The Bury Times will give over seven pages in print to Bury FC’s expulsion from the English Football League and change its masthead to include the 134-year-old club’s crest and colours in a mark of solidarity.
The weekly Newsquest title is set to print tomorrow with the headline: “Our hearts are breaking,” in response to the club losing its league membership over concerns about the state of its finances.
The paper’s masthead, normally a bright red, will turn blue (pictured) to match Bury FC’s team colours.
The Bury Times website has been maintaining a liveblog on the side’s situation after the news broke late last night. It follows the collapse of a proposed takeover of the team.
Newsquest Lancashire group editor Karl Holbrook told Press Gazette that football was the “lifeblood” of towns like Bury, which sits about ten miles north of Manchester.
“This isn’t Manchester City or Manchester United – big money, flash – it’s nuts and bolts,” he said. “This is real hard community stuff.”
Asked what effect he expected the club’s closure to have on the paper’s sports pages, Holbrook said: “To be honest we’ve not even started thinking about that.
“They’ll be some impact I’m sure, but today it’s all about the community and that sense of being let down and heartbreak that the people and the fans are feeling.”
Holbrook said he believed there would be “lots to say for a number of weeks” on the issue and that “things will rise from the ashes”.
Bury Times’ sister daily Newsquest title The Bolton News is also covering a potential threat to the future of local club Bolton Wanderers.
The Football League One side has 14 days to agree a takeover before potentially falling to the same fate as Bury.
Holbrook told Press Gazette that, as it stood, there would be two pages in the news and sports sections of The Bolton News’ next edition looking at the threat of Bolton being expelled from the Football League.
Picture: Bury Times
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