Leroy Rosenior gives a worrying verdict on the issues surrounding the sale of Derby County and the collapsed Chris Kirchner takeover.
At the end of another chaotic week for the Rams, the existence of the 138-year-old club remains in limbo and at a threat of liquidation.
On Monday, US businessman Chris Kirchner withdrew his bid to take the club out of administration – after more than two months of supposed negotiations to try to get the deal sorted.
A number of previous suitors, including Mike Ashley, Steve Morgan and ex-Derby chairman Andy Appleby, have revived interest.
The EFL has taken the unprecedented step to become more closely involved with the sale of the club, but information from interested parties are being drip-fed out and due to this and the time to get it done, uncertainty and unease grows.
Fixtures for 2022/23 are released next week, pre-season for Wayne Rooney’s Derby is less than two weeks away and only five contracted players remain at the club.
“They are desperate to get a club on that pitch on the first day of the season.”
Leroy Rosenior addresses the continued issues surrounding the sale of Derby County š°pic.twitter.com/xl8aWIR2tU
ā Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 18, 2022
Leroy Rosenior, Dad to Derby assistant manager Liam, gave an insight into the situation facing the club, saying on Sky Sports: From Liam’s perspective, I always felt it was going to be difficult for him because he’s got such an emotional attachment still to Derby. And I wouldn’t mind what people say when you have been in the round it for the last two or three years himself. And Wayne and the co staff there do feel that they still have that attachment to Derby. And so I think it’s still very difficult for them to just pull themselves away from that with the situation that Derby are in.
And it’s a situation where you don’t get a second chance. It’s not something that you can easily walk away from. So that’s what I will say, because what’s happening at Derby is such a shame and there’s so many people whose jobs and livelihoods rely on it, including the fans and the community.
Wayne and Liam, I think, are desperate for something to get over the line there and then to get a club on that pitch for the first game of the season. I think that’s what everybody at Derby is looking for. So I do feel there’s an element of responsibility still there amongst Wayne and the coaching staff, desperate for something to happen to Derby.
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There are thought to be around eight groups interested in taking the club out of administration, some of which want to remain anonymous.
Ashley plots to take Derby’s administrators to High Court, Steve Morgan is said to “be back in the race”, the American Binnie family, who had a Ā£30m offered rejected in March, said that Derby’s administrators Quantuma have not contacted them in an attempt to revive their interest.
The “frontrunner” in the latest bidding war, BBC Radio Derby understands, is a consortium fronted by former Rams chairman Andy Appleby with offer from them was submitted on Thursday.
The American was part of a takeover of Derby in 2008, when they were a Premier League side and finished with a record low points tally, and went on to rebuild the club.
He was involved when they reached the Championship playoff final in 2014, which they lost to QPR, before Mel Morris – who would go on to place the club into administration in September 2021 – took control of the club in 2015.
Ed Dawes, the club commentator for BBC Radio Derby, says Appleby could be seen more as a “trusted” buyer after years of previous involvement.
“Derby supporters have been battered and bruised many times and are shell-shocked at how their club has gone to the brink of extinction in 2022,” Dawes said.
“What Appleby has is a proven track record at Pride Park for turning the club around once before.
“After Premier League relegation in 2008, a huge amount of book balancing followed – with wage cuts, players shifted out and some real soul-searching. On the field it was slow going, the fans weren’t the most appreciative – me included, during my youth – but it is only in the past few years that the work that Appleby, and then manager Nigel Clough, did is being recognised.”
There are still a number of issues outstanding, the ownership of the club’s stadium, still in ex-Rams owner Morris’ control which had caused previous bidders problems, but has been resolved, with a deal in principal reached with a local consortium to buy Pride Park.
Ashley, who sold Newcastle for Ā£305million in October, is said “to have the money” and is “ready to go” with a Derby takeover though there are questions over what the negotiator would want to pay.
If a bid less than what was tabled by Kirchner is accepted, it could see non-football creditors not paid 25% of what they are owed, which would trigger a 15-point deduction.
Figures from Quantuma in April revealed that HM Revenue and Customs’ total claim for unpaid taxes has risen to Ā£36million, from Ā£28million.
The club also owes finance company MSD Ā£24m, while Quantuma themselves accumulated costs of Ā£2.1million in the first six months of administration.
It’s not totally clear what the future hold for manager Wayne Rooney, will he stay? At least, that’s whhat he wants to do, but with everything up in the air, his stay isn’t guaranteed.
Liam Rosenior, Rooney’s number two, is also highly regarded and was spoken to about the vacancy at Championship side Blackpool before Michael Appleton was appointed on Friday.
Derby’s pre-season is set to start on Monday, 27 June and the club have just five first-team players contracted for next season because of restrictions put on them – stopping them making signings or offering new deals to players they already have – as a result of the financial turmoil.
The five – Krystian Bielik, Max Bird, Jason Knight, Louie Sibley and Jack Stretton – does not include a goalkeeper or any defenders.
Thirteen first-team players are out of contract on the 30th of June, with goalkeeper Ryan Allsop has already joined Cardiff.
The club have no pre-season fixtures confirmed and no one knows who will pay the club’s June wages.
BBC Sport report that the administrators are likely to seek more external funding to allow them to pay those wages.
Meanwhile, Derby County defender Curtis Davies has slammed former Rams owner Mel Morris by comparing him to someone who plays video game ‘Championship Manager’.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, he said: “I am heavily invested in the club, emotionally. Itās my club whether Iām there or not. Iāve been part of the fabric for five years and those five years feel like 20. “I wonāt sit there thinking, forget Derby, they went into liquidation, who cares. Iād be gutted. If this takeover doesnāt happen or itās delayed further, peopleās livelihoods are in doubt and with the cost of living crisis it couldnāt come at a worse time.
“Derby is a massive club with a massive following and it needs someone who seriously wants to take it forward in the right way.
“Itās not Championship Manager. Thatās what Mel Morris did. Mel did well with the Candy Crush money, bought his hometown club and ran it as though he had the cheat code on Championship Manager. Unfortunately, there are consequences and weāre facing them now.
“What we need is the next owner. And Iām not saying I want them to be, but if Derby were to be in League One for the next five to 10 years but survive and stabilise and build, thatās more important than finding someone who comes in and burns another load of money. The key is that the club survives and is run properly.”
āIām extremely concerned.ā
āI literally scroll through Twitter every morning and search for āDerby County.āā
āŖļø Curtis Davies outlines how concerned he is with the takeover situation at #DCFC. pic.twitter.com/PzijGxzQJE
ā talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 9, 2022
Ā
Fans reacted as Leroy Rosenior gives his verdict on issues surrounding the sale of Derby County with update an made…
@MiguelKelly716: Great to hear as I had thought with everything that has happened we might lose both, the administrators need to get a deal done quickly to give WR & LR a chance to get a squad together.
@hudsonjames1981: Both Wayne and Liam are referred in Derby for the loyalty and leadership they have shown if we can get to the beginning of the season with new owners and those 2 still in charge it will be fantastic ā½ļøš
@storm16540959: For me something must be announced on Monday! Quantum a are a joke of a administrators!
@dcfcrobbo: You got to say thatās phenomenal to hear and just infuriates me more for what the wanker Morris has done. Get somebody in quick and letās rebuild this great club šŖš»
@Bob_Loveridge: We are so lucky to have Wayne and Liam. Probably donāt deserve such loyalty from such people. #dcfc #dcfcfans
@stefdcfc89: We really couldn’t have 2 better people in charge at Pride Park. š¤š¤šš
@Toshisaram: Sort it the fuck out now @quantuma1 you massive shit cunts. We still have a manager and a few players that we wonāt have in another week. Stop dicking around and get it done. #QUANTUMAAREFUCKINGSHIT
@graemeTro: The Administrators have been an absolute embarrassment and should never work with another football club ever again.
@ktownniko: @cskirchner Donāt you think you owe Derby fans an apology or at the very least an explanation? You fly off on your plane, weāll just wake up every morning feeling like you mugged us off. Cheers. On ya bike. Donāt come back š #dcfc #dcfcfans
@Marsha1051: The silence is deafening #dcfc #dcfcfans šš
@Britcrow: If Wayne Rooney was to go or even if by some miracle he stays, @TheCurtisDavies for next manager or a place in the coaching team alongside playing for next season? #dcfc #dcfcfans
@dcfc87: All seems to have fallen eerily quiet again. Sleepwalking into oblivion. I wonder if the Quantuma are working this weekend?? #dcfc
@PigeonSpondon: Genuinely worried about #dcfc by the time I come back from Tenerife next weekend will I have a club to support
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