COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Coventry United Ladies Football Club will be placed in voluntary liquidation, directors have confirmed



The club, founded in 2013, turned professional for the 2021-22 season and sit 11th of 12 teams in the Women's Championship.

In a statement, the club said it could not offer more detail "at this point".

Goalkeeper Olivia Clark tweeted: "To come into work and to find out that you no longer have the job that you've always dreamed of is heartbreaking."

Defender Holly Chandler posted: "Sometimes life is filled with things outside your control! I'm heartbroken. Thank you for making my dream of being a professional footballer come true. I've made the best memories and friends."

Manchester City and England defender Alex Greenwood said she was "absolutely gutted" for Coventry's players, adding: "The sacrifices these girls make to become professional footballers to be told halfway through a season you no longer have a job, or a club, is simply not good enough!!!"

Coventry United have been saved from liquidation after a last-minute deal to rescue the Championship club was agreed



Administrators had said the club would be liquidated on 4 January if a new owner could not be found.

But a verbal deal with West Midlands businessman Lewis Taylor has been agreed, securing its future.

"I always wanted to get involved and it made absolute sense to make something work," Taylor told BBC CWR.

"The existing shareholders didn't liquidate - that was the deadline we all needed to reach agreement on," he added.

"Everyone in the virtual room wanted to save the club so, by about one minute to five - and five o'clock was the point where the club would've been put into liquidation - we all had the thumbs up."

Taylor, chief executive of energy company Angels Group, is thought to have invested an initial £250,000 into the club and is hoping to finalise the takeover deal "inside a week".

"Solicitors have now got to draw up contracts between the two parties so it's on us now to come up with a sales contract as quickly as possible.

"And then on day one we can get cash to the players and anyone else we owe money to."

The deal comes after administrators BK Plus Limited - acting for current owners, Coventry-based business Mirius - announced on Christmas Eve that the club, founded in 2013 and in their first season as a professional side, would go into voluntary liquidation.

But after a busy period of talks over the festive period, administrators said in a statement they were "pleased" to reach an agreement for the sale of the club.

"Notice of the liquidation caused understandable disappointment to everyone connected with the club, not least the players and staff. Notice of the proceedings also gathered a lot of external interest and concern, and, resulted in offers to try and save the club from parties in the UK and abroad," the statement added.

"It is unusual to be in a position of dealing with parties wanting to a rescue a company that, for all other intents and purposes, is at the point of no return."

They added that they will "remain on hand to support all of the relevant parties with a view to completing a sale as soon as possible".

Coventry United score in 97th minute to avoid drop



Coventry United completed an incredible escape with a 97th-minute winner in a Women's Championship relegation decider that sent opponents Watford down.

Mollie Green curled in a stunning long-range free-kick at Vicarage Road to move her side a point above their hosts with almost the season's final kick.

Coventry were 10 points from safety in January after being deducted 10 points for going into administration.

They needed to beat their relegation rivals on the final day to stay up.

Watford's defeat means they drop into the National League South.

"I didn't even see it hit the back of the net - I think I just knew it was going in," goalscorer Green told BBC CWR. "I hit it really sweetly and the rest is history.

"I'm speechless. I can't believe we've done it. We've put absolutely everything into it.

"We've got a massive belief and togetherness and it paid off today."

The club, which turned professional for this season, announced two days before Christmas that it was going into voluntary liquidation.

It was minutes away from going out of business before West Midlands businessman Lewis Taylor agreed a deal to secure its future.

Manager Jay Bradford, whose side won three of their final five games to secure their survival, told BBC CWR: "When the final whistle went we had people crying, people running on the pitch, because it means so much.

"I think football wanted us to do it. The whole football community wanted us to win.

"We should never have been in this position - we should never have come into the final day with any hope. Then to win it in the fashion that we did just shows everything about us, it tells you that we never know when we're beaten.

"This journey has been a rollercoaster and hopefully we'll never have to live through it again. Trust me, it takes its toll.

"I'm so proud of the players. To keep digging every single week in the manner that they did - they deserve this moment. It's harsh on Watford but we deserve it.

"I'm elated but I also probably need to go and cry somewhere."

Watford now return to the National League after their first season back in the second tier.

Coventry Utd renamed Rugby Borough FC and relocate after Championship relegation



Coventry United will adopt the name Rugby Borough FC and relocate to Rugby following relegation from the Women's Championship this season.

The club will move 15 miles from the Butts Park Arena and set up base at Rugby Borough's current 35-acre site at Kilsby Lane in the Warwickshire town.

They will play in the Northern Premier Division next season after finishing bottom of the second tier in 2022-23.

The club say the decision to relocate was "not taken lightly".

"After our recent relegation, we have reflected upon how to move the club forward positively and reach our aim of promotion back into the Barclays Women's Championship," a statement said.

Coventry, who pulled off a miraculous final-day escape from relegation in 2021-22, endured a difficult Championship campaign this term, finishing 11 points adrift at the bottom, having won only two games all season.

The club have also experienced financial hardships over recent years and were saved from liquidation just 17 months ago after a takeover by West Midlands businessman Lewis Taylor, who became the club's chairman.

Coventry, which was founded 10 years ago, also went part-time at the end of last season in a bid to establish a more stable financial footing going forward.

"We never really belonged in Coventry," Taylor said.

"They see themselves as a one-club city and I completely understand that. We were always kind of playing second fiddle before [at Butts Park Arena], trying to fit in where we could in a facility that's not geared up for football, but as soon as you go through the gates at Rugby Borough you feel like you're in a proper football place".

Coventry had been training for periods at Rugby Borough FC's £2.5m base over the last two seasons and have plans to build a dedicated "hub" that will incorporate training facilities, a gym and offices and allow the club to have a "permanent home and put down roots".

Current head coach Lee Burch [pictured above] and assistant Sian Osmond will stay in charge of the rebranded team next season.

Burch said the move "ticks a lot of boxes" and hopes the fans will accept the new venture "even though there's a change of colour and a change of badge".

In a change to the promotion and relegation plans for next season, the winners of both the Northern and Southern Premier Divisions will get promoted to the Championship.

It follows the scrapping by the Football Association of the pre-existing National League play-off final between the Northern and Southern champions to see who went up, with two teams now dropping out of the second tier in 2023-24.