MK
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/139515742740597/permalink/3205057692853038/
Post from Radek Meidl, MK Lightening
Post from Radek Meidl, MK Lightening
Thread starter
#68
The moodys are prob on a yacht sunning themselves in the south of france...shocking state of affairs, thank god we got decent owners and will bend over backwards to keep our players happy while playing for the devils..
I know this sounds bad... and in many ways it is... but with the instant nature of social media this is just something that happens now.
To be honest, it’s as good as any method given the number of people involved and the possibility that one or more of them will Tweet it the moment that they know. 10+ EIHL, 8+ MK/LPH, plus all the other interested parties...
It looks ugly, disrespectful even, but it’s not a terrible idea to have the initial universal announcement through an official channel. I suppose the difference is that they probably should have been told this is what would happen.
To be honest, it’s as good as any method given the number of people involved and the possibility that one or more of them will Tweet it the moment that they know. 10+ EIHL, 8+ MK/LPH, plus all the other interested parties...
It looks ugly, disrespectful even, but it’s not a terrible idea to have the initial universal announcement through an official channel. I suppose the difference is that they probably should have been told this is what would happen.
Pure speculation on my part but, early season tick sales presumable generate a nice cash injection around this time that would - under normal circumstances - have been available to clear outstanding wages/debt, etc?
IF that was their plan, the Lets Play Hockey project would be a major spanner in the works. If things had proceeded as expected, it’s not impossible that it would have cleared (or reduced) any debt and put the club back on an even footing, albeit in a lower tier.
A purely hypothetical scenario, but one possible example where a sensible business plan, combined with a lack of communication, and a totally unforeseen event, (potentially) turns into a huge financial mess.
Don't know them - they could be complete bandits - but it wouldn’t be the first time that a sports club investment went wrong for people who genuinely meant well, leaving the fans caught in the resulting crossfire.
IF that was their plan, the Lets Play Hockey project would be a major spanner in the works. If things had proceeded as expected, it’s not impossible that it would have cleared (or reduced) any debt and put the club back on an even footing, albeit in a lower tier.
A purely hypothetical scenario, but one possible example where a sensible business plan, combined with a lack of communication, and a totally unforeseen event, (potentially) turns into a huge financial mess.
Don't know them - they could be complete bandits - but it wouldn’t be the first time that a sports club investment went wrong for people who genuinely meant well, leaving the fans caught in the resulting crossfire.
Update from Planet Ice...
"As an update to our statement from May 8th at 17:45, Planet Ice has been in conversation with a number of shareholders of the EIHL with regard to a consortium that would like to ice an Elite team from Milton Keynes.
The concerns from the EIHL shareholders have been taken on board and this afternoon at 14:00 a correspondence has been sent to each shareholder which hopefully addresses their concerns."
"As an update to our statement from May 8th at 17:45, Planet Ice has been in conversation with a number of shareholders of the EIHL with regard to a consortium that would like to ice an Elite team from Milton Keynes.
The concerns from the EIHL shareholders have been taken on board and this afternoon at 14:00 a correspondence has been sent to each shareholder which hopefully addresses their concerns."
To all MK fans,
When I first signed to MK Lightning I was excited for an unforgettably year playing professional hockey. Being my first year playing pro I did not know what to expect, but this was definitely not what I had in mind. This experience has been without a doubt one that I will not forget.
With that being said, Ashleigh and I would first off like to thank everyone for all of their support. Through all of the ups and downs you have stood by us cheering at every single game. Your commitment to the team was motivation enough to give every ounce of effort we had. You were all so kind to Ashleigh and made her feel welcome. The hospitality and generosity that you have all provided has been remarkable. The MK hockey community is a class act that we are thankful to be apart of, and would love to come back to play. However, at this moment is does not seem to be likely.
As most of you are aware by now there have been problems within the MK organization. For me these issues started right when I arrived. I was initially promised the reimbursement for my visa ($1860 USD) when I got here. In September they apologized for the delay and said that every player would have it by October. End of October came and still nothing. In December I was promised to have the money but due to the poor fixture schedule and trips to Scotland and Belfast it would be further delayed to a later date. In March we agreed they would finish paying the owed amount weekly as I stayed to continue my schooling at the University of Buckingham. Not only was I promised full payment, but also the interest that went along with it as it has been sitting on my credit card since August. This balance is still outstanding and recent payments have been missed. Payments were promised and either late or non-existent throughout the entire year. Following the end of the year we not given a P45 and P60 showing detailed tax information. This prevents us from filing our income taxes.
As rumors have surfaced about the potential bankruptcy or dissolving of MK Lightning it leaves me with many uncertainties for the remaining weeks. Most important is our apartment. The other day the landlord showed up unexpectedly stating that the rent had not been paid for this month. This made me extremely nervous, as I am sure anyone in this situation would be. The thought of being evicted from our apartment with only two months left in my master’s degree is nerve racking. How would I continue to go to university with nowhere to live? This then made us think about our car hire. Will we have to return that and have no way to get to school or even groceries? Not too long after we were notified that our car was to be returned at the end of the week with Monica telling us we need to make our own alternative arrangements. Why should this burden fall on us? No help or suggestions were given, and without these two it makes studying here impossible. She also mentioned in order for us to hire a car it would be another expense from our own pockets. Both apartment and car are clearly stated in the contracts. The three of us currently share one car, but it just came to our attention that only myself was insured on the car. We are not sure how long this has been going on for but both Ashleigh and Nelson have been driving the car uninsured not knowingly. This is clearly another grossly negligent act by the MK Lightning ownership. The thought of working so hard and coming so close to graduation only to face these financial decisions is heart breaking. Now I am forced with the decision to go home and sacrifice completing my MBA that I have worked hard for or stay to complete it and face financial hardship is disappointing.
There was also an issue involving my skates. During a game the heal guard completely broke off. The equipment staff did their best to try and fix the problem but it was still dangerous to play with as my Achilles was exposed. I played five games and two weeks worth of practices, risking my own safety before I received new skates. Looking back I should not have played, but when the team only has 14 players we could not afford to have another healthy body not in the lineup. Luckily, I was fortunate not to be hurt since we were never given National Insurance Numbers. If I would have needed to go to the hospital who would have paid for the medical bills? Would this have been added to the long list of debts currently owed to us? To me this was pure negligence by the ownership.
Currently Ashleigh and I are in a foreign country while I finish the schooling I agreed to. Unfortunately the wages that were agreed upon have stopped until further notice. This leaves us with six weeks with the little money we saved. Once that is over our flights will then have to be paid for out of our own pockets. We were going to use the money the Moody’s owe us to travel Europe for life long memories. Ashleigh and I dreamed of finishing our UK stay with a tour of European cities. We have saved hard over the year to make this a reality, however, due to the monies owed, these savings are more or less wiped out by just trying to stay afloat. Even though we are still owed money that is not the most disappointing thing from the ownership. It is the lack of communication that has been involved. Not once have they apologized or tried to help find a solution. They committed to make payments to two young students (Nelson and myself) in a foreign country that they have not fulfilled. One day your kids will be in the position we are, relying on someone to fulfill the obligations they were promised and I hope that they are treated better then the way we have been treated. I hope more respect is given to them.
It is truly shameful for the way the ownership has treated everyone. They should be ashamed. Personally, it makes me question if I want to keep playing professional hockey after all of the events that have gone on this season. I am questioning continuing the game that I love and have dedicated my entire life to because I never want to feel in this position again. I would never wish this upon anybody. We are now forced with tough decisions that put our financial well-being in jeopardy all because of a lack of fulfillment of a law binding contract. This all comes at the worst possible time as school deadlines are rapidly approaching. Papers and exams are coming up and this is another distraction that I should never have to deal with.
In total Nelson and I are stranded in a foreign country being owed:
- £3,100 in outstanding wages
- £1,700 in apartment rental fees
- £1,425 for car hire
- £1,200 for flights
£7,425 TOTAL
Instead they are leaving us with nothing only to fend for ourselves
This year has been truly memorable. MK is a great city with some of the best fans in the EIHL. Both in the arena and on a personal level they have been there whenever we needed. And for that we are so grateful. It is a shame that I have to write about all of the problems rather than simply issuing a well deserved thank you to the fans. These incidents by the owners leave a disgusting taste in my mouth, which is sad to say because I have loved my time here in MK. Even with everything that has gone on the lost money could not pay for the friends we have made and the experiences we received. Thank you all so much for the continuous support.
Trevor Morbeck #11 MK Lightning
When I first signed to MK Lightning I was excited for an unforgettably year playing professional hockey. Being my first year playing pro I did not know what to expect, but this was definitely not what I had in mind. This experience has been without a doubt one that I will not forget.
With that being said, Ashleigh and I would first off like to thank everyone for all of their support. Through all of the ups and downs you have stood by us cheering at every single game. Your commitment to the team was motivation enough to give every ounce of effort we had. You were all so kind to Ashleigh and made her feel welcome. The hospitality and generosity that you have all provided has been remarkable. The MK hockey community is a class act that we are thankful to be apart of, and would love to come back to play. However, at this moment is does not seem to be likely.
As most of you are aware by now there have been problems within the MK organization. For me these issues started right when I arrived. I was initially promised the reimbursement for my visa ($1860 USD) when I got here. In September they apologized for the delay and said that every player would have it by October. End of October came and still nothing. In December I was promised to have the money but due to the poor fixture schedule and trips to Scotland and Belfast it would be further delayed to a later date. In March we agreed they would finish paying the owed amount weekly as I stayed to continue my schooling at the University of Buckingham. Not only was I promised full payment, but also the interest that went along with it as it has been sitting on my credit card since August. This balance is still outstanding and recent payments have been missed. Payments were promised and either late or non-existent throughout the entire year. Following the end of the year we not given a P45 and P60 showing detailed tax information. This prevents us from filing our income taxes.
As rumors have surfaced about the potential bankruptcy or dissolving of MK Lightning it leaves me with many uncertainties for the remaining weeks. Most important is our apartment. The other day the landlord showed up unexpectedly stating that the rent had not been paid for this month. This made me extremely nervous, as I am sure anyone in this situation would be. The thought of being evicted from our apartment with only two months left in my master’s degree is nerve racking. How would I continue to go to university with nowhere to live? This then made us think about our car hire. Will we have to return that and have no way to get to school or even groceries? Not too long after we were notified that our car was to be returned at the end of the week with Monica telling us we need to make our own alternative arrangements. Why should this burden fall on us? No help or suggestions were given, and without these two it makes studying here impossible. She also mentioned in order for us to hire a car it would be another expense from our own pockets. Both apartment and car are clearly stated in the contracts. The three of us currently share one car, but it just came to our attention that only myself was insured on the car. We are not sure how long this has been going on for but both Ashleigh and Nelson have been driving the car uninsured not knowingly. This is clearly another grossly negligent act by the MK Lightning ownership. The thought of working so hard and coming so close to graduation only to face these financial decisions is heart breaking. Now I am forced with the decision to go home and sacrifice completing my MBA that I have worked hard for or stay to complete it and face financial hardship is disappointing.
There was also an issue involving my skates. During a game the heal guard completely broke off. The equipment staff did their best to try and fix the problem but it was still dangerous to play with as my Achilles was exposed. I played five games and two weeks worth of practices, risking my own safety before I received new skates. Looking back I should not have played, but when the team only has 14 players we could not afford to have another healthy body not in the lineup. Luckily, I was fortunate not to be hurt since we were never given National Insurance Numbers. If I would have needed to go to the hospital who would have paid for the medical bills? Would this have been added to the long list of debts currently owed to us? To me this was pure negligence by the ownership.
Currently Ashleigh and I are in a foreign country while I finish the schooling I agreed to. Unfortunately the wages that were agreed upon have stopped until further notice. This leaves us with six weeks with the little money we saved. Once that is over our flights will then have to be paid for out of our own pockets. We were going to use the money the Moody’s owe us to travel Europe for life long memories. Ashleigh and I dreamed of finishing our UK stay with a tour of European cities. We have saved hard over the year to make this a reality, however, due to the monies owed, these savings are more or less wiped out by just trying to stay afloat. Even though we are still owed money that is not the most disappointing thing from the ownership. It is the lack of communication that has been involved. Not once have they apologized or tried to help find a solution. They committed to make payments to two young students (Nelson and myself) in a foreign country that they have not fulfilled. One day your kids will be in the position we are, relying on someone to fulfill the obligations they were promised and I hope that they are treated better then the way we have been treated. I hope more respect is given to them.
It is truly shameful for the way the ownership has treated everyone. They should be ashamed. Personally, it makes me question if I want to keep playing professional hockey after all of the events that have gone on this season. I am questioning continuing the game that I love and have dedicated my entire life to because I never want to feel in this position again. I would never wish this upon anybody. We are now forced with tough decisions that put our financial well-being in jeopardy all because of a lack of fulfillment of a law binding contract. This all comes at the worst possible time as school deadlines are rapidly approaching. Papers and exams are coming up and this is another distraction that I should never have to deal with.
In total Nelson and I are stranded in a foreign country being owed:
- £3,100 in outstanding wages
- £1,700 in apartment rental fees
- £1,425 for car hire
- £1,200 for flights
£7,425 TOTAL
Instead they are leaving us with nothing only to fend for ourselves
This year has been truly memorable. MK is a great city with some of the best fans in the EIHL. Both in the arena and on a personal level they have been there whenever we needed. And for that we are so grateful. It is a shame that I have to write about all of the problems rather than simply issuing a well deserved thank you to the fans. These incidents by the owners leave a disgusting taste in my mouth, which is sad to say because I have loved my time here in MK. Even with everything that has gone on the lost money could not pay for the friends we have made and the experiences we received. Thank you all so much for the continuous support.
Trevor Morbeck #11 MK Lightning
How on earth they've been allowed to continue running a club I don't know. Am I correct in thinking they're running Milton Keynes in the newly formed NIHL league or whatever the name may be? Tarnishing the whole league with what they're doing. Once word gets out that players don't get paid in this league then it doesn't look good for it.