Disaster for Southampton as they become the fifth club docked points this season

The closest football league side to where I live is Southampton, some twenty-five miles away. My eldest son, who moved here eighteen years ago when he was four, is a Southampton supporter. So whilst I have no major feelings one way or the other to the famous old club, they do mean something to me.

Sad

The fact that Southampton are facing life in the third tier of English football for the first time in fifty years is sad news for all football fans, not just those with a connection with the club.

Southampton have been effectively relegated after being docked ten points by the Football League in relation to their financial troubles. They are four points from safety anyway and if they do manage to escape the drop the points will be deducted. If they do not, they will start next season with a ten point deficit.

Appeal

The club are likely to appeal against the decision but chances of success are pretty small. Even if they do somehow manage to overturn the league’s decision, they may well still suffer relegation to League One.

The Football League ruling comes after Saints’ parent company went into administration.
The club had hoped to avoid the punishment as they argued that it was their parent company Southampton Leisure Holdings plc (SLH) which had gone into administration not the football club.

The Football League employed “independent forensic accountants” to look into the situation and they reported that, “SLH and the football club are inextricably linked as one economic entity. The holding company has no income of its own; all revenue and expenditure is derived from the operation of Southampton Football Club and the associated stadium company. The holding company is solvent in its own right. It only becomes insolvent when account is taken of the position of Southampton football club and the other group companies.”

The Football League said that there was no alternative other than to invoke the 10-point penalty.

Mark Fry, joint administrator of SLH, insisted he was “shocked and extremely disappointed” with the League’s decision to deduct points.

“The football club was not even aware that the investigation had been concluded. We remain very firmly of the view that the rules do not apply, and that the Football League has stretched the rules to meet the circumstances. The football club is not in administration. The Football League is a members’ organisation, and with any such body of that nature, you run the risk that if there is any grey area, they can interpret the rules as they see fit. I think they’ve interpreted the rules to suit the conclusion they wanted to reach. It is expected that an appeal will be launched.”

Despite those comments, an appeal is unlikely to succeed. The investigators state that Southampton withdrew their co-operation before the investigation was concluded and that is the reason the club were unaware that it had.

Leon Crouch, who has had two spells as chairman of the football club, spoke bitterly about the decision. He told the BBC,

“Southampton Leisure Holdings and Southampton Football Club are two separate companies. Mark Fry is the administrator for SLH, he’s not the administrator for the club. We’re not in administration, we’re paying our bills and I don’t see how they can take these points off us. Southampton Football Club was set up so that if this ever happened, we would not have these points deducted – it’s the way they have interpreted the rules. I think we have a very strong case, I hope we appeal and we now have to focus on winning against Burnley on Saturday, we need to safeguard our Championship status and then hopefully have this decision overturned – then we’ll be back where we belong next season.”

Southampton are the fifth Football League team to be deducted points this season. Darlington, Luton, Bournemouth and Rotherham have all lost points in relation to administration. The current financial climate means that others are sure to follow.

Relegated

Southampton enjoyed a twenty-seven year stay in the top flight before the club were relegated in 2005.

Since then, one disaster has followed another. As one of our more famous clubs, this sad situation should raise alarm bells throughout the English game. Southampton were always regarded as one of the best run clubs in the country, but a number of factors including the loss of Premier League money and financial mismanagement at the club, have led to the present state of affairs.

I hope Southampton can bounce back.