Footballing Finances - A view from the bottom up.

2010-03-05T20:40:00.000Z

Every Thomas, Richard and Harold has heard and probably had more than enough of the Portsmouth debacle of this season. Yes it's a shame to see a top-flight team to fuck up big time financially and yes, it's a disgrace that it's happened, blah, blah, blah.

Admittedly it is disgraceful that the leading league in European football (UEFA rankings, not personal opinion) has needed a proper wake-up call like this with regards to clubs living well beyond their means. Personally clubs should have taken heed of the situations at Leeds and Bradford City and learnt, but hey, I'm just a lowly supporter of a Blue Square South club.

True, there are a fair few other league clubs that very occasionally make the back few pages in the national rags, tending to be either other Premier League and Championship sides, with the notable exceptions of Notts County and Chester City this term, and the trio of Rotherham, Bournemouth and Luton last term.

What gets my ire with these is that once it gets past the ninety-two league clubs then it just isn't newsworthy.

Chester, as mentioned above, are the first professional side in England (yes, I consider the BSP as the fifth professional league) since Leeds City in 1919 to be expelled from their division. Personally they should not have been admitted to the BSP in the first place - the Conference board made a precedent with Boston United in 2007 by not admitting them and instead placing them in the Conference North for 2007/2008. Would have meant we stayed up, but would have saved this seasons' pantomime.

Farsley Celtic are facing expulsion under Conference rules as a result of two charges of not fulfilling fixtures - Tuesday's match against AFC Telford and tomorrow's against Workington - due to the club's administrators calling the games off, and are facing a second, albeit this time permanent, folding this season with debts of a reported £750k if a deal is not agreed with the current consortium that are interested in purchasing the club.

Weymouth's chairman has mentioned to the BBC that he is seeking a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement, not a stroke) in order to save them from liquidation, with their debts around the £900k mark. With them rooted the the bottom of the Blue Square South it doesn't look good for them. Much like their 9-0 humping by Rushden at the start of their implosion last season.

Many other sides in the BSP and below are in the shite, and apart from the odd small piece on the BBC, it goes unnoticed in the national press. Many of the small clubs that go to the wall are the centre of the local communities - they go pop and bang goes a Saturday afternoon ritual. Granted the debts aren't at the level of the likes of Pompey, but for down at this level there's no multi-million cuts of TV deals to help bail you out. Just smallish gates, in-house catering, merchandise sales and volunteers keep the clubs going.

Just one closing thought - King's Lynn went to the wall owing the massive sum of £77,000 to the taxman this season. Rather sickening that a good few players are paid significantly more per week in my honest opinion.

Fidsy's View

Footballing Finances - A view from the bottom up.