It comes as no surprise that during the coronavirus lockdown, teams are now negotiating with players to defer payment of wages. Obviously with very little income most are struggling to pay all of their bills.
It's no great secret that most championship clubs are paying out more in salaries than they are actually accumulating through income. The quest to pursue the Premier League dream comes at a very large cost! Obviously the clubs who were relegated from the sports top division have the advantage of parachute payments.
Marquee players such as Wayne Rooney will obviously be on massive wages in comparison to youngsters who have recently graduated through the clubs academy. Indeed all the experienced professionals will be on considerably more than those who are at the start of their careers.
Derby County have as we all know placed all non playing staff on the governments furlough scheme whereas they will receive 80% of the wages due from the government. It's also been announced that the Under-18 and Under - 21 players not on professional contracts will also be furloughed.
Due to the lockdown Derby County have taken advantage of the three month extension in submitting their annual accounts.
This is no surprise as it will actually be very difficult for them to submit accurate accounts should the league revalue the stadium at less than the sale price submitted in previous accounts, but with our owner requesting players to defer 50% of wages rather than 25% it does seem to suggest that we are staring at serious problems in balancing the books.
Henry Gabay was announced as a potential investor of the club and then Michael Dell (Though it has since turned out he is expected to be considering a £30m loan) and Mel Morris has been searching for investment for many months now!
I am sure that I am not alone in worrying about our future. To be honest if we remain in the current situation for many months many clubs will struggle to keep their heads above water.
The PFA are refusing to sanction large deferrals of players wages, but if Football doesn't restart very soon, many of the players they represent may find themselves without a club to play for!
The Coronavirus Pandemic has caused chaos for the game. Whilst everyone will acknowledge the fact that lives are much much more important than sport, it could have brought the game a reality check as something like this wasn't expected or planned for!
The game is going to need a lot of common sense from all of those earning a living from it otherwise the damage will be irreversible.
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