D Day for the Pars

Dunfermline Athletic’s fate will be decided on Monday as their deadline to meet a £134,000 tax bill looms. The Pars have until 5pm to pay the debt after being served with a winding up order from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs on March 8. They are asking the court to wind up DAFC and appoint a liquidator.

Majority shareholder Gavin Masterton remains in charge at East End Park after a steering group set up to try to save the club claiming they had "exhausted every avenue". One of its members, Bob Garmory, said: "We feel it is appropriate to advise the club owner Gavin Masterton that this is the position that we find ourselves in. We have tried everything and run out of options. We have always said we would not go to the fans and ask for their money if there was no certainty of the long-term viability and therefore we now are advising the owner that the ball is in his court."

The First Division side lost 4-3 to Dumbarton on Saturday and are due to play Falkirk on Wednesday.

Manager Jim Jefferies said: "The players and myself are just kept up to date, we are told that things are not good but there is always hope while we have the time. Until that time comes we are just going to live in hope that things are resolved and that this club can move forward. It is in danger of having to start again in a lower division. We hope that is not the case - administration is better than liquidation and if that happens you have always got the chance of saving the club. The powers that be or whoever comes in will decide what's going to happen. To be honest I do not know what stage we are at. One minute it is positive but the next it is negative."

STV

Fans face another sleepless night before discovering the fate of their club after majority shareholder Gavin Masterton indicated he would make an announcement tomorrow. Dunfermline said they had until 5pm today to settle a £134,000 tax bill after being hit with a winding-up order from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. But Masterton is continuing to look for a solution amid major cash flow problems.

Director of football Jim Leishman told STV: "Gavin Masterton had a meeting with staff this morning and told them he would make an announcement tomorrow. Nothing has changed from last week. The options include administration or liquidation. I'm just an employee of the football club - Gavin Masterton is in charge of the club's future."

Masterton re-assumed control of the situation after a steering group set up to guide the club through the crisis ran out of options following failure to negotiate a viable long-term solution with supporters.

Dunfermline lost 4-3 to Dumbarton in front of 3409 fans at East End Park on Saturday and are due to host Falkirk on Wednesday, but there is no guarantee the First Division game will go ahead.

Daily Record

It's difficult to tell how much of this is brinksmanship, power-struggles, etc. and no group will come out of this smelling of roses.

Thought this in particular was brass neck:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2298622/Dunfermline-keeper-Paul-Gallacher-blasts-SFL-SFA-letting-club-die.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

yeah, boo-hoo

sounds like the 'buying' group want the club in liquidation rather than pay the owner the going rate. with (possibly) only three leagues next season it's not a bad strategy. not quite as long a road to recovery and they'd start debt-free but it's risky

but.....but......but.......they won't be the same Dunfermline Athletic etc etc ad nauseum!

I can honestly say I couldn't care less what happens to them, or any other club for that matter...

There's only one club in Scotland I care about...

David Cowan@stvdavidc wrote:No news from East End Park yet, apart from pies arriving for tomorrow night's match v Falkirk

Dunfermline Athletic Football Club Limited are to apply to go into administration. The move at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Tuesday afternoon comes ahead of a 5pm deadline to pay a £134,000 debt to HM Revenue and Customs or face liquidation proceedings. A court hearing will now be held in due course, where it will be determined whether the company has the necessary funds to be placed in the hands of administrators.

A group of fans and businessmen have agreed to put up money to underwrite the appointment of an administrator. Majority shareholder Gavin Masterton is not part of the consortium. The administrator will be Bryan Jackson of PKF.

"There is a group of Dunfermline Athletic supporters who have underwritten the administrator's fees, which is great," Dunfermline honorary director Jim Leishman said. "So we are back in the game. It was either liquidation where you are done and dusted, and you have nothing. But we are giving it a chance. We will be speaking to the administrator, if that gets the go ahead we will be speaking to him."

Masterton stated his intention to make an announcement on Tuesday, with staff at East End Park to be informed. Club legend Jim Leishman, manager Jim Jefferies and representatives from PFA Scotland met with players at the team’s training base on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the administration application being made, to update them on the situation.

Should the application to go into administration be successful, the First Division fixture at home to Falkirk on Wednesday is expected to go ahead as planned.

The board of the Scottish Football League will subsequently decide how many points to deduct from Dunfermline Athletic as a consequence of going into administration. Dundee were docked 25 points when they went into administration in 2010.

STV

Right, where's Hearts?

Three times I tried to post a reply and it wouldn't post...

My point was that anyone wishing to celebrate the first anniversary of their "administration day" should note, as it stands, that it won't be a year from today...

If Rangers had been voted into SFL1, then with two full houses and 4 tv fees, Dunfermline would have probably earned £1/2m more.

Sporting integrity, lol.