Cat And Mouse

Another round of HMRC induced winding-up petitions have hit football, with clubs again appearing to be using the taxman as a lender of last resort.

League Two side Notts County had their fourth petition of Ray Trew's ownership withdrawn at the last minute earlier in the week. Trew, who rescued the club out of the Munto Finance fiasco, has been looking to sell the club for most of 2016 after stepping down as Chairman in February after six years as owner.

Trew blamed 'foul, mindless abuse' for his withdrawal, but he subsequently returned to the helm in September before apparently offering the club to local businessman Alan Hardy, who had seen Trew reject two offers for the club in the last few months, in the past weeks.

Another club in trouble is National South side Gosport Borough. They will face HMRC for a third time in the High Court in 2016, having already staved off petitions in February and August. New investors are said to be interested in the club, but Chairman Mark Hook - also the leader of the local Council - denied there was a crisis in February having seen several of their squad leave having been unpaid for several weeks.

A promotion chasing squad has been dismantled slowly from March onwards, leaving the club as mid-table also-rans this season having battled a transfer embargo into the summer.

In League One there is an even more concerning story at Bury.

A statement last week from the club wearily admitted a winding-up petition had been lodged, accusing the taxman of being intent on winding-up a club. Back in January, the unpaid bill that saw a previous petition was £156,000 - hardly a trifling amount. Owner Stewart Day accused HMRC of being 'trigger-happy', admitting the payment was a week late due to cashflow issues surrounding a postponed Boxing Day match.

The latest petition is the club's fourth of 2016 from HMRC to the club owned by a property developer. Day plans to move the club from their home of 130 years, Gigg Lane, to a new stadium. The project is currently advertised on a crowdfunding loans site to source investment from small investors at high interest rates, and has already taken out five separate mortgages on the stadium with total accumulated losses for the club nearing £11million.

Supporters have questioned the financial position of the club, with a near £3million loss in the 14/15 season set to be followed with a £2.5million loss for 15/16 - all for a mid-table League One placing. Responses have been vague, with Day telling the press he has put £7million into the club and that a string of County Court Judgements - in addition to the winding-up petitions - were being challenged.