Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt has cited Leeds United as an example of the skewed finances of Football League clubs compared to the Premier League rich boys.
The League One club chief told the Daily Mail the game is precarious outside the elite and there are too many clubs struggling to stay afloat after gambling on reaching the holy grail of the top flight and staying there.
Holt highlighted Mel Morris’ attempts to sell Derby County as proof of the disparity between the haves of the Premier League and the have-nots of those lower down the chain.
‘If Mel is losing £3million a month it’s no wonder he’s sick of it,” Holt told the Daily Mail. “A lot are. Look at the Championship issues that led to Shaun going. It cannot be right that Leeds against Derby gets £3-4million a year from TV and Huddersfield against Fulham gets £100million.
“Per viewer, the Championship’s getting buttons. There isn’t a man alive who can argue with that. That is what is driving that division to overspend. Championship clubs will lose a total of around £400million this year. Only three go up and the prize for them is a basic of £300m in broadcasting rights. They can’t all go up. They’re mugs.”
OPINION
This is great insight from Holt and a valuable perspective into the disparity between those who’ve reached the promised land and those with their noses pressed up against the glass desperate to join the party. Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani has been very critical of the EFL’s new five-year broadcasting deal and led the revolt of the Championship clubs who argued they had a better deal on the table than the one agreed with Sky. Departing chief executive Shaun Harvey has paid with his job, but that will not end the frustration of the second-tier outfits struggling to stay afloat, while those one division above are in the world of milk and honey. Leeds are naturally desperate to secure a top-two finish and secure the mammoth windfall of broadcasting cash that would, at a stroke, end their financial concerns. However, Fulham should act as a salutary tale and others are proof that once you get the pot of gold, you have to spend it well.