| AFC Fylde 10:00 - Mar 25 with 108 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
Continuing to pay my AFC Fylde players full wage would be obscene
David Haythornthwaite, the chairman of National League side, explains why this topic is the “elephant in the room” amid the coronavirus pandemic
What I am facing, and I am sure what a lot of other owners like myself are facing, is a moral dilemma. It is something I feel very strongly and passionate about.
It is always useful for people to get an idea of numbers, so Fylde have a wage bill for playing staff of somewhere in the region of £1 million a year with national insurance.
Very little of that is offset by attendances. Match-day crowds and sponsorships pay for non-playing staff, such as the manager, and running the stadium in simple terms. I pretty much fund that £1 million, which is £20,000 a week.
I can tell you that I am mid-table as regards wages in the National League. I used to be the highest payer – that is why we always got some stick – but we are not the highest payers any more. I would imagine Notts County and Solihull Moors, for example, would have a higher wage bill than us.
It doesn’t matter whether it is David Haythornthwaite or Roman Abramovich, we are fortunate to have made money in other businesses that has allowed us to indulge in our passion. There is no way Chelsea could survive without him and the same with Fylde.
But because of the uncertainty with the coronavirus situation, I have had to look at my businesses – VetPlus (a veterinary nutraceutical company) among them – and look where we could potentially be in three months' time, and not wait for it to happen. We could, like a lot of businesses, be in quite serious trouble. If people say, “Well, the government is going to pay 80 per cent of the wages, what are you worried about?” That is just nonsense because that just keeps the people in work, it doesn’t keep the business going.
We have had to make a lot of tough decisions and a lot of people in all my businesses around the world have all taken a pretty big cut on wages. Everyone has shared the pain. What we have said is that nobody who makes less than £25,000 will have to take a pay cut. Those people are on the frontline and are not making a lot of money to start with. Above that, they have to take some serious cuts. We have had to make some redundancies – not a lot, but some.
So to me it is obscene – and I don’t use that word lightly – that I should continue to pay my players a full wage. But it is the elephant in the room and it doesn’t matter whether it is the Premier League, the Championship or League One. Nobody wants to talk about players’ wages and, for me, that is just outrageous.
The players have so much money, especially at a higher level, and they have the ability to share the pain with the owners and with the rest of the staff.
It really annoys me when we talk about going with the begging bowl to the government and the government should be helping us. The government should not be helping football.
The FA and the Premier League have so much money and they should be the ones who are offering to help, but there has not been one phone call. The FA has shown terrible leadership – but we also have to help ourselves.
If you take my club, then the highest-paid player has a base wage of £900 a week. No one needs £900 a week to live on in these difficult times. That is in my league. Go to League Two: £1,800. League One: £4,000.
The reason why it is the elephant in the room is that everybody is selfish. We are going to have to have this conversation at some point but, as it stands, if I say to the player on £900 that I can only afford to pay you £450, I am immediately in breach of contract. This is the same for everyone and it is the reason why these conversations have not happened.
I know a lot of clubs were trying to circle my best players before the coronavirus crisis. I am protected, the club is protected by the contract and a player is protected by the contract. But by saying, “I want to pay you £450,” he can say, “I am not going to accept.” His agent will say, “Rip up the contract, I will get you a move to a club who will pay you more.”
That is the dilemma. The same rule applies whether that is Liverpool or Fylde.
There is a tele-conference today for the National League and, in my view, the National League should agree on what is a fair living wage for the players and everyone should agree to stick to that. If they do that, then it doesn’t allow a player to say, “Right, I will move.”
The same could happen in any league, but it requires everyone to do it and not be selfish.
That will be my proposal and I have already discussed it with some people. In general, I would say most people would support it, but the attitude can be, “It’s a good idea but you will never get it through.” That is the problem. If we get it out in the open, then it gets people thinking. We cannot go on for ever. Otherwise, without a shadow of doubt, there are going to be clubs going to the wall.
This situation has the potential to change a lot of football clubs for ever. We know clubs such as Oldham Athletic and Macclesfield Town are not even paying the bills in a normal time.
This is about the survival of football and, more importantly, we should not be going to the government because there are people who are a lot more important than footballers. Money should be going to those who keep the country going, not to keep footballers on £4,000-£5,000 a week.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/continuing-to-pay-my-afc-fylde-players- | |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
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| AFC Fylde on 12:06 - Mar 25 with 98 views | spell_chekker |
People should be paid according to their contract. | |
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| AFC Fylde on 16:15 - Mar 25 with 92 views | BringBackTheRedRoom |
"If you take my club, then the highest-paid player has a base wage of £900 a week. No one needs £900 a week to live on in these difficult times. That is in my league. Go to League Two: £1,800. League One: £4,000."
a) It's your own fault for paying them that.
b) Rich guy telling others how much they need to live on in "these difficult times".
Can't stand him. | |
| ‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’ |
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| AFC Fylde on 16:58 - Mar 25 with 84 views | ROTTWEILERS |
"There is a tele-conference today for the National League and, in my view, the National League should agree on what is a fair living wage for the players and everyone should agree to stick to that".
Who was it that said every time businessmen meet, collusion will occur? This is a bit brazen though. Aren't there laws against this type of thing? | |
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