League One clubs are meeting this afternoon to discuss a number of issues, including the starting date for the 2020/21 season and the proposed salary cap.

The EFL board met yesterday where two potential start dates for the new season were discussed, August 29th and September 12th.

It’s anticipated that if the season did begin on either of those dates games would initially be behind closed doors but with increased TV coverage, via iFollow and/or broadcasters which would give clubs desperately needed income.

However, it’s understood that there are a number of clubs in the lower leagues who aren’t keen to get the season under way until fans are able to attend in significant numbers which may not be until January.

Also set for discussion at this afternoon’s 3pm conference call are the significant financial issues facing clubs, including funding coronavirus testing, and the salary cap which was proposed in May.

The EFL’s Financial Controls Working Party recommended clubs in League One be limited to paying £2.5 million to their players and sides in League Two £1.25 million, although the wages of players aged under 21 wouldn’t count towards that figure. Squad sizes will be limited to 20 senior players aged over 21 with eight homegrown.

Last month a resolution was passed which means it would take a two-thirds majority rather than 75 per cent of clubs to make the required change to divisional Financial Fair Play rules and there seems little doubt the cap will be introduced by both League One and League Two.

However, as the suggested cap limits would require clubs such as Town to cut their wage bills significantly, it is understood there would be a transition period.

In their last season in the Championship the Blues’ overall wage bill was £18.95 million with player wages understood to have made up around £11 - £12 million of that figure.

After relegation, many players’ salaries dropped as a result of clauses in their deals, by as much as 60 per cent in some cases, however, the Town’s player wage bill is almost certainly more than double, perhaps three times, higher than the proposed £2.5 million limit and will be one of the largest in the division.

Photo: Action Images

ArnieM added 10:53 - Jul 2 🤞
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Razor added 10:59 - Jul 2 I think the start date of Sep 12th is both reasonable and fair to everybody and this is what they must go for. If we wait for crowds again may take us until January and that would be disastrous----the smaller clubs got their way with no re-start but they must not be allowed to dictate now,sorry. We must press on and get on with it.
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bournemouthblue added 11:10 - Jul 2 £2.5 million is ridiculously low, if our wage bill is £7.5 million, this is going to cause serious issues Where have they plucked that figure from, surely most clubs are paying more than a that? £5 million would be a more sensible compromise?
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Karlosfandangal added 11:19 - Jul 2 If a wage cap comes in then the likes of Woolfenden and Downs would be on their way as Town would only be able to offer limited wages to players. What players are going to take a huge wage drop to play in Div 1 when they can sit on the bench in the Championship for 3 times more money. This will cause the same effect as Prem and the Championship, were sides coming down would be allowed time to reduce their wage bill, so would be able to keep most of the players they have got and have bigger squads. The salary cap needs to be across all divisions.

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cromwellblue added 11:53 - Jul 2 This needs to happen for the good of football. Clearly many clubs have been living beyond their means for a long time. Only the players are benefiting. £2.5m across 20 first team squad is £125k each. Not that bad for playing 3rd tier level sport Ideally this needs to go across all divisions, including Premiership but I fear that's unlikely. We have to start somewhere to address this. Time to become a sport again and not a business.

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ArnieM added 12:38 - Jul 2 The salary cap is in keeping with the majority of the clubs in leagues one and two who are minuscule in size by comparison to the likes of Town, Sunderland, Pompey , Coventry etc . So to these small clubs who rely TOTALLY on fans through the turnstiles, this age cap seems perfectly reasonable . However what it will do if adopted is force the big clubs to downsize . Which is almost impossible in one season . WE ( and Clubs of similar size) will be Massively disadvantaged and will drag us well and truly into a League One / Two status .

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d77sgw added 12:40 - Jul 2 That's £2.5k per week. The problem is that the 'average' top player salary in thw Championship is 10 times that - https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/huge-wage-gap-in-efl-revealed-1-6630284 Unless we have contracts which allow for a signficant increase in salary upon promotion then we would never be able to attract even average Championship players to our club (a club which has the ability to pay far higher salaries). We would lose the competitive advantage our larger size confers us in this league. Surely it would be fairer to allow a cap which was relative to turnover - as exists in the other leagues. Otherwise there has to be a similar cap placed on the Premiership and Championship - or we'll never be able to compete in the second tier, let alone the Prem.

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d77sgw added 12:42 - Jul 2 This cap will massively widen the gap between Championship and League 1, and create a gulf such as that exists between the Premiership and Championship currently. The idea of back to back promotions such as enjoyed by Bournemouth, Southampton, the Scum, Sheff Utd, will become a thing of the past - as every promoted League 1 club would then have to TOTALLY overhaul they playing staff to be able to compete in the Championship.

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d77sgw added 12:43 - Jul 2 *their playing staff
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NorthLondonBlue2 added 12:57 - Jul 2 If some clubs don't want to play football, they shouldn't be in the league, full stop. It is ridiculous to suggest waiting until January 2021. With appropriate testing, the league could start tomorrow in empty stadia, with streaming and TV deals to compensate for the loss of gate receipts. Fans could also be seated, one row apart, two seats apart with mandatory masks and gloves, early arrival at the ground and robust stewarding. The Covid-19 transmissions risks outside are minimal. If clubs need financial support to test their players, then I'm sure a combination of government support and a tiny bit of largesse from the higher leagues could make it happen. But above all else: have the meeting, make a decision and get on with it!

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TractorRoyNo1 added 13:34 - Jul 2 All those than can start go into league 1 those who can't go into league 2, let's get on with it.
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shouldistayorcounago added 13:45 - Jul 2 The salary cap is a good idea in principle but its clear this is going to play into the hands of the Premier League sides and do nothing but gag and tie us down to a future of mediocrity. The only way a salary cap can work is if it is rolled out worldwide, which has about as much chance of happening as I have of ending up in bed with the ghost of Marilyn Monroe...

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dirtydingusmagee added 14:01 - Jul 2 we should never have got into this state in first place we are gonna be stuffed now .
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BeattiesBackPocket added 14:15 - Jul 2 For me this only work when you wage cap other leagues above as well as you can see the difference in league one and championship is huge so all you're doing is making any team that comes up from league ones life a nightmare they'd have to revamp the whole team to compete and then anyone doing down would have the same issue it's just not possible for the huge difference in leagues unless capping the championship as well

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MickMillsTash added 14:49 - Jul 2 If you average 20K fans paying £15 for 23 games that's 6.9Million with 2.5 Million max wage bill the owner pockets the difference after costs - that's going to be popular the Salary cap is the wrong way to solve the problem. Rules making sure you cannot cripple a club by giving out stupid contracts must be possible to enforce. e.g when you sign a new player or contract it needs to be reviewed and approved by a certain body. Do the rules extend to stopping Flyn Downes wife getting 150K/ann for giving a once a year health and safety briefing to the junior blues? - Luke Chambers Gran gets 200K/ann for designing a menu for the centre spot restaurant ? any ideas for other farcical work arounds?

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blue86 added 15:47 - Jul 2 @MickMillsTash. You have hit the nail on the head with your example of loop holes to get around the salary cap idea! I mean how many clubs really took note when were in the championship in regards to FFP? Derby were always splashing the cash, Leeds and even the mighty bristol city (no offence bristol city) as an example. The WHOLE of football needs to be better regulated full stop, and if there is a salary cap it needs to be across the board completely. I love football but something needs to be done, I'm sure I remember clubs getting round ffp with clever loop holes and not giving a toss.

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Northstandveteran added 15:52 - Jul 2 So if my calculations are correct M.M's tash, That would leave Evans £4.4 million a year. So the £100 million debt could be paid off in approximately 23 years, excluding interest. In a further 23 years the club could buy the stadium. I've marked it on my 2066 calendar next to my 101st birthday. Hmmm, farcical jobs..... There are far too many puns for that one 😉

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Gforce added 17:41 - Jul 2 With the transition period to get the wage bill down, likely to be 1 year to 18 months, its imperative we get promotion next season, otherwise we could be stuck in this dismal league for a long long time. With around 1700 players being released this summer, surely we can find a couple of nuggets out of that lot. Let's hope Mr Lambert has identified a striker or two.
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TJS added 10:18 - Jul 3 The perfect solution for the whole of football would be that all clubs had the right to automatically terminate contracts on relegation without exception. This would mean top performing players can always be rewarded at the market rate and average/poor players who contribute to their clubs relegation can rightly face the consequences and be forced to look for another job like everyone else would have to do in the real world. The message to players would be simple - if you don't like it then make sure you don't get relegated.

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Bergholtblue added 13:14 - Jul 3 No update on the outcome? Let me guess, nothing was agreed.
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ITFCsince67 added 13:20 - Jul 3 It has to based on income.
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