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It really has been a disaster and although it is accepted that neither were in position when the deal with ITV Digital was struck they have hardly covered themselves in glory. It has been widely reported that they did not approach the now defunct TV company for guarantees until December 2001 at a time when it was clear to just about everyone that there was no hope of the three year deal running its course.
They took the decision to go to court rather than try and negotiate a settlement, claiming all along that they had a good case and would be demanding every single penny. Incredibly not only did the clubs put up with this but many of them actually believed the duo and some of the comments made on club’s official web sites were just ridiculous and at one point Burnley’s claimed that the League were trying to recover £800 million.
Then there was the campaign against the two media giants. The judge said that the League fell at the first hurdle in court, they hardly got out of the starting blocks with the appallingly organised campaign.
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There have been rumours of splits and Phoenix type leagues and Burnley have this time been touted as one of the leaders and there have been comments made from some chairmen that they do not want to leave the umbrella of the Football League.
There has to be a lot of talking and a plan forward needs to be agreed, quickly but professionally and replacements for Harris and Burns need to be found.
So what next for the two men out of work. David Burns will leave with the sort of pay off most of us could only ever dream of. We can confirm that he will not be allowed to work in one of Theo Paphitis’ kebab shops but could return to the travel industry, he was previously with Airtours. There of course he gets bailed out by ABTA when he cocks up.
As for Harris, after the failure of his double act with Burns it is rumoured that he could return to a previous partnership.