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per day, by diverting funds from capital projects, furloughin­g staff and other measures. For others, it’s an bleak, hand-to-mouth existence. The EFL does not yet know just how big its clubs’ financial black hole is.

Palios is part of the newly-establishe­d EFL financial working group, which will tomorrow begin the process of asking clubs for financial data to help establish an accurate picture.

That will equip the EFL to approach the Government for ‘business interrupti­on loans’, administer­ed by the banks which are highly averse to lending to football clubs. The cold, hard truth is that clubs are going to have to offer copper- bottomed guarantees that the days of unsustaina­ble wages are over. Banks will otherwise assume that clubs are going to take loans and spend them on players, when we are over this hill.

‘ This can’t be a one- way street,’ Palios said. ‘If you go with a begging bowl, you’ll get a short, sharp response. If we are going to ask for more help, then it must be accompanie­d by some self- help. The most obvious is a commitment by the whole industry to agree to better financial control, particular­ly in respect of wages. ‘We should be looking at a wa g e cap. It’s simple. It’s done. And it’s not as esoteric as Financial Fair Play, where you are having to define which areas of spending are valid or not.

‘Two or three years of a wage cap and then we see what the landscape looks like. Some might feel it’s unpalatabl­e. The PFA would need to be involved. But to do otherwise would be to emerge from this crisis with a large number of clubs weakened by the losses they will surely incur and continue with a financial model that clearly isn’t working in good times.’

The prospect of League One and Two sides working together seems realistic, though Championsh­ip sides seem to be in a world of their own: a lost, parallel universe of unexpurgat­ed spending. Sources have told The Mail on Sunday that a substantia­l Premier League bail-out to the EFL clubs will come. But we are witnessing an end to club football as we have known it. The benefactor­s who have propped up clubs are seeing the values of their capital and their dividends evaporate. The small businesses who advertise and pay for club hospitalit­y will also be hollowed out. Some clubs will perish, with wealthier ones picking up their best players. Many will become part-time. Had Chesterfie­ld held on to their Football League status, they would have benefitted from the EFL’s support but sadly, those days are gone. ‘There’s been no correspond­ence from the National League yet,’ said chief executive Ashley Carson. ‘We’ve sent financial statements to them. But we’ve had no guidance. We’re in the last season of our parachute payments. ‘So if the season’s scrapped do we get that again next season? If the season starts again in June, I’ll only have nine contracted pl a yers . We’re in the dark.’

 ??  ?? WHEN WILL ROVERS
RETURN? Tranmere’s gates, like those throughout the sporting world, remain closed
WHEN WILL ROVERS RETURN? Tranmere’s gates, like those throughout the sporting world, remain closed
 ??  ?? REFORM: Tranmere’s Palios has called on clubs to change
REFORM: Tranmere’s Palios has called on clubs to change

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