The GodFather Posted April 13, 2020 Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) Marcelo Bielsa's side sit top of the Championship table, but the threat of the campaign being voided could have huge financial implications Easter Monday should have seen a full round of Football League fixtures across England, as is tradition, with clubs fighting for promotion or against relegation. Instead, the stadiums of the 72 EFL clubs will be empty as the coronavirus-enforced lockdown continues across the UK. There is no end in sight in terms of clubs being allowed to complete their seasons during the summer months. For teams at either end of their respective divisions, the wait is an agonising one. All things being equal, the season would be over by the first weekend in May. Instead many will reach that mark still with nine or 10 games left to fulfil. Given the riches available to those who reach the Premier League, the lockdown is particularly jarring for those at the top of the Championship table. Leeds United currently lead the way, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side tantalisingly close to ending their 16-year absence from the top-flight. They sit seven points clear of third-placed Fulham after a run of five wins without conceding a goal resurrected a campaign that threatened to derail itself following a poor run of form either side of the new year. Returning to the promised land of the Premier League would obviously spark wild celebrations from those who grace Elland Road as supporters each week, but the delight within the club’s boardroom at finally being rid of the money pit that is the Championship would likely run it close. “A disaster unfortunately,” was how Leeds owner, Andrea Radrizzani, described the indefinite postponement of the season when speaking to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio in a recent interview. “To be competitive, a club like ours loses £8 million ($10m) to £10m ($12.5m) every year and nobody wants to keep a business that loses money every year. "This situation aggravates the budget. Not having five home games, we will lose about £2.5m, which are the only source of revenues since such figures do not come from TV rights. This epidemic aggravates this situation, which is already normally complicated." Radrizzani has regularly hit out at the lack of financial incentives available to those within the Championship, particularly given the interest there is in the league when compared to other second divisions around the world. Leeds’ status as a former European Cup finalist and force for decades within the English game sees them draw plenty of attention from both fans and advertisers alike and yet, as Radrizzani has detailed, they continue to lose money year on year. Their most recent financial results for the 2018-19 season confirmed an annual pre-tax loss of £21.4m ($26.6m) despite the club enjoying its most successful season on the pitch since relegation from the Premier League in 2004. Italian businessman Radrizzani has suggested that should Leeds remain in the Football League then he would be forced to sell, with the most recent television rights deal proving a particular sticking point as EFL clubs continue to earn a fraction of the amount that their Premier League counterparts do, despite games involving clubs such as Leeds and Nottingham Forest providing more viewers than some top-flight fixtures. The disparity between rights deals is illustrated perfectly when delving into the finances of clubs who have been recently relegated from the Premier League. During the 2017-18 season, the likes of Sunderland and Middlesbrough – who dropped down from the top-flight at the end of the previous campaign - earned over £46m ($57m) in television rights thanks to the parachute payments they receive from the Premier League. Clubs that were relegated in 2015, such as Cardiff City and QPR, still earned in excess of £20m ($25m). Leeds, on the other hand, brought in just £7.7m ($9.6m) despite 19 of their 46 league matches having been chosen for live broadcast by Sky Sports in the UK. The new agreement that the EFL reached with Sky in 2019 will continue this trend. Edited April 14, 2020 by flaffy213 Closed topic / Complete 1 day 1
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