EFL clubs set to lose £200M

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 01:27

Should there be financial support for Football League clubs? If so should it come from a) the government, b) the Premier League, or c) a combination of both.

The follwing comes from the Mirror:

EFL chairman Rick Parry has called on the Government and Premier League for financial assistance as clubs prepare for huge losses from a season played behind closed doors

Rick Parry has warned the EFL is facing a £200m black hole - and League One and Two clubs could be forced into hibernation without a cash bail out.

EFL chairman Parry spoke out after the Government put plans for supporters to return to stadiums on hold with a growing belief they will not be allowed back for the entire 2020/21 season.

Parry said: “EFL Clubs lost £50m last season as a result of playing matches behind closed doors or curtailing the season and stand to lose a further £200m in 2020/21 should we be required to play the whole season without supporters in grounds.

“I am encouraged that the Government has recognised the need for urgent financial assistance for sport and discussions will continue with DCMS and the Premier League.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/efl-200m-dire-future-predicted-22731665

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 10:16

bremen1874 said:
Presumably, the lower division clubs that are struggling aren't the ones paying the silly money.

League One clubs have a salary cap for the whole squad of £2.5M, League Two salary cap is £1.5M. To put it in perspective Gareth Bale could finance a L2 club's seasons player costs with 3 weeks of his pay or a L1 club with 5 weeks of his pay.

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 10:18

The Running Man said:
Maybe this will be the time when football players finally take a haircut and we see wages hit a more realistic level...

Someone said recently that the league has "profitability and sustainability rules" that encourage neither profitability nor sustainability. Surely, if clubs are bailed out, real sustainability rules must be one of the conditions attached.

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 10:23

Rroff said:
I think the whole thing is a mess and a casualty of Boris/Cummings reluctance to let go of their grip on power - while not that important in the grand scheme of things stuff like this should have a committee who are organising a response at a national level - instead it is a mess.

The safety of fans and the community has to be the priority. That said there seems to be a great deal of illogicallity around the decision making. For example, going to a football match once a week in open air is banned but going to the pub indoors every day if you wish is okay so long as you leave by 10pm.

The govenment always say they're following the science but I'd like to see what their scientific advice on the safety of football attendence is.

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 11:22

vanpeebles said:
A lot of these clubs have been ran badly for years.

Very true. Bury have looked like an accident waiting to happen for a long time. But the club has been victims of bad owners - the fans aren't the ones who made the bad decisions, or had any say in who took over when the club changed hands, and yet it is the fans and the local community that pays the price when it all goes wrong.

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 11:23

Semple said:
How does that translate to average salaries for players though?

Good question. I'll try and find out.

Rikmeister · 24 Sep 2020 at 11:25

The Running Man said:
I dont think anyone was planning for a rainy 12 months with zero fans though...

It is quite extrodinary. Government minister love to use the word "unprecedented" when talking about the Covid crisis but seem to be silent on the unprecedented crisis threatening the national game at all levels.

Rikmeister · 25 Sep 2020 at 01:31

Semple said:
How does that translate to average salaries for players though?

You were pretty close.

The median wage in League One was £2,650 pw. So somewhere in the region of £130-140K if my mental maths is right. This is based on the season 2018/19

The median ranged from Rochdale with a medial wage of £1,824 to Sunderland with a wopping £12,394. Sunderland I think were still benefitting from the final year of their Premiership parachute payment.

Rikmeister · 28 Sep 2020 at 00:19

adam cool dude said:
Haha. Football is no different to hospitality yet they have gotten help. I very rarely go out and drink yet have no qualms with the government helping them out.

Good point. Stimulus spending from the government has nothing to do with the worthiness of the industry supported but is about economics, and as industries go football is pretty big.

Rikmeister · 30 Sep 2020 at 01:00

Rroff said:
What a mess

https://twitter.com/x/status/1310931629209251841

To be fair, I expected there to be the odd anomaly thrown up by government policy but that Weldstone FC example is just nuts.

@OliverDowden
look at the absolute state of this. Wealdstone fans can gather in the club house at the stadium to watch the game on TV, while the game is being played on the pitch outside. The windows must be blacked out. You literally have no idea what you're doing. #LetFansIn

Rikmeister · 30 Sep 2020 at 01:04

BaZ87 said:
I don't think entrances/exits are a big issue - you just have to determine the rate at which you can get fans in and out of the stadium safely and then stagger arrival/exit times accordingly. Incredibly I think the toilet situation is probably the biggest challenge and could massively reduce capacities in some old stadiums.

Agreed. My understanding it that clubs have been working with their local Health & Safety executive to make sure any return of fans is as safe as possible.

Rikmeister · 30 Sep 2020 at 01:06

BaZ87 said:
I don't think entrances/exits are a big issue - you just have to determine the rate at which you can get fans in and out of the stadium safely and then stagger arrival/exit times accordingly. Incredibly I think the toilet situation is probably the biggest challenge and could massively reduce capacities in some old stadiums.

I understand that that is the approach Belgium is taking. They also have some sort of post match entertainment with phased dispursal so that they don't get everyone leaving at the same time.

Rikmeister · 30 Sep 2020 at 01:08

Rroff said:
Some of the lower tiers have much more basic grounds with number of entrances/exits, toilets and so on being restrictive and barely coping with their normal gate let alone providing sufficient scope for running a COVID "secure" event. But rather than deal with that the attitude seems to be to bin the whole lot off - no we are all in it togetherness or anything :s

My local town team did a trial of running under these restrictions and showed it is perfectly possible to do if you have a reasonable stadium.

The trouble is that this government have an urge to centralise everything but fooball grounds (and other sports stadiums come to that) are so varied a one-size-fits-all cannot possibly work.

Rikmeister · 30 Sep 2020 at 21:37

omnomnom said:
Yet there is a pub, a Costa and a KFC all within 500 yards (ish google earth innit) all allowed to open.

“We’re playing in an empty stadium, no fans allowed in, totally soulless,” Robinson, the Oxford manager, says. “And then you look out beyond the goal, onto the retail park, and you see people queuing to get into the cinema.”
https://twitter.com/WeAreTheFSA/status/1311241013483233280

Where's the logic?