Like many well-devised schemes Uefa’s Financial Fair Play has perverse and unintended consequences, particularly as it is rolled out a lower level. The new Salary Cost Management Protocol rules that come into effect this summer in Leagues 1 and 2 may appear to be a sensible attempt to curb unsustainable spending, but in fact they could hit smaller clubs.
Like many well-devised schemes Uefa’s Financial Fair Play has perverse and unintended consequences, particularly as it is rolled out a lower level. The new Salary Cost Management Protocol rules that come into effect this summer in Leagues 1 and 2 may appear to be a sensible attempt to curb unsustainable spending, but in fact they could hit smaller clubs.
League 2 clubs cannot spend more than their 55 per cent of their annual turnover on wages. As a consequence, Dagenham & Redbridge have had to offload their more experienced players and rely on youngsters.
Daggers have always relied on developing younger players and selling them on at a profit. As boss John Still commented, ‘That’s how we pay for the Traditional Builders Stand, how get the car park done, it’s how we get the floodlights.’ But he thinks that the gap with bigger clubs is getting wider and the new regulations don’t help.