Evans: We Will Accept and Deal With Salary Cap
Saturday, 8th Aug 2020 14:15 Owner Marcus Evans says the Blues will accept and deal with the League One salary cap despite being one of the sides to vote against its implementation. Town would appear to be left little scope for additional signings this summer even with the season ahead one of transition.
Yesterday, the £2.5 million cap was narrowly passed by one vote with 16 clubs - the required two-thirds majority - voting in favour and seven against, while one abstained.
“I have said before that I think football needs to press the reset button in terms of some of the financial aspects of the game,” Evans told the club site.
“But we were against the introduction of the salary cap in this format at this stage. It restricts our reinvestment considerably.
“However, a decision has been made by the majority of clubs. We accept it and will deal with it going forward.
“All clubs are in the same boat so wages are going to be facing a downward pressure. It will take a little time for agents and players to realise that clubs just can’t pay more and start to accept the reality of these new levels.”
The £2.5 million covers basic wages, taxes, bonuses, image rights, agents’ fees and other fees and expenses paid directly or indirectly to all registered players.
Under the new regulations, squads will be limited to 22 players aged 21 or over for 2020/21, reducing to to 20 players from 2021/22. Clubs must deliver their named squad to the EFL at the end of the transfer window. New Year's Day is the cut-off date for players turning 21 so Flynn Downes and Andre Dozzell, who were 21 in January and May respectively don't count as senior players.
Town currently have 20 players deemed 21, including full-back Barry Cotter, striker Aaron Drinan and keeper Harry Wright.
In the season ahead players under contract prior to yesterday will be treated as if they are earning an annual wage of £113,000 - significantly higher than previously understood - and then £125,000 - currently the average League One wage - if they are still under those existing terms in 2021/22.
All the 20 players aged over 21 except the likes of Cotter, Drinan and Wright will be on wages higher than £113,000 and when totalled their salaries already exceed £2 million, even without sundries such as agents' fees, and it appears the Blues have little room for manoeuvre when it comes to adding players aged over 21 to their squad this summer with manager Paul Lambert understood to want to make three or four signings.
Some players may move on permanently freeing up some space on the wage bill, defender Toto Nsiala seems likely to depart for example, while the salaries of players who go out on loan are removed from Town's total.
The Blues are among the League One clubs who will be most hit by the cap, although more so in future seasons than during the transition stage.
In their last season in the Championship their 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 current player wage bill is almost certainly still more than double, perhaps three times higher than the limit and will be one of the largest in the division.
Following yesterday's vote the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) described the move as “unlawful and unenforceable” and has issued a notice of arbitration on the EFL.
Photo: TWTD
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d77sgw added 09:18 - Aug 9
Viljoen67 I share your frustration. I've been a Town fan 35 years now, so the happiest day of my life sorry kids!) was Town's play off victory v Barnsley - but in a funny way that promotion completely f*cked us as a club. One season of success led to a spending spree and relegation, the timing of which utterly destroyed us. Going down a season later would have meant parachute payments, no adminstration, no fire sale of players - we'd have been fine. It's all about bloody timing. We've really missed out on the Premier gravy train and seen a whole host of ‘small clubs' overtake us as a consequence (20 years ago would have thought that Swansea, Hull, Fulham, Bournemouth, Watford etc would be ‘bigger' than us). We've fallen so far, from such heights, and now it looks like the door is slamming on the only way out. I struggle to think of a club that it's more depressing to be a fan of as ours.... |  | |
dirtydingusmagee added 09:50 - Aug 9
all is rosy ,this is Evans level , just above a kick'about on a meadow . May need to employ a pest controller to work with groundsman to keep moles under control in couple of years time though . |  | |
Skip73 added 10:38 - Aug 9
Vijoen, I totally agree with you, I'm seriously considering giving up on football altogether as I've had enough of the corruption. Finding a replacement is difficult though. |  | |
carlo88 added 10:55 - Aug 9
We are stuffed aren't we. Even if we do somehow manage to get promoted to the Championship we'll be so far behind in player quality and wages we will probably go straight back down again. I don't now see many clubs doing a Bournemouth and going through all the leagues. |  | |
tractorboybig added 12:46 - Aug 9
we are with the mickey mouse clubs now and on the field 10 of them are better than us.If anyone thinks we stand a cats chance of promotion with dippo as manager and a ticket spiv as owner they need to grow up and live in the real world. |  | |
BettyBlue added 13:52 - Aug 9
Forget football at Portman Road until the idiot Evans cashes in and clears off.
And forget football while we have a round ball of lard in charge of the team.
Boycott the Town this season.
Frankly life has been a lot better without the PR gasbags and their hot air and false promises. |  | |
RegencyBlue added 14:56 - Aug 9
I gave my season tickets up this season after well over 40 years, nothing to do with COVID-19 and everything to do with Evans.
I couldn't pay any more money to watch him continue to destroy the club I grew up with. The day he walks out of the door for the last time is the day I will renew, not before! |  | |
TractorRoyNo1 added 15:24 - Aug 9
Championship clubs will pick off the better players, div1 will become the home for hasbeens and wannabes - we're doomed captain mainwaring |  | |
therein61 added 16:06 - Aug 9
TractorRoyNo1, Haven't we enough hasbeens(the 2 two top earners spring to mind) already |  | |
runningout added 20:57 - Aug 9
Wish some would stop calling it Division 1. It's league 1 and we have as much chance of getting promoted from it as all the rest in it. Our history and size stand for Jack S*it. You can blame who you like and Evans must stand up at take a lot of it. He may have good intentions but he's not looking very informative on the football front. Recent form makes us relegation bound and I can see it happening without big changes | | |
runningout added 20:58 - Aug 9
There goes my pledge to Stop moaning | | |
muhrensleftfoot added 21:18 - Aug 9
So Marcus will accept and deal with it! What a joke. Since he bought the club, he's not successfully dealt with anything. A succession of poor managers and we find ourselves in Div 3, now forced to reduce our player budget still further, with the worst manager (statistical fact) in our history. Difficult to remain positive |  | |
MickMillsTash added 09:17 - Aug 10
If the wages are going down can Evans reduce the ticket prices?
The rule is a joke - if not good enough for the top 2 leagues good players could get more in the conference |  | |
Razor added 10:26 - Aug 10
Crikey Evans can now hide behind this and legally justify his lack of activity and ambition.
As Fraser would say we are"doomed,doomed". | | |
dirtydingusmagee added 11:05 - Aug 10
i say blow football .................hang on isnt that we are heading ! | | |
Help added 18:42 - Aug 10
well we got in this mess, and now at the second time of asking we had better get out of it, because if we don't this club really will be on the slide. |  | |
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