Saints run on ‘faith and hope’ three years ago (From Daily Echo)

Saints run on ‘faith and hope’ three years ago

in The Untold Stories

Michael Wilde and Jim Hone

SAINTS were being run on “faith and hope” as long ago as the summer of 2006, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The Michael Wilde regime were aware that ‘distress disposals’ – ie, selling star players – was inevitable if outside investment was not brought in to the club.

Rupert Lowe has claimed the club had money in the bank when he and his board supporters resigned in June that year.

The Wilde regime spent almost £6m in a matter of weeks bringing in new players to boost manager George Burley’s squad.

But that spree only put the club into extra debt they could not afford without fresh investment.

The Echo understands that the club’s PLC board were told on September 1 2006 that the financial situation was grim.

Chief executive Jim Hone’s report to the board made it clear investment was crucial otherwise staff redundacies were inevitable as well.

Sadly, the investment was never forthcoming and the ‘distress disposals’ duly happened.

Gareth Bale was sold in May 2007 for a downpayment of £5m to Spurs while Chris Baird and Kenywne Jones went for around £9m a few months later.

Hone’s report to the PLC board stated: “The company is presently being directed and controlled on the basis of:- ● Faith in assurances* given to the board that a ‘substantial’ level of new funding will be raised and made available to the company in the early course of the current financial year.

* Such assurances have been given by certain SLH Plc directors who have intimated to the board that they are ready and willing to commit monies to the company and/or reported to the board that they are in dialogue with external parties who are ready and willing to commit monies to the company.

● Hope that the club will win promotion into the FA Premier League (FAPL) during the course of this season.

‘In the event that substantial new funding does not materialise by May 2007 then (in the absence of a commensurate increase in the Company’s borrowing capacity), failure to win promotion into the FAPL will necessitate ‘distress disposals’ of valuable player assets for sums below true market value together with a massive reduction in labour and overhead costs, largely facilitated by staff redundancies.

‘In view of the directors’ obligations to shareholders and other stakeholders, it is not a practical proposition for the board to continue to direct and control the operations of the business on the basis described above.”

Michael Wilde was initially responsible for bringing in the much needed new investment.

Though Wilde had never publicly promised to bring in such investment, there were certainly heavy hints that he would be.

And the executive directors – Jim Hone, Lee Hoos and Ken Dulieu – would never have accepted jobs at St Mary’s if they had known Wilde would not be bringing in any investment.

There was increasing discontent among the executive directors as the months passed without any sign of investment.

Non executive directors such as Leon Crouch were also furious that no investment was forthcoming.

The end result was Wilde being voted off the PLC board in February 2007 and Hone and PLC chairman Ken Dulieu taking over the search for new investment.