Relief ... Central Coast receive a much-needed cash injection from a Telecoms entrepreneur. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited
AN injection of more than $5 million will today give the Mariners a life-saving infusion, allowing the players to be paid their wages at last and wiping the club's debts clear.
Telecoms millionaire Mike Charlesworth, who became a director three years ago, on Thursday night agreed a deal to pump the new money into the club and become the majority owner in the process.
It's believed Charlesworth has pledged to clear the club's multi-million-dollar debt to the Australian Tax Office over unpaid tax and super, and will immediately pay the salaries of staff and players due last Friday.
The deal means that chairman Peter Turnbull's stake diminishes once the deal is signed off on Friday morning, while fellow shareholder Lyall Gorman - the Wanderers' executive chairman - will exit the club.
On a dramatic day in Gosford, Charlesworth addressed the players by speakerphone after they had canvassed strike action in response to going unpaid for a week.
It's believed the Englishman told them that the club's financial crisis was reaching a resolution and that he believed Gorman's involvement - via his wife's investment, a historical legacy from when he was chairman of the Mariners - was not tenable.
Charlesworth had flown to Melbourne on Wednesday to speak to potential investment parties but returned without any tangible proposals.
A report on a website erroneously claimed that the club would be bought by a Melbourne group with some games played there, but all parties shot the story down. Instead, Thursday evening a deal was struck for a fresh capital raising, funded by Charlesworth, though sources said last night that if the long-mooted investment from a Russian consortium was suddenly forthcoming he would be prepared to stand aside.
Turnbull admitted his relief after spending years keeping the Mariners afloat.
"Mike, Lyall and I have always placed top priority on the good of the Mariners and Central Coast football," said Turnbull.
"In particular, I pay tribute to Lyall for his achievements in establishing the club. This agreement will see Lyall sever his formal ties with the Mariners, but he'll always have a special place in the club."
The deal came 72 hours before the Mariners are due to face Adelaide, with coach Graham Arnold insisting the players had not been distracted by the ongoing saga of the club's financial woes.
"It's been a tough week for the players," Arnold admitted.
"But they are a great bunch of boys and the leadership group has done a great job of keeping them all together."
"Today is the first day that I have seen them because I gave them a few days off, but morale is high."
"On the football side of it the players have a job to do. I have a job to do as coach and we've just got to get on with things. We've got a big game against Adelaide this weekend and we'll make sure we're ready for it."
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét