I have to laugh at some of the crude appraisals of the losses the club must be sustaining at the moment.
Taking into account this pandemic has part way straddled two seasons now. I would imagine that season ticket sales are down at least a bit. I also hear that sponsorship has been hit quite heavily. Match day packages, that account for a huge amount on the clubs income, have gone. Concourse food sales have gone. Any conferencing and daily use of the facilities has gone. This is all a major deficit and a huge hit on the clubs resources.
Those that sit by and scoff at the impact, are as deluded as those who think that the whole pandemic is being exaggerated.
Let me just give a bit of insight into the impact this pandemic is and will have over the coming 12 months. Using a method that over the years has absolutely been the best barometer for me of significant change. I work in healthcare. Recruitment in healthcare, due to quite low wages for unqualified staff, is normally a nightmare. It can take months to employ cleaners, nursing assistants, kitchen staff, with huge bills for agencies across the board. In addition to this, there is another huge issue employing maintenance and gardeners etc. In the last weeks, I have lost count of the amount of people calling me, prepare to take significant pay cuts, just secure a job. They have either been made redundant, or are about to enter into consultation.
I would urge anyone that thinks of taking me to task on this, to keep your powder dry. If in 6 months I am miles wide of the mark, resurrect this post and you can happily have a field day with it. I would be the first to admit I got it wrong. But from what I see from the sector I work in, the sh#t has only just started to hit the fan. Perversely, it is because healthcare tends to thrive from an influx of workers at these times. But in my experience, it only means one thing.
All owners of lower league clubs are sending out the same message. This could change the landscape of lower league football for years to come, unless some sort of financial aid turns up pretty quick. Nobody should expect them to keep funding clubs through this mess, with no real light at the end of the tunnel at the moment.
Kelvin Thomas has spoken about around 45% down on turnover? It doesn’t matter too much so let’s say about half? Turnover is 4 million and they were losing a million a season. Therefore they are now losing around 3 million a season (2.6 million at 40%). If that’s typical then I would gestimate that over half the clubs in the lower divisions will stop paying wages before Xmas? Even the bailout figures don’t seem to be the answer? This really could be the end of the lower leagues as we know them and it isn’t just a result of Covid either? Derek Dreamer fan demanding success + Johnny Deep Pockets on an ego trip + Brian Brainless bureaucrat running the show + Covid = ?
