City survive today but are 56 days from meltdown

CARDIFF CITY's horrendous problems were laid bare in a London court room today as they survived a winding up order ... for now! ... and got a further repireve. City asked for, and got, another extension for 56 days but it is the final one and their problems look insurmountable notwithstanding a miracle.

The facts that emerged made for gloomy reading and revealed the enormity of the situation;

> The outstanding debt to HMRC from last November was £1.7M, City paid £850,000 to reduce it by half yesterday.

> However, while doing that, the club had defaulted on its ongoing obligations to pay PAYE and VAT, incurring a further debt of £1.053m.

> Therefore the current debt to the taxman is £1.9m ... and increasing!



Cardiff City's plea bargaining was on the shakiest ground possible.

* An Asian investor (The Malaysians) has invested £500,000 and is prepared to invest another £6M but the club were unable to provide any supporting evidence of this.

* There were claims the club had £36m of net assets and players worth £30m - both unsubstantiated and, frankly, quite laughable too.

The taxman was in no mood for leniecy, their counsel informing the hearing that the club was "plainly insolvent" and "robbing Peter to pay Paul". City wags later commented how fans and the club are being robbed to pay Peter (Ridsdale) and Paul (Guy)!

By getting to the end of the season, the club are having one last gamble hoping for an against the odds play-off win for promotion to the Premiership or, no doubt, having a fire sale of players at that time.

The registrar, Christine Derrett, sumed it well, "On the face of it this company is not able to pay its debts as they fall due. The only basis, I’m being told, on which there is a prospect of this being resolved is through a third party investor, but there is no evidence before the court. However, I take note that it is only the second hearing. I will grant an adjournment for 56 days and that is for settlement in full."

She warned the club that the hearing would be marked "final", meaning that if the full £1.9m is not paid by then, the club is likely to be wound up.

City are a club with no visible income at present, who have spent all funds they have and with no likelihood of change. Paying that tax bill looks insurmountable at present but, before that, there's also the major matter of paying at least two wage bills of £1.2M each.

Some see today as a sigh of relief, others the beggining of the end.

Only time will tell.