Urgent action needed in dire Championship as TV revenue shows signs of drying up
AS WORRYING as the situation in the top flight is, it is far worse in the Championship, where £4 is spent for every £3 earned.
Financial results for England’s second tier worsened for the sixth successive year in 2009-10, according to Deloitte, while the average wages-to-turnover ratio is an eye-watering 88 per cent.
It could get worse, however, with income set to fall across the division due to a less lucrative TV deal starting next year.
The Annual Review of Football Finance warns clubs “urgently need to take corrective action”, although the report’s editor, Dan Jones, insists there is hope.
There is time to adjust, with 80 per cent of player contracts up before then, while there appears less of a correlation between wage bill and league position.
Jones says: “You can buck the market perhaps more easily than in the Premier League.”