Gartside in the dock - admits to telling lies!!!

•Tony McGill is pursuing costs of £390,000 from Bolton Wanderers and rival agency SEM.
•The case relates to the 2007 signing of Gavin McCann from Aston Villa.
•Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside is due to give evidence today.

Good morning again from the "filing cabinet", also known as the Manchester Civil Justice Centre.

This case was originally planned to end last week but an overspill day has had to be utilised so Phil Gartside and one other witness can give evidence.

At this stage it looks like the court will be sitting again in May to hear barristers' submissions and a verdict.

Anthony Massey is up. He is a witness, not a defendant.

Court hears that in 2008, Wanderers and HMRC had an agreement that tax would be split 50/50 between player and club in dual representation agent agreements.

This is how Wanderers paid tax on the McCann deal - but SEM were only representing the club on the deal.

Wanderers' policy to making tax payments has been discussed.

Mr Massey confirms that SEM were acting solely for the club.

But he admits that a letter was sent to Mr McCann and his accountants to the effect that the player would have to pay tax on agency fees.

Mr Gartside is now in the stand, taking the oath.

Confirms his address and that his witness statement is true.

Neil Berragan is going through Mr Gartside's background with the club.

Tells the court he is full-time chairman of Wanderers now, but only part-time in 2007.

Confirms Wanderers debts are now in excess of £150m. Were £50m in 2007.

Martin Budworth opens cross-examination.

Says club was under no pressure to reduce debt in 2007.

Court hears Wanderers paid a £1.8m settlement to HMRC in 2011 relating to reclaiming VAT.

Mr Gartside denies wrongdoing from Wanderers. Says they paid to end the matter and were comfortable with their previous policy.

"Always" sought to conduct himself with integrity.

We're having a quick break here - Mr Gartside has just been asked of the involvement of Mark Curtis, former agent of Sam allardyce and Gary Megson.

Court told that Mr Curtis assisted the club with the recruitment of Mr Megson. Mr Gartside says he was not paid for this work.

Mr Gartside has admitted to lying to Talksport host Colin Murray that he "duped" Manchester City over the signing of Dietmar Hamaan in 2006.

Did it to "make the show more interesting".

Mr Gartside did not read the representation agreement - found to be backdated ultimately - between Wanderers and SEM, although he did sign it.

Mr Gartside he could have intervened to block the deal once Mr McGill's concerns had become known but chose not to.

hearing about Mr Gartside's knowledge that the agreement with SEM was backdated

Says he only was aware of backdating when he saw the contract again, with a date that had "clearly been changed".

Firmly refutes allegations that he personally backdated he document to create the impression of a longer association between Wanderers and SEM.

Mr Gartside is now being rexamined by his own counsel Mr Berragan.

Says it was very common for players to have agreements with more than one agent.

The judge is now addressing a couple of points with Mr Gartside, including the radio interview with Colin Murray.

Mr Gartside says he meant "never signed" in reference to Didi Hamaan having been with the club for less than a week before moving on to Manchester City.


End.

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Gartside out!

Storm/teacup

McCann himself has sworn on oath that he never employed McGill as his agent. He described him as a pest.

He has always been a liar, to the fans the club and the media.

Triumph wrote:He has always been a liar, to the fans the club and the media.

I don't think that has ever been proven - although implying he was "joking for effect" on the radio is probably as close to proving it as we're likely to get.
He does come across as slimy though, so it would be easy to believe he lacks integrity.

I said that comment about Hamaan would come back and bite him on the arse at the time.

Arrogant prick.

Bolton Wanderers were fined £1.8 million by HMRC for wrongly reclaiming VAT on agents’ fees, it has emerged in court.

But Whites chairman Phil Gartside yesterday told the High Court in Manchester he was “comfortable” with how the club conducts its transfer business.

Mr Gartside said he believed the club had done nothing wrong but Whites agreed a settlement because the VAT saga had “gone on too long”.

The court was also told that Mr Gartside signed a transfer document relating to Gavin McCann’s move to Bolton, which was later backdated, but that he “had not read it”.

Mr Gartside also conceded that he had “indirectly” appointed The Sport and Entertainment Media Group (SEM) to represent the club for the June transfer and agreed basic terms with Aston Villa chief executive Richard Fitzgerald.

Mr Gartside had previously claimed to have had “no personal involvement” in the transfer, the court heard.

The Whites chairman gave evidence for four hours in the ongoing legal battle between himself, Wanderers, SEM and several of both companies’ staff with agent Tony McGill, who believes the defendants cut him out of the transfer of Mr McCann.

 Wanderers were pursued for VAT and National Insurance contributions by HMRC after the club reclaimed them.

Most of the transfers involved were similar to that of Mr McCann, with the player charged with tax on the fee the club paid the agent. HMRC argued that this meant Wanderers were therefore not entitled to a VAT rebate.

Martin Budworth, Mr McGill’s counsel, asked why Wanderers were happy with such a large fine.

Mr Gartside said: “The issue had gone on for far too long. We were satisfied with the settlement.”

The chairman also repeatedly denied being part of a plot to backdate the agency representation agreement relating to the McCann deal.

He admitted that he signed the paperwork as club secretary Simon Marland was away, but said he “probably did not read it as he trusted his staff”. Mr Gartside could not explain why the document was not signed with the rest of the paperwork on June 11 when Mr Marland had returned.

He added: “I am totally satisfied there was no wrongdoing from anyone at the club, including myself.”

SEM’s involvement in the transfer, and its £300,000 commission, was “indirectly” decided by Mr Gartside, the court heard.

Mr Gartside said: “I can’t specifically remember appointing SEM, however I must have given them permission either through Mr Lee or Mr McParland.”

He was referring to then manager Sammy Lee and the director of football Frank McParland.

Asked what justifications there were for such a large fee for SEM, Mr Gartside said: “Making contact, helping, and assisting with the transfer.”

Mr Gartside was asked by his own counsel Mr Berragan to outline the club’s debts.

Mr Gartside said the figure was about £50 million at the time of the McCann deal and was now in excess of £150 million.

He described how, at the time of the transfer, he was only chairman of Wanderers part-time, earning £45,000 per year.

He is now full-time and has had his own desk at the Reebok for the last two years.

The case continues.

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I do think it's about time Gartside did one!

So he's only been our "full-time" chairman for two years....?

If this clown said it was "Wednesday", I'd check the calendar......

Counsel: "The debt was originally £50 million, was it not, and now the debt is £150 million is it not? How do you explain that?"

Gartside: "Well, I was only working part time back then, your honour."


This hearing thingy knocks the Nigerian Scouting thread into a cocked hat.  

Numpty 28723 wrote:Counsel: "The debt was originally £50 million, was it not, and now the debt is £150 million is it not? How do you explain that?"

Gartside: "Well, I was only working part time back then, your honour."

...it's a full time job losing £100 million. Requires attention to detail and well as determination and commitment.

Numpty 28723 wrote:

wanderlust wrote:

Numpty 28723 wrote:Counsel: "The debt was originally £50 million, was it not, and now the debt is £150 million is it not? How do you explain that?"

Gartside: "Well, I was only working part time back then, your honour."

...it's a full time job losing £100 million. Requires attention to detail and well as determination and commitment.

Did you know he's had his own desk at the Reebok for the last two years? Think how much he could have lost if they'd given him a chair as well.

I knew we were under-resourced. Losing money needs proper investment to have any chance of failure.

If Eddie doesn't care about this fool pissing away his money then why should I ?

A real owner would have changed the management team at this club years ago.