Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Bury Council are backing a bid to get the Shakers back into the Football League next season.
In a statement released this evening they say that they are establishing a working group to develop a proposal to the Football League that would allow Bury to be admitted to Sky Bet League Two for the start of the 2020/21 season, subject to the submission of a credible plan to rebuild Bury FC before the end of this year.
They have three stages to the plan,to develop a clear proposal to the English Football League, by Friday 20 September, that will allow the opportunity to work towards re-entry to League Two.
Second, if the EFL agree to that proposal, they will then work on a credible plan to rebuild the club, which all signatories to this statement will feel able to endorse.
Third, if that credible plan fails to emerge within in the deadline then we accept the EFL’s right to impose their original decision.
The statement adds that
“We accept that the EFL has had to take action given the mismanagement that has brought Bury FC to this position. However we believe the expulsion and proposed readmittance several levels below its current league is unduly harsh, particularly on the supporters who have done nothing more than back their club through thick and thin.
Such a sanction would put the future of the club into severe doubt, and set a dangerous precedent for the many other clubs who might find themselves in a similar situation.”
The plan has the backing of Supporters’ society Forever Bury, James Frith MP for Bury North, Ivan Lewis MP for Bury South, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Bury Council.
