David Anderson’s column in the Mirror today contains the following excellent apology to former Hull Chairman Paul Duffen, whose tenure ended at the beginning of the month amidst a storm of stories about the parlous state of Hull’s finances. We’ll let the words do the talking (for now):
In our November 4 article “Why Paul Duffen’s largesse has plunged profitable Hull into financial hell” we alleged that Hull City’s current financial position was the sole responsibility of former Chairman Paul Duffen.
We wish to make clear that the level of debt at Hull is in fact £9 million and not £27 million as stated. We apologise for this error.
Further, Paul Duffen has informed us that he was not solely responsible for the club’s financial decisions, including mortgaging, and that the club’s wage bill was considerably less than the average wage bill in the Premiership.
OK, enough of the apology doing the talking - now it’s our turn.
1) If you’re going to use the terms ‘largesse’ and ‘financial hell’ in an article directed at one person, it might be a thought to have your facts straight.
2) The difference between £9m and £27m is £18m. That’s loads.
We tried to find the original story, but astonishingly, it’s gone. It’s as if it’s just… vanished. Well, you can still see the cached opening lines on Google which begins:
It seems Gordon Brown has a rival when it comes to spending other people’s money. I thought we had seen the end of such largesse in the Premier…
Fills you with confidence, doesn’t it?
