‘I FEAR WE’LL ALL GO BUST’ – HOLT
EVERY club in the EFL faces bankruptcy unless the Covid-19 crisis can be brought under control.
That is the stark warning of Andy Holt, the owner and chairman of League One Accrington Stanley.
“As it stands, every club in England goes bust,” says Holt. “It’s just a question of who goes bust first and who goes bust last. That’s the top and bottom of it. Because TV money will dry up. Sponsorship will dry up. Without fans, clubs won’t be able to pay bills or honour contracts. It’ll be a mess.
“Whatever we do or don’t do now, the only solution is an answer to this bloody virus. Without a vaccine, or a better way to manage infection and treatment, clubs - and other businesses - will go under.”
Holt furloughed all but three of Stanley’s staff over the summer, helping him to drastically reduce the club’s losses.
Losses
But with playing staff now back on the wage bill, and games being played behind closed doors, costs are quickly mounting up.
Short-term, Holt can bridge the gap. In the medium to longterm, however, only the return of crowds or a financial aid package will keep the majority of EFL cubs afloat.
“We need an external source of revenue and, at the minute, that’s me,” says Holt. “But there’ll come a time when I just can’t do any more. That’s the same at any club.
“The problem is that a lot of people who own football clubs have got businesses as well. They’re also hit by Covid. If my core business suffers, Accrington will suffer.
“What’s frustrating is that there was supposed to be a deal with the Premier League as part of Project Restart.
“According to Oliver Dowden and his crew at the Departure for Culture Media and Sport, they were meant to make a £200m contribution towards the EFL.
“That’s not happened, and without that help it will be very difficult. That’s really the key to whether budgets stack up.”
Like owners across the country, Holt is desperate to see crowds back in stadiums. Clubs were planning for a phased return from October 1, but the recent spike in cases has thrown those plans into serious doubt.
Desperate
Such a delay would be damaging to clubs already hemorrhaging cash, and the government has been heavily lobbied by the Premier League over re-opening turnstiles to the public. Holt, though, is conflicted.
“I’ve not really pushed the return to crowds, because I’m torn on the issue,” he admits. “Half of me wants the revenue. The other half says that if we go too soon, we could be locked down heavily for a long time.
“My gut feeling is that I’d rather open in November and stay open for the season than open in October and stop-start for the rest of the year.
“If we have to miss a little bit now to avoid a winter shutdown, it has to be worth it.
“What I really want to avoid is a situation where the doors are open but the risk of infection remains high. Personally, I can go out on the beer and say ‘If I get it, I get it’. I’m an individual. But I can’t make that decision for our players, our employees and supporters. I don’t want that responsibility.
“And I’d never want to encourage people to come out of loyalty to the club, then put vulnerable people at risk. It’s a real difficult time for me, and I don’t have the answers.”