Football League Statement

04 December 2004

Following notification that Wrexham Football Club has today been made the subject of an Administration Order at the High Court in Manchester, The Football League has confirmed that the Club will be deducted 10 points in accordance with its Regulations.

This sporting sanction, which was voted into place by The League's member clubs in September 2003, takes immediate effect.

The club can appeal against the sanction if it believes the insolvency events have occurred due to circumstances which are deemed to be unforeseeable and unavoidable. The club has seven days to lodge that appeal which will, thereafter, be considered by an independent panel.

John Nagle, Head of Communications at The Football League, said: "The sporting sanction itself is not intended as a punishment but rather as an attempt to balance the competitive advantage clubs receive by ridding themselves of debt.

"This sanction, which is fully supported by our member clubs, is designed to have a deterrent effect and to make directors more accountable to supporters for the way they run their clubs. In time, the threat of sanction, coupled with the other good governance measures introduced by The League over the last 18 months, should foster a more sustainable approach to managing football clubs and, hopefully, reduce the number of clubs needing to go into administration."

Updated League Table:

Pos Team                             P  W  D  L   F   A   GD Pts
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1   Luton Town                      19 13  3  3  39  20   19  42
2   Tranmere Rovers                 19 11  5  3  29  20    9  38
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3   Hull City                       19 11  2  6  32  26    6  35
4   Bradford City                   19 10  2  7  31  29    2  32
5   AFC Bournemouth                 19  9  4  6  33  24    9  31
6   Bristol City                    19  8  6  5  38  28   10  30
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7   Sheffield Wednesday             19  8  6  5  31  24    7  30
8   Chesterfield                    19  8  6  5  24  17    7  30
9   Hartlepool United               19  9  2  8  29  32   -3  29
10  Swindon Town                    19  8  4  7  32  28    4  28
11  Brentford                       19  8  4  7  22  26   -4  28
12  Doncaster Rovers                19  7  6  6  25  28   -3  27
13  Colchester United               19  7  5  7  29  23    6  26
14  Huddersfield Town               19  7  5  7  29  25    4  26
15  Walsall                         19  6  6  7  27  31   -4  24
16  Port Vale                       19  7  2 10  21  30   -9  23
17  Oldham Athletic                 19  6  4  9  27  30   -3  22
18  Barnsley                        19  5  6  8  24  26   -2  21
19  Torquay United                  19  5  6  8  24  31   -7  21
20  Peterborough United             19  5  5  9  24  21    3  20
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21  Blackpool                       19  4  6  9  21  27   -6  18
22  Wrexham                         19  6  6  7  21  28   -7  14*
23  Milton Keynes Dons              19  3  5 11  21  37  -16  14
24  Stockport County                19  2  4 13  17  39  -22  10
*Wrexham deducted 10 points for entering administration on 03/12/04