Home
EDDIE Davies has spoken about the legacy he left behind at Wanderers, insisting: I did not leave them in the lurch.
After selling his majority shareholding to the Sports Shield and Inner Circle consortium, the Farnworth-born businessman has defended himself against suggestion he did not act in the club’s best interest as his 13-year reign as owner drew to a conclusion.
Wanderers sit bottom of the Championship and are resigned to spending next season outside the top two divisions for the first time since 1993.
Davies has come in for considerable criticism for the timing of his decision to withdraw financial support, alongside the apparent lack of forward planning But the Isle of Man-based millionaire, whose backing helped propel the Whites to unimaginable success in the Premier League and two European campaigns, insists he left his position with a clear conscience.
“That is people coming to great conclusions with zero information,” he said of suggestion his decision to sell-up hastened the club’s decline. “We didn’t deliberately put ourselves in this position.
“We fought like hell to maintain the position we were in and unfortunately things have gone against us.
“We have been trying to sell the club for the last four years, since the Premier League exit, and the main reason behind that is that I didn’t want to leave the club with a dead owner. Ultimately, I’m afraid, I am going to die.”
Despite being pushed to the very brink of administration in the last six months and taken to the High Court on four occasions over an unpaid tax and VAT bill owed to HMRC, there has been no public admission of culpability from Wanderers.
Davies continued to defend his own position, attacking press reports for distorting the situation and making it appear worse than it was.
“There are other examples that have been relegated quicker than we have,” he said. “Wolves went straight down and Wigan Athletic went straight down after winning the FA Cup all for similar reasons.
“I think a lot of the local press publicity has been very, very negative, not based on real information but on rumour, and in fact based on downright lies.
“I think the thing that does gall is that I believe when they print these things they should state their sources of the comments, not just publish them as facts, which quite a lot of people will assume they are facts, which they are not.”
Davies succeeds the great Nat Lofthouse as club president, describing it as “an honour” but does not know how his reign as owner of Wanderers will be judged in time.
“History will decide how I am to be remembered, if I am to be remembered at all,” he said. “It’s not something I am too concerned about.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
After selling his majority shareholding to the Sports Shield and Inner Circle consortium, the Farnworth-born businessman has defended himself against suggestion he did not act in the club’s best interest as his 13-year reign as owner drew to a conclusion.
Wanderers sit bottom of the Championship and are resigned to spending next season outside the top two divisions for the first time since 1993.
Davies has come in for considerable criticism for the timing of his decision to withdraw financial support, alongside the apparent lack of forward planning But the Isle of Man-based millionaire, whose backing helped propel the Whites to unimaginable success in the Premier League and two European campaigns, insists he left his position with a clear conscience.
“That is people coming to great conclusions with zero information,” he said of suggestion his decision to sell-up hastened the club’s decline. “We didn’t deliberately put ourselves in this position.
“We fought like hell to maintain the position we were in and unfortunately things have gone against us.
“We have been trying to sell the club for the last four years, since the Premier League exit, and the main reason behind that is that I didn’t want to leave the club with a dead owner. Ultimately, I’m afraid, I am going to die.”
Despite being pushed to the very brink of administration in the last six months and taken to the High Court on four occasions over an unpaid tax and VAT bill owed to HMRC, there has been no public admission of culpability from Wanderers.
Davies continued to defend his own position, attacking press reports for distorting the situation and making it appear worse than it was.
“There are other examples that have been relegated quicker than we have,” he said. “Wolves went straight down and Wigan Athletic went straight down after winning the FA Cup all for similar reasons.
“I think a lot of the local press publicity has been very, very negative, not based on real information but on rumour, and in fact based on downright lies.
“I think the thing that does gall is that I believe when they print these things they should state their sources of the comments, not just publish them as facts, which quite a lot of people will assume they are facts, which they are not.”
Davies succeeds the great Nat Lofthouse as club president, describing it as “an honour” but does not know how his reign as owner of Wanderers will be judged in time.
“History will decide how I am to be remembered, if I am to be remembered at all,” he said. “It’s not something I am too concerned about.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
