County seek £180k loan from The Council.

At the turn of 2012 it was clear that Stockport County`s director of Football Jim Gannon had a task on his plate as he was told by the clubs chairman to reduce the wage bill. With 11 players leaving the club the wage bill was slashed dramatically but it was still evident of the cash flow problem surrounding the club. With Sales move to Barton coming ever closer it makes the County faithful consider the financial stability of the football club.

It has been well documented that if Sale were to leave Edgeley Park then the rent that County would have to pay would increase, this is written in the contract agreement for the County Lease of Edgeley Park therefore no fixed cost is currently set in place meaning that the club is in limbo for the payment of the ground. As Sale`s move away is immanent there is a really out cry to where the money will come for the additional costs.

With the team doing well on the pitch of late the attendances have risen to over 3700 in recent weeks making you wonder why there is such a cash flow issue with the wage bill slashed and the attendance remaining high. With the business plan stating at the start of the season a minimum number of 2500 was needed every week to break even and to start making profit it makes me wonder where the truth lies.

Anthony Pilkington was sold to Norwich FC in August of 2011 for around £2m and Stockport were owed around 20% of any profit made (this was a clause in the selling agreement) therefore Stockport were owed around £320,000 by Huddersfield, this was to be paid in two stages, the first instalment of £180,000 was received in the summer of 2011 with the second to be paid in August 2012.

The club was subject to a change of ownership last summer something of which did not go through, the club saw a new manager implemented and a new director take charge of the football club for the first three months of the season, with the new director Tony Evans not releasing any names of his consortium there was a certain fishy smell in the air from the start but most of the County faithful just wanted a hopeful overcast illusion of successand stability brought back to the club. Evidently with no tangible plan and no actual sense behind the deal it fell through leaving County in the real thick of it.

In November of 2011 there was the creation of the YTYT group, they were seriously concerned about the welfare of the club and documented projected losses of the club to be estimated at around £500k for the year of 2011-2012. With this in the back of the fans minds there was a real question to how the club could survive the rest of the season with predicted losses. Over the last few months several changes have been made all around the club with a three new Directors being put in place and a new manager who has been running the club from top to bottom. High earners have left and this has reduced the wage bill, expensive loan players have been sent back to their parent clubs and certain back room staff have departed all in the aim of the club reducing costs.

With the club still having a financial cash flow problem they have agreed to a loan deal with Stockport Metropolitan Council for a short term solution to the clubs finances. With a second instalment of the transfer fee from Anthony Pilkington due in August of 2012 the loan deal of £180,000 has been secured against this. The loan is though to be around the £180,000 mark and this is to help the club in the day to day costs of running the establishment that is currently in place.

The chairman of the football club Lord Snape has stated ‘I would like to assure our loyal supporters of our determination to ensure that we start next season in a viable financial position.` My thought of the loan deal is that the club must really be in a financial mess to sort guidance from a source that rejected them in the summer of 2011 through the rejection of the shirt sponsor for the second successive season stating that not enough money was available due to Council cutbacks.

With the club resting all their hope on the ‘Pilkington` fee recuperation I feel that it really makes you wonder how the current chairman is running the club, with the determination of Jim at the helm and the support of the YTYT group I feel that in hindsight the loan could secure thee club for this season but in reality with the inevitable cost upheaval of the rising rent on Sales much needed departure it makes you wonder what the next stage for the football club really is.

What are your thoughs?