Former Arsenal and England player Sol Campbell has exclaimed his support of Macclesfield Town being wound up. Macclesfield appointed Campbell as manager of the club in November 2018, who guided the Silkmen to a 22nd place finish in EFL League Two. However, Campbell and Macclesfield Town parted ways in August.
The Consequences of Sol Campbell Backing Windup of Macclesfield Town
In recent weeks, Macclesfield have slumped down into a debt crisis, unable to pay full player wages. With that, their old manager is still owed quite a sum of wages as well. According to The Mirror, Campbell and his representative, Barrister Philip Currie, have said that the club owe £182,000 in unpaid wages.
Judge Catherine Addy stated that Macclesfield have two weeks to clear their debts before the case resumes on the 18th.
What Does This Mean for Macclesfield?
Similarly to their EFL counterparts Bury and Bolton, Macclesfield Town have been suffering from financial struggles. They were forced to play youth players in an FA Cup tie due to first-team players threatening to go on strike. Those players have not been fully paid either.
Furthermore, any football fans have been critical of Sol Campbell’s stance on Macclesfield. There are many people online branding him as “sickening” and “cruel” for allegedly putting his bank balance above the club.
Contrary to those fans, there are also few who are on Campbell’s side. Many question the legitimacy of the money owed to the former Gunner. Ryan Lewis on Twitter said that “Sol Campbell was at Macclesfield for 8 months and is owed £180k… £22.5k a month for Macclesfield is pretty much suicide, no?”
Considering Macclesfield’s struggles, that much per month of just unpaid wages is quite extraordinary.
This is also considering the Silkmen’s trouble with players, as aforementioned. There is a chance that a boycott will occur for the game against Crewe Alexandria on Saturday.
Will This End Well for Sol Campbell?
The situation will only benefit Sol Campbell if one of two things happen:
1) Macclesfield pay off their debts.
2) The club gets wound up.
And with that, only one of those two realities will actually happen. If Macclesfield are somehow able to clear off not only manager wage debts but also player debts, they’ll be in a more convenient shape as a club. However, if that is not the case, Judge Catherine Addy can rule for the club to be wound up.
Recently, Sol Campbell has been appointed the manager of League One outfit Southend United, who have also experienced financial troubles. The club were issued with a windup petition back in September. Campbell hopes he can restore at least some stability to the Shrimpers.
With all this on Sol Campbell’s shoulders, will all be resolved in an orderly manner? Or, will his bold statements come to life and hurt Macclesfield?
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