50 or 60 clubs' could go bust

Hudds' chairman isn't wrong, it's going to be tough. The game has been throwing money around like it's going out of fashion though, and there's plenty in the coffers still. Be interesting to see what the FA does.


The game has been throwing money around - yes - but only to the players. They are paid far, far too much, and they are rapidly strangling the life out of all but the very top clubs. Right now there must be 80 league clubs in England which are in desperate need of a bailout from someone. Boro are ok, but there are plenty of clubs that won't make it.

The lesson football and footballers need to learn is that, right up to the top division, players should be paid much less money, take part time jobs if necessary, and accept that it's the people in the seats and on the terrace that pay their wages, not some sugar plum fairy broadcaster. If the match day revenue is £200k a fortnight, then it's not possible to pay 20 blokes £10k a week each.
 
Players are not on £10k a week in the lower two leagues. They are also often on short, one year contracts. Many would be better off playing part time at non league level where there are still a few rich owners around willing to pay £400 to £600 a week as George Friend showed in a documentary he did for BBC a couple of years ago. Yet these players at a few non league clubs are not too lucky if they get injured. They then don't get paid because they don't play and they might not be able to do their day job either. That can be a big draw back for part time football.
It is a short career and if you are on short term contracts you are very vulnerable. Look at the plight of players at Macclesfield or before that Bury or Bolton, or Hartlepool. They were not paid, or constantly being paid late. One having his house repossessed and sleeping in a car. The Championship is going to have to change. And the other leagues will have to change as well. But everyone needs to be protected from owners that are not fit and proper. They are the people spending too big. Paying out more wages than the club can afford. And then as at Bury they walk away leaving the consequences behind.
If football is regulated. If supporters trusts are part of the new set up with input at clubs. It means checks and balances for a new reality throughout the EFL. While the dream is still alive supporters would become part of the structure and we can no longer be baying for our clubs to spend big beyond our means. Everyone needs to a step back, including us, I suppose.
PLAN TO SAVE FOOTBALL
 
I think FIFA have been remarkably quiet on this.

A nonprofit company with a 2.7 billion dollar cash reserve could make a real difference to clubs at a community level, not just in the UK but across the world.

I've never been clear on what FIFA needs such a bulging bank balance, but if they've been saving for a rainy day, this is it.

I'm not talking about PL or even second tier clubs; below that, however, 10000 grants of 200k each could save a load of clubs across the world.

What better could FIFA spend it on?

One more thought on this: I've been critical of FIFA in the past, but if they were to do this, I'd have to take my hat off to them and applaud their foresight in having such a fund.

If they don't, we'd have to keep asking what on earth is such a fund for?
 
Sky, the Premier League, and a lot of armchair fans couldn't care less if the whole EFL went down the plug hole as long as they still have Liverpool, Man C & U, The ****, Spuds, Chelsea and a few others to keep the cash cow mooing for a full season.

Fully agree. Big clubs need to remember that they are only big clubs if smaller clubs exist.
 
Fully agree. Big clubs need to remember that they are only big clubs if smaller clubs exist.

Sadly, I don't think that is true. It the depth of British football, though not unique, makes it distinct from many countries, yet other countries have big clubs too.

Germany, for example, despite being a substantially bigger country than England has only 3 nationwide leagues with 56 teams, while we have 5, with 116 teams. To that, I would add some of their 3rd tier teams are actually reserve sides for the big clubs.

I think the big clubs would actually like it if league one was half made up of their reserve sides.
 
Not really Linny.
I was thinking the whole lot collapses and we start again.
May be it could stop the biggest clubs buying trophies every season.
If everyone starts from zero it may give the smaller clubs a chance to develop players and then keep them.
Unlikely I know but there you go.
That's where I was going with my question.

Fair enough mate. I guess I’m used to football just being about the big boys these days.

It would be great if some kind of parity was restored but as you say, unlikely.

The sooner the Top 6 **** off to their big Euro league leaving the rest of us to have a decent league the better for me.
 
Sadly, I don't think that is true. It the depth of British football, though not unique, makes it distinct from many countries, yet other countries have big clubs too.

Germany, for example, despite being a substantially bigger country than England has only 3 nationwide leagues with 56 teams, while we have 5, with 116 teams. To that, I would add some of their 3rd tier teams are actually reserve sides for the big clubs.

I think the big clubs would actually like it if league one was half made up of their reserve sides.

The big Premier League clubs want a franchise system similar to Womens football or in the US. Eliminating incomers is just one way of pushing this through. They hate the idea of losing control or heaven forbid being relegated.
 
I think they will be a lot of TV men rubbing their hands and wondering who to invite into the European Super League, because this isn't only going to happen in Britain, it will happen all over Europe.

Don't for one minute think these people are worried about the Boro, Sunderland, Doncaster's or Luton's of this world, if 60 clubs go bust in this country, there will be more food at the tough for the greedy clubs who want it all.

If we are thinking like this, don't you think they are.
Norman I would welcome a europan super league, get the greed is good clubs in their own mini bubble league & let the rest of us pick up the pieces & what could be more of a level playing league & could actually resemble sport
 
Players are not on £10k a week in the lower two leagues. They are also often on short, one year contracts. Many would be better off playing part time at non league level where there are still a few rich owners around willing to pay £400 to £600 a week as George Friend showed in a documentary he did for BBC a couple of years ago. Yet these players at a few non league clubs are not too lucky if they get injured. They then don't get paid because they don't play and they might not be able to do their day job either. That can be a big draw back for part time football.
It is a short career and if you are on short term contracts you are very vulnerable. Look at the plight of players at Macclesfield or before that Bury or Bolton, or Hartlepool. They were not paid, or constantly being paid late. One having his house repossessed and sleeping in a car. The Championship is going to have to change. And the other leagues will have to change as well. But everyone needs to be protected from owners that are not fit and proper. They are the people spending too big. Paying out more wages than the club can afford. And then as at Bury they walk away leaving the consequences behind.
If football is regulated. If supporters trusts are part of the new set up with input at clubs. It means checks and balances for a new reality throughout the EFL. While the dream is still alive supporters would become part of the structure and we can no longer be baying for our clubs to spend big beyond our means. Everyone needs to a step back, including us, I suppose.
PLAN TO SAVE FOOTBALL
Yet some fans will go overboard about the skills & talents of individuals, who will broadcast how many cars they have yet in the real football world players are on a fraction of the greed is good club players
 
I can't disagree with this. Pretty soul-destroying when you know you're just making up the numbers. I've long said that these "top clubs" should go off to a European super league and let us have our football back.
Here, here
 
Thing is they need TV money to be a success. I pay for Sky and enjoy the premier league. If 6 clubs left for a euro league I would have zero interest in paying to watch that. I barely look at the champions league until the later rounds and wouldn't pay to watch it.
 
I can't disagree with this. Pretty soul-destroying when you know you're just making up the numbers. I've long said that these "top clubs" should go off to a European super league and let us have our football back.

And yet had we beaten City at home in the cup, I wonder how many would have scrambled for tickets to a Wembley semi final?
 
At the risk of sounding biased the Newcastle united takeover will mean new moral-free depths in the pig trough that the PL is. Newcastle and all their supporters who are in favour of the Bin Salman regime takeover are the very epitome of everything that is rotten about top flight football, selling their souls to the devil so they can join the “elite” and bollox to decency, human rights, etc.

I would the same about anyone laundering that regime’s Blood stained money, including Boro if they did.
 
Thing is they need TV money to be a success. I pay for Sky and enjoy the premier league. If 6 clubs left for a euro league I would have zero interest in paying to watch that. I barely look at the champions league until the later rounds and wouldn't pay to watch it.
Nor yet would I. I would, however, pay to watch a competitive domestic league.
 
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