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The failure of the League to call Carlton’s chairman Michael Green and his Granada counterpart Charles Allen deprived the High Court of an interesting day. They were expected to try and explain how they allowed Stuart Prebble the former chairman of ITV Digital to include a ‘shareholders guarantee’ in a bid document of £315 million when Prebble had a £10 million limit on his expenditure. Although the bid document was not expenditure as such, Carlton and Granada’s claim to know nothing about the guarantee for such a massive amount put forward in their name had left many observers expressing surprise, with Green and Allen expected to have an uncomfortable day in court.
At present it is difficult to understand the League’s decision not to call the chairmen and some have interpreted it as an admission of defeat.
If that is the outcome it will prove highly embarrassing to the Football League who, it seems, failed to insist on the ‘shareholders guarantee’ being written into the ‘short’ contract, which was signed, only 8 days after the bid document was received. In retrospect and whatever the outcome of the case, that must be seen as a fundamental error. ITV Digital’s supposed bluff could have been called on this guarantee 2 years ago and the situation resolved one way or another without all of this mess.
Of course nothing is over until the fat lady sings and that is particularly true of court cases so the decision of Mr Justice Langley will be awaited with some interest by all Nationwide League clubs who find themselves with a massive hole in their budget.