Leeds United wage deferrals illustrates long-term thinking at Elland Road

The Football League has created a £50m relief fund for clubs struggling without gate receipts and other sources of income during the pandemic, which has seen matches postponed until April 30 at the earliest.

Many clubs in a variety of sports have announced or are discussing wage cuts or deferrals. Championship side Leeds are exploring the latter. Expert Chris Winn says they are only being prudent. “Based on 17-18 (financial figures), Leeds’s wage bill amounts to about £1m a week,” he explained.

“Given (coach Marcelo) Bielsa coming in from 18-19 onwards – the accounts of which should be out in about a week or so – I would expect that wage base to rise much further, based on his cost and the players they’ve brought in. You could see that operating expense base go well past the £1m-a-week mark.

“You kind of expect they’re being pragmatic. All the clubs appreciate that whatever happens there are not going to be games before the end of April and depending on the playing schedule up to four or five home games will be missed.

“Making that request (to defer wages) might not be symptomatic of what they’re experiencing right here, right now, but (shows) they’re looking forward to what their cashflow is going to look like in a month’s time.

“Looking at Leeds’s 17-18 numbers, 41 per cent of their revenue was (from) matchdays.”

With transformative financial rewards for promotion, collectively Championship clubs are extremely badly run, with too many gambling on success. Football League chairman Rick Parry said at the weekend they need to rethink how they operate when this crisis is over.

Leeds, though, are better than many. In 2017-18, their wages-to-turnover ratio was 77 per cent – not great until you compare it to a divisional average of 107 per cent which Parry called “completely and utterly unsustainable in any climate.”

Hull City’s 56 per cent ratio was the division’s lowest in 
2017-18, Barnsley were at 76 per cent and Middlesbrough 79 per cent.

Sheffield Wednesday’s was 168 per cent, second only to Reading.

For clubs such as them, the coronavirus threatens to expose a problem of their own making.