Back int ground

[birch-chorley]

Also been thinking, I appreciate the government position on the state bailing out the Football League when some players earn thousands a week 

However, a counter argument is, how much has the state benefited from the football league over the years? If a player earns £10k a week in the football league then the HMRC has been getting £4k a week of it. Added into all the VAT raised from gate receipts and refreshments and they have been raking in hundreds of millions each season (billions a year if you include the PL) 

The government could use the revenue it generated from league football last season to keep it afloat this season. If the league collapses then the state losses out more than anyone else through a reduction in future tax revenues 

They should bail it out OR let people in the ground so it can sustain itself 

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by birch-chorley

[Tonge moor green jacket]

3 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Yes I think I missed that last bit!  Apologies.  That may be the only option for National League if they aren't committed to fulfilling players contracts, although what a bummer that is for the players involved.  Its easy to say get another job, they aren't growing on trees at the moment plus for many it will realistically mean the end of their football career.  I wouldn't like to be making those calls, and all for a drop in the ocean compared to the Prem riches.

Very difficult position, no doubt. Hopefully a vaccine will be ready before next season, so even if this one was knocked on the head, it shouldn’t be the end of many careers.

 

[embankment]

No way before March.

Well we all bought season tickets . Maybe now we better all buy a couple of Shirts.

I can honestly see clubs going to the wall.

 

 

 

[Farnywhite]

Yep no return before March 

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/efl-fans-return-rick-parry-19012406

[Biggish Dave]

I honestly can’t understand how being in a ground is more dangerous than being in the Arndale, Bull Ring etc shopping centres

[Morizio]

1 minute ago, Biggish Dave said:

I honestly can’t understand how being in a ground is more dangerous than being in the Arndale, Bull Ring etc shopping centres

I think the rationale is the shouting out, ie projecting what comes out of your mouth and general moving around (however minimal) to follow the game. Hence why music had been banned in Scotland to prevent folk leaning into each other to hear what’s being said. 

[radcliffe white]

March...

Utter shit show 

[marple whites]

We will all end up rocking backwards and forwards in a corner at this rate - absolute cock all to do, apart from watching sterile games on tv.

[Marc505]

I'm holding out hope that they're painting as devastating a picture as possible and as often as possible to help pile some pressure on for a restart of the pilots at least, long before March.

 

[Leyther_Matt]

Even when we’re finally allowed in, it’s looking like are going to be reduced even further and heavily reliant on concourse capacities rather than seating. 

[radcliffe white]

42 minutes ago, Marc505 said:

I'm holding out hope that they're painting as devastating a picture as possible and as often as possible to help pile some pressure on for a restart of the pilots at least, long before March.

 

I reckon some won’t return

DG has been border line for a while 

[Marc505]

2 minutes ago, radcliffewhite1 said:

I reckon some won’t return

DG has been border line for a while 

Yeah he already sounded completely tired of it all about 2 or 3 seasons ago. Quite a few of the Horwich/Adlington have been drifting badly, some of them only young lads too. As soon as people find better things to do its very hard to entice them back.

Long way from filling 2 train carriages to MK.

[radcliffe white]

1 hour ago, Marc505 said:

Yeah he already sounded completely tired of it all about 2 or 3 seasons ago. Quite a few of the Horwich/Adlington have been drifting badly, some of them only young lads too. As soon as people find better things to do its very hard to entice them back.

Long way from filling 2 train carriages to MK.

That’s it and not to mention a full seasons worth of direct debit payments and a couple from last down the pan (if folk let them run)

 

[Benny The Ball]

21 hours ago, birch-chorley said:

Advertising revenue also down by about 50% given a huge number of firms who would normally buy air time have completely stopped due to Covid. Even when the restart marketing budgets will likely be slashed for years as these firms re balance the books (TV spend always first to go). A lot of pressure for the TV firms

Likely this drop off in revenue will work its way down stream to the PL teams, Players & Agents. With that in mind, and the billion the PL teams will lose in gate receipts themselves this season. Its hard to see the PL fully funding league football right down the pyramid even for a season.

Without the football pyramid would the PL generate the same revenue, probably wouldn’t be far off, I’d bet a few at the top wouldn’t mind some form of closed league system like the NLF 

Its just a colossal mess really, I keep coming back to the thinking that the answer to the question is to allow fans back in, even if it’s reduced numbers. Talk of the war further up the thread, even then the gates were open and money was changing hands 

There is another substantial area of Revenue for the Government that you have not mentioned and that in my opinion could provide a partial solution to the crisis that clubs face. 

The betting industry . 

Government benefit massively from taxing the betting companies  

Whilst Its hard to find precise figures, from a quick search £1.3 billion was bet in the UK in 2019 on football 

If the government simply taxed all  punters at 10% on each bet and used that as a fund specifically to fund football that would go an awful long way to help out in the short term 

The racing industry are calling for similar at the moment as they face a similar issue and this article gives an idea as to how it might help them out - am sure could be done in a similar way for football 

https://www.thesun.ie/sport/horse-racing/5948270/matt-chapman-column-betting-tax/

[stevieb]

43 minutes ago, Benny The Ball said:

There is another substantial area of Revenue for the Government that you have not mentioned and that in my opinion could provide a partial solution to the crisis that clubs face. 

The betting industry . 

Government benefit massively from taxing the betting companies  

Whilst Its hard to find precise figures, from a quick search £1.3 billion was bet in the UK in 2019 on football 

If the government simply taxed all  punters at 10% on each bet and used that as a fund specifically to fund football that would go an awful long way to help out in the short term 

The racing industry are calling for similar at the moment as they face a similar issue and this article gives an idea as to how it might help them out - am sure could be done in a similar way for football 

https://www.thesun.ie/sport/horse-racing/5948270/matt-chapman-column-betting-tax/

Wonder if that's also down due to covid. 

I used to bet every week. With lockdown and revolut banning betting transactions (that's not my main bank account) I haven't put owt on since it restarted other than any no deposit free bets I get. 

 

[MickyD]

22 minutes ago, Mr Grey said:

I would assume all sports are affected by the pandemic, I'm not sure the EPL will help out financially towards lower league clubs, some chairman are already crying poverty.

If it was 2010, most of us would give a fuck. It's only because of were we are that we do.

Football is a write off this season, I'm just hoping we make some progress and we start back on an upward curve, fingers crossed 🤞

Football being a write-off is only half the issue. The clubs can deal with the lack of income if they also had a lack of expenditure. Other than match-day staff, expenditure probably remains fairly constant. 
I'm doubting the Govt. will prop up the wages of over-paid footballers.

[Marc505]

2 hours ago, radcliffewhite1 said:

That’s it and not to mention a full seasons worth of direct debit payments and a couple from last down the pan (if folk let them run)

 

I agree, normally I'd just be like well they'll all come back whenever we've got a decent away or put some results together, but by the time we are back to normal as in no travel, pub, stadium restrictions you wonder how many will have gone for good.

[ErnestTurnip]

I'm in for multiple season tickets and I worked it out that it's costing me £25 a game on iFollow and there's absolutely no enjoyment in it, not because of the results just because it's soulless and boring. I paid for the Colchester game but am really going to have to have a serious think about whether I'll be buying any more of the away games.

[Johnnyrotten]

Whenever we've lost a game in the past its always a downer for the evening, but in mental health terms going to the game was still generally a positive, just seeing other folk, chatting to 1 or 2, sharing the pain (or joy) etc.  The fresh air, the travelling, whatever you enjoy about the day, it was generally a positive even with a poor match to watch.

This i-follow stuff is soul destroying, a real feeling of wasting an afternoon and feeling anti social for me, I may feel different if we win a game but at the moment I'm relieved we're away this weekend and I dont feel obliged to tune in. 

[birch-chorley]

1 hour ago, MickyD said:

Football being a write-off is only half the issue. The clubs can deal with the lack of income if they also had a lack of expenditure. Other than match-day staff, expenditure probably remains fairly constant. 
I'm doubting the Govt. will prop up the wages of over-paid footballers.

Overpaid they maybe, but the more they are overpaid the more money the HMRC receive 

The HMRC could wave any tax / NI liability for as long as clubs can’t generate revenue through the gates. I recon that would reduce the clubs wage bill by about 40% and help them through the period, then the HMRC start collecting again 

Or they could just let fans in 

[mickbrown]

I'm not expecting to see a game live this season.

I reckon once folk are allowed back in it'll be limited to season ticket holders.

 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

2 hours ago, birch-chorley said:

Overpaid they maybe, but the more they are overpaid the more money the HMRC receive 

The HMRC could wave any tax / NI liability for as long as clubs can’t generate revenue through the gates. I recon that would reduce the clubs wage bill by about 40% and help them through the period, then the HMRC start collecting again 

Or they could just let fans in 

I suppose the counter argument would be that if the players weren't paid as much, then the money would remain with fans if subscriptions were reduced or with clubs. Either way, it eventually flows down with different people spending it in different ways.

[Spider]

This just plays into the hands of the top 8/9/10 premier league clubs who have way more armchair fans than ticket holders.

I doubt the scouse chairman is losing any sleep over this.

They don’t owe the rest of the football pyramid a penny in the real world.

I suspect Covid has brought the European super league several years closer.

[stevieb]

2 hours ago, Spider said:

 

I suspect Covid has brought the European super league several years closer.

Football dies for me at that point. 

Marc or whoever put it earlier nailed it. You can take a shit loss if you've had a decent afternoon boozing and having a good laugh with people you know. Take that away and your whole afternoon and mindset for the evening is dependent on the result. Fuck that. 

I'd rather not watch football. 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

2 hours ago, Spider said:

This just plays into the hands of the top 8/9/10 premier league clubs who have way more armchair fans than ticket holders.

I doubt the scouse chairman is losing any sleep over this.

They don’t owe the rest of the football pyramid a penny in the real world.

I suspect Covid has brought the European super league several years closer.

I'm not so sure. The leagues as we know them are bread and butter to fans. European adventures are something special to be enjoyed occasionally. Take that away and away trips become expensive and the "norm". Soon get tired of it all I reckon.