WHO CAN AFFORD PRICELESS TUNDE?
NEIL Reynolds has not given up hope of keeping scoring sensation Tunde Owolabi at FC United next season.
Owolabi, 24, netted 34 goals in 41 games after joining the Rebels from Radcliffe Borough last summer.
Scouts from several EFL clubs have paid a visit to Broadhurst Park, and it was widely expected the Nigeria-born striker would be lured away.
But the contract Owolabi signed in November contains a £50,000 release clause, and with lockdown decimating finances right through the pyramid, Reynolds believes that figure is unlikely to be met.
“When you score goals like Tunde has, it isn’t a surprise to be inundated with scouts,” said the 43-year-old. “He’s a fantastic No.9, and a great lad as well.
“I did a Q&A session with our fans this week and the No.1 question was ‘Will Tunde be here next season?’ My question to them was ‘Can anybody afford him?’ So many clubs will be in financial ruin by the time this is all over. Are they going to be able to pay £50,000 to buy a Non-League player out of his contract if they can’t even find money to pay their own players?
Realistic
“The same goes for all my jewels, if you like – Tunde, Luke Griffiths and Regan Linney. I’m just not sure where clubs will be able to generate that kind of money.
“At the same time, Tunde hasn’t hidden the fact that he wants to turn professional, and we’d never stand in someone’s way if the move was right.
“But what Tunde has got to do is focus on helping us win the league, because it’s entirely feasible that he might not get a move until 2021.”
Likewise, Reynolds has warned current FC United players and prospective signings to be realistic when negotiating deals.
“The days when players would dictate to clubs are over,” adds the former Bamber Bridge manager. “The money just won’t be there after this.
“I’ve actually spoken to two or three people already, one of them just this week. At the end of it, I just said ‘How naive are you?’
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic and this person was asking for the same money as last season. I told him straight: ‘You’re not going to get it here and you’re not going to get it anywhere else’.
“We were on a £6,900-a-week playing budget this season, and that’s not going to reduce. But we’ll probably go from fourth or fifth bottom in terms of paying power to somewhere in the top ten next season.
“That tells you how much other clubs are having to slash costs. I even heard Andy Pilley, the Fleetwood chairman, talking about a wage cap in League One, which tells you it’s happening across the board. People have got to be realistic.”
The Rebels, whose fouryear stay in National League North came to an end last May, were second in the Bet Victor Northern Premier when all football below Step 2 was declared null and void by the FA.
Strides
But unlike many at their level – including rivals South Shields – they have not threatened legal action.
“We made a decision right from the outset not to challenge the authorities,” adds Reynolds. “Yes, we were second. It was disappointing. But you have to respect the hierarchy and, ultimately, I don’t think promotion would have outweighed the strides we’ve made as a club in the last 12 months.
“When I took over, the club was in a bit of turmoil. There were a lot of things going on behind the scenes, players demanding big wages and bonuses. It was in disarray, to be honest.
“Over time I think FC United had lost a bit of focus on what they can offer. So many people had gone through the door that any sense of privilege in playing for the club had gone.
“But we’ve got Football League facilities. We’ve got a fanbase that can rival many Championship clubs. And I’m not just saying that. Our away following is often more than Blackburn Rovers’.
“This is a huge club and it should be an honour to play for it. The players here now all buy into that and, for me, that’s more important than any prize.”