Source: Team_Talk
Dowie: Hull short of 'saleable assets'
Iain Dowie admits Hull City may struggle to raise significant funds from player sales as they look to trade through their financial problems.[LNB] The Tigers issued a statement this morning again stressing there are no plans to follow Portsmouth into administration despite debts of approximately £35million.[LNB]Hull's relegation to the Championship was all but confirmed last weekend following a 1-0 defeat by Sunderland.[LNB]The statement read: "The main focus at this point in time is on the remaining two fixtures of the current season in order to try to secure an 18th-place finish, and to continue business and operations as normal.[LNB]"Following the last game against Sunderland, the board have accepted the inevitability of relegation to the Championship for the 2010/2011 season.[LNB]"The consequences of relegation have a material impact on the revenues of the football club and, as has been widely reported, the board have been meeting to discuss the management of the transition from the Premier League to the Championship.[LNB]"This should not be surprising and there are no plans or intentions for Hull City to enter into any form of insolvency process."[LNB]Owner Russell Bartlett added: "It is obviously very disappointing for everyone at the club to have been relegated.[LNB]"As we had anticipated, we will need to reduce our outgoings to a level that is sustainable over the longer term.[LNB]"The management is working flat out to achieve this objective and I am very impressed with the commitment being shown by our staff."[LNB]Bartlett and chairman Adam Pearson have been in negotiations with creditors all week but a crucial factor in coming through the financial difficulties will be lowering the current £39million wage bill.[LNB]Bartlett has said that will come down to £21million at the end of the season when a number of players reach the end of their contracts, on-loan players return to their parent clubs and relegation clauses kick in.[LNB]But that is still well above Pearson's target figure of £15million, and he has already admitted the highest earners, such as Stephen Hunt and Jimmy Bullard, do not have relegation clauses in their long-term deals.[LNB]Hunt is viewed as Hull's main hope of generating a substantial fee but the winger may not be fit for the start of next season after undergoing foot surgery.[LNB]Dowie compared Hull's squad with last week's opponents Sunderland, saying: "I'm sitting talking to (Sunderland manager) Steve Bruce and his wage bill's probably £3million more than ours and you look at the saleable assets that are there.[LNB]"That's the stark difference and clearly there's going to be huge implications, but in Adam they've got someone who knows his way round a football club.[LNB]"They're going to try to trade their way through it and that's laudable. Adam's brought the club through dark times before and he's well aware of how to restructure a club.[LNB]"There's young players here with a lot of potential but they're the ones you don't want (to sell), they're the key element of your team.[LNB]"With all due respect to players like George (Boateng), Kevin Kilbane and Andy Dawson, they're not going to get big money for them.[LNB]"Stephen Hunt is probably the most a saleable asset and I'm sure he'll be back better than ever soon."[LNB]Burnley will also be playing in the Championship next season after their one-year stay in the top flight ended this week but Dowie admitted the Clarets are likely to be in a much better position to bounce straight back than Hull.[LNB]He continued: "They'll go into the Championship with some players who people want to buy, they don't need to sell and they'll have a war chest. That might not be the case here."[LNB]Meanwhile, a report this morning claimed that if Hull were to go into administration before the end of the season they could avoid a 10-point deduction for next season because of a difference in insolvency policies between the Premier League and the Football League.[LNB]However, it is not thought to be something the Tigers are considering taking advantage of, and Dowie added: "I'm certainly not aware of that ruling. It's an unusual one."[LNB]
