'Project Phoenix' are set to meet with the Rovers board next month amid the club's financial woes, but a radical name change is no longer being pursued
Sport Paul Thomson 06:00, 23 Mar 2025
A consortium who tried to takeover and rebrand Albion Rovers to Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge have returned with a new bid to seize control of the football club amid its financial struggles.
And the potential investors claim they would bring in a 'seismic appointment' to lead the Lowland League club's charge back up the pyramid, in a move that will have fans 'drooling' at the prospect.
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In 2023, the 'Project Phoenix' consortium proposed a multi-million pound investment in the Coatbridge outfit on the basis it was rebranded to tap into the town's Irish heritage, but the 'Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge' bid was immediately rejected by the club's board amid an uproar from fans regarding the name change.
Since then, Rovers have been relegated from the SPFL and last month announced they will no longer be able to pay players and staff a wage from next season, as parachute payments from their relegation will cease and they will no longer receive SPFL prize money.
Their perilous financial state was revealed in an open letter to fans in which they claimed that majority shareholder Anton Fagan had effectively blocked the club's attempts to bring in new revenue streams.
But Lanarkshire Live Sport understands the Rovers board have asked the Project Phoenix consortium to present their proposals for a takeover, acquisition and rebranding of the football club at the club's next board meeting on April 7.
These would be similar to the original proposals unveiled in 2023, with the exception that the 'Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge' rebrand has now been removed, with the 'Albion Rovers' identity retained.
Project Phoenix spokesman and businessman Paul Reilly has revealed there would still be an element of rebranding, however, as the consortium seeks to tap into the Irish heritage in Coatbridge by incorporating green and white into the club colours.
The consortium are still seeking a multi-million pound investment in Rovers as they bid to save the club from oblivion and prevent it becoming 'the next Third Lanark' - a founding club of the Scottish Football Association whose rapid decline saw them cease to exist in 1967.
Mr Reilly - who operates in investment banking and private equity markets - told Lanarkshire Live Sport : "We have already been down this road with a previous board of directors in 2023 and we quickly realised we were not dealing with serious people.
"We presented detailed analysis that the club would be relegated that season without the consortium taking over, and they laughed at it, insisted they wouldn't be relegated.
"I don't have to tell anyone what the outcome was that season. We were proven to be right.
"But I do hope that this current board is more receptive and cognisant of the club's perilous predicament than the previous one was.
"Things have materially deteriorated at the club in every way since 2023. This is the only way to bring life and direction back into the football club.
"The only alternative the club has is to become like Third Lanark. The sad thing about that is the people who are currently involved at the club will forever in history be tagged with that.
"They will be the ones who were in charge when the Albion Rovers Titanic went down.
"So this is an opportunity for everyone involved to reverse the rot, engage in this process that will completely rejuvenate the fortunes of Albion Rovers and give a boost to the town.
"The club have put it on public record that the financial situation at the club is in a perilous state and that they have a troubled relationship with its largest shareholder, Anton Fagan.
"But I believe we can work with Anton and make the place a success. We have a good relationship with many of the shareholders at the club and we want to find a collective group to find a way forward because things cannot get any worse.
"What we are trying to do is save the club, but the important thing for any business is to protect shareholder value or, indeed, increase it.
"That has not happened for decades at Albion Rovers due to negligent boards, year after year.
"Albion Rovers has been synonymous with failure. I am from Coatbridge and the club has always been - and still is - an embarrassment to the town and the great people of Coatbridge.
"It has to stop. And we will reverse that."
Asked about the U-turn on the name change, which was the subject of much ridicule at the time, Mr Reilly said: "What has changed from 2023 is that we will not change the club's name.
"We reflected on the reaction last time. We cannot get caught up in a name. We don't have to change the name to carry out what we want to do.
"We may add Coatbridge into the name. I don't think anyone would have an issue with that, but the Albion Rovers name will prevail. It is no longer an essential element for us.
"There will still be a multi-million pound investment into the club.
"Within that, we will rebrand in the sense of changing the colour scheme. The yellow is the most dominant part of the Albion Rovers colour scheme so we would adopt that with green and white - maybe not altogether.
"We are not going to shy away from the fact that we are going to be tapping into the Irish diaspora of Coatbridge."
Rovers are currently seventh in the Lowland League and with a budget for next season that will only allow them to pay players and staff expenses, a massive summer exodus is expected across the club.
However, Mr Reilly claims the consortium have some big names lined-up to take the club forward, should their takeover bid be successful on this occasion.
He added: "We have already been in preliminary discussions - for quite some time - with top quality candidates to create a winning football management team and I can assure you now, if people were aware of the people and personalities involved, there will be thousands of people going through the turnstiles at Albion Rovers, I can assure you of that.
"We believe we will have the club in the Championship within five to six years.
"I know lots of people in football will laugh at that and think it is much more difficult than you think. In no way do we believe this to be an easy process, but it is about having the stoic resilience to overcome challenges - and there will be many.
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"We are not being naive, but we know the people we want to bring on board and we know that the town will drool at the prospect of the names we have.
"It would be a seismic move and appointment to compliment our drive and ambitions."
Lanarkshire Live Sport contacted Albion Rovers but they declined to comment.
