Clubs responding to money worries - report

Premiership clubs have responded to recent financial worries by introducing performance-related pay and most would consider ground-sharing, according to a report.

Business advisers PKF surveyed 21 finance directors – 15 from Premiership and First Division clubs and six from the Scottish Premier League – and found despite the collapse of the transfer market, 24% expect their clubs to make a profit this year.

The ITV Digital fiasco followed by the transfer market slump has seen several clubs plunged into cash chaos and today’s report reveals finance directors expect further hardship in the future.

Every one of those surveyed from Premiership clubs felt the potential fall in television income when the current Sky deal expires was their main concern.

Last year’s report suggested player wages was more of a worry.

The number of finance directors who admit they would consider ground-sharing has risen this year, from 14% to 40% among the English clubs with that figure slightly lower in Scotland at 33%.

Despite the gloomy outlook, 30% of Premiership clubs surveyed expect to make a profit this year while a fifth of First Division clubs feel they will be profitable compared to just 17% north of the border.

That could be down to the introduction of performance-related pay, with 71% of clubs now implementing salary packages which reflect success or failure on the pitch and over half the First Division and SPL clubs prepared to cut wages in the event of relegation.

Wages remain a major talking point and First Division clubs are overwhelmingly in support of a salary cap with 80% in favour in contrast to just 10% in the Premiership.

Only 10% of Premiership clubs regard the introduction of salary capping as a good idea compared with 80% in the First Division and 50% in the SPL.

Stuart Barnsdall, a partner at PKF, said: “The next two years will be crucial for smaller clubs. Never before has the polarisation within football been so apparent with the elite of the game clearly running away with the spoils.

“With the market for football now proven to be finite and largely restricted to the most powerful, those who do manage to survive face the prospect of re-inventing their business models based on non-TV related income targeted at a local market.

“Clubs who fail to respond to the changing environment are unlikely to exist in the long term.”