A football finance expert says the story of Mel Morris and Derby County will be written in books for “years to come”.
The former Rams owner put the club into administration in September as he paid the price to pursue the dream of returning to the Premier League. Morris invested heavily in Derby’s playing team and top managers, but despite the serious injection of cash, the prospect of getting his money back by winning promotion to the top flight never materialised.
Amid crippling debt, Derby is now closing in on a takeover through US businessman Chris Kirchner, who is set to strike a deal for the Championship club after being given preferred bidder status by the directors, Quantuma.
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The Derby situation was a cautionary tale of what can happen when you chase the dream and Dan Jones, head of accountancy giant Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told Midlands Business Insider: “The story of Mel Morris at Derby is something people will be writing books about for years to come.
“He wanted Derby to be very successful on the pitch and was prepared to provide the money to do so. It is the fans’ dream as he was a very resourceful supporter himself.
“Unfortunately, if you get to a point where your benefactor is running out of money or interest, things can turn sour.”