Hereford United players were sent a group text yesterday telling them that they will not get their wages for April. The players were already owed money as they were not paid in full in March.
Hereford United players were sent a group text yesterday telling them that they will not get their wages for April. The players were already owed money as they were not paid in full in March.
According to chairman Martin Keyte, the Bulls need £135,000 to meet their immediate financial needs. Their plight illustrates the challenges facing clubs relegated from the Football League to the non-league system. The Conference is a difficult league to get out of and former League clubs can find themselves plunging even lower. Once in what is now the Championship, Stockport County will be playing in the second tier of the non-league pyramid next year.
Hereford knew that they would face a £500,000 reduction in league funding. Gate money has fallen by nearly quarter of a million pounds compared with last season. The club had to meet 10 continuing Football League contracts that expire in June.
The £215,000 parachute payment ends in June. External funding for next season will be around £50,000 compared with £800,000 in League 2. If an average crowd of 1,800 can be achieved, revenue will be halved from £1.8m in 2011-12 to £900,000 in 2013-14.
The playing budget is expected to be cut by £100,000 and will be £700,000 less than in 2011-12. While this is unavoidable, the risk is that Hereford will struggle in the league and crowds will fall even more.
It is planned to launch a share issue and a debenture scheme which would allow fans to purchase a seat for five years with ‘accompanying facilities’. How many fans will be willing or able to pay for this remains to be seen. In the meantime, the club needs to find enough money to pay a VAT bill which is due on 7 May.
A ‘stand alone’ club in a city the size of Hereford should be able to sustain at least a Conference club. However, there may not be that much support, either financial or tangible, from the prosperous surrounding county which has a large population of retired incomers.