League 2 News

[Super Ronnie Jepson]

That really is very well worth a read. An excellent article with some interesting, although not surprising, facts: Salford use a legal loophole to avoid publishing the wage bill for their players. Of the 3 promoted sides Swindon are in a big hole, as we know. Argyle have had £11m pumped in by their new Chairman, Crewe have lost £800k in each of the last two seasons. 2 of our rivals in the play offs, Northampton & Colchester have collective debts of over £30m. We clearly do very well to compete in these circumstances & I would suggest all those that are so critical of the Trust take the time to read this & then reflect on the stability we currently have.

What's clear is that despite pumping in vast amounts of money these clubs are still struggling. Their business models are clearly unsustainable.

 

[Andy Holloway]

What's clear is that despite pumping in vast amounts of money these clubs are still struggling. Their business models are clearly unsustainable.

That's because they haven't got an Ed to show them what a proper business model really looks like!!

 

[denzel]

Grimsby seem to have made up their mind. Must be a hell of a pay cut if they think they can survive for another year..

League Two club 'won't play for a year' until fans are allowed back - Fan Banter

League Two club Grimsby Town say they won’t play football for a year until fans are allowed back inside their Blundell Park stadium. Manager Ian Holloway has revealed his players have taken a pay cut so that the club can prevent getting into financial difficulty. The Premier League and...

fanbanter.co.uk

 

[Legohead]

I think it would be crazy for any lower league club to even contemplate beginning a new season when there will be no paying spectators. They should be mothballed temporarily as far as is possible until the time comes when fans are allowed back in again.

 

[Banksy]

Grimsby won’t play for a year? How will they manage that if the league restarts for example in October ?
So in effect they’re withdrawing then , can’t believe that.If true does this herald the breakup of the leagues?

 

[Colesman Ballz]

Grimsby won’t play for a year? How will they manage that if the league restarts for example in October ?
So in effect they’re withdrawing then , can’t believe that.If true does this herald the breakup of the leagues?

I think that they are being sensible, the leagues could break up anyway if the clubs go bust. It is madness to start before fans are allowed back in the lower leagues as there would be virtually no footfall and thereby virtually no income stream. Even if a season were started in September on the basis of fans being allowed back in November with reduced capacity, there is no guarantee of there not being a "second wave" resulting in a further shut down, and causing yet more financial mayhem and permanent damage. It would be a reckless gamble. There is a needless pressure being added to the situation, by this reluctance to stick to the bleddy "football calendar" as dictated by UEFA and FIFA. Desperate times need flexible solutions, and not be driven by the financial needs of the top end of elite football !

 

[Gary Edward Nelson]

I think it would be crazy for any lower league club to even contemplate beginning a new season when there will be no paying spectators. They should be mothballed temporarily as far as is possible until the time comes when fans are allowed back in again.

Not withstanding the players' contracts issue, what is the point of rushing into a half-baked PPG solution to promotion and relegation or even prematurely binning 19/20 season in a hurry for for next season, when that is unlikely to start anyway? Of all the potential litigation flying around shirley players's contracts are the least thorny to deal with. Without a contract in place, sure they could walk, and they might, but if offered an extension by a few months how many would turn that down? More paid football to prove themselves/put themselves in the shop window or walking away into the wilderness with so much uncertainty of whether anyone would take the risk on them? It looks like furloughing is around for sometime to comes so much of this overhead would be met anyway. As Colesman Ballz says these are desperate times and another flexible solution would be finding a work around on Players' Contracts. Why the hell is this such an immovable object?

Playing in front of spectators is the key to allowing some sort of normality to resume to football. (Though this normality is a pretty choppy sea for many clubs). If Club's cant afford to do that now to see this season completed, what bright spark thinks they could do the same for season 20/21 in September with financial resources depleted, no turnstile income and a few shekels begrudgingly handed down from the Premiership?

People that know me, accept that my glass is always half empty, but if the reason this season has ended early is to avoid the cost of playing behind closed doors, then we'd better find ourselves a new hobby. Its difficult to blame a wet food market in Wuhan for the Armageddon facing the Football League, this was merely the catalyst, the real reason is the shocking imbalance in the way income is divided throughout this 'so-called' football family. Sill the demise of the Premier League's solidarity payment will mean that their player's agents know that they will probably be able to stamp their feet and get each of their clients a new £100,000 wrist watch as some sort of loyalty bonus.

I have to pinch myself though, the horrendous loss of life and the grieving for the 40,000 deaths in this Country alone puts all of this into context.

 

[IndoMike]

It is so frustrating to see clubs which have apparently not lived within their means leapfrog City into Div 1.

Sport is supposed to be about fair competition, but I guess those days are gone . Football, rugby, cricket, athletics, les Tours : always somebody trying to cut corners and gain unfair advantage. This devalues all of these sports.

We never know if somebody has won because they doped, spent more money than they can afford, or whatever. Sometimes it all seems pointless.

 

[jimmy]

It is so frustrating to see clubs which have apparently not lived within their means leapfrog City into Div 1.

Sport is supposed to be about fair competition, but I guess those days are gone . Football, rugby, cricket, athletics, les Tours : always somebody trying to cut corners and gain unfair advantage. This devalues all of these sports.

We never know if somebody has won because they doped, spent more money than they can afford, or whatever. Sometimes it all seems pointless.

I could not agree more. The amount of years Tis, the Trust and now M.T has mentioned about making every pound count and every pound go further. Great organisation, hard work and sensible long-term planning.

It's so frustrating to see unsustainable crooked cowboys in the league, let alone seeing them win promotions etc!

 

[Positive spin]

Luckily the model used by City in recent years has been based on a level of economic prudence unlike many other clubs. The economic shake up from the affects of the virus are likely to mean that in the very near future the chickens will come home to roost for those that spent beyond their means.
Ignoring the outcome of the playoffs (which personally I believe we should avoid in order to preserve cash) City could well end up in League 1 if only to make up the numbers when other clubs fail.