iSam’s eageri to hit the goali trail again...i JUST PLEASE LET US GO
O’s fans want Italian owner to sell troubled club
FRUSTRATED Leyton Orient fans believe the club is being ‘held hostage’ by owner Francesco Becchetti – and have urged him to sell up.
A winding-up petition against the O’s in the High Court last Monday was adjourned until June 12.
Although Becchetti has paid off debts owed to HM Revenue and Customs, believed to be £250,000, the League Two strugglers face further problems with money owed to at least four other creditors.
In a letter read out to the court from O’s chief executive Alessandro Angelieri, it revealed that Becchetti, pictured, “intends to inject” £1m into the club to pay off its outstanding debts.
Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust vice-chairman Tom Davies told The FLP: “The adjournment doesn’t really make the picture any clearer.
“People feel the club is being held hostage by Becchetti – there are still interested parties but he’s not reached a deal.
“As the situation has worsened, people have realised we can’t progress while he’s here.
“He’s promised to put in £1m to clear debts and pay off creditors. Yet if he has £1m to put in, why didn’t he do it earlier? Why didn’t he stop the team nose-diving towards the Conference?
“How will it go in? Will it be a £1m loan or a cash injection.”
Adrift
With the adjournment until almost mid-June, at least the O’s seem certain to fulfil their fixtures, though relegation to the National League seems almost a certainty with the team cut adrift, along with Newport County, in the relegation places.
LOFT, meanwhile, plan to keep their fundraising efforts going to be prepared for any eventuality in the future, including the possibility of setting up their own phoenix club.
They have raised a whopping £114,000 over the last few weeks and are determined to keep going towards their initial target of £250,000.
The money could also be used to buy a stake in the club.