Who knew, Scottish Football's relative pauper status might just be it's saviour

[TheSouthMoroccan]

Just been reading that Burnley, who would appear to be one of the better run clubs down South, reckon that they will have a £50m hole in their budget and they could be bust by August. Just got me thinking, the massive gulf in TV revenues etc that has built up over the last 10 to 15 years is something we have all been very conscious of given that we can hardly compete with league 1 clubs for players. Given all that is going on, maybe that lack of money in our game will be the very thing that makes it easier for us to survive. If there are any positives to be taken, hopefully the financial madness that exists down south in terms of revenues, transfer values and player wages will re calibrate into something more balanced and sustainable. While I still watched the occasional game in the pub, the amount of money sloshing around down south has killed off any real interest I had in the the clubs in the Premiership and the Championship. I love football but I'm not sure I'd really care if the whole lot of the big clubs went bust. Imagine the irony, well run lower league clubs survive and take the place of those sucked into the madness who go bust.

[ScottB]

Not sure, it’s all relative. A £50million budget hole could sink Burnley, obviously no Scottish club is going to have one that big develop over the coming months, but a few million is very plausible and could still drive clubs here into administration.

If anything, the clubs like Burnley who have been in the Prem for years but not running insane wage bills are probably the best placed to weather the storm with cash reserves built up. Lower league English clubs, and many clubs up here, likely exist almost month to month; 1 missed game had Hearts in a panic!

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Been saying to anyone that would listen since the emergence of the 101 percenters (clubs that can’t afford to do what they do but can’t afford not to - and get relegated from the Premiership) that this is a dereliction of duty on the part of the football associations.
Firstly They should be about the sustainability of the game. They fell asleep at the wheel whilst the alarm bells rang.

[Ozyhibby]

The govt will bail out any decent size club who goes bust just now.


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[hibbyfraelibby]

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The govt will bail out any decent size club who goes bust just now.


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No they wont. Have you seen or heard the slaughtering the big clubs and the top earners are getting from politicians on all sides in England just now. When it comes to rebuilding the economy at the end if all this football clubs owned by mbilliinaires and multi-millionaires will be way down the priority list.

This government just spent in a week more than the total cost of two world wars which we are all still paying for. Jeezo they just paid of the Napoleonic wars two years ago.

[Sammy7nil]

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The govt will bail out any decent size club who goes bust just now.


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I think there would be riots if they did nurses and doctors dying and government spends money on football

[Viva_Palmeiras]

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The govt will bail out any decent size club who goes bust just now.


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IMO This is (Or should be) the massive correction that football (and looney-tunes US sports) needed. Caught with their pants down it’s time that football like other businesses (dot com bubble anyone?) get real about finances.
What goes up must come down. For too long we thought this never applied to football, house prices or wages. We could be in for a big shock. And I don’t see why football should be immune and shame on the PFA for all of a sudden showing concern for the NHS.

[Eyrie]

Why would the government bail out football clubs so they can continue paying excessive wages to a small number of employees?

It's like the odious comments from the English PFA yesterday that cutting wages by 30% will cost the NHS £200m due to the tax collected on £500m of wages. So what happens to the other £300m?

[Sammy7nil]

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Why would the government bail out football clubs so they can continue paying excessive wages to a small number of employees?

It's like the odious comments from the English PFA yesterday that cutting wages by 30% will cost the NHS £200m due to the tax collected on £500m of wages. So what happens to the other £300m?

There is no way they will pay 40% tax on their full income their accountants will ensure they pay huge amounts in to pension funds to avoid tax. The accountants will be very very well paid.

[lucky]

The EPL and their players are having a PR nightmare with their attitude and behaviour on the situation around Coronavirus. Clubs furloughing non playing staff whilst paying millionaires their full salary is ridiculous. The players themselves seem oblivious to what’s going on, there’s talk of a charity donation as long as they keep getting their salaries. The clubs want a 30% cut in salaries to advance the EFL £125m, £25 to the national league and £20m to the NHS. The money to other football clubs is only an advance which means the clubs pocket £125m at a later date. I also doubt that Sky or BT will pull the plug on the EPL. They need them playing ASAP as subscriptions will be falling. If there’s no football again this season a deal will be done to reduce the new tv deal.

But overall their bloated product is going burst in front of them but they are all too busy trying to get a much out of the trough to notice.

[where'stheslope]

Heard on BBC sport on Breakfast tv, that the government would lose £millions in tax if clubs reduced their players monies!
Football clubs are just not getting it, if we are to continue to save lives and football has no money coming in, paying full wages to stars who are on lockdown will eventually cripple most clubs!!!
And as for what Liverpool has done so the government pays their staff is criminal!!!

[Onion]

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There is no way they will pay 40% tax on their full in one their accountants will ensure they pay huge amounts in to pension funds to avoid tax. The accountants will be very very well paid.

Their accountants will have creative tax avoidance schemes but the pen tax relief system won't be one. Lifetime limit and annual relief limits see to that.

[Onion]

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The EPL and their players are having a PR nightmare with their attitude and behaviour on the situation around Coronavirus. Clubs furloughing non playing staff whilst paying millionaires their full salary is ridiculous. The players themselves seem oblivious to what’s going on, there’s talk of a charity donation as long as they keep getting their salaries. The clubs want a 30% cut in salaries to advance the EFL £125m, £25 to the national league and £20m to the NHS. The money to other football clubs is only an advance which means the clubs pocket £125m at a later date. I also doubt that Sky or BT will pull the plug on the EPL. They need them playing ASAP as subscriptions will be falling. If there’s no football again this season a deal will be done to reduce the new tv deal.

But overall their bloated product is going burst in front of them but they are all too busy trying to get a much out of the trough to notice.

Fair summary. 25 years of silly money has corrupted the industry from UEFA down to individual clubs. They've lost all sense of proportion.

[tamig]

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The govt will bail out any decent size club who goes bust just now.


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You’ve come out with some belters lately but this is on another level. Seriously?

[JohnMcM]

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The govt will bail out any decent size club who goes bust just now.


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Only if they want to see a good measure of social unrest and backlash.

[Ozyhibby]

The govt is running up debts it/we can never pay back. When the furlough scheme was announced it was expected that around 10% of workers would use it, instead it’s already above 40% and it looks like it will have to last longer as well. There is no chance this money can be paid back by taxation. The govt is going to have to inflate its debts away. As most football clubs are heavily indebted, they will benefit from this.
A straight out bailout might be impossible but there will be more money thrown out into the economy in he next few weeks. Football will be making sure they get some.


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[Viva_Palmeiras]

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The EPL and their players are having a PR nightmare with their attitude and behaviour on the situation around Coronavirus. Clubs furloughing non playing staff whilst paying millionaires their full salary is ridiculous. The players themselves seem oblivious to what’s going on, there’s talk of a charity donation as long as they keep getting their salaries. The clubs want a 30% cut in salaries to advance the EFL £125m, £25 to the national league and £20m to the NHS. The money to other football clubs is only an advance which means the clubs pocket £125m at a later date. I also doubt that Sky or BT will pull the plug on the EPL. They need them playing ASAP as subscriptions will be falling. If there’s no football again this season a deal will be done to reduce the new tv deal.

But overall their bloated product is going burst in front of them but they are all too busy trying to get a much out of the trough to notice.

Afaik The donations for NHS/charities will be a means of reducing their tax bill - a form of tax shield if you like. So a perhaps bit disingenuous - it’s really keeping money away from the tax man (although ultimately cash to said cause but don’t believe the hype)

[Hakim Sar]

I think what Liverpool and Spurs have done, using the furlough scheme, is disgusting actually.

You just feel that clubs could have said to their players... right lads let’s all have a dutiful whip round and make sure the office workers, the kit men/women, the tea lady, the ticket office staff etc are all looked after during the crisis. It’s peanuts to someone on 90k to 500k per week.

I’ve just been thinking about how many clubs started out as charitable institutions, community organisations, sports clubs for workers etc and how so many clubs are a million miles away now from their roots. Ticket prices bleeding the ordinary public for every penny they can, football tops that cost £110 often times, players on 300k a week while nurses and doctors die on the front line, swathes of fan bases out of work and redundant. The bloated and self indulgent Premier League really makes me sick at times. This coming from a fairly ardent Arsenal supporter too. It’s vomit inducing.

[Since452]

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I think what Liverpool and Spurs have done, using the furlough scheme, is disgusting actually.

You just feel that clubs could have said to their players... right lads let’s all have a dutiful whip round and make sure the office workers, the kit men/women, the tea lady, the ticket office staff etc are all looked after during the crisis. It’s peanuts to someone on 90k to 500k per week.

I’ve just been thinking about how many clubs started out as charitable institutions, community organisations, sports clubs for workers etc and how so many clubs are a million miles away now from their roots. Ticket prices bleeding the ordinary public for every penny they can, football tops that cost £110 often times, players on 300k a week while nurses and doctors die on the front line, swathes of fan bases out of work and redundant. The bloated and self indulgent Premier League really makes me sick at times. This coming from a fairly ardent Arsenal supporter too. It’s vomit inducing.

It's extremely poor imo

[Viva_Palmeiras]

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I think what Liverpool and Spurs have done, using the furlough scheme, is disgusting actually.

You just feel that clubs could have said to their players... right lads let’s all have a dutiful whip round and make sure the office workers, the kit men/women, the tea lady, the ticket office staff etc are all looked after during the crisis. It’s peanuts to someone on 90k to 500k per week.

I’ve just been thinking about how many clubs started out as charitable institutions, community organisations, sports clubs for workers etc and how so many clubs are a million miles away now from their roots. Ticket prices bleeding the ordinary public for every penny they can, football tops that cost £110 often times, players on 300k a week while nurses and doctors die on the front line, swathes of fan bases out of work and redundant. The bloated and self indulgent Premier League really makes me sick at times. This coming from a fairly ardent Arsenal supporter too. It’s vomit inducing.

Tell me - where the financial benefit from the Billions of cash generated from the TV deals go? Improved facilities for disabled supporters?

Subsidised travel for away fans? Reduced season tickets ? Or straight into the pockets of agents and players? The worlds best players will still be the worlds best players regardless of what they get paid

As a society we lost touch with what really matters. That’s now coming into sharp focus. Premiership Footballers should not Immune from the term “fat cats” esp given the apparent attitude to the person on the street.

[neil7908]

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I think what Liverpool and Spurs have done, using the furlough scheme, is disgusting actually.

You just feel that clubs could have said to their players... right lads let’s all have a dutiful whip round and make sure the office workers, the kit men/women, the tea lady, the ticket office staff etc are all looked after during the crisis. It’s peanuts to someone on 90k to 500k per week.

I’ve just been thinking about how many clubs started out as charitable institutions, community organisations, sports clubs for workers etc and how so many clubs are a million miles away now from their roots. Ticket prices bleeding the ordinary public for every penny they can, football tops that cost £110 often times, players on 300k a week while nurses and doctors die on the front line, swathes of fan bases out of work and redundant. The bloated and self indulgent Premier League really makes me sick at times. This coming from a fairly ardent Arsenal supporter too. It’s vomit inducing.

Well said. I used to enjoy watching the English Premier League and Champions League but I've soured over the years. Apart from Leicester winning the league it's been generally pretty uninspiring. I really hope seeing millionaire footballers moaning about being asked to help out will start to open some eyes.

[high bee]

Wayne Rooney has been complaining that footballers are being made scapegoats and that all the rich should be included, a fair point maybe but I find it disgusting that some of the EPL stars earn more money in a day than some NHS Staff earn in a year and they are spewing over 30%. If they’re paying standard tax it’s much less taken out their hand anyway.

If the majority employees are having to get by with losing 20% of a normal wage and they are getting by then even the lowest paid EPL player can ram it if they think I feel any sympathy at the thought of a 30% pay cut.

We’re all in this together, or at least we should be.

[TheSouthMoroccan]

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Wayne Rooney has been complaining that footballers are being made scapegoats and that all the rich should be included, a fair point maybe but I find it disgusting that some of the EPL stars earn more money in a day than some NHS Staff earn in a year and they are spewing over 30%. If they’re paying standard tax it’s much less taken out their hand anyway.

If the majority employees are having to get by with losing 20% of a normal wage and they are getting by then even the lowest paid EPL player can ram it if they think I feel any sympathy at the thought of a 30% pay cut.

We’re all in this together, or at least we should be.

One thing that Rooney did highlight, which was something I had not tuned in to, was the impact for HMRC in lost tax if all the Premiership stars took a 30% cut, something along the lines of £500m in a full year I think he quoted. Maybe it would be better that they get their full salary and then donate the 30% to the NHS. If they take a pay cut, where does the money go ? It stays with the clubs. Worth thinking about if nothing else.

[Pretty Boy]

Some footballers seem to think they are being exclusively targeted. Maybe it's a case of those at the top of the game not really living in the real world when they earn in a week what it would take many ordinary joes a decade to earn. Whatever the case they aren't being treated any differently from anyone else when being asked to take a pay cut. Workers all over the country are taking pay cuts or accepting deferral agreements to help their employers survive.

I don't think that clown Hancock was right to call them out in his press conference, that was arguablya situation in which they were unfairly targeted. However the idea they should take a pay cut of a similar percentage as non playing staff doesn't seem remotely unfair.

[Jim44]

Burned Nero Rome while fiddled.

[Peevemor]

Not just football, but it was reported on French TV at lunchtime that 60% of businesses who currently sponsor sports have said that they are unlikely to be able to do so next year.

[GloryGlory]

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Why would the government bail out football clubs so they can continue paying excessive wages to a small number of employees?

It's like the odious comments from the English PFA yesterday that cutting wages by 30% will cost the NHS £200m due to the tax collected on £500m of wages. So what happens to the other £300m?

To help Murdoch keep turning a profit on Sky Sports subscriptions?

[Ozyhibby]

Some clubs are worse than others though. Hibs players have deferred a chunk of their wages at this time of need while Hearts continue to give their players their full wages. It embarrassed the whole game, clubs behaving like that.


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[greenlad]

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To help Murdoch keep turning a profit on Sky Sports subscriptions?

Murdoch's long since not had any Sky involvement

[Viva_Palmeiras]

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Not just football, but it was reported on French TV at lunchtime that 60% of businesses who currently sponsor sports have said that they are unlikely to be able to do so next year.

What goes up must come down. The revenue and returns just aren’t there.
Could it be that we see clubs that swam against the tide and focused on sustainability (Hibs, Celtic) come out better in the longer term than their rivals who charted a different course?