12 December 2004
By Peter Shuttleworth
PROSPECTIVE
Wrexham owner Andrew Smith will insist the club remain at the Racecourse if his
bid to buy the crisis club is accepted -then he plans to sell the Dragons to the
fans once he's made his cash.
Wrexham have been forced into administration as they struggled to cope with
debts that spiralled to £2.6m, almost £1m of which is owed to the Inland
Revenue. Surrey-based entrepreneur Smith is leading a consortium of wealthy
businessman and is set to formally make an undisclosed offer to acquire the
132-year-old League One club this week.
Smith's company, The United Plotowners Association (UFA), are keen to wrap up
the deal with Wrexham's creditors before Christmas with a view of pulling the
club out of administration by the end of January.
Wrexham fans are obviously sceptical of another property developer becoming the
major shareholder at the Racecourse as current power broker Alex Hamilton, a
Cheshire-based property mogul, wanted to move the Wales' oldest pro club away
from their home of 117 years.
Smith, however, is eager to make his Wrexham project UPA's example initiative in
Wales, enhance their reputation and open doors in the Principality. So Wales on
Sunday understands Smith wants Wrexham to stay at the Racecourse and improve the
stadium with the club as focal point for the local community.
He plans to give the Kop End a makeover and is believed to have plans to develop
the area behind that end of the ground, building 'affordable' housing.
Smith's proposal is that once his company has made its money from selling the
houses, UPA will offer the supporters the chance to buy Wrexham FC.
Smith's legal eagles are currently drawing up the formal paperwork to make a bid
for Wrexham Football Club and its assets now that the current controversial
owner Hamilton is willing to sell.
Smith wouldn't confirm his blueprint for Wrexham, but he did say: "We are
looking forward to moving forward as long as everything can be finalised. It's
up to the club's administrators whether to except my proposal.
"I hope to complete the deal before Christmas and bring Wrexham FC out of
administration by the end of January. I want this development to be The United
Plotowners Association's flagship scheme in Wales and my intentions are
honourable as I know our reputation is at stake."
The Football League's new rules punished Wrexham's plight as they were docked
ten league points for going into administration, plunging them into League One's
relegation dogfight, but fans and local businessman have raised £20,000 to
appeal against that decision.
While Wrexham are the 34th club to go into administration in the last 11 years,
they're the first to be penalised by the new legislation of losing ten points -
so the club's lawyers will fight a test case to reverse that decision.
Wrexham must prove their financial problems were caused by unavoidable or
unforeseeable circumstances if they're to win their appeal, lodged on Friday.
Now independent consultants will carry out a review of the club's activities
leading up to their move into administration. The League's Sporting Sanctions
Panel will have to meet where Wrexham chiefs will make their case.
Club manager Denis Smith, speaking after Wrexham's 3-0 defeat at Milton Keynes
Dons yesterday, is naturally keen for Wrexham to win their case: "It's about
getting it sorted off the pitch, we've got to get a new owner in. But what we
have to do is win football matches to keep everybody bubbling and if you want
people to back you've got to do that.
"I think we're talking a couple of months before Wrexham have a new owner. It's
not a straight forward thing. There are two lumps to buy, the ground is owned by
one company and the club is owned by another. The administrators are only there
for the club not the ground but we need to put the two together for the club to
have a future."