Non-League football in crisis - Yorkshire clubs fear financial ruin

If Premier League clubs, with their nine-figure broadcast deals, are worried about surviving the coronavirus, what chance has non-league football got?

While the big boys are propped up by global television deals, those at the opposite end of English football’s food chain rely on bums not allowed to sit on their seats and sponsors facing their own fights for survival.

The Yorkshire Post has spoken to clubs across the region and divisions to assess the toll Covid-19 is taking on them. From Goole, at the bottom end of the North Counties East Premier League, to Conference North leaders York City via Northern Premier League South East Division Stocksbridge Park Steels, only the shades of grey are different.

“Our income has to come from the turnstiles,” explains York vice-president Richard Adams. “Some people are saying they don’t want to go to a football ground for the foreseeable future because they don’t want to catch any lingering bugs. I’d expect crowds down by about 20 per cent when we get going again and I think it will take two or three years to correct.”

For clubs like York, who have a new stadium built at Monks Cross but are not allowed enough people inside to test it for a safety certificate, behind-closed-doors football makes no sense. “You’re probably looking at £2,000 for police and £2,000 to £3,000 for security,” says Adams.

Even in the sixth tier, football finances are aggressive.

“York City are still a professional club,” he continues. “When others describe themselves as ‘part-time’ it doesn’t always ring true because they pay some guys £350 a game and when they’re not playing or training they’re looking after their kids and keeping fit.

“Our budget isn’t the biggest in the National League, it’s reduced since we dropped down the league (relegated from the Conference in 2017). We’ve managed to keep our crowds around the 2,400, 2,500 level but we don’t get anything from away matches and we’re very reliant on going well in the cups. The other important thing is when a player moves on, like Ben Godfrey, who is doing well for Norwich. If you have a clause where you get a percentage if he moves, that’s very good.”

As their Jamie Vardy Stand underlines, Stocksbridge are famous for polishing gems, which is why chairman Graham Furness thinks it is important they get through this crisis.

“We owe it to the Stocksbridge community to fight as hard as possible to carry on but we will need their help,” he warns.

“We have 400 juniors, our reserve and under-18s were doing well in their leagues. We have always had a good reputation for paying bills and players on time and this season will be no different.

“We have no debts, the Northern Premier League’s best facilities, a good young manager and a strong squad who were challenging for a play-off place when the season came to an abrupt finish.”

Goole were fourth from bottom in their table, yet there was optimism in East Yorkshire too.

“After several seasons of not doing very well, we had a new management team (headed by Les Nelson and Lutel James),” explains chairman Alan Wilson.

“They had two games before the closedown and the quality of football was quite phenomenal. If we can expose that to the Goole public and find the money to pay for it, we could be going places.

“It’s a chicken-and-egg situation because to get the interest you need the players but if we can set the ball rolling, I think we can get on an upward spiral because you can start taking more at the bar, selling more pies, more advertising, and it goes from there.

“This season our budget was £50,000, cut from £80,000, but half of that has to be funded by sponsors and the companies we usually rely on have got no money. If you can get through two or three rounds of the FA Cup, that brings in really important income but we have to pay the players who can get us there.”

A founder member of York’s fund-raising Vice-Presidents Association, Adams has been its chairman since 2004. In its 40 years, he estimates it has raised £30,000 to £40,000. A crowdfunding page was set up on May 1, it has brought in over £4,000.

“It’s difficult for clubs if they’ve furloughed staff as we have,” he says. “We set up the crowd-funder without the chairman (Jason McGill)’s knowledge because he doesn’t want to be seen to be begging. We hope it will be a bonus fund for (manager) Steve Watson.

“Our chairman is funded by his food packaging business but eventually any money he gave us would have to be given back so you end up further in debt.”

Furness, retired after selling his business, has reluctantly set up an appeal for Stocksbridge, whose players and management will forego the wages they were due in the lockdown. Wilson has business problems of his own.

“I took over two years ago principally because I couldn’t sit down quickly enough at the supporters meeting when they were looking for volunteers!” he jokes.

“I’ve got a pub and a club and I don’t think they will ever open again. I’ve got £6,000 of stock in the cellar going out of date. Goole were also stuck with a lot because the closedown came the day before we were due to have a home match.

“We have to clear £1,400 to £1,700 to pay for our away matches and ground rent. Our average gates are around 150, 100 paying, the rest season tickets.

“The league have dropped their fees, saving us about £1,000, but the other running costs are very high.”

You can donate to York at Crowdfundingyorkcityfc.com, Stocksbridge at tinyurl.com/SPSCrowdfunder, or Goole by phoning Wilson on 07540969975.

York City in limbo

York City’s season is over. Sort of.

The National League, which governs the old Conference Premier, North and South divisions, decided on April 22 it would not be able to complete the regular season because of the coronavirus pandemic but until it decides what happens about promotion and relegation, the Minstermen are in limbo. The National League is waiting to find out whether the Football League will relegate a club from League Two.

York topped Conference North when the football finished, but second-placed Kings Lynn Town were second. Two teams were due to go up, but only one automatically.

Two points behind with two games in hand, Kings Lynn will get the automatic promotion spot if the title is decided on points per game, York if it boils down to just points. Then what about the second promotion spot? The league has not definitively ruled out play-offs, so City have to be ready.

“Right now, all our employees are furloughed,” points out vice-president Richard Adams. “It’s only because our directors are not paid by the club that they can keep working, so they are having daily conversations about what we can do.

“When we know the play-offs are cancelled, we have decisions to make about who to keep. We have three players under contract for next season, two goalkeepers and a midfielder. If we knew the play-offs were not taking place, they would remain furloughed but the rest we would have to make decisions on. Some of the clubs in our league got rid of their players way back in March.

“We had certain players out on loan and may need them back if we have a play-off.

“If the league was to say, ‘We hope to have play-offs at the end of June,’ we as a club would have to decide whether to keep players on furlough so we have a squad for those games. You cannot take them off furlough now and bring them back into the club later.

“If I was a player who had been cast aside and the club came back to me later and asked if I would come back to play in the play-offs, it would be a very short conversation!”

Friendly fear for Goole

Part of Goole’s business plan for next season was based around high-profile pre-season friendlies.

In joint managers Les Nelson and Lutel James and assistants Simon Portrey, Sean Burton and Steve Gilmore, Alan Wilson thinks they have men who can provide them, but will the pandemic allow it?

“Our new management team have got connections in the professional game so we’re looking to get a few good friendly games,” says Wilson, chairman of the North Counties East League Premier Division club. “They were talking about trying to organise a friendly against a Leeds United XI who just by their name would attract a different crowd and putting that money into the coffers would help us.

“We played Halifax in the West Riding Cup and it was mostly Under-18s and 19s with a few first-teamers but it generated a good gate and they very generously told us to keep it rather than split it with them.”

On top of all the other bills they are having to deal with without any income, Northern Premier League South East club Stocksbridge now have to pay for a new set of goalposts after vandals damaged those at Bracken Moor.

Chairman Graham Furness has been reluctant to ask for charity but with the loss of the club’s three main sponsors compounded by vandalism at their home ground, he has had little choice.

“The club’s income streams, sponsorship, advertising revenue and our monthly 500 draw have all stopped completely,” he says. “Our planned golf day fund-raising event is looking very doubtful and a sportsman’s dinner will not now go ahead.

“Our three main sponsors have all decided not to renew for next season due to the economic downturn, and many of our advertisers are not working at the moment. It’s frustrating because our commercial manager had increased advertising revenue by 60 per cent since we took over.

“Being tenants at our ground, we do not qualify for any Government grants and FA money doesn’t flow down to our level of the football pyramid. It’s unlikely the Northern Premier League will be able to offer their clubs any help because they’ve lost their major sponsors, too, so as you can imagine these are very worrying times.

“On top of all this we have had to spend £4,000 on tractor repairs, and then had vandals on our training pitches who damaged the goalposts.”

However they do it, Wilson thinks it is imperative clubs at the top of the footballing pyramid help those at the bottom to survive.

“I think it’s beholden on the Premier League given the amount of money that goes through their hands to help the non-league clubs out,” he argues. “The bottom of the pyramid provides the foundations and if you take them away, what have you got left?

“For what it takes for a big club to send an ‘XI’ over to play us, it’s not a big deal. They pay more than that on their car insurance!”

Lack of leadership is crippling

FOR many clubs in the National League, the lack of leadership, communication and consultation from the league’s hierarchy has been damning during the Covid-19 crisis.

Among those who believes that the division’s overlords have been found wanting is FC Halifax Town chairman David Bosomworth.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, he said: “The consultation from the top has been unbelievably bad.

“Everybody accepts it is a difficult situation. But you can talk about the situation and the whys and the wherefores and take on board any solution.

“We probably got the letter on about the 24th of April (stating that the season was ending) when we had played our last game on the 14th March.

“We have had no consultation to talk about things and the what ifs and so on.

“When they take a vote in the league in crude terms, if you split it into thirds, the bottom third want it scrapped as they don’t want to be relegated, the middle third don’t want to spend any more money and the top third are the only third who want it.”

Having finished in a play-off position, Halifax are understandably in favour of participating in the end-of-season competition to successfully resolve the 2019-20 campaign when it is deemed as safe to do behind closed doors.

But there will be no decision on whether any play-offs go ahead until the fate of the EFL season has been announced.

Bosomworth continued: “Our driving force is that we desperately do want to see the play-offs; even if they are behind closed doors. It would bring some resolution to the season.

“We would desperately love to see some outcome. It seems a shame after playing 37 games – 80 per cent – of the season when you are well through. I don’t think there is something wrong with a mathematical conclusion that allows play-offs.”

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