Should the Gov't bail out Clubs? | Vital Football

Should the Gov't bail out Clubs?

tomytony

tomytony

Vital Champions League
Lots of debate in the wake of the new lockdown measures which include stopping trials for re-entry to matches so I wondered how forum members see it.
Should the PL be cascading more down the pyramid?
Should it be down to gov't?
Should there be a wage cap?

As we have seen , even during the pandemic, clubs are splashing the cash on massive transfer fees.Would it be right for the gov to be handing out bail outs in these circumstance? Could football help itself more- and should it?
 
It is totally illogical to stop smaller clubs with small crowds not being allowed to have some spectators especially in the open air.I am sure it is not beyond the wit of man to maintain social distancing with their attendances. It would appear that the PL clubs have no intention of bailing out EFL clubs witness the large transfer fees recently, a lot of it going out of the country.
If the government can give money to help theatres why not to smaller football clubs which are just as vital to their communities.
 
By preventing paying spectators going to games the lockdown measures are stopping the lifeblood of clubs. We've heard from enough owners and chairman from the lower leagues to know that without regular gate receipts or further financial injections they simply won't be able to operate within three months or so. These are national institutions, pillars of the community - it would be nothing short of cultural vandalism to let them die.

So yes there is an onus on the Government to provide stimulus to the clubs by matching projected lost revenue.

This could be paid for, and so much more, by slashing the 0.7% of GDP wasted on foreign aid.
 
^^^ Particularly when some of that foreign aid goes to countries at least as well off as us.

I think it's a difficult one for the Gov as the general public's perception is based on the PL , the transfer fees and exorbitant wages that are headline news. Clubs like Spurs & L/pool ( I think it was those 2)originally furloughing staff brought a massive outcry and they soon cam eto their senses.

Whilst the PL is associated with the profligacy it's actually the revenue figures it gets ,rather than the profits made, that skew public opinion.Most clubs , as a trading entity, are actually in debt and, for me, that's why a wage cap should be considered, not least to level the playing field for us!

I realise there are spurious and easily worked round rules already in place so make it an actual cap not a percentage of turnover etc.

Back to the gov't and I believe, if they offer anything, they should offer limited support to clubs below the Champ but, with a proviso that any wages paid are in line with, say, the current furlough scheme.
 
The goverment or should i say the tax payers just cannot keep paying to bail everyone out. The piper will need paying and that will come in some form of huge tax rises.
For me the Premiership should cascade more money down. Football needs to be sustainable all all levels and some of the money been spent in the Premiership is obscene.
 
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No they shouldn't. Football should put its own house in order. If every Premiership player and their agents donated 1% of their annual earnings to the lower tier teams in leagues 1 and 2 then the prospect of Clubs going to the wall would be lessened. Any club who has fallen foul of FFP regulations should be excluded from any payments. That won't happen because the corrupt PFA under Taylor will bleat about how badly their members are being treated.

As far as the Championship is concerned most of the clubs there, including the dark side, have been so badly mismanaged financially you couldn't trust them with anyones money.
 
Longshortandtall said:
No they shouldn't. Football should put its own house in order. If every Premiership player and their agents donated 1% of their annual earnings to the lower tier teams in leagues 1 and 2 then the prospect of Clubs going to the wall would be lessened. Any club who has fallen foul of FFP regulations should be excluded from any payments. That won't happen because the corrupt PFA under Taylor will bleat about how badly their members are being treated.

As far as the Championship is concerned most of the clubs there, including the dark side, have been so badly mismanaged financially you couldn't trust them with anyones money.
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I'm a little torn on this one LST.

My first instinct is to do what you say and let them sort themselves out and I tend to rail against anyone and everyone calling on the gov't to keep bailing every industry out.

The only reason I think they should help out the lower leagues is based on wanting a fair share for football IF, big IF, they are going to bail out performing arts and other'soft' entertainment style options. If push comes to shove I would rather see football get it's share as opposed to others.

Pragmatism says that the priority is to help out the sectors that affect the well being of the economy most and both football and the performing arts come a long way down that list if, indeed, they even make ot on to it.

As for the PFA Taylor is just keepng schtumm until he's out of the door which is comng soon I believe. I hope he sleeps well when many of the members who have paid his wages are out of work- not that he cares a jot.

"Gordon Taylor earns £2m-a-year as PFA chief executive… but he will NOT take pay cut during coronavirus pandemic. Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, will continue to receive his £2m-a-year salary in full during the coronavirus pandemic.7 Apr 2020 "
 
When football was cheap and wages much lower then a grouop of local tradesmen could enjoy running a pro club - All 92 of them.

Seems to me there are too many these dsyas....not clubs bnut full time pro's.
We might need to see some converting back to parttime. Sad but very likely.
 
Chips1889 said:
When football was cheap and wages much lower then a grouop of local tradesmen could enjoy running a pro club - All 92 of them.

Seems to me there are too many these dsyas....not clubs bnut full time pro's.
We might need to see some converting back to parttime. Sad but very likely.
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From my experience I am sure there are plenty of efficiencies that can be made throughout many clubs both on and off the pitch Chips and there's also the perennial argument about the cost of policing on match days!

The lower league's are much more efficient and have many people covering multiple roles. However,when I first took over at BWFC I inherited an Operations Manager ( to run the ground catering), a Stadium Catering Manager, a Stadium Bars Manager and a Head Chef who were busy on max 2 days per week and basically 3 of them were doing the same job.

There was one guy , dressed in chef's whites, who never seemed to have a knife in his hand or cook anything but was full time. The Head Chef said he needed some more staff and I said i'd never seen this other guy as much as make a sandwich. Oh no, he said , he's not a chef, he's employed to check the cleanliness of the kitchens and keep the records up to date!

Regional basis for the lower leagues?
 
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The problems with a bail-out is how do the Government decide which clubs should get one and which shouldn't? For example, if they were to look at teams below the Championship, that would be unfair on teams like Rotherham and Wycombe, who are still going to be suffering financially even after promotion. But you can't include all Championship clubs as well, as a whole bunch are owned by very wealthy people who have been throwing millions at trying to get into the Premier League, so they don't deserve to be given public money. They'd be better off just letting fans back into grounds now. It's ludicrous that indoor entertainment has been back up and running since June/July, but there have only just been small pilot events for outdoor events like football matches.
 
I'm not sure if PL players donating a percentage of their wage so that Will Grigg gets 25k a week is much of a goer. Likewise Chelsea giving the Eden Hazard money away to trickle down the pyramid instead of reinvesting it in players that will generate more revenue for them. Take away just 10% of PL revenue given to clubs and the likes of us, Burnley, Brighton, WBA, Palace will be feeling the pinch, especially with other commercial revenue taking a hit.

Cloth will have to be cut accordingly in the future for clubs, wage budgets will have to be slashed as with other expenditure - that's just basic Adam Smith laissez-faire economics. But what we have now is a situation where contracts were prepared and signed before a force majure, subsequent government policy has rendered it impossible for clubs to generate the revenue needed to honour those contracts - and that's why in the short term at least there should be an onus to make sure clubs don't go under.
 
This covid is bollox ...... so is the lock down ........ and so are the clowns in world governments.

Spare a thought for people whose hospital appointments have been cancelled or not even allocated.......

Spare a though for people/businesses that have not had a penny in support.

Spare a thought for people under immense stress and or fear .

#revolution
 
Is there only me who thinks the virus is a real risk to the ill and the old (or both)?
Are the figures (40k dead) all lies?

I've an old fashioned view that when we are in a war we pull together but perhaps the spirit of old is gone for some.

Sir Help seesm to be coming around now and actually backing the government.
That fence must have been getting hard to sit on.
 
Chips1889 said:
Is there only me who thinks the virus is a real risk to the ill and the old (or both)?
Are the figures (40k dead) all lies?

I've an old fashioned view that when we are in a war we pull together but perhaps the spirit of old is gone for some.

Sir Help seesm to be coming around now and actually backing the government.
That fence must have been getting hard to sit on.
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I'd go along with half of that Chips- there's still a very real risk.

As for Captain Hindsight he's always been plausibly 'helpful' whilst sniping at every opportunity.

As Boris said at PMQ's " The cat's out of the bag" quoting the Shadow educ. secretary -
Ms Green -earlier this week said: “I think we should use the opportunity… don’t let a good crisis go to waste. "
 
tomytony said:
I'd go along with half of that Chips- there's still a very real risk.

As for Captain Hindsight he's always been plausibly 'helpful' whilst sniping at every opportunity.

As Boris said at PMQ's " The cat's out of the bag" quoting the Shadow educ. secretary -
Ms Green -earlier this week said: “I think we should use the opportunity… don’t let a good crisis go to waste. "
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Did you see the Glasgow uni outbreak of 124 kids......you know the ones I mean, not their virus, can't harm me, what do i care future of our UK? If the virus killed these kids and not the old then tehy would man up.
 
Chips1889 said:
Did you see the Glasgow uni outbreak of 124 kids......you know the ones I mean, not their virus, can't harm me, what do i care future of our UK? If the virus killed these kids and not the old then tehy would man up.
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Just proves my point on another thread-if the young- and some older- behaved within the rules then the infection rate would be falling not rising

"The clusters in Glasgow are centred on two halls of residence in the city.
The university said they involved the Murano Street and Cairncross residences, and were largely due to social activity at the start of Freshers Week, from 12-14 September.
 
I‘m all in favour of the top tier clubs taking less so that the lower leagues and grass roots can survive. I’m not however in favour of basket case clubs such as Wednesday, Derby, Birmingham and Forest and a few other Championship clubs getting a single penny, it’d be like chucking it down the drain. In Wednesday’s case it’d just go the same way as the COOP bank’s hand out. Some clubs just never learn.
 
Chips1889 said:
Is there only me who thinks the virus is a real risk to the ill and the old (or both)?
Are the figures (40k dead) all lies?

I've an old fashioned view that when we are in a war we pull together but perhaps the spirit of old is gone for some.

Sir Help seesm to be coming around now and actually backing the government.
That fence must have been getting hard to sit on.
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I’ve tried to think back how I’d have been if CV19 had appeared in my late teens. I certainly liked a party and a night out, but the prospect of doing something that could have led to my parents, older sisters or grandparents being seriously ill or dying would definitely have reeled me right in. They were the most important thing in my life before the Mrs and kids came along and my Dad in particular wasn’t in the best of health.

I don’t think most kids today are that much different, but based on my own grandkids, I do think they are more influenced by social media and 24/7 peer pressure. If some well known media gobshite says it’s ok to do whatever you want then it must be ok. They’ll rarely figure things out for themselves.
 
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I suppose when I was late teenage and early 20's we had the HIV scares. Curtailed the fun did that. Opportunities became fewer and further between and you couldn't 'approach a lady' without being suited and booted. Youngsters are immortal and just dont see the dangers the same as more wise folk.
 
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