FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

To be printed in the Good Friday game v Maidenhead United National League South Friday 3rd March 2026

We all want our football clubs to do well – but at what cost? Should we try and reach for the stars and bugger the consequences?

No one likes seeing their best players poached. Especially near the end of the season and especially to a team in your league; but what do you do if someone offers you money and the player has the chance to play full time football? And if you don’t sell he will leave for free in six weeks time.

I’ve heard eye watering sums of money about how much is spent just trying to run a National League South side. A million a season at Eastbourne Borough? Not that it has done them much good, as another popular kiss-me-quick seaside trip looks like its going down the sewage pipe.

Dorking Wanderers revenue is estimated at around £5.2 million! They’ve been hoovering up the best players in their push to be champions. But is there a glass ceiling for a market town team with a three sided ground coming up against ex league football giants? Meanwhile Chelmsford lost £800,000 last season and one of last seasons relegated teams St.Albans City lost £225,000! Of course you’ve got to dream, but not if that means jeopardising your club.

Can you sustain a club on just YouTube followers? Apparently not, as Hashtag United have retreated from the Isthmian Premier asking for voluntary relegation. Their owner is rightly complaining about the financial mess of football, which is a bit ironic as they powered up the leagues with a playing budget that blew everyone else out the way. They are moving in with Redbridge but surely a team has to be rooted in a place, have an identity more than just online likes?

Just over half of the 92 league football clubs have published accounts. Only 4 are profitable. Average pre tax loses? In the Premier League it’s £31.1. million, in the Championship £15.1 million, League One the average loss is £5 million and League Two it’s £2.6 million.

I give you Exhibit A. Port Vale currently bottom of League One lost £6.1 million last season gaining promotion. That’s £117,000 a week. That takes loses to over £17 million from when the company that currently owns it. They’ve got brilliant, forward thinking owners but blimey.

Exhibit B. AFC Wimbledon. As a supporters owned club they just can’t compete financially and are asking supporters if they are should dilute the fan owned model and find investors. One of the founders Ivor Heller said, “Football is out of control. The average loss in League One is £5 million. That’s just unsustainable. It’s insane...Everybody knows over time, if you’ve got constantly the lowest budget in the division, eventually you’re going to fall out of that division. Our problems are simple: our owners, our fans, are probably at the limits of what they can put in.” He said younger fans seem to car less about the value of fan ownership and want the club to find deep-pocketed owners to join the English Football League (EFL) arms race. One EFL owner said that more than half of the 72 clubs only have cashflow to last a month. “Finding a cure is going to be difficult, but there’s still more people going to football outside the Premier League every week than in the Premier League. That is something worth looking after.”

So what about little old Slough? Has it been a good season? On the pitch we’ve seen some brilliant results (I was certainty given a 60th Boxing Day birthday present to remember) but we've struggled with some serious injuries and looked down and out at one point. But I’m also interested in the way clubs run. I don’t want some flash in the pan YouTuber announcements and a hip hop DJ or former premier league star come rushing in all trumpets blowing, promising the earth. That Wrexham ship has sailed, although the wage inflation that they and Birmingham bought to the table is the reason so many clubs are in trouble. I want our club to be built on more than sand and I think it is. So I asked Ash, the Slough Town CEO a few questions.

How would you describe Sloughs financial model?

‘Sustainable but continued growth due to building multiple revenue streams not replying on match day revenue.’

What keeps you awake at night?

‘I sleep like a baby, but running any business is stressful. I have operated my own businesses since 2014 so have learnt how to compartmentalize stress on areas/environments I can't always affect.’

Can you see a time when the club would go full time?

‘I feel within the 2-3 years it will be imperative for us to remain competitive at this level and achieve promotion to the National League.’

With the Football regulator coming over the hill are things about to change? Under new licensing proposals, clubs will have to demonstrate that they have the financial resources to withstand major shocks such as relegation or withdrawal of owner funding – or risk the nuclear option of being banned from competing.

Football clubs are more than ninety minutes on the pitch and play an ever increasing, important role in their communities. Let’s hope the era of boom and bust will soon come to an end.

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