Basically, the following points were made at last night's supporters club meeting by the club secretary and with the exception of a couple of points made at the end are not really debatable. The Sterling loan is the major obstacle Sean Lewis and the club must overcome and the sooner this is done, the better for the long-term future of Barnsley Football Club.
* The outstanding criteria preventing the Reds coming out of Administration as stipulated by the FA/FL are that the Stirling loan and the CVA are repaid.
* It was agreed by Mr Lewis, the Administrators and the FA/FL, that the CVA will be the last thing to be settled. The money is there to do this but we would still not gain the FL share due to the outstanding Stirling loan.
* The Sterling loan, including interest, is £5 million. This is due for repayment in full in December. If it is repaid tomorrow, repayment will still be £5 million due to early repayment penalties.
* The outstanding criteria preventing the Reds coming out of Administration as stipulated by the FA/FL are that the Stirling loan and the CVA are repaid.
* It was agreed by Mr Lewis, the Administrators and the FA/FL, that the CVA will be the last thing to be settled. The money is there to do this but we would still not gain the FL share due to the outstanding Stirling loan.
* The Sterling loan, including interest, is £5 million. This is due for repayment in full in December. If it is repaid tomorrow, repayment will still be £5 million due to early repayment penalties.
* Mr Lewis intends to refinance this loan by borrowing from another source at a much lower interest rate.
* It was also stated that this could actually be done tomorrow, and a company had been found, but a better deal was still being sought.
* It was also stated that this could actually be done tomorrow, and a company had been found, but a better deal was still being sought.
* So, if a new loan is taken out tomorrow there will be interest payments of 4/5 months on this new loan (the time between now and December), which are not necessary.
* It was estimated that the interest for this time on the new loan would amount to about £100,000.
* Many members of the supporters club argued it was worth £100,000 to come out of administration now, and have a certain future.
* Mr Patzelt took this point on board and said it would be something that Mr Lewis would be discussing.
* It was estimated that the interest for this time on the new loan would amount to about £100,000.
* Many members of the supporters club argued it was worth £100,000 to come out of administration now, and have a certain future.
* Mr Patzelt took this point on board and said it would be something that Mr Lewis would be discussing.
* Last Monday, when Mr Lewis and Mr Patzelt met the FA/FL they expected to be granted the share.
* They had met all the matters the governing bodies had outlined but were told that the Stirling loan must be repaid before the share would be granted.
* This fact had never been mentioned before in any of their meetings.
* They had met all the matters the governing bodies had outlined but were told that the Stirling loan must be repaid before the share would be granted.
* This fact had never been mentioned before in any of their meetings.
* When asked if there was someone in the FA making it difficult for Barnsley, Mr Patzelt said they certainly hadn’t made it particularly easy.