EFL should not ask the Premier League for any handouts, asserts Rick Parry
English Football League chairman Rick Parry has stated that clubs from the lower divisions should not ask the top flight for any financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EFL, after a meeting with the Premier League, will release a short-term relief fund to help clubs survive the pandemic.
The relief fund was confirmed to be around £50 million with it a no interest, short-term loan to clubs in order to help them survive this pandemic. However, while there has been outcry amidst the lower leagues that £50 million won’t be enough, many are even asking the Premier League to help pitch in during this crisis. Colchester chairman Robbie Cowling has been the first to do the same on the air and reports indicate that many side with Cowling.
But in an interview recently, English Football League (EFL) chairman Rick Parry went on to admit that the lower leagues should not ask the Premier League for financial support. He also added that he personally is not a fan of the "begging-bowl culture" and that he wants the clubs to create a better solution for when this happens again in the future.
"I'm not a fan of the begging-bowl culture. Â [Rather than] just looking for handouts, it's better to go with a self-help mentality, saying 'this is what we've done, this is the problem that we find ourselves in, so how can we all help to produce a better future? I think it's much better, in dialogue with the Premier League, to talk about sustainable futures and how we might be able to have a reset going forward," Parry told BBC Radio 5 live.
The financial losses might be a drop in the bucket for a lot of the top tier sides but for the lower leagues, it has already been catastrophic. Especially for clubs in the Championship and the League One where their wage bill represents 107% of their turnover. That will and already has caused serious issues and Parry went on to admit that the league is looking at measures to control it.
"We've already been looking at measures to control costs. In the Championship, wages represent 107% of turnover of clubs. That is completely and utterly unsustainable in any climate. In this climate, it comes home to roost very quickly when there's no money coming through the door. We need to have better cost-control measures. I'm sure we will because, if this doesn't focus minds, frankly, what will," Parry continued.