An open letter from Steve Gibson which was sent to the Joint Administrators of Derby County FC today...

20 January 2022

Dear Sirs,

We are becoming increasingly concerned by representations that you are continuously making to the media which are not correct. For example you continue to represent that the claim that we and Wycombe have against Derby County, and the EFL’s response to those claims, is all that is preventing the sale of Derby County. This is not true.

The purpose of this open letter is to clarify the position and give some important context to the sale of Derby County.

We therefore invite you to respond to the following questions by way of an open letter.

MSD (a lender) is owed a significant amount of money by Derby County which is personally guaranteed by Mel Morris. If Derby County went into liquidation, Mr Morris would have to settle the debt and therefore he has an interest in resolving the matter. Please confirm the current status of the discussions with the lender and Mr Morris about the debt and the transfer of Pride Park, which is owned by Mr Morris, to any purchaser of Derby County.
You met with Steve Gibson in November 2021. It was agreed at the meeting there would be a continued dialogue between you and Mr Gibson. Why did you not then engage or communicate with him at all until Friday 14 January 2022?
As noted above, you give the impression that the sole issue that is left to resolve is our and Wycombe’s claim. Please confirm that you have reached a settlement with HMRC and the basis of that settlement.
Contrary to what you leak to the media, we have made an offer to compromise our claim and met with your nominated representative last weekend. Please confirm that this is correct.
Please confirm how many millions of Derby County’s money you have spent on your fees to date and what additional debt you have incurred.

We repeat that we have no wish to see Derby County cease to exist. We only want to be dealt with fairly and can only conclude that you are currently choosing to use ourselves, the EFL and Wycombe Wanderers as scapegoats for your failure to conclude what should have been a relatively simple task of bringing Derby County out of administration. We hope that you will have the courtesy to respond to this open letter unlike our previous correspondence which remains unanswered.

Yours faithfully,

Stephen Gibson
Chairman

An Open Letter From Steve Gibson To The Joint Administrators Of Derby County FC