13 Feb 2021 01:27:14
Question for Ed001
how serious financially will Liverpool be in if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season
given they have a ( very) large squad with a very high wage bill.
{Ed001's Note - with no FFP to worry about, and at least one player moving on in the shape of Wijnaldum, it depends on the owners and how willing they are to continue their investment in the club. Considering they were looking for investors to expand their holdings to a group of clubs similar to the Manchester City group of clubs all over the world, I would think there will only be a bit of belt tightening involved. The big problem is the lack of fans in the ground, if that continues into next season as well, then we are going to see probably around 50% of clubs in England in real danger of folding. It will come down to what FSG want to do though for Liverpool.}
13 Feb 2021 05:25:07
Cheers Ed001 for your informative reply answering the question posed ðŸ‘😊.
{Ed001's Note - welcome Baz.}
13 Feb 2021 08:52:28
Thanks Ed makes you wonder as to whether there will have to be a partial reset of transfer fees and values. Sadly the richer clubs will probably be better able to sustain the financial impact than the majority, but it shows if Liverpool can be impacted then things could look different for next transfer window.
French football has been significantly impacted by loss of tv revenue (Rafhina being our gain) but if crowds do not return this season. Clubs like all businesses are fighting for survival and I would not criticise Radz for refusing to pay sums of 30/ 40 million in a player.
There will be the odd exceptions whomever gets Halaand for instance cannot go wrong.
{Ed001's Note - I expect transfer fees to drop markedly, you saw in January how little business was done in terms of actual fees. It is only going to get worse the longer this pandemic is around. Each league is talking about figures well in excess of 50% of clubs that could go out of business if it carries on into next season.}
13 Feb 2021 10:46:15
Ed001 A chilling prospect for sure but could we see lower down the football pyramid an amalgamation of clubs? That is, joining of forces of 2 local clubs to avoid bankruptcy. Say Southend joining with Colchester? Or Harrogate Town joining with Bradford City? Or in your opinion will such clubs prefer just to fold?
{Ed001's Note - the fans won't stand for that mate. We are likely to see a lot less clubs to be honest. Sad as it may be, but a lot of clubs are likely to just vanish.}
13 Feb 2021 10:58:37
Ed001 I take your point but not sure you're completely right when push come to shove. To all intents and purposes, there are no fans right now anyway so their voice has already diminished.
13 Feb 2021 17:44:26
Amalgamate or disappear? That's the choice.
14 Feb 2021 07:21:48
If clubs disappear though then the fans will have no choice but to support someone else (or give up footie) so clubs might as well amalgamate. Unless we see fans stepping in and taking over ownership themselves or resurrecting their club after it folds AFC Wimbledon style (not exactly the same I know)
{Ed001's Note - that is what most will do, just ask Hereford United fans, who could have amalgamated but instead started a new club Hereford FC, rather than join with a rival.}
14 Feb 2021 15:25:49
Some die hard fans will try to float a new team but most, I fear, will resort to shopping with the wife on a Saturday. Those that can avoid such a fate may be forced to actually talk to her. If all that fails they could always support another team but that may be a step toooo far.