Huddersfield Town chief executive issues plea for help from Premier League

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN chief executive Mark Devlin has become the latest figure to urge the Premier League to come to the aid of stricken EFL clubs in their hour of need amid the financially crippling Covid-19 financial landscape.
John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield.John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield.
John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield.

Talks have so far failed to broker an agreement between the Premier League and the EFL after chairman Rick Parry asked for an emergency £250m bail-out to enable clubs to withstand the substantial financial damage caused by coronavirus.

According to reports, top-flight bosses are only prepared to offer struggling lower league clubs £50m to help them with the fallout of Covid-19 – just one fifth of what the EFL says it will need.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The EFL has said that £250m is needed to make up the collective £50m losses that clubs incurred in 2019-20 due to the impact of the pandemic, with losses forecast at £200m for 2020-21 - principally down to the lack of match-day revenue with fans unable to currently attend games.

The Premier League clubs have spent around £1.3m on transfer outlays in the window so far - with a portion of the fees spent on EFL players.

The top-flight governing body also give EFL clubs more than £400m annually in parachute payments, solidarity fees and academy grants – and have upped the ante on the Government to also do their bit by providing assistance.

Town are beneficiaries of parachute payments, but the money is essentially tied up in paying transfer fees and salaries that were committed to the Premier League alongside loan payments to former owner Dean Hoyle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On the situation for EFL clubs, Devlin told the BBC: "The current situation means we’ll be approximately £3-4m worse off this season than had we had crowds and our corporate partners here.

“That’s a huge hole even for a club that’s benefiting from parachute payments and has effects right the way across the business.

“None of this is through any of our fault, so yes, if the missing revenue can be found to make sure that we could go back to the robust business model we had before with all the revenue coming in, that would be the solution that I would like to see happen.”

"We need to be looking at Covid as a way to bring this industry together and get it sensible again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“In hindsight perhaps a different way of going about it might have been preferable.

“There are some very bright people working in this industry. There’s no reason why we can’t use this period of time to sit down and work out a new way to run the whole industry – I think we’d be missing a huge opportunity if we don’t do that."

Back in May, Town chairman Phil Hodgkinson issued a stark warning regarding the futre of EFL clubs - and has voiced fears that up to sixty could go out of business over the next 12 months if a blueprint for the game's survival is not agreed.

Hogkinson said: "Let’s not pretend that football didn’t cause this problem, it did. Football has created the position we are in.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"What we have now is the opportunity, with this COVID-19 pandemic, is to get football back into a place where it’s run better.

"Football has caused this problem and football should fix it. If this isn’t solved, you could be looking at 40, 50, 60 clubs in the pyramid ceasing to trade within the next six to 12 months; that’s how big this problem is."

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post this week, Rotherham United chairman Tony Stewart Tony Stewart voiced concerns that ‘five to seven’ EFL clubs could enter administration by the end of October if a rescue package for its members is not agreed shortly.