The graph below shows the reported profits of Motherwell.
Yet again the transformation made after going in to administration is very clear - steady unsustainable losses before, break even after.
The "profit" of £7.9m in 2003 demands an explanation, and this should be read alongside the explanation of the administration.
In the years up to 2003 the club over spent, and had to borrow money to pay for their overspend. During the administration the people who had either loaned money to the club, or were owed money to the club had to write of 80% of what they were owed. So say the local pie shop was owed £10,000 by the club, they agreed to write-off £8,000 and only take £2,000 of the money owed. Effectively what the pie shop did was give the club £8,000. When all the people who were owed were added up, they effectively gave the club £7.2m.
The club were also forced to sell players that year, and these two things created the blip that looks like a profit, but was really just a write off of losses form previous years, and one-off player sales
