Still lots ready to splash out in lower divisions
‘DERBY COUNTY LESSON’ PASSES MANY CLUBS BY
THE Derby County lesson does not look like it is being learned in the lower divisions in a busy summer transfer window.
Yes, the Rams’ plight is an extreme example of wildly spending money you do not have and ignoring bills from your creditors in pursuit of the riches at the end of the rainbow.
But the examples are many. The Macclesfield Town lesson? The Bury lesson?
The Bolton Wanderers lesson? The Portsmouth lesson? Those two lessons do at least appear to have been learned by new owners who are slowly but surely edging these grand old clubs back up the pyramid.
Perhaps the Wrexham lesson. The influx of Hollywood money led to a splurge in which the long-time National League club lured players from as high as League One – including Tom O’connor from Burton Albion – in search of a quick fix, only to fall short in the play-off semifinals.
They will no doubt do it all over again in the coming season. I hope chief executive Fleur Robinson is getting her bearings in among all this after years of working with the sensible constraints set by her father Ben at Burton.
Stockport County were perhaps the club who most obviously succeeded with their spending last year, climbing back into the Football League two and a half years after local businessman Mike Stott took them over.
Stockport had gone into administration in 2009 and were relegated from the League in 2011, preceding a sorry list of attempted takeovers, and short tenures for a string of managers as they dropped into National League North.
Stott returned them to full-time status and, last season, they won the National League.
They raised eyebrows by taking experienced midfielder Antoni Sarcevic from Bolton and seasoned striker Paddy Madden from Fleetwood Town, among others.
The addition of striker Kyle Wootton from Notts County this summer shows they mean business in League Two – but it is to be hoped they do not over-stretch themselves again.
Crawley Town may be one to watch in the spending stakes. They have been purchased by a cryptocurrency company who failed to take control of Bradford City last year.
The signing of last season’s League Two top scorer, Newport County’s Dom Telford, shows they mean business but just how crypto currency will work in football ownership over even the short term is shrouded in mystery and supporters are anxious.
Meanwhile, Bradford have been among the more active in the market so far, with eight signings, including former Burton loanee Harry Chapman.
They have had three seasons back in League Two and a fan base who do not want to stay there much longer – it is also a fanbase who have seen the perils of over-spending in the recent past, with a rise to the Premier League and an even faster descent back.
In League One, with new manager Scott Brown in place, Fleetwood Town have not been hanging about, 10 departures being followed so far by seven arrivals – the latest being former Burton loanee Josh Earl from Preston North End.
Brown is being backed and Fleetwood’s progress will be interesting.
It is likely that relegated Barnsley will be among those throwing some money around in a bid to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt, too.
New chairman Neerav Parekh has promised a transfer budget for new manager Michael Duff, although he says it hinges on outgoings, too, and will not be known until late in the window.
That is just the sort of seat-of-the-pants approach which should alarm supporters of clubs pursusing such a course.
A volatile season lies ahead.