STARING INTO THE ABYSS
EFL chief in warning to lower-league players
OVERPAID lower-league footballers are going to have to wise up and accept wage cuts and deferrals – or Bury will not be the only club going to the wall this season.
The £200million black hole the clubs are facing by the end of September with football mothballed was yesterday laid bare.
In a virtual appearance before the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, EFL boss Rick Parry confessed that football has not helped itself with its wild-west finances but that the players – the beneficiaries in the good times – had to do more in the bad times or more clubs would go.
“Our objective is to try to make sure we lose none. We will be doing everything in our power to make sure they survive,” said Parry.
“We are heading for a cash hole of about £200m by the end of September which we will need to fill. The cash hole towards autumn looks pretty grim.
“Our approach is to say we’re all part of the problem so we all need to be part of the solution – the clubs, players and owners. We all need to share the pain.
“What became apparent was that the players were not aware of the seriousness of the situation. They will be aware of it very shortly.
“If the players, having seen the depth of the problem, are unwilling to share in the pain then it will be a very different conversation.
“We have a regular dialogue and we anticipate that will bear fruit. The overall principle of the players taking a share of the responsibility is absolutely essential.”
While players at clubs such as Birmingham and Leeds have accepted deferrals, others are waiting for a report into their employers’ finances by Deloitte, commissioned by the PFA.
Parry, who admitted he had been “frustrated” by the pace of progress so far, hopes the short-term emergency measures pave the way for more farreaching financial reform.
He wants to bring in a salary cap, stop what he described as the “evil” inflationary parachute payments for relegated Premier League clubs and reform the loan system to enable EFL clubs to make better use of talented topflight teenagers.
“We need a rescue package in the short term but we also need to address the longer term.
We can’t just go from one bale-out to another baleout,” he said.
“The EFL model financially was not great before the virus. We were in a position in 2018 where Championship wages were 106 per cent of turnover. That model is not sustainable at any time so some harsh decisions have to be taken.
“Any model where wages are 106 per cent of turnover is ridiculous. We need a complete reset and a rethink about how the business works.
“Our owners are putting in £440m a year into their clubs. In the Championship it’s about £380m – £16m per club of owner funding – which probably makes it about the most expensive lottery ticket on the planet. All with a view to try to get up into the Premier League.
“Perhaps one benefit of going through this pain is that we will be shocked into coming up with a more sustainable model for the future.”