HE swept into Almondvale promising a return to the big time, but now stands accused of presiding over the death-knell of a once proud club. And today Livingston fans were calling on chairman Angelo Massone to go after suffering 12 months of turmoil and broken promises.
But, as the club he purchased for £1 from Pearse Flynn last June stands on the brink of collapse, with West Lothian Council heading a string of creditors, the Italian legal professional was seemingly oblivious, appointing a new coach, organising fri
endly matches and returning from Italy with a £20,000 cheque he hoped would stave off administration.
But sources at West Lothian Council say that will not be enough to stop their decision to begin legal proceedings to recover around £280,000 in unpaid rent for the club's stadium.
The legal process began yesterday with the council instructing lawyers to apply to the Court of Session for an interim liquidator. Massone has 14 days to prove he can repay the debt. However, with HM Revenue and Customs believed to be owed a six-figure sum, not to mention other creditors demanding money, the Italian would need to suddenly find an awful lot of cash.
And Ged Nixon, pictured, chairman of the Livi for Life supporters' group, having lost all belief in Massone, believes the only way for the club to survive is for the Italian to quit immediately
"The four supporters' groups have all come together to denounce Angelo Massone's reign. There is no support for him to stay on. I hope he is sensible enough now to appoint his own administrator and relinquish control. Hopefully he will see reason and go. The non-payment of staff, coupled with the stories of his flamboyant lifestyle have turned people against him.
"The council's action was inevitable and the only way the club can be rescued. If the council had not gone down this route, another – perhaps more hostile – creditor could have forced the club into liquidation."
Massone's consortium included football agent Tommaso Angelini, who is the son-in-law of Davie Hay, Tommaso Bruno and Alessandro Di Mattia. However, while Angelini, who is based in Glasgow, has retained links with the club, Bruno and Di Mattia, who are believed to have been providing the bulk of the capital, have long since relinquished any interest. It is believed the pair became so alarmed at the financial plight of the club that they withdrew their investment towards the end of last year.
Nixon continued: "When the consortium first came in I welcomed them, but I told them the club would need a large injection of capital to get it on the right track, either that or they would have to be prepared to lose at least £400,000 a year. Unfortunately, they chose to ignore warnings about the club's liabilities and I believe they thought they would be able to turn a quick buck.
"They should have looked at the books properly. When they eventually did, it was too late, the deal had been done and Massone's two backers decided not to put any more money in. That was when the trouble began.
"Ever since then Angelo Massone has been stoking a runaway train without using the brake.
"Bruno and Mattia were businessmen who had no special interest in football, but Angelo Massone acted as if he was running Real Madrid. The club was funding his lavish lifestyle while staff and players were not being paid and local businesses who had invested in the club were losing money."
Fans have reacted to the news with a mixture of relief and anger.
One said: "In a strange way this is better than the nonsense that has been happening. It should bring things to a head one way or the other."
Another said: "Massone's boasts and empty promises mean nothing now. If he genuinely cares about Livingston FC the way he keeps banging on in the media, he'll step aside and let someone more capable breathe some life back into it before it flatlines."
Sources at West Lothian Council say it is the aim of councillors to try and maintain some form of senior football at the club. They believe they had to act in order to save the club in some way and are now hoping for a white knight to step in and rescue the club.
The authority has already acted to ensure the stadium is ready for football, in whatever form, after it stepped in to fund work that will secure a safety certificate for Almondvale, which expired on Tuesday. Massone had been putting his own rescue package together and held talks with former Dumbarton owner Neil Rankine last week, but a deal could not be struck and Massone informed the council that he would be unable to meet the June 30 deadline.
However, he returned to Italy after offering the council a deal which would replace the demand for the £280,000 with a monthly payment of £20,000, double the current arrangement. Massone then offered Rankine a 49 per cent stake in the club, which was turned down. A 'Save Our Club' meeting has been scheduled at Almondvale on Saturday inviting fans' groups and former Cowdenbeath chairman Gordon McDougall. Rankine said: "We need everyone to put their cards on the table and see if there is anyone to save it, but I'm prepared to chip in. If I think I can't sort out the club's debts, I'll walk away.
"At the moment, it's not an attractive proposition for me, but if there is a chance it can be I'm going to have a look at it."
And, it is the argument over the stadium which has become Massone's Achilles' heel. It is believed the consortium arrived thinking they could buy the stadium at a much-reduced price, however, they were not aware of the local authority's terms and conditions regarding any sale which provided a guarantee to maintain senior football on the site.
If the club does fold then it leaves the Scottish Football League with another huge problem, having faced a similar scenario with Gretna last year.
Following the Borders club's relegation from the SPL, it was subsequently demoted from the First Division to the Third once it had been handed over to receivers. It then folded altogether, but the SFL had already planned for that scenario and were able to swiftly promote Annan Athletic to the League.
But this time, warned SFL operations director David Thomson, with the league fixtures already published, there may not be enough time to find a replacement. He said: "We demoted Gretna after speaking to the club administrator. We hope it does not come to that with Livingston. However, the league management committee has a wide remit to act if a club goes into administration, which might mean the docking of points. If the club cannot fulfil their fixtures then that would be very difficult for us."
