Crystal Palace enter administration
Reuters - Tuesday 26 January 2010, 19:06
LONDON - Crystal Palace were placed into
administration on Tuesday, the English Championship club said in a statement.
"The administrators have been appointed to rescue the club
and reconstruct its finances and will be urgently seeking
buyers," Palace said on their official website.
Speculation swirled around the south London club after media
reports suggested it had struggled to pay its players and P&A
Partnership were appointed as administrators to find a solution.
"This club has been in the spotlight for some months with
creditors pressing for payments and players anxious about their
wages," said Brendan Guilfoyle, one of the administrators.
"Our role now is to find a buyer quickly to provide
certainty for the employees, players and fans for the future. We
are hoping our appointment will be short-lived as we understand
there are many interested buyers," he added in the statement.
Palace are ninth in the table, having been on the fringes of
the promotion playoff places most of the season as they attempt
to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2005.
However, administration leads to an automatic 10-point
penalty which would leave them battling to avoid relegation.
The club were founded in 1905 and it took them 64 years to
gain a place in the top flight of English football.
Palace stayed there until 1974 since when, apart from three
years in the mid-1970s when they went back to the third tier,
they have always played in the top two divisions.
The closest they have come to a major honour was in 1990
when they lost an FA Cup final replay to Manchester United.
Palace were given a brief boost last weekend when they
earned a replay in the FA Cup fourth round after holding Premier
League side Wolverhampton Wanderers to a 2-2 draw.
They were previously in administration in 1999.