Source: Daily_Mail
Hull's high earners could force the club into administration if they drop out of Premier League
Hull City's failure to insert relegation clauses into the contracts of at least five of their highest earners will almost certainly see them follow Portsmouth into administration if they drop out of the Barclays Premier League this season. Sportsmail understands that midfielder Jimmy Bullard, who earns £45,000 per week basic, is one of the five players whose wages cannot be cut if the club are relegated. The contracts in question were negotiated by former chairman and chief executive Paul Duffen. Clause for concern: record signing Jimmy Bullard will not have to take a pay cut if Hull are relegated Current chairman Adam Pearson launched a stinging attack on Duffen on Wednesday and it could be this situation that was behind his remarks as he accused Duffen of 'poor business sense'. Bullard was the club's record signing at £5million when he joined on a five-year deal from Fulham in January last year with Hull ninth in the table. He suffered a serious knee injury on his debut at West Ham and did not play again that season as Hull survived relegation by a point. Bullard has three and a half years remaining on his contract and, with several add-ons taking his basic wage higher, should the debt-ridden club go down, his salary alone could tip the club into administration. Hull's total annual wage bill stands at £40m. Stephen Hunt, signed from Reading for £3.5m last August, and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, who joined from Celtic on a free transfer, are others believed to have joined without a relegation clause in their contracts. Geovanni and George Boateng are also understood to command lucrative salaries. High price: Stephen Hunt joined without a relegation clause in his contractHull are three points behind West Ham with three games to play but their inferior goal difference means they could effectively be relegated tomorrow if they lose at home to Sunderland and West Ham win at home to Wigan.Pearson returned to the club in November having previously been chairman from 2001 to 2007, and in his programme notes before Wednesday's 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa he tore into Duffen. Pearson wrote: 'The prospect of relegation should not need to be the doomsday scenario that everyone currently discusses and worries about. The financial planning just needed a bit of basic strategy and common sense applying to it back in the summer of 2008 and even more so when the survived on the last day of the season in 2009. 'In my personal opinion the decisions made by Mr Duffen at that point were extremely short-sighted and lacking in business sense and specific football knowledge. He seems, albeit with the advantage of hindsight, to have had no understanding of the industry, Hull City or the city of Hull itself. 'The problems which were apparent throughout 2009 should have been at the forefront of the summer transfer and business dealings.Instead the wage bill was increased even further. The safety valve of pragmatic realism was cut off and the club under Mr Duffen spent money it didn't have. This is not ambition or "giving it a go" or "living the dream", it is, in my personal view poor business sense and a lack of moral responsibility. 'Just under £6m spent on agents fees in two years and the deal breakdown and size of agent payments is morally abhorrent. The strategy was non-existent in my opinion and the implementation of football deals extremely flawed from a commercial perspective.' Duffen responded yesterday saying that Hull have one of the lowest squad wage bills in the Premier League and among the lowest levels of debt. 'The successes were not achieved through financial muscle but through partnerships, ambition, team spirit, collective positive attitude and a stubborn refusal to fail,' he said. 'I firmly believe that if those qualities remain at the club then Hull City have every chance of playing a third season in the Premier League.' Former Hull chief Duffen hits back at criticism from chairman PearsonFight for Premier League survival: What you need to know about drop