Ashley In!!
Striker
They almost certainly could have. I'd be looking to the auditors, not the club, here. In Short's time, they were usually signed off in January (but still not filed until the deadline). You can have the accounts ready in no time, but if the auditors son't schedule their time till much later, you're stuffed.
Nothing to back that up at present.
Also, filling the accounts is apparently either literally popping them in the post once they are signed or pressing a button on a computer. Blaming that not being possible isn't realistic when they've filed other documents this same week.