’s about proper vetting of owners and holding them to account. Preventing them from syphoning off cash and assets for their own ends, & leaving behind a broken club.

@NunquamD: The day Wimbledon was destroyed and that headcase was allowed to move most of the assets to Milton Keynes was the warning. Everyone laughed because they were an unfashionable club. The beginning of the end.

@steveokeeffe62: Well said (ish) but where were you when Bury went bust for the sake of £2m. Top 6 dont care. Pogba paid £500K p/w (£26m per year) Obscene. No such thing as football family. Tax the elite (even 1% of wages/transfers). Make owners put 25% of wages up front, share Tv revenues etc.

@MartinMoran74: I agree with the sentiment of what Gary Neville is saying however the EFL have become powerless through procrastination. A more prompt decision to relegate Derby would have solved the claims by Wycombe and Boro, whilst clearing the way for a buyout at Derby

@swearmeister: The point is that Derby deliberately held up filing the accounts to avoid precisely that. They’ve even admitted it. The administrators just need to speak to the clubs and settle.

@swilko5: Many football clubs (inc Derby after the QPR Play Off final in 2015) had far more legitimate claims than Boro & Wycombe to sue other clubs over financial breaches but chose not to. Says it’s all about the integrity of these 2 chancers.

@dp66: My club was relegated to the Conference because new owners reported back to the FA some financial transactions that wouldn’t even register compared to what clubs like Watford, Derby and West Ham were/are up to. Where was the football family there?

@AndyRob__: I do like Gary Neville but when Salford are spunking money well their crowds and takings, gazumping money in leagues above, what happens if they go skint/walk away. Salary cap is needed and properly administrated in football. Clubs like salford push prices up for other clubs

@mjgarrity72: Did Derby care about the football family when they were cheating to gain advantage over the rest of the family?

@moleymole86: As a boro fan I don’t want Derby to go under but I also think a statement needs to be set that cheating won’t be tolerated. I would love boro and Wycombe to settle on a sensible or nominal figure split over a number of years to give Derby a chance.

@Spurspapers: Lives in a dream world. Nobody wants to see derby go out of business. But owners should be left to make bad decisions and not nannied. It’s part of the process why clubs like Brighton are doing well and Sunderland aren’t. It’s part of the jeopardy.

@ianbetteridge: But that’s the point: football clubs shouldn’t be allowed to disappear because of the bad decisions of a single owner. If you had a stupid owner, should that owner be able to destroy 139 years of football history, at the heart of your community? Of course not.

@Darren_Reevell: Take a look at the current plight of Scunthorpe United. Another owner who amassed too much debt, transferred the stadium to his own company, and is now refusing to invest into the club, leaving us on the brink of falling out of the football league.

@shez_dictates: I would like Derby to survive but talking about Wycombe and Middlesbrough dropping their claims as “football family” should look out for each other? Where was the sense of “football family” when Derby were screwing the system and these clubs over? Their fans revelled in it too!

@IanHarding111: We will Gary, see many more clubs fold…. due to the @premierleague @SkySportsPL ironically you are standing there and holding the mic of the root cause. Too much money being offered to those teams and all those outside chasing the ££££ on offer.

@lloydtownsend21: Never known a pundit to articulate their knowledge of business in sport as well as he does. Top class

@bobbeech: Agree with @GNev2 here its a refreshing from when Pompey were in deep trouble We had a former England player say we should be crushed like a can & Premier League teams voted to divide our TV money between themselves These issues are of footballs making Change is long overdue

@JakeAlston: A lot of @Rovers don’t understand how lucky we are to actually have the Venkys, they made some massive mistakes on crocked advice but yet they are still here, keeping our club alive. Whilst stay away fans are killing it, they are saving it through all the hate and abuse.

@daysofspeed: The “football family” stood by when Wimbledon FC was franchised (maybe we should have not beaten them all on the pitch) but here we are, back home and winning community awards for fun with a thriving youth set up. Fan owned. There’s your answer.

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