Derby reject Gadsby claims

Derby’s American owners have vehemently denied allegations they have yet to invest any money in the club.

General Sports & Entertainment completed a £50m (€63m) takeover at Pride Park in January and promised to clear the club’s £22m (€28m) debt and make money available for manager Paul Jewell to spend in the transfer market.

Former chairman Peter Gadsby has launched a scathing attack on the current owners, claiming he was sacked from his position of non-executive director for repeatedly questioning how much money they had invested.

Derby announced Gadsby, who stepped down as Derby chairman in October 2007, had left his position on Friday as part of a “freshening up of the boardroom”.

Gadsby said: “Following my appointment as a non-executive director at the time of the club’s takeover by General Sports and Entertainment in January this year, I repeatedly sought confirmation that public pledges of an investment of £50m (€63m) – £18m (€22.7m) to purchase shares, £22m (€28m) to clear debts and £10m (€12.6m) for new signings – were being honoured.

“Right up to the moment I discovered that my position had been terminated, no answers were forthcoming.

“I persisted in arguing that there was a need for transparency about the amount of new money invested in the club, about levels of debt and expenditure and about a failure to honour pledges of substantial amounts of transfer cash for manager Paul Jewell.”

But the club strongly refuted any suggestion the current owners were not fulfilling their pledges and were operating behind closed doors.

A club statement read: “The ownership and management team of Derby County are fully committed and focused to achieving success and finally bringing the stability the club has lacked for decades.

“Petty politics has held this great club back from achieving its potential. It is time to focus not on the vanity and egos of individuals but the good of the club as a whole. This ultimately is what the supporters want.

“The takeover of Derby County by General Sports & Entertainment has placed the club in a far greater and more stable financial position than prior to it taking place, this is a fact.

“In addition there is now a business plan and a management team with industry expertise and a track record of success in building clubs on and off the pitch.”

The statement added: “Significant investment has been made and significant investment will follow in the future.”