As you may be aware, a number of stories have appeared in the Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday recently that paint an extremely gloomy picture of Burnley FC. I don't read it myself (and don't understand why anyone does, but there you go) but I understand these stories have alleged that Stan is to resign (after being asked to take a pay cut), that the club is a few weeks away from running out of money, and that the club faces administration if a rescue package fails.
Naturally, I have no way of knowing if these stories are true. If they're not, then someone at the Mail clearly has it in for us, and we should be unforgiving. If, however, there is truth in the stories, then things at the club are even worse than we may have feared - and we need to be told.
Either way, I call on Burnley FC to make a statement about these stories. Andrew Watson did say a few words on the official website recently, but while acknowledging that financial problems are serious, that the club is meeting creditors and looking for new investors, it was notable for avoiding the details. It did not address or deny the specific stories that have appeared. There are many more questions a concerned supporter would have liked to see answered. The club may well be taking the principled stance that they do not comment on rumour. But these stories are appearing in a major national newspaper, and as a series. This stuff is now in the public domain. These are serious allegations, and if they are not true the club must rebut them, point by point. Even if they are not true, there is still a danger that negative PR can damage the club, and hurt the morale of the team at a time when there are signs that we are getting our act together on the pitch.
Supporters, too, cannot help but be alarmed when they read stories like these. At the same time, there has been a mushrooming of rumours about the club in recent days. When we read these stories, while also hearing that the club is allegedly attempting to re-negotiate player and staff contracts, that take-over bids may be mounted, and that the club may soon go into administration, how can people not be concerned? And then when you read we've just laid off our scouts...
People are bound to ask why the club have not made a statement to rebut these stories, and this can only fuel rumours. Unless they're denied, people are bound to think they are true.
So let's be told exactly what the score is. The key question we need an answer to is: are we in danger of going into administration or not?
We know there is a crisis in football at the moment, and that this crisis is not restricted to Burnley or even Britain, but is one that is international. In this context, it is time for the club to either state clearly and simply that these rumours are false, or for them to admit that there is truth in them.
If administration is a possibility we need to know now - and we need as supporters to identify what we can do to help avoid it. If the club is in anywhere near as big a financial mess as the Mail stories and internet rumours would have us believe, then Burnley FC must be honest with the supporters, and be willing to involve the supporters in finding solutions.
