Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Watkins: The true cost of finance in football
LONG before Trevor Watkins walked the corridors of Dean Court, a football supporter's vocabulary need only have consisted of terms such as left-back, offside trap and slide tackle.[LNB] Increasingly, however, the more common phrases might include winding-up petition, due diligence and company voluntary arrangement.[LNB] With ailing Portsmouth in the High Court again yesterday, Cherries on the receiving end of further legal action from HM Revenue and Customs and more clubs throughout the land falling on hard times, on-field events have almost been reduced to mere sideshow status.[LNB] Unfortunately for lower league followers like Cherries', the upheaval and uncertainties which come with debts and their implications are all too familiar.[LNB] But now clubs further up the echelons of English football even in the most prominent division in world football in Pompey's case are suffering similar fates, the financial state of the game has been thrust under the spotlight once again.[LNB] Watkins, the former Dean Court chairman, heads one of the country's leading sports law departments for top City firm Clarke Willmott.[LNB] Fans in the region of Cherries, Pompey, Saints and Weymouth could be forgiven for thinking they are the only ones facing hardships, but Watkins revealed the problems were widespread.[LNB] Speaking to the Echo, the 44-year-old said: You see it across the whole country. Numerous clubs have had winding-up petitions issued against them.[LNB] I probably deal with half a dozen or more clubs every day and you know in the back of their minds they are looking at survival and how they are going to live to the following week, month and season.[LNB] For us (Cherries), we are back in that position and the tax man is being incredibly aggressive.[LNB] He continued: I think the level of financial problems within football will impact on the value of the game, in terms of raising commercial revenue.[LNB] I think in the Football League now, because it's 10 years since I was involved at Bournemouth, you have seen, particularly in the past few years, a real hardening of the situation.[LNB] While he believes there is more money in the game than ever, Watkins says much of that has been swallowed up by wages, with clubs guilty of trying to chase the dream.[LNB] The ex-Cherries chief, who is still a follower of the club he first watched aged seven, thinks the Dean Court outfit's problems stem from a series of factors, including decisions made by the Football League, points penalties and the transfer embargo.[LNB] He said: For a club like Bournemouth which doesn't have the resources of some of the other clubs I work with, they are effectively having to fight with one hand tied behind their back.[LNB] I think for the fans, it would be very helpful if the Football League, in every circumstance, made it very clear why it takes the decisions it does.[LNB] What we need is to be able to get to that footing where we can look forward with certainty. It is unfortunate that the winding-up petition has come at a time when the club is still making great strides to get promoted this year.[LNB] We are going to have to find a large amount of money in the summer, but that is no different to many clubs. The only difference is in the apparent inconsistency over the way in which we have been treated.[LNB] I have every belief that the current chairman is making every effort to try to steady the ship, but perhaps he started a long way back from the line in terms of being able to get back over it.[LNB] And although a number of the clubs suffering most hardship are Cherries' counterparts, Watkins believes those competing in English football's fourth tier are setting the right examples for higher divisions by implementing a salary cap.[LNB] He added: I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of the current chairman (Eddie Mitchell) in his view that clubs must balance their books. That is what is needed, but it will only work if all the other clubs agree to it as well.[LNB] You need cost control from the top down. In the Premier League, they will be concerned about what happens in Europe. In the Championship, they will be concerned about ensuring they get promoted to the Premiership. In League Two, they will be concerned about survival.[LNB] But not withstanding all those concerns, football needs to look after itself for the good of the game as a whole, not just each individual league.[LNB] Costs need to be controlled and there should be an agreement that, for example, only 60 per cent of turnover can be used for salaries. That is what is going to help resurrect and restore the credibility of the game.[LNB]
