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Really insightful post on the gap in finances. I think the LOI definitely punches above it’s weight in terms of on pitch standard/players developed versus financial resources availableOriginally Posted by Jolly Red Giant
Most of the clubs in League Two come from towns similar in size between Limerick and Cork (closer to Limerick population wise). The LOI should be comparable to the top end of L2 - but there are reasons why it is not.
League Two clubs get about £0.5m per year from the EFL and a further £0.5m a year in 'solidarity' trickle down payments from the PL (there is a reason why the Hollywoods threw a massive amount of money into getting Wrexham out of the Conference). That is nearly €1.2m every year that LOI clubs do not have access to. The average attendance in L2 (with the exception of a couple of larger clubs) is in the 4,500 range - Bradford get about 18,000, Wrexham and Notts County about 11,000 and Stockport 10,000 (clubs who are in the promotion race do get a major boost in attendance).
Each L2 club gets £20,000 for participating in the EFL Trophy and get the same for the last 32 round. In the last 16 when it jumps to £40,000, then £50,000 with the final winners getting £100K. If a game is televised each club receive £10K up to the last 16 and then £20K for subsequent rounds. Winning the EFL is worth upwards of £0.5m.
There is similar money for the Carabo Cup -
For the FA Cup - L2 clubs get £20K for first round with first round winners getting £41K, second round winners get £67K and third round winners get £105K. A TV game in the first and second round is worth £75K.
Even if you lost in the first round of all of these competitions the club will receive £60K.
Two other factors come into play - L2 clubs have a bigger pool of players released by clubs further up the food chain and the cost of living is lower in most of these towns than in Ireland.
So L2 clubs generate upwards of €1.5m more than LOI clubs in league and cup payments alone - and that is before matchday receipts are considered and ownership money included (e.g. Forest Green Rovers had one of the highest wage bills in L2 despite the fact that the club is based in the village of Nailsworth in Gloucestershire where the area has a population of about 5,000 people).
This results in the average wage bill per club in L2 range from £3m per year for the likes of Bradford down to £1.5m for the likes of Crewe and Newport - with reports that the average player salary in L2 coming in at about £85K a year (about €100K). Many of the L2 clubs are owned by high worth individuals or vulture funds - Carlisle United is owned by a company controlled by Palm Sports a fund with assets of $425m. Although there are a number of clubs owned by supporters trusts (e.g. AFC Wimbledon, Barrow, Chesterfield). The L2 clubs all have the possibility of promotion up the league pyramid with each step facilitating higher financial rewards - which as a consequence leads to more financial clout being available to those clubs (the average revenue of League One clubs is £10m per season).
In terms of a comparison with L2 clubs, LOI clubs are not on a level playing pitch. The financial clout of L2 clubs is far greater than LOI clubs in financial terms and they do have advantages in other areas as well.
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