Chairman fears for the future of the Football League Stop the rogue traders
Eales calls for stiffer club ownership tests
ROGUE owners need to be weeded out – and punished for bringing any football club to its knees.
That’s the view of Darryl Eales – a top businessman turned chairman – who has called for the game’s governing bodies to mastermind an overhaul following the financial meltdown in the lower leagues.
The former Oxford United owner, who now runs National League club Solihull Moors, has gone on the offensive, claiming the idea of a ‘football family’ is a fantasy.
Eales has called for stiffer ownership tests – paid for with money from the Premier League – to ensure that the grassroots game is protected.
Eales, formerly the boss of the LDC – the private equity arm of Lloyds Bank – said: “I have heard talk of a ‘football family’, but I haven’t seen any evidence of it.
Relegated
“I was on a Zoom call the other day with other National League chairmen over how the season should finish and one, who had better remain nameless, asked at the start: ‘Is my club going to be relegated?’
“When the answer came back that his club wasn’t affected he said: ‘That’s me done,’ and left!
“I understand why he acted as he did – but no one appears to be looking at the bigger picture.
“Following the sad events at Bury and the numerous near-misses with the likes of Bolton Wanderers, I feel strongly that the governance of football, particularly at lower levels, needs to be shaken up.
“The current system is failing clubs, communities and fans because the rules are insufficiently robust.
“There is the potential for mismanagement from the outset. And the sanctions need to be sufficiently penal to deter rogue owners from ever taking charge.
“Football has to be considered a business because of real-world economics. Owners end up chasing the dream, encouraged by fans, and they end up over-extending themselves.
“Sustainable funding has to be based on a fully-funded business plan. There are too many governing bodies anyway – but they need to ensure clubs are run with bonds or guarantees placed by owners to ensure if they do not fulfil their obligations they cannot just walk away.
“This needs tighter regulation. This isn’t about the ‘fit and proper persons test’ – but it’s about demonstrating in terms of cold, hard cash that these people can fund clubs. Every season clubs must demonstrate they have sufficient money for the season ahead and long-term contracts should only be handed out to players if there is the corresponding funding.”
Eales has backed his passion with cold, hard cash himself. His stewardship of the U’s cost him a significant seven-figure sum – and he has been equally as generous with his hometown club.
Challenge
He added: “In my view, those who look after clubs properly have been silent for too long.
“Now is a good time for us to come together and challenge our governing bodies. We need to look at the structure and the distribution of income.
“No-one would question that the Premier League has done a magnificent job, but I would question whether it can do more to help the good of the game.
“A marginal change in this would be massive.
“As part of this change, we need to demand that the EFL and the FA provide more effective governance to keep out rogue owners
“And they need to impose penalties if rules are broken to ensure the fans always have a club to go to.”
Fleetwood Town captain Paul Coutts has hailed boss Joey Barton ahead of the League One promotion playoffs. Fleetwood face Wycombe Wanderers next month and Coutts, 31, said: “I’ve learned loads from Joey. He gets me involved and wants my opinion. It was part of the reason for me coming here.” Portsmouth and Oxford make up the other semi-finalists, with the first legs on July 3.