‘I’ve no idea how long we can survive, but we must help elderly’
STEVENAGE chairman Phil Wallace has launched a rescue plan to save the elderly from the coronavirus – even if it bankrupts the club.
Propping up the Football League, and eight points adrift of safety, Stevenage are struggling on the pitch.
But Wallace’s call to save housebound OAPs, who are being told to stay indoors for up to four months by the Government, has sent Stevenage top of the table for their community spirit.
Wallace intends to mobilise the club’s catering staff, young players and an army of volunteers to distribute food to stranded over-70s in the town.
And he admits he has “no idea” how long Boro can survive financially when he rolls out their big-hearted gesture. In more than 20 years minding the shop at the Lamex Stadium – where he has presided over cup shocks, two promotions and more than 10 managers – this is probably Wallace’s finest hour.
He said: “We have always prided ourselves on being a community club and now it’s time to show what that means.
“We will start to work on the logistics of obtaining details of people who need help.
“We have kitchens we are not using, we have young players who can’t play football and we have an army of youngsters who, if asked and organised
Who’ll help the club when the money runs out?
properly, would be willing to help distribute meals and obtain supplies.
“I intend to work with our CEO Alex Tunbridge to make this happen.
“We have no idea how long the club can survive while paying players and staff with no income, but some of these people have nobody to help them and we will make sure we are there for them.
“If that means we cook food and prepare snacks, that is what we’ll do. If it is getting essential supplies to them, that is what we’ll do.
“We will be there for these people and encourage all local businesses to join with us. If we work together, we can avoid serious hardship to people that need the most help.
“While I understand the logic behind flattening the peak curve so the NHS are able to treat more people with the limited ITU beds and equipment available, this will undoubtedly cause anguish for those people who can’t use the internet, have no relatives and no way of ordering supplies or obtaining meals.”
Last summer, Wallace launched a £1.2million share issue to help pay for transfer business at the club.
Although their wage bill – players earn £550 a week on average – is one of the lowest in League Two, Wallace admits he does not know how long the club will be able to keep paying them without the cash generated by home games wiped out by the Covid-19 lockdown.
Although his Lamex global food trading company is worth an estimated £1.7billion, he said: “You cannot run a Football League club sustainably without a bit of luck.”
Two years ago, defender Ben Wilmot’s £1.5m move toWatford helped them turn a small profit, but the margins were already slim before the pandemic.
Former manager Graham Westley, who resigned last month after a fourth stint in charge, warned that lower division clubs would go to the wall unless they are bailed out by Premier League big guns.
He said: “It’s a fantastic gesture by the chairman to help elderly people in their community but who is going to help Stevenage when there is no money left to pay the players’ wages?
“Big clubs have a responsibility to feeder clubs lower down the food chain – because if the chain is broken, some of them could disappear.
“There are players who earn more in a month than clubs like Stevenage can pay their entire squad in a year.
That is the reality.”