Ilkeston wound up

Ilkeston Town were wound up in the High Court yesterday following a petition from HMRC.  The hearing had been the latest in a series the club has had to face over recent months; all previous hearings had been adjourned.

The debt dates back to the time when the previous owner, Chek Whyte, was in control of the club.  I don't know why Ilkeston didn't opt for administration,  the route taken by several other clubs.  Ilkeston had seemed remarkably unfussed - in public, anyway, - about this week's hearing.

Reports stated that Ilkeston "expected to sell a player in the next couple of weeks" and that they could pay off the tax debt in instalments of £1,000 "from income from the start of the season."  The transfer window doesn't operate at Ilkeston's level; it could be that another Step 2 club was willing to but one of Ilky's players - presumably Amari Morgan-Smith - but those two statements taken together seem to me as though they were prepared for one of the earlier court hearings.

 This is Derbyshire today reports this, from former owner Chek Whyte; " Mr Whyte denied that his time at the club had contributed to the club's demise. "How can we contribute to it when we took the team to the next level?" 

You contributed to it, Mr Whyte, by not paying tax bills.  You contributed to it by allowing the club to live beyond its means.  You contributed to it by recruiting players the club could not afford.  You contributed to it by taking the club to the next level.