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Gary Neville readily admits that he doesn’t sit down and fidgets in the moment. When a task is completed, it’s time for the Salford City co-owner to move on to the next challenge, and there are plenty of those now for a League Two club amid the coronavirus pandemic. But even Neville, who won 17 major awards during 602 appearances for Manchester United between 1992 and 2011, feels a sense of accomplishment and pride at the prospect of their two worlds colliding on Wednesday when Salford faces United in a competitive match for first time. in the EFL Trophy.
There are a multitude of issues and issues to grapple with at all levels of soccer as the game tries to navigate a path through the COVID-19 crisis, and Neville has strong opinions on most of them. But six years after the 45-year-old joined forces with former United teammates Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and his brother Phil, the “Class of 92” in taking over a non-league club. Playing in front of 150 fans each week in the eighth tier of English football, the prospect of hosting United this week is a significant moment.
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“I always go back to the first Salford game Ryan attended, Nicky,” Neville told ESPN. “We were behind the goal and nobody knew we were taking over the club. It was against Curzon Ashton and Salford lost 3-1.
“It was so terrible that we thought, ‘What have we done here?’ We were miles apart. But in the years since, we’ve had four promotions, we played at Wembley, we moved up to the Football League and this week we will play Manchester United. There have been milestones from the beginning and now you think, ‘This really is happening. ‘that vision of where we wanted to be.
“Because of our careers in the game, you get used to things happening and put them aside, and you almost move on. And now we are playing games that we dream of playing, times that, five or six years ago, you imagined it would be like ‘wow!’ – You don’t really think about that now that you’re here.
“But other than that, it’s a great time for us to play Manchester United. It will be their under-21 team, but it will still be Manchester United. Under normal circumstances the stadium would have been full and it would have been a great occasion for the fans. Salford, United and the local area, but obviously we have to play behind closed doors and that is one of the great embarrassments of this situation we are in now. “
Neville won every major trophy, more or less, in his time at Manchester United, but now his heart is invested in trying to bring Salford City to that level. Michael Regan / Getty Images
That “situation” is the current uncertainty not only in football, but in society as a whole as a result of a pandemic that has created financial concerns in every home and business in the world. As the owner of two hotels and a property development company, along with his stake in Salford, Neville has had a daily glimpse of unprecedented challenges.
“I live in Manchester and some days it’s like a ghost town,” he said. “There are sandwich shops, which used to be full, with no one in them. There are still massive health problems in this country, but there are also massive economic problems, not just in football, but in society, that will start to develop. in the coming months and years, because of the coronavirus. “
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Salford, however, has been one of the lucky ones from a football perspective. The ’92 promotion brings the profile that has allowed the club to negotiate a lucrative sponsorship renewal with telecommunications company TalkTalk, while majority owner Peter Lim, the Singaporean businessman, is a billionaire. But with all EFL League 1 and League 2 clubs losing revenue generated through the turnstiles since their seasons came to a halt in March (the 2019-20 season was finally canceled at the L1 and L2 level), the money was It has dried up and, despite its advantages, Neville says Salford has not been immune to the effects of the pandemic.
“Soccer has great challenges ahead,” he said. “Losing the atmosphere is an emotional feeling, but losing the revenue from the games is a huge problem for many clubs.”
“From our point of view, we will miss the revenue, but we do not depend on it to be successful at the moment. But for other clubs, it is absolutely critical. Attending some of the league meetings that I have been involved in. Last few months, you can feel the heartache and see the pain and understand the challenges caused by problems that have not arisen due to your own poor decisions or lack of funding.
“It is a purely economic situation and the absence of fans in the stadium is one of the main causes of that.”
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Clubs across all divisions of English football are hopeful that the government’s plans to allow some fans to return to stadiums from early October will go ahead. But initially, it won’t be more than 30 percent of the stadium’s capacity. That figure may not be attractive to players like United, Liverpool and Arsenal, whose stadiums will still feel practically empty, but in the lower leagues, 30 percent of capacity will almost return to normal.
“We will get 1,700,” Neville said. “We averaged 2,500 last season, so we’d be down by about 800 fans.
“Our ticket prices range from £ 6 to £ 7 per game so we are talking about losing £ 4,000 per game. If we miss 10 games, it is £ 40,000. Our business income is higher than our gate income because we can leverage different aspects, either through the documentary that we have made, or from the shareholders – there are elements that we can capitalize on that other clubs cannot. It is a strength that we have within the club, but we also have a deficiency when it comes to income on match days.
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“We are competing with clubs in League 2 like Bolton, who can average maybe 15,000 fans in every home game. Bradford will be the same. Six years ago we averaged 150 people per game, now we’re at 2,500 so that’s an increase. massive fan base We’re trying to build a club within a city, but clubs like Bolton, Bradford, Tranmere, have a long established history and a fan base to match.
“But clubs at our level depend on season ticket sales to get through the summer months, and that revenue has been completely wiped out.”
In an attempt to bring some financial stability and certainty to the lower leagues, League 1 and League 2 clubs voted over the summer to introduce a salary cap. In League 1, the cap is £ 2.5 million a year on player salaries, while in League 2, the figure is £ 1.5 million.
Just over a year ago, Neville’s hometown club Bury was expelled from the EFL due to non-payment of player salaries and rising debts, and despite being against the imposing a salary cap, Neville agrees is something many clubs were desperate for.
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“Fundamentally, I do not agree, but I also understand that the clubs are massively in favor and, when you are a member of a league like ours, I do believe in solidarity and that, if you join, you are conscientious.” of the wishes of others and that is how we have acted at Salford, “Neville said.” We are in a different position than most other clubs, so it would be wrong of us to be selfish on our behalf. We have to understand the difficult situation of other clubs and the situation in which they find themselves.
“The average salary spend for League 2 last season was £ 1.9 million to £ 2 million, so that’s 25 percent less than that. And there is a natural salary cap this season due to the coronavirus. It’s the biggest impact on player salaries for decades, certainly in the lower leagues, but the clubs wanted it and felt they needed it. I was against it when it first came 3-4 months ago, but I know we are 72 members clubs in the EFL and 48 clubs in L1 and L2, and 38 of those 48 voted in favor of the salary cap.
“That is a landslide. Clubs and owners are tired of losing money, putting money in and subsidizing salaries.”
Salford City made it to the Football League in 2019 and finished firmly in the middle of the table in its first League Two season last year. Now, the objective is to continue promoting the promotion. Martin Rickett / EMPICS / PA Images via Getty Images
One solution to football’s financial crisis, Neville believes, is help from the Premier League, whose most recent broadcast deal amounted to £ 9 billion between 2019 and 2022. During negotiations on Project Restart, the government of the The UK insisted on increased support from the Premier League for the football ecosystem. in the lower leagues, but so far the trickle-down effect has been limited to the advance of a £ 125 million solidarity payment that was owed anyway.
“A lot of clubs are in a really difficult situation and I have asked, from day one, for a Premier League support package for the lower leagues,” Neville said.
“It hasn’t come yet, but I’m hopeful that it can come at some point because I think there is enormous pressure on the clubs that doesn’t have to exist at the moment. It could be something so simple.” as a gift. If you’re talking £ 250 million from the Premier League, it’s essentially £ 12 million per club.
“We’re talking £ 250 million out of a £ 9 billion streaming deal, as a one-off, to try and recoup some income from losses incurred from the coronavirus.”
Neville will continue to be a leading voice in the battle for greater support for smaller clubs, but this week will allow for a moment of satisfied reflection. When the next generation of Manchester United takes the field at the Peninsula Stadium in Salford on Wednesday, it will be a reminder that football is not always about the cold world of business.
“There are days as a club owner where you wonder why you are,” Neville said. “But it’s because we love football and it’s the only thing I do in my life that excites me – the anger, the disappointment, the excitement of winning at the last minute – that I can somehow replicate what I had.” as a United player.
“He can never fully replicate it, but it gives you that little feeling, and Wednesday will be a time for that.”
Source: espn.co.uk
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