: Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:47 pm  

I would have thought that if there is a financial backer or a consortiom interested in taking over the Dons that they would prefer for the club to go into administation as the new owners would then start off with a debt free club & they wouldn't be resposible for paying the old clubs debts

: Tue Jun 02, 2009 1:06 pm  

GeoffRoebuck wrote:

I would have thought that if there is a financial backer or a consortiom interested in taking over the Dons that they would prefer for the club to go into administation as the new owners would then start off with a debt free club & they wouldn't be resposible for paying the old clubs debts

Agreed, though this cycle can't keep going on forever until the RFL have had enough.

[Wanderer]

: Tue Jun 02, 2009 3:42 pm  

GeoffRoebuck wrote:

I would have thought that if there is a financial backer or a consortiom interested in taking over the Dons that they would prefer for the club to go into administation as the new owners would then start off with a debt free club & they wouldn't be resposible for paying the old clubs debts

It would certainly have more appeal to them I guess. One thought that does occur though, if it's local businessmen who get involved, might they be screwing other local businesses (perhaps not so appealing)?

Up the Dons wrote:

Agreed, thought this cycle can keep going on forever until the RFL have had enough.

I fear they may be close to that already.

: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:18 pm  

WANDERER wrote:

It would certainly have more appeal to them I guess. One thought that does occur though, if it's local businessmen who get involved, might they be screwing other local businesses (perhaps not so appealing)?


I fear they may be close to that already.

I would assume the Inland Revenue are the biggest creditors

[Wanderer]

: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:20 pm  

GeoffRoebuck wrote:

I would assume the Inland Revenue are the biggest creditors

You may well be right - biggest but not only? I have no idea and as the days pass, I see no happy ending to this.

: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:51 pm  

DRAGONFAN wrote:

Anything that will help towards Doncaster Rugby League survival is well worth looking into
and a Supporters Trust may well be one of the better idea’s that will help to move the club
forward into the future.

I know the idea has been mooted quite often in the past and as far as I’m aware there has been
little if any uptake by the fans—but the time may be fast approaching when the fans of The Dons
have to stand up and say we don’t want our club to die.

Lets not sit back and wonder somewhere down the line whether there was something else we
could have done to save the club and with hindsight wish we had e-mailed or telephoned Laura—
Lets Do It Now

Should this be run on a new thread?
I agree this may be the best way forward to keep professional rugby league in Doncaster. At the meetings I ve been to we ve clearly got the talent and contacts available between us to give it a go, but were never given the opportunity by the current management when actually asked for assistance in the past.
In my opinion it would involve a complete break from the past as whether we like it or not these people are discredited to many in the business community. In my humble opinion I m not sure regards Dave Marshall who I have respect for and did what seems a great job within the community, but heh ho.

The future of the Dons should be as a community club working alongside the health, education & voluntary sectors promoting the positives of rugby league for children and families.

We should start with no loftier ambition than keeping the Dons alive and providing a professional platform for ambitious players to start their career.

: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:08 pm  

now andreas has gone that must free up alot of money?

does anyone actually know what the extent of the debt or money troubles are?

: Wed Jun 03, 2009 3:08 pm  

Trotsky wrote:

:THINK: Should this be run on a new thread?
I agree this may be the best way forward to keep professional rugby league in Doncaster. At the meetings I ve been to we ve clearly got the talent and contacts available between us to give it a go, but were never given the opportunity by the current management when actually asked for assistance in the past.
In my opinion it would involve a complete break from the past as whether we like it or not these people are discredited to many in the business community. In my humble opinion I m not sure regards Dave Marshall who I have respect for and did what seems a great job within the community, but heh ho.

The future of the Dons should be as a community club working alongside the health, education & voluntary sectors promoting the positives of rugby league for children and families.

We should start with no loftier ambition than keeping the Dons alive and providing a professional platform for ambitious players to start their career.

Might I suggest you contact the Trust in Widnes committee for advice on this? We never had the desire to run the club but they can point you in the right direction. It isn't easy and our committee members have taken a lot of flak, but it could be what the Dons need.

: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:57 am  

CASH-strapped Doncaster Rugby League Club are set to go into administration in a last-ditch bid to save them from liquidation. The club appointed insolvency experts XL Business Solutions yesterday afternoon to start the process. The Rugby Football League, who were aware of the Co-operative Championship club's financial problems, have been informed, But the club's chief executive, Dave Marshall, reaffirmed to The Star that the RFL were not in a position to help bail out the Dons. "There are other clubs also feeling the pinch in these tough economic times and if the Rugby League helps one then it has to help the others," he said. "In any case, it would be unfair on clubs who have kept on an even keel." Although reluctant to publicly discuss the implications of going into administration until the Cleckheaton-based experts have had time to assess the club's situation, Marshall said that it was imperative that someone came forward to run the Dons. The club has effectively been run by Marshall, Karen Bailey and director of rugby Carl Hall since former millionaire chairman Craig Harrison severed his connections last autumn. Marshall has already announced plans to step down, while Bailey no longer works for the club on a full-time basis. Marshall has agreed to stay on in the short-term to assist the administrator run the club, along with Hall. "A few people have come forward and asked if they can help out, but at the moment any rescue plans are in the very early stages," he said. "I don't think the people concerned are looking to necessarily put any money into the club - which would be free of debt if the administration process was successful. "I think that they are talking of working together to run the club as a proper business." Although the Dons' debts, believed to be between £70,000 and £80,000, are not in massive, Marshall said the club had no way of meeting their financial obligations and that the situation had been steadily getting worse. "The reason for taking the action that we have is that we've not been able to generate the amount of money that we had been hoping to do," he said. "Gates have been slightly lower than we anticipated but the problems are across the board. "Match sponsorship, shirt sponsorship and hospitality have all been hit by the recession, "Everyone, be it business people or supporters, are all tightening their belts." Ross Divorty and Mark Castle have become the latest players to quit, joining Feath-erstone and Leigh respectively. The club, who will be docked points if they go into administration, plan to update the players at training tomorrow. The Dons, who haven't got a game scheduled until June 28, are hoping to play their outstanding game against Batley at Featherstone on June 21. http://www.thestar.co.uk/rugbyleague/La ... 5333948.jp

CASH-strapped Doncaster Rugby League Club are set to go into administration in a last-ditch bid to save them from liquidation. The club appointed insolvency experts XL Business Solutions yesterday afternoon to start the process. The Rugby Football League, who were aware of the Co-operative Championship club's financial problems, have been informed, But the club's chief executive, Dave Marshall, reaffirmed to The Star that the RFL were not in a position to help bail out the Dons. "There are other clubs also feeling the pinch in these tough economic times and if the Rugby League helps one then it has to help the others," he said. "In any case, it would be unfair on clubs who have kept on an even keel." Although reluctant to publicly discuss the implications of going into administration until the Cleckheaton-based experts have had time to assess the club's situation, Marshall said that it was imperative that someone came forward to run the Dons. The club has effectively been run by Marshall, Karen Bailey and director of rugby Carl Hall since former millionaire chairman Craig Harrison severed his connections last autumn. Marshall has already announced plans to step down, while Bailey no longer works for the club on a full-time basis. Marshall has agreed to stay on in the short-term to assist the administrator run the club, along with Hall. "A few people have come forward and asked if they can help out, but at the moment any rescue plans are in the very early stages," he said. "I don't think the people concerned are looking to necessarily put any money into the club - which would be free of debt if the administration process was successful. "I think that they are talking of working together to run the club as a proper business." Although the Dons' debts, believed to be between £70,000 and £80,000, are not in massive, Marshall said the club had no way of meeting their financial obligations and that the situation had been steadily getting worse. "The reason for taking the action that we have is that we've not been able to generate the amount of money that we had been hoping to do," he said. "Gates have been slightly lower than we anticipated but the problems are across the board. "Match sponsorship, shirt sponsorship and hospitality have all been hit by the recession, "Everyone, be it business people or supporters, are all tightening their belts." Ross Divorty and Mark Castle have become the latest players to quit, joining Feath-erstone and Leigh respectively. The club, who will be docked points if they go into administration, plan to update the players at training tomorrow. The Dons, who haven't got a game scheduled until June 28, are hoping to play their outstanding game against Batley at Featherstone on June 21. http://www.thestar.co.uk/rugbyleague/La ... 5333948.jp

: Thu Jun 04, 2009 12:23 pm  

insideman wrote:

now andreas has gone that must free up alot of money?

does anyone actually know what the extent of the debt or money troubles are?

I doubt if even the officials left at the club have an idea of the exact level
of debt.
As said earlier the fans deserve to know how the club has got into this situation so soon after the budget was approved by the RFL.
Whatever sympathy the club had from the rest of the RL world is sadly seeping away due to what i see(without evidence to disprove) as incompetence.