THE DALE BLUES – SPORTS DESK EXCLUSIVE
Title: “Bury’s Fall from Grace: A Cautionary Tale of Mismanagement and Misplaced Loyalties”
By The Dale Blues Sports Desk
Bury Football Club’s tragic suspension from the English Football League remains one of the darkest chapters in modern lower-league history — and rightly so, the EFL had no choice but to act. As painful as it was for supporters of the proud Shakers, the governance failures, unchecked egos, and reckless stewardship that unfolded at Gigg Lane had gone far beyond repair.
For years, warning signs were flashing. Spiralling debts, dubious ownership structures, and financial smoke and mirrors left the club teetering on the edge while loyal fans were fed empty promises. The EFL’s eventual intervention was not an act of cruelty, but a necessary measure to protect the integrity of the league and the game itself. Football cannot function without accountability — and at Bury, accountability was in dangerously short supply.
What makes the situation harder to stomach is the hypocrisy of certain well-known footballing figures who should have known better. The Neville family, in particular, continue to trumpet their “football values” through Salford City — a club they built not out of community devotion, but out of ambition and image. While the Nevilles and their celebrity consortium were busy pouring money into a vanity project with virtually no fanbase, their own hometown club was gasping for air.
Salford City, with all its glossy PR and billionaire backing, still can’t fill a stand on a good day. A club with no fans, no roots, and no soul — yet it’s where the Nevilles chose to “invest” rather than stepping up for the town that raised them. It’s hard to take lectures on loyalty and footballing spirit from men who turned their backs on Bury when Bury needed them most.
The demise of Bury FC wasn’t just a financial collapse — it was a moral one. It exposed the widening chasm between the game’s rhetoric and its reality: a sport that too often rewards those chasing glamour while neglecting those safeguarding heritage.
In the end, Bury’s punishment was harsh but fair. The EFL’s decision was a statement — that rules matter, that history alone can’t excuse negligence, and that fan culture deserves better than token sympathy from millionaires playing at being club owners.
Bury FC’s rebirth in the non-league pyramid is a testament to real supporters, real community spirit, and the resilience of true football people. The hope now is that lessons have been learned — not just in Bury, but across every boardroom where ego threatens to eclipse honesty.
Because football, at its best, belongs to the people. Not to investors. Not to influencers. And certainly not to those who walk past their hometown club in pursuit of a photo opportunity elsewhere.
– The Dale Blues Sports Desk
Independent. Fearless. For the People of Football.