Plymouth deducted 10 Points

The Football League have today confirmed League One strugglers Plymouth Argyle have been deducted 10 points leaving them bottom of the division.

This follows the news that the Argyle board of directors have issued a ‘Notice of Intention’ to appoint an administrator to help solve their financial problems.

A statement on the Football League’s official website confirmed the news: "The Football League can confirm that Plymouth Argyle Football Club have been deducted ten points with immediate effect.

"The sporting sanction has been implemented following receipt of formal confirmation that the club had filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator with the High Court.

"This action is defined as an insolvency event within The League's regulations as it establishes a moratorium on creditor actions against the club."

David Hinchliffe from Walker Morris Solicitors, who was the lead advisor at a number of financially hit clubs including Crystal Palace and Leeds United, has been appointed as the interim administrator. He will continue to work with the clubs independent advisor to the board, Peter Ridsdale, until the club have either found new investors or appointed an administrator within a 10 working-day limit.

Ridsdale has previously said the club needed £2 million to survive until the summer and with talks currently under way with potential investors things now seem to be moving fast behind-the-scenes.

Despite this, a statement from Deputy Chairman Paul Stapleton released on the clubs official website earlier in the day insisted that “this action does not mean that the club is in administration”.

Having staved off a number of winding-up petitions from HMRC over the past two years, Argyle face another tax bill of around £300,000 on Tuesday – which they have no way of paying, although they will not be issued with a compulsory winding-up petition due to the ‘Notice of Intention’ which protects the club from its creditors.

With the club now 10 points adrift from safety, relegation to England’s fourth tier seems inevitable. They travel to top of the league Brighton and Hove Albion tomorrow and manager Peter Reid described the news as a “hammer blow” and went on to say: “From a football point of view it's a massive blow to the club.

"You've just got to get on with it. It's going to make it really difficult but we've just got try and start the fight back against Brighton.

"Hopefully the board of directors can sort out the financial problems and hopefully this is the lowest ebb and we can start rising from this situation."

Andy Maynard