£300,000 Off The Wage Bill

[lucy6lucy]

Just in case you overlooked Tonge, that would drop it to 60k a year assuming they were roughly equal (or less if it includes employers contributions).

Hate to say it, but that is par for the course and certainly not at the top end. One target wanted 2.5k a week to move down here.

As nick points out, a lower level L2 player that we might have been interested in is on 1700 a week (that equates to not far off 90k a year).

Did forget about tonge, but you can me excuse for that but as you state this type of wage is normal for league 2, so it's not as if Knill was signing players on high wages for our level of football at the time.

[Gulliball]

They did lose 25% after relegation. If £300k is after that then it was even worse last year when only really Pearce played like a L2 standard player.

[Dave]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30743320

Think the wording in this article needs to be read, I quote "There are probably wages of £300,000 annually that are going to come off in the summer," Hargreaves told BBC Devon. Seems to suggest this figure may not be as exact as what some of us think.

Having fans going around blaming Alan Knill for the clubs current plight some what suits the TQ1 spin machine, if some want to fall for that, fine, it's the individuals choice, AK as said above could 'not' have signed anyone of these players with out the green light from the board, also what needs to be remembered, we all wanted betters players brought into the club, that was never going happen offering players 1 year contracts on £500 a week, players just weren't going to uproot their family's for that.

Some keep banging on about Knill's signings, some didn't work out, but also it seems to have been forgotten that Pearce was fans POTY and despite only playing the first half of the season, dropped by CH, Chapell still managed to end up top goal scorer, so AK's signings weren't all bad. AK didn't sign Aaron Downes, would AK have singed Benyon with out someone else's input ?

Anyone who follows my posts and has a memory would have seen me start posting some stark warnings 18 months ago, the club had to stay in the football league, it didn't, at the start this season I started posting about a subject and when this topic reared it's ugly recently, I posted it again, largely ignored, so I'll try again.

When the club was relegated it received a PARACHUTE PAYMENTwhich means the club have been playing in the conference this season on pretty much a League 2 income, next season that parachute payment will be lost, so a simple sum.

£300,000 off the wage bill - lost parachute payment believed to be approx. £375,000 = - £75,000 off the clubs gross income

So taking it that all these figures are correct, what does anyone think the likely outcome to the clubs budgets for next season are going to be, are the budgets going to be reduced slightly, obliterated, highly likely all honesty the budgets will be hung drawn and quartered, it may even result in some players we already have been asked to take a pay cut.

Not trying to scaremonger here, put the point needs to start hitting home, just trying to be honest with my opinions, just wish things were different they could have been, and only place to look if playing blame game makes us feel better= the board.

[Neal]

I understand the sums forever, BUT, if the parachute payments equal the wages of the crap players, IT means we will have 4 or 5 crap players gone by next season being replaced by CH signings which might be crap OR might not..... BUT..... they will be CH signings. Pearce did perform ok last year. hasn't been great this year. as for Chappel, ok he had a good one against Alfreton, but his final ball and distribution has been woeful over the time he has been here, so I don't agree.

The manager chooses the players, persuades the board to sign them, probably exaggerates how good they are. AK couldn't recognise a good footballer in a million years, trying to suggest he had even an ounce of skill in that dept is.... well unbelievable and quite funny!

[Sunnysideup]

Good post Forever, there are a lot more than just the 5 mentioned that are out of contract this summer. Who knows just how many are included in the probable 300K? Who knows if some of the 5 mentioned may be offered an extension? I would suggest that given the figure quoted of £1700 for a lower half L2 player, the money we were paying last season is about par for the course.
You're totally right in that there was no way we were going to get league players to move down here for peanuts, yet the number of posters who cant grasp that is astonishing.

[PlainmoorRoar]

They did lose 25% after relegation. If £300k is after that then it was even worse last year when only really Pearce played like a L2 standard player.

[Dave]

Good post Forever, there are a lot more than just the 5 mentioned that are out of contract this summer. Who knows just how many are included in the probable 300K? Who knows if some of the 5 mentioned may be offered an extension? I would suggest that given the figure quoted of £1700 for a lower half L2 player, the money we were paying last season is about par for the course.
You're totally right in that there was no way we were going to get league players to move down here for peanuts, yet the number of posters who cant grasp that is astonishing.

Agreed, by the looks of it there are only 5 players contracted past the summer, so when CH talks about £300k off the wage bill, he could well be talking about a lot of players making up that figure, I've been told there are a couple of players on big money and I'm guessing from Roars post Tonge being on of them, but the rest are not on anything like what some think their on.

I'm sure if CH was on this forum and asked would he keep Pearce, Downes, Harding and Chapell if they'd all accept £350 a week, he wouldn't say no, there Knill's signings I don't want them, he would say yes, but he knows experienced pros wont get out of bed for that kind of money, and that's what we're likely to be paying from next term.

[Dave]

I understand the sums forever, BUT, if the parachute payments equal the wages of the crap players, IT means we will have 4 or 5 crap players gone by next season being replaced by CH signings which might be crap OR might not..... BUT..... they will be CH signings. Pearce did perform ok last year. hasn't been great this year. as for Chappel, ok he had a good one against Alfreton, but his final ball and distribution has been woeful over the time he has been here, so I don't agree.

The manager chooses the players, persuades the board to sign them, probably exaggerates how good they are. AK couldn't recognise a good footballer in a million years, trying to suggest he had even an ounce of skill in that dept is.... well unbelievable and quite funny!

How Pearce and Chapell are performing this season is completely irrelevant, simple matter of fact that can not be argued with, Pearce was fans POTY last season, Chapell top goal scorer end of and both Knill signings, the fact both aren't hitting the same heights suggests that CH isn't capable of getting the same out of these players that Knill was.

Alan Knill may well be the least skilled at spotting a good player ever in the history of football, ok, so who gave this incompetent fool a job in football ? Oh wait, yes, of course, it was the board of TUFC, kind of screwed your own argument there.

But that's irrelevant too. even if the most skilled manager goes to the board and says, I've got 5 players @ £60k a year contracts ( for argument sake) and I want to replace them with 5 players @ £100k a year contracts, the board of the football club have the hands on the purse strings and will know if the club can afford the increase. The fact remains AK went to the board of TUFC asked if he could signs these players, and was told by our board he could, as said not AK's fault.

[Sesimbra]

I agree with much of Forever's points. Knill is regularly portrayed as the villain in the piece and responsible for all that is wrong today. Of course he made mistakes in hindsight but he had the blessing of the Board at the time.
I am more concerned about our present manager. It seems he is incapable of motivating HIS team and they are mostly his team. He seems to be continually looking for excuses and naming a player in public for losing the Club 2 points hardly helps team spirit. Also STATING that he is getting rid of his high earners isn't going to help the team effort this season.
One day he may own up to his own mistakes but I wont hold my breath.

[Burnhamgull]

I think our board are weak and easily persuadable.

1. Alan Knill persuaded the board to bring in players on contracts that the club cannot afford. Who's actually looking at the finances of the club and looking at 5 year plans?
2. Chris Hargreaves persuaded the board that he was the man for the top job using regular stints on Radio Devon to commentate on games and give his opinion on where the club was going wrong.

As others have said, the majority of the team IS made up of CH signings so he has to stop bleating and start working with what he has. I've said it before but at this level your manager needs to be a good coach and should also be a decent man manager. Buckle was a decent coach but not always a good man manager, unfortunately CH does not appear to be ticking either box for me at the moment.

There is no money to spend, the wage bill will be reduced in the summer and recruitment is going to need to be very well researched. How's the scouting network these day?

[PlainmoorRoar]

Agreed, by the looks of it there are only 5 players contracted past the summer, so when CH talks about £300k off the wage bill, he could well be talking about a lot of players making up that figure, I've been told there are a couple of players on big money and I'm guessing from Roars post Tonge being on of them, but the rest are not on anything like what some think their on.

I'm sure if CH was on this forum and asked would he keep Pearce, Downes, Harding and Chapell if they'd all accept £350 a week, he wouldn't say no, there Knill's signings I don't want them, he would say yes, but he knows experienced pros wont get out of bed for that kind of money, and that's what we're likely to be paying from next term.

Exactly forevertufc

I do see reasons to be optimistic on the transfer front though

If CH can sign up Berry at the end of the season and Tonge has departed this is a very positive financial swap

Will be interesting if Downes/Pearce stay

[Neal]

"But that's irrelevant too. even if the most skilled manager goes to the board and says, I've got 5 players @ £60k a year contracts ( for argument sake) and I want to replace them with 5 players @ £100k a year contracts, the board of the football club have the hands on the purse strings and will know if the club can afford the increase. The fact remains AK went to the board of TUFC asked if he could signs these players, and was told by our board he could, as said not AK's fault."

That would have been ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT.....THEY WERE CRAP!!!! THATS THE F ING POINT!!!

[Neal]

IF.... they had all turned out to be Messi, got no problem with that, but AK's signings will end up playing in conf south or below for God sake. The board have to rely on the managers judgment, OR do you want the board to start picking the team.

When you appoint a manger you have absolutely no idea how good he will be, its a f ing lottery, go on any football forum and you will see the same discussions. No.... im not going to agree, AK was crap, useless and is the one who made the judgement that the players he signed were worth the wages. The board do sanction the contracts obviously but do you want the board now (Thea for example) to check if each signing IS good enough. Gee what a mess that would be. You just want to blame the board because it suits your diatribe about the current state of the team.

[Sunnysideup]

"But that's irrelevant too. even if the most skilled manager goes to the board and says, I've got 5 players @ £60k a year contracts ( for argument sake) and I want to replace them with 5 players @ £100k a year contracts, the board of the football club have the hands on the purse strings and will know if the club can afford the increase. The fact remains AK went to the board of TUFC asked if he could signs these players, and was told by our board he could, as said not AK's fault."

That would have been ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT.....THEY WERE CRAP!!!! THATS THE F ING POINT!!!

Given hindsight is a wonderful thing, perhaps you should have posted on here before the season started (and emailed the club) that Hawley wasnt going to be able to score a goal every 3 and a bit appearances as he did in a struggling L1 one club the season before. Or that Harding was going to miss most of the season through injury. Or that Tonge and Pearce wouldnt adjust to L2 football. Or that Bodin was going to look out of his depth. Or that Chappell couldnt carry on the form and potential he showed the season before?

[Sunnysideup]

I think our board are weak and easily persuadable.

1. Alan Knill persuaded the board to bring in players on contracts that the club cannot afford. Who's actually looking at the finances of the club and looking at 5 year plans?

I would normally agree with you Burnham but thats not how it works. The manager is given a budget and recruits players within it. If that budget is unsustainable, he shouldnt have been set that budget?