Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.
NATHAN Tinkler has been issued with an ultimatum to walk away from the Newcastle Knights or risk the club's ownership battle being destined for the courts.
After eight weeks of failed peace talks with the NRL, the Knights Members Club has lost patience with the Hunter Sports Group.
The back page of The Daily Telegraph in April of 2011 after Nathan Tinkler assumes ownership of the Knights. Source: DailyTelegraph
Tinkler has been given until the end of this week to sign a $10.52 million bank guarantee which allows the Members Club to start the process of buying the club back for $1.
If Tinkler fails to do so, then the Knights are headed for the courts in an ownership battle guaranteed to be very ugly and very public.
"We're calling on the Hunter Sports Group to honour their obligations to the club and community by transferring the assets, including the bank guarantee," Members Club chairman Nick Dan said.
Newcastle Knights coach Wayne Bennett talks to Knights owner Nathan Tinkler. Source: News Limited
"We want it to be easy for the players and staff to simply worry about their jobs. It would also be easier for the NRL if they could just worry about running the game rather than worrying about an individual club."
The tipping point for the NRL came last Friday when it emerged super coach Wayne Bennett was among a group of 20 staff and players who have not been paid monthly wages.
Two days earlier, Tinkler supposedly spent $150 million to purchase a mine in Queensland. It makes the failure to pay Bennett, other staff and players astounding.
Nathan Tinkler has been told to walk away from the Newcastle Knights. Source: DailyTelegraph
The future of Bennett at Newcastle is now a work in progress, with his four-year contract signed with HSG rather than the Knights. So if Tinkler is forced out, the supercoach will have to re-negotiate the terms of the final 18 months of his contract under the club's new structure.
The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to a number of Newcastle insiders who are fuming with Tinkler, but under the HSG regime every employee at the club is effectively forbidden from speaking out against the ownership publicly.
Thankfully, former Newcastle premiership winner and media personality Matty Johns isn't gagged by the same sort of instructions.
Matthew Johns and Tony Butterfield embrace after playing their last game in front of their home crowd in Newcastle. Source: News Corp Australia
Johns told The Sunday Telegraph: "It's something that has got to be addressed because there have been rumours going on for the entire season about late payments and players not being paid.
"That affects performance. These latest developments have clearly proven there are players not being paid. That being the case, is it any wonder the team is not performing?"
We asked Johns specifically about the form of Queensland player Darius Boyd, the fullback who is owed a $200,000 third-party sponsorship.
"I've heard all the stories about Darius being owed money," Johns said.
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.
"I've heard all the stories about third-party payments, but I don't know what the facts of the matter are because people won't speak.
"People are afraid to talk about it.
Players and staff at the Newcastle Knights were not paid this week. Source: News Corp Australia
"The other night on Peter Sterling's 'Sterlo' program there was a package of Darius' play that indicated to me something is very, very wrong. They weren't the actions of a world-class player."
Luckily for the Knights, the Westpac bank has guaranteed it will honour the $10.52 million bank cheque which is currently sitting in a joint account between HSG and the Knights Members Club.
Questions have been raised about Darius Boyd's form in recent weeks. Source: News Limited
The issue for the Knights Members and the club's legion of supporters is that the cheque needs to signed by Tinkler's right-hand man Troy Palmer in order for the members to be able to draw on the funds.
There has been talk over the past two months the Newcastle Knights debt could be as high as $18 or even $20 million.
Under the terms of the private ownership contract Tinkler signed when HSG took over in 2011, if the Members Club exercises its right to buy the club back for $1, it comes debt-free.
Will Tinkler be prepared to walk away with an $18 million bill? It's unlikely.
Wayne Bennett's relationship with Nathan Tinkler is said to be at breaking point. Source: DailyTelegraph
Which means the Knights could be headed for an ugly legal battle for control of the club, especially when you consider HSG chief executive Palmer's comments about the latest crisis on Friday night.
"We requested short-term assistance from the NRL for the outstanding wages, however this wasn't forthcoming.
"HSG will ensure any outstanding wages are paid next week and hope the ownership dispute can be resolved immediately so the club can be adequately funded again."
The Knights Members club has retained strong ties with the powerful Wests Newcastle Leagues club organisation, with the pair already in talks about the future of the club.
Perhaps the people who have been hit the hardest by HSG's business antics over the past three years are the loyal Novocastrian fans.
They are tried and true rugby league people. All they want is a football team to be proud of.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Tinkler should go now
Dengan url
http://sportfoxer.blogspot.com/2014/05/tinkler-should-go-now.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Tinkler should go now
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar