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The history of benefactor clubs that emerge from non-league obscurity into top level competitions has not been a happy one. In England Rushden and Diamonds from Irthlingborough in Northamptonshire made it to League 2. Then the money dried up and now they are a lower mid-table Conference outfit. Has the fairy tale at Scottish borders club Gretna come to an end with the indifferent health of their benefactor Brooks Mileson? Gretna joined the Scottish League from the Northern League six years. They languished in the 3rd division for a couple of seasons and then it was decided to use their cash clout. The wages on offer have been described as 'startling'. The strategy was simple and it worked: bring in players from the division above so that you had the best players in the league. However, the higher up Gretna went, the less attractive the financial package looked. The gap between the average wage and the wages they were offering got narrower the higher they climbed. Once they arrived in the Scottish Premiership, there was no higher level they could go to for players.
For a club from a town of 3,000 with a limited fanbase, Gretna had long since left the infrastructure of the club behind. They have had to ground share with Motherwell, presenting home fans with a 160 mile round trip. This has led to paltry attendance figures: the home game against Inverness Caly Thistle saw a crowd of 1,002, a record low for a SPL game. They have also had to cope with higher policing and stewarding costs as well as the ground rental. For a man worth anything between £10m and £75m, it was all a bit too much. The order went out to cut the wage bill. This produced frustration just as the club went into the SPL. It was reflected in results and the manager and his assistant have left. Rumours of administration have been swirling round the club which is dependent on one far from healthy man and his millions.
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