Wigan are in trouble after sinking deep into another
financial hole. Relegation from the Championship, confirmed in late April, has
become the least of their concerns. A club that was dragged to the brink as
recently as 2020 is back on the slide under owners who promised the same
would never be allowed to happen again.
Phoenix 2021 Limited, an ownership group based in Bahrain,
might have delivered the League One title during their first full season in
English football, but that success has been bookended by suffering. Wigan are
back in the mire, battling the woes they hoped never to see again.
The drip, drip, drip of financial mismanagement has filled
the sink and without a takeover this summer, there are fears of the water
spilling over and flooding the DW Stadium. Debts owed to Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) are understood to stand at £2.5million ($3.14million).
Anxiety is on the rise and trust in the owner, Abdulrahman
Al-Jasmi, and his son-in-law and chairman, Talal Al Hammad, left town long ago.
Wigan have failed to meet wage obligations to players and
staff on six separate occasions since last summer and, as of last night, Shaun
Maloney, assistant Graham Barrow and his first-team squad had gone 10 days
without pay.
Those repeated delays brought two separate three-point
deductions from last season’s total, removing any hope of avoiding relegation
from the Championship, before further financial shortfalls, including a
failure to meet the EFL’s request to see a £2.35million deposit (equivalent to
125 per cent of wages) placed in a club account, ensured next season will begin
with Wigan on minus eight points.
That will see the 2023-24 campaign start on a back foot, but
it is the immediate weeks that bring the greatest dangers. Despite promises
from Al Hammad on May 26 that an “eight-figure sum” was being processed and due
to land “imminently”, there has been no sign of the financial injection needed
to restore stability.
Those close to the club have little hope of it ever arriving
from Bahrain, especially after it was announced on June 4 that a deal had been
agreed to sell to “a prospective new buyer, subject to EFL approval”.
Phoenix 2021 want out, that much is clear. But the identity
of one would-be buyer is offering scant encouragement. Sarbjot Johal, who
has spent the past six months attempting to convince the EFL he was a suitable
owner of League Two club Morecambe (though he hasn’t been able to prove the
source or sufficiency of his funds), has made big promises of funding, but the
approval required to buy Wigan is considered to be highly unlikely. Last week,
Johal was said to be sending over a seven-figure sum to cover the outstanding
player wages, but the money has so far failed to arrive. He did not respond
when asked for comment.
There is other interest, though. The Athletic has
been told local businessman Mike Danson, who bought a 25 per cent stake in
rugby league club Wigan Warriors in 2020, has held constructive talks with
Phoenix 2021 in recent days and has proposed a takeover that would include
buying the DW Stadium, an asset that is seen to be key in the deal.
Money owed to HMRC since April is the most obvious threat.
That is known to be £2.5million and Wigan’s failure to keep up with payments
has brought further punishment from the EFL. Wigan were placed under a transfer
embargo at the end of May for a breach of “Regulation 17: HMRC Reporting”.
New rules, set at the EFL’s AGM in Chester last week, say
non-payment of HMRC debt for 30 days inside a 12-month period will bring
spending limits for three consecutive transfer windows.
The bill increases at the end of June and other debts are
rising. It is understood Wigan need at least £5million of investment to get
through to July and that is why at this stage there are concerns over
administration — which brings further points deductions — or even worse,
liquidation if they can’t find a buyer.
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