Two Weeks And Counting
Thursday, 20th Sep 2001 00:00

October 4th - Two Weeks And Counting Mike

As most know, when McClure and Lewis cooked the deal that allowed Michael to take control of Swansea City and it's debts for £1 back in July there was a clause in that contract that stated that Ninth Floor, as the parent company at the time, could take the club back, refund Mike his pound and resume control of the club should he not find new investors within three months.

That, of course, is when McClure was actually at Ninth Floor and now he isn't the chairman, Alan Wix, does not want Swansea City back, so what happens then?

Well, we have been digging (again!) and this is what we have come up with. Mike Lewis has to provide a business plan on the 4th October (the crucial date) which will show, along with cashflows and solvency projections, that he is a creditable, able and feasible alternative and that he can run the club solvently for eighteen months. (Stop laughing in the back!) This period was initially believed to be twelve months but whatever he says it's eighteen - trust us on that point.

If he cannot provide this information then Price Waterhouse Coopers WILL NOT sign off the agreement which would conclude the transaction between 9th Floor and Mike Lewis. If 9th floor then do not take the club back (and in all likelihood they won't) then Mr Lewis is in a spot of bother.

At this stage, Swansea City Football Club will be a debtor of 9th Floor Plc to the cool tune of One Million Pounds. This figure is made up of the £801,000 debt that was ringfenced when Mike took charge plus the £200,000 that they paid for the lease on the car park and the club shop. And this does not take into account any compensation that Messrs Hollins and Curtis may be claiming from us in the near future.

The £200k given on the day Lewis took charge is what the club has lived off since that day. As they once said in Monty Python "It's gone, it is no more, it has ceased to live, it is dead money"

Now we have to assume that Mike has not got any investors in his desk drawers, his wardrobe or even his glove compartment of his expensive company Jaguar which leaves us with the good news that his days at Swansea City are well and truly numbered.

We know that Mike Lewis has offered Roger Freestone, in the last few weeks and days not back in the summer, to any clubs that may be interested. There are very few things that he can do on the QT at this football club and trying to sell our best players is most definitely not one of them. He is trying to rid clearly because he cannot survive, or at least he thinks he can't, without them.
BUT, and it is a very big but this time, selling the odd player here or there is No good to him this time. Price Waterhouse Coopers are not your average one man bad business. They will not take to any hearsay on Mike's part they will only respond to the documents that they need to put pen to paper and sanction the deal that officially says he is in charge. With this hanging over my head I know for a fact that I would not fancy waking up on October 5 in Mike Lewis' shoes. Would you? As I see it, he has only one option. It's to walk away, leave the club in the hand's of the official receiver and 9th Floor Plc and one very large creditor and let someone look after the debt who understands it. Of course, it won't be Mike's fault that it has failed. It will be the fans for not backing him and turning up in their thousands after all he did get rid of Hollins didn't he?	Anyone Know How To Write A Business Plan?
The clock is ticking until October 4th Mike and with every move of the second hand, the ticking gets louder and louder. You stated back in July that you had sleepless nights, better start burning the midnight oil a bit more now as there are people waiting for things from you Mike.

Are we two weeks away from cutting ties with the last remaining morsel of 9th Floor Plc in charge of Swansea City? We can only hope.