Gills boss on salary caps

A salary cap proposal is expected to be put to clubs in the Football League to consider.

Gills boss Steve Evans says it will only work if the cap is determined by league stature rather than turnover. That would help even up some of the differences that the Gills face at present, when trying to compete financially with the likes of Sunderland, Portsmouth and Ipswich Town in League 1. Evans thinks it could help level the field, to some degree, but only if done in a certain way.

He said: “The only time it doesn’t level the playing field is if you compare 50% of Sunderland’s turnover to 50% of Gillingham. That means they can spend X amount. “The salary cap should be worked out by saying ‘your budget is a maximum amount of X, that’s it, and that has to be reflective of levels. “Hypothetically the Championship maximum budget could be £15-20m and in League 1 maybe up to £7.5m.

“Teams like Sunderland and Portsmouth and Ipswich blow those figures away but my view is that it if there is a maximum you can spend on your wage bill is X amount. We will never be at the top end of it but at least we know what the maximums are.”

If a cap is against a percentage of income then it wouldn’t help the Gills that much. Gillingham’s last financial statement showed a turnover of £7m. Compare that to clubs like Sunderland whose year ending July 2018 accounts show a turnover of £63.7m.

Other clubs are currently being supported by chairman with deep pockets, such as Darragh Macanthony and his co-owners at Peterborough. Those clubs with big fanbases would benefit as their turnover would naturally be higher.

Evans said: “Portsmouth get crowds of nearly 20,000 at home, Sunderland way above that, Ipswich as well. 50% for them (of revenue) would make it a lot easier to sign the best players wouldn’t it?” Gillingham have managed to compete well this season despite playing with a budget much less than the top sides. They are in 11th place at present and were pushing for a play-off place when the season was suspended. Evans said: “The chairman has to continue with his strategy which is that he pays what he can afford and I don’t want anything to be different. “We have proven what can be done by getting your recruitment right and working hard on the training ground.”