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It's day four of our look back to the last week of Hereford United. Here's an article written by Jamie Griffiths published on December 16th 2014.
Another Stay Of Execution
So the much-adjourned winding up petition rumbles on, and on… and on… after another adjournment at the High Courts yesterday.
This time the adjournment was granted because the 15 working days (mentioned in the letter that was produced guaranteeing funds at
the last hearing) had not passed. My initial reaction was to question
what on earth the previous judge was doing, scheduling the hearing
inside that 15-day period, but perhaps it was so that it would keep the
pressure on.
The role of the judge is not to try and close down companies, but to try
and ensure that creditors get their money (or at least some of it),
unfortunately for Hereford fans who are troubled by the moral issues
surrounding the current ownership, the judge has no place to look into
that. Also, the Courts have to follow correct procedure, imagine what
would happen if they wound the club up, only for the club to win an
appeal due to the fact that the court had acted improperly. I for one
would be outraged.
I digress… going back to the setting of the date for yesterday’s
hearing, from what I can tell, the Courts only put aside one day a week
for winding up hearings, so it was either yesterday, or after the
Christmas break. We were led to believe the next available date was the
19th January 2015.
Instead of the usual adjournment of a few weeks or more, this time it is
days, with Andy Lonsdale due back in Court this Friday. Perhaps the
previous judge knew that Mr Registrar Baister would schedule a
hearing before the Christmas break?
So what needs to happen by Friday? It’s quite simple, Hereford United
(or Mr Lonsdale) need to make sure that there is £1million in an account
that the club can access, as they promised at the previous hearing on
1st December.
Failure to do that would result in the death of Hereford United (1939 Ltd).
Lonsdale seemed to be almost convinced, but not quite, that the money
would be there, telling BBC Hereford & Worcester that he was ‘very
confident’ it would appear. This certainly raised eyebrows amongst some
Hereford fans, who picked up on the fact that it was his own money, so
why should he have any doubt that it would be available?
More comments later in the day, reported by the Hereford Times caused
even more eyebrows to be raised with Lonsdale being quoted as saying “Even if I pay all the bills“. What does he mean, ‘even if‘, surely it should have been ‘when’ screamed many a Hereford fan on Social Media.
If the club/Lonsdale do manage to find the cash, then another
adjournment until the new year is expected, at which point the Courts
are likely to want to see actual proof of payment to all those creditors
currently attached to the petition.
Friday’s hearing looks set to be the toughest yet for Lonsdale and his
legal team, the judge said on Monday that he will take a look at claims
suggesting the letter of guarantee was either a ‘fake‘, or ‘near-worthless‘. Claims that Lonsdale refuted, saying that ‘it is legal, as will be proved on Friday.’
So whilst the initial feeling of frustration followed immediately after
yesterday’s hearing, on reflection, perhaps the noose around those who
are running the club is being tightened by the Courts and fans of
Hereford United are a step closer to this sorry mess being concluded one
way or another. Either Lonsdale pays up, or the company dies and a
supporter led team can be given the chance to rise from the ashes.