How Wolves plunged to the lower leagues and nearly ceased to exist - Part 22: Wolverhampton Council tries to 'buy' the club.
In more detail than ever before, the Express & Star tells the full Bhatti brothers story– a troubled era which saw Wolves plunge to depths of the lower leagues and face financial oblivion. In Part 22, Wolverhampton Council tries to 'buy' the club.
With the financial situation of Wolves looking increasingly desperate in 1986, a secret meeting of Wolverhampton Council's Labour group was convened.
It was agreed the authority would pay up to £3 million to buy the club lock, stock and barrel. If a consortium to take over the running of the club could not be put together, the council would find itself in the unprecedented position of running the football club too.
Council officers were given 24 hours to draw up a report on how the club could be funded, which would be presented to the receiver Michael Jordan before the end of the week.
The proposals were not without controversy, not least because it involved the council handing over £1 million of ratepayers' money to the Bhatti brothers. While the Labour group held a majority on the council, the party was also split down the middle on the plan. It was only the casting vote of chairman Councillor Mel Chevannes that saw it approved. It was liable to collapse if just one member of the group failed to turn up for the vote.
