Bury saga needs to be tipping point

THERE will be lots of sympathy from across Non-League for the fans of beleagured League One club Bury. The Shakers have been in existence for 134 years but are in crisis with their very future on the line. The crux of the matter is that if a takeover isn’t completed by Tuesday at 5pm then they will be expelled from the EFL. The League have extended that deadline from Friday night to work with a potential group who seem willing to take the club off the hands of owner Steve Dale.

Should it all fall through and the Shakers are kicked out of the competition, it would have a knock-on effect in Non-League football. Only one club would be relegated into the National League at the end of the season. The butterfly effect will continue from there, although it would be unwise to speculate now with a number of potential scenarios still in play.

But there should also be a lasting impact of this whole sorry saga that also trickles down into NonLeague football. While we appreciate what a big story Bury’s situation is, it shouldn’t be forgotten how many clubs at these levels have also gone through similar.

This isn’t so much an issue of finances in lower league football – in some areas that argument is clouding the true problem at the heart of this situation. Rather it should bring into sharp focus the issues around who can take over a football club.

Mr Dale seems happy to sit in front of cameras and reporters’ microphones explaining his side, but serious questions are being asked of how he came to buy the club in the first place. Despite his insistence that the League were provided with details of his ability to fund the club, the fact is that staff remain unpaid as do a squad that managed to win promotion last season despite the off-field issues.

If the Owners’ and Directors’ test used by the EFL was made more stringent, then perhaps a lot of this mess could have been headed off before it transpired. You have to believe the authorities know the weaknesses in the system and they will be addressed. It’s something that needs to be sorted for the good of the game.

In Non-League we’ve seen too many rogue owners push clubs to the brink and often beyond. Just ask Gateshead, who were in the mire last season and throughout the summer. The fact remains, it is far too easy for people with selfish intentions to get hold of a football club in this country, strip assets or obtain land, and push the team off a cliff.

The rules must be changed – with government help – to protect football clubs and their fanbases. Otherwise, there’ll be plenty more of these tales.