Blues chief executive Simon Clegg believes clubs will be taking a big risk if they chase the dream and ignore the Financial Fair Play rules which come in next season. Championship clubs voted in favour of the new rules last week but with sanctions for breaking them not enforced for two years.

Clegg admits that the two years grace period could potentially tempt clubs to throw everything at getting promoted in the next couple of seasons: “That’s a very good question because it does provide scope for people to chase the dream for the next two years, but you’re not going to chase the dream on one-year contracts.

“Players will expect contracts to be two years or three years, so you’re playing a very, very high risk game if you chase that dream based on the principle that there will be no sanctions for two years and you don’t achieve it because you could end up being placed in a very difficult financial situation where you have to break even at that point.

“This is a staggered approach to allow existing contracts to run out, which is not unreasonable. If you’ve got players on three or four-year contracts, you’ve got to give some time to allow those to run out.

“But the general movement of direction is right for football and it’s right to protect the long-term interest of the game in this country.”

He admits that potentially dire consequences haven’t prevented clubs from chasing dreams before but, with 21 of the 24 Championship clubs voting for the measures, says most evidently want to run on a more sustainable basis: “It hasn’t stopped clubs before, but people have been talking about this for decades, about how football has got to get in control of its finances.

“It’s suddenly coming home to roost that this is happening, and it’s got to happen otherwise you’ll find there’ll be more clubs like Portsmouth and Port Vale.”

In addition to the administration-hit Pompey and Valiants, Clegg is aware of other clubs who will have difficult summers: “We’ve now reached the close season, clubs have got no revenue coming in, or very little revenue coming in between now and August, and I think you’ll find that some clubs will struggle over this close season.

“I’ve spoken to a number of clubs who have struggled to get through to the end of this season and are concerned as to how they are going to struggle through the next three months.”

He expects one of the consequences of the new rules to be clubs increasingly looking to the lower leagues for new recruits: “More looking to bring players up from the lower divisions will probably be one of the implications of Financial Fair Play.

“I think that some players are going to catch a big cold this summer when they realise that the levels of contracts that they’ve had in the past [are no longer available]. No player likes going backwards financially, they all aspire to be earning ever-increasing sums of money. This summer will be a reality check for many of them.”

While the staggered approach to the implementation of the new rules means that clubs like Town with rich owners such as Marcus Evans can still spend limited amounts above and beyond their turnover, ultimately Clegg believes teams dropping out of the Premier League will be difficult to compete against.

“I think we need to be very clear that with the increase in parachute payments to four years, it becomes increasingly hard to get up into the top division,” he said.

“Clubs that are coming down have got considerably enhanced parachute payment softeners that are going to give them a financial advantage. Therefore we need to be up there in the top flight of football sooner rather than later.”

Photo: Action Images

StanwayBlue added 09:35 - May 7 I am beginning to wonder if we are going to have to get used to football forever in the second tier as the Premiership pulls further and further away in financial terms.
0

bluey123 added 09:39 - May 7 Cop out excuse for poor players coming in get rid of Clegg and save £120000 a year simples
0

bluemike added 09:41 - May 7 On the contrary, I thin k these new rules will massively help ITFC to become far more competitive at the right end of the table,I for one am very happy we are choosing to bring ourselves into line straight away as opposed to playing russian roulette and trying to get up while shedding loads more money we can ill afford to lose. In two years time we could well see the benefit of Marcus Evans being at our club, others are not so fortunate and will without question be in the mire.

0

BlueySwede added 09:44 - May 7 The question that should be made to the F.A (or whoever is in charge, I am from Sweden so my knowledge is limited) is if english football should only be about the Premier League and 20 teams. I simply can´t understand why there should be such a HUGE difference in the financial terms.
0

Vexorg added 09:50 - May 7 Bluey, it's TV. Sky pay for the Prem because that sells massively to the armchair fan here and overseas - Sweden included. Rightly or wrongly the Championship doesn't. Quite frankly the armchair fan doesn't care if there are twenty teams or 92 as long as the quality of what he/she sees on the box is top notch.
0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 09:54 - May 7 Here's my financial plan: "Speculate to Accumulate." Sanctions are not brought in for two years, so Marcus should blow £50m now on 18-month contracts for some top players. Money to be recouped when we replace the budgies in the top tier.
0

bluey123 added 10:01 - May 7 Cloud cuckoo land ME will not give Jewell any money because he does not trust him its a excuse Evans has given this club nothing only a 70 million debt and no players no youth setup and no reserves great we are going to hell in a handcart
0

Marcus added 10:22 - May 7 @steve. I'd rather see Town as a stabilised team building from the roots than one risking everything on all or nothing. As things stand we're in a stronger position than most teams without parachute payments. We have larger gates and higher ticket prices then most teams and an owner who has issued loan notes to cover debts and avoid interest payments on said debt. We've also cleared out most of the players on 'old style' contracts. Where does that leave us? Parachute clubs will have the first pick, then any clubs prepared to break the fair play rules. I see Town as heading the rest of the pack, mostly due to the lack of deadwood (Ellington and Peters being the stated deadwood). I think it's fair to aim for the top 10 next year even if we miss out on the playoffs. I'm sure we'll be linked to 100s of players before we sign the 6-7 we need, only then can anyone make any educated prediction.

0

Mark added 10:25 - May 7 Accepting that we need to keep wages low, wouldn't it make sense for Evans to invest in some transfer fees now, while he can? Buy some good young players from the lower leagues and overseas whose wages are sustainable? Perhaps decent signing on fees could be paid to compensate players for the lower wages over a 3 or 4 year deal? After this season, if Evans cannot really invest in the side due to the new rules, I can imagine that fans start to ask what the point of him is and may become more unhappy with an owner who won't show his face and doesn't connect very well with the supporters. To end on a positive note, at least ITFC has seen the new rules coming for some time and we are not lumbered with lots of expensive contracts. If you look beyond next summer, I struggle to think of many players contracted (Cresswell, Carson, Emmanuel Thomas and Chopra maybe?).

0

Dozzells_Bobblehat added 10:27 - May 7 Bluey123 - did u get out of bed the wrong side today ?
0

yorksblue added 10:29 - May 7 Will someone please explain the reasons for relegated clubs getting rewarded for being rubbish and getting parachute payments? I've no business/economic brain, so keep it simple please.
0

CavendishBlue added 10:41 - May 7 It's meant as a golden goodbye.Bit like the equivalent of the obligatory carriage clock when made redundant when retiring after 40 years in a perfectly good organistaion made sh!t by greedy bar stewards like murdoch.....
0

Cr0wman added 10:46 - May 7 Talking of income, has anyone heard how many season tickets we have sold? I have not heard(or have missed it). Usually they are keen to let us know, but I am worried that no annoucment means a disasterously low uptake!!! Any clue anyone??
0

jas0999 added 10:48 - May 7 This will go one of three ways: a) clubs taking massive gambles now in order to reach the PL - this will backfire if they don't make it; b) clubs taking calculated risks - signing some really decent players in order to get an edge and c) clubs abiding by the letter of the law now - but finding they can not compete with other clubs and ultimately struggling. These clubs will blame the new rules for the failure. I think we should be in option 'b' - we must not spend well above our means, but still need to be competitive; which means buying an excellent striker and CB. Sadly, reading what Clegg has to say - I think we will opt for 'c' and then wonder why other clubs are doing better than us.

0

gibbo added 10:49 - May 7 can not see this working, the penalty for over spending is a transfer embargo for the rest of the season, big deal if you have spent loads on a big squad.
0

Mark added 10:53 - May 7 Relegated clubs are given a parachute payment to help their transition from the massive income gap from the Premier League into the Championship. If they didn't have it clubs would be reluctant to sign players when in the top league and would probably go bankrupt when they come down. For some teams such as Portsmouth and Ipswich(!) even that wasn't enough to avoid administration. The club are very quiet on season ticket numbers. We had the usual positive noises while they were still on sale, which I think they do to encourage people to buy tickets. I find the failure to promptly tell us how many sold worrying though, and I suspect we are quite a bit down on last season. That has to be a concern doing into the new financial rules, as the lower our attendances, the less our income, and the smaller figure we have for player wages. Getter promoted from this league seems harder by the way, and we will regret how Magilton and Keane blew it when given a (relatively) golden chance.

0

walberswick added 11:41 - May 7 Why is ME so ameniable to the FFP rules when he dodges every tax and cuts every corner if it will make him money?
0

Stato added 11:49 - May 7 I suspect that season tickets sales are significantly down and why wouldn't they be ? The team hasn't progressed and few feel we are well positioned for next year. Too many on here seem excited by the prospect of ordinary players like Gallagher coming to PR when he couldn't even command a regular place at mid-table leicester. As much as anything else the club could do with a quality appointment in the Public Relations department as the communication from the top about plans and objectives is mostly dire. Unlike most others on here I'm not satisfied with the current standards of our team and unfortunately someone has to take the blame. For me Jewell (like his side) has been inconsistent and Clegg has been too cautious. In Jan does anyone else remember Jewell saying we needed to bring in 5 players ? All we did was bring in ANOTHER midfielder and there wasn't enough pressure on Chops. I hope I'm proved wrong but I can't see Jewell/Clegg taking us out of the division and why has Evans taken over contract talks from Clegg ?

0

Keaneish added 12:07 - May 7 Er, Walberswick...your posts are getting less and less logical! I think we'll be taking the B approach Jas with a couple if big signings, some lower league and frees this summer! I'm hoping we get the right blend of candidates!
0

TractorRoyNo1 added 12:18 - May 7 we'be obviously been in this cr@p league too long, so sounds like they are planning to emulate coventry
0

StowTractorBoy added 12:19 - May 7 It may not be true but one of my away passport holder friends tells me we have sold around 12000 season tickets (source ITFC ticket office) which if true is not bad when you consider the home performances of the last couple of seasons, the many many negative comments on here suggesting they will not renew and the British economy at the moment.
0

Superfrans added 12:43 - May 7 Some of the comments from supposed Ipswich fans on here are moronic. If you think this s just making excuses, you're living in cloud cuckoo land. I'm glad we're trying to cut our cloth accordingly, as quickly as possible. That will pay back in the medium/long term - when our club continues to exist. The result will be a more sustainable club, a more sustainable team and more chance of building success. Simple.

0

brian_a_mul added 12:49 - May 7 with Town being on a very good financial footing compared to most other clubs it puts us in a very good position for the long term. In some ways for the club to come through administration a few years ago have dealt the club some harsh lessons which I hope we can use to our advantage. Wenger at Arsenal was making these very noises about 6 years ago. Clubs with good financial base will progress more than other clubs.

0

Pessimistic added 13:31 - May 7 Fair play.
0

ArnieM added 13:39 - May 7 If anyone on here doubts the wisdom of Cleggs words (and Im no Clegg fan believe me), then look no further than Portsmouth FC for an example of how other WILL follow suit over the next 2 seasons if they dont start to "trade" responsibly. Starter for a couple of clubs to run that risk and come a cropper , are IMO West Ham and Leicester!
0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls