2020/21 Season - financial realities

What does everyone think about salary limits of some form? According to the DFP, Gavin Baldwin supports a limit as a percentage of revenue, not a fixed pound limit somewhere up to 3 million, or a maximum per player. I tend to agree with Gavin and I do not think the big clubs like Sunderland will support any hard limit. However, how does one estimate revenue for next season? Also all schemes could be subject to "abuse" - isn't part of Man City's problem the mis-representation of revenue?

Micky: Running a football club's finances seems a challenge and a half and if you start doing a few sums you realise that 2.5 million split evenly 25 ways is not a bad reward. We get the perennial argument that footballer's careers are only short, but it is not as though they are entitled to retire from gainful employment for 50 years after finishing football.

I would agree that if the 2.5m includes football management etc staff and medical and training facilities, equipment and kit it does not seem as generous though, but alongside even a full season's admission receipts, there is not much room for manoeuvre.

There is a sound argument to relate a cap to club revenue but teams like Accrington Stanley would be paying their players less than a tenth of those of Sunderland. It is as frightening to contemplate that as it is to consider Stanley having a playing budget of 2.5m. Usually the basis of an estimate is the equivalent figure for the most recent year, possibly adjusted in some way in the case of 2020/21 - certainly difficult as things stand.

When it comes to the likes of Manchester City the real gap between income and expenditure probably needs a massive amount of creative accounting to present a position to suggest what is coming in funds what is going out. The costs to UEFA of defending their decisions when faced with the best legal advice in the world is likely to be a deterrent to them bringing sanctions against the wealthy successful clubs and it will be interesting to see how the current Man City appeal goes. Where UEFA have probably been successful in the past is when the wealthy benefactors have taken off and there is no money left to resist.

I see that Devante Cole is released and it would be difficult to justify keeping him on based on what we saw of him. Baptiste too, who was unfortunate to get injured, but we have existing strength now at CB. In the current financial climate and better-than- average financial resources, DRFC ought to be able to pick up a useful replacement striker, for Sadlier too you would hope, assuming he will go.

It seems we will not have a real U-23 team next season for financial reasons, which is also why some promising players were let go. Let us hope Darren can find better players with the money available.
Are you watching what teams we will have coming down from the Championship?
Charlton and Barnsley seem to be doing a Houdini act, but now have fallen back a little.
Anyone from Stoke downwards are still at risk, and although I would like Grant's Hull City to be relegated (I liked him as manager, but loath him for the way he left), but think they will stay up. Wilks is scoring for them now, and Kane got one the other day but went off injured.
It is still so close with 5 games to go. What a lot of local derbies we could have if Barnsley, Huddersfield, and Hull were relegated! However, I think Luton will be part of the drop.

Wigan Athletic, abandoned by their Oriental owners, have gone into Administration and will have 12 points deducted at the end of the season if it means they would be relegated which will reduce to just 2 the number of other strugglers that will be relegated. Hull’s chances of escape are therefore quite good. I noticed too that both Kane and Wilkes seem to be standing out in what is rather a mediocre Hull side, weakened in January when he lost 2 very good players.

How you maintain effective reserve strength without the players in question getting regular competitive games must be difficult, but even alongside Under 23 leagues there seems to be have been scope for practice games against second-string players from other clubs, so I assume that will become the way they carry on.

It is surprising that Luton have not done better and there has been talk about the same sort of talent gap opening up between the 2nd and 3rd tier as exists between the PL and the Championship.

I am beginning to wonder whether it is a question of style though. If you play the Man C/Liverpool/Chelsea possession-based high skill game the teams with the greatest skill dominate, whereas the more direct aggressive Sheffield United approach (which hasn’t changed much since they won League 1) seems to have been very effective. And, rather like Bournemouth did initially, they have stuck with some players who were there when they were in L1.

Rovers seem to have the sort of financial security to sustain their L1 future. Quite a few L1 clubs must be teetering on the edge though, but of course Sunderland, Ipswich, Portsmouth if they fail again in the play-offs and the ones coming down will be better resourced, so nothing much will have changed in the immediate rivals, so we will have to be better both on and off the pitch.

It is pleasing that Moore has resolved to get his squad-strengthening business done early. Hanging on has not worked out for him in the past.

Donaldo, I had read about the Wigan situation but forgot about it when I wrote that last input - must be old age! Minus 12 would certainly send them down bar a miracle in the last few games. I see there is a rumour that money was bet on them being relegated.... Now Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has got involved, and so with politics involved, who knows what might happen.