Quote Originally Posted by KerrAvon View Post
Do the EFL put a lot of faith in the fit and proper person test? I would think that they are mindful of the limitations on their powers and of the value of the test, which turns, to a significant extent upon the good faith of the prospective director. They can’t turn someone down because ‘they appear a bit shifty’ or similar.

It's not at all puzzling that the EFL are asking Dale for evidence. If he can’t show that he has the means to run the club as a going concern then that would be a fairly strong indicator that he doesn’t. If he can produce the evidence then it goes back to the good faith point.

As for what is to be done, I would have thought that is a question for those who think the EFL can somehow improve on what they do now. I suppose the rules could be changed so that new owners have to put money into a bond to be held by the EFL against footballing debts – so that they have skin in the game so to speak - but that would discourage many good prospective owners and would be meaningless to others who have money to burn.
Apparently Dale has presided over failed companies in the past yet the EFL thought he was a fit and proper person to take over Bury.
Similarly Bassini's financial dealings were so bad that he was banned from football for a number of years and yet the EFL allowed him to get involved in the Bolton fiasco.
This isn't about whether someone looks "shifty" as you put it. The EFL has a test and neither of these two characters should have got as far as opening the exam paper.
As for the suggestion of a bond, well that seems like a reasonable idea. I don't necessarily agree with your point that it may put off good prospective owners as it may, in fact, have the opposite effect and would certainly help to bring about some financial stability within the game.
If memory serves me right I seem to recall that Tony Stewart was required to deposit a bond of £1/2 million with the EFL when we moved to Don Valley which would only be refunded if we moved back to Rotherham within 4 years.
That didn't work out too badly did it?