Premier League clubs need a reality check says Ken Wright, chairman of National League bottom club Chorley

Chorley chairman Ken Wright has branded some of the wages being earned by footballers at the highest level of the game as immoral.
Magpies chairman Ken Wright think it is high time football clubs had a reality checkMagpies chairman Ken Wright think it is high time football clubs had a reality check
Magpies chairman Ken Wright think it is high time football clubs had a reality check

He hopes that if there can be any good to come out of the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, then it might just be that the game is handed a reality check.

Wright has spoken at length in the past about how running the Magpies as a high-end non-league club is a tightrope in financial terms.

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And that has been exacerbated even more over the past month or so after Covid-19 brought a halt to the football season at every level.

With no gate receipts from staging matches at Victory Park as well as sponsorship revenue, the Magpies have no income and so have and will continue to face a real battle to remain as a going concern.

However, Chorley are not alone in their struggles and Wright believes the impact of coronavirus is a stark warning to all clubs at all levels.

“I think in the long-term football may benefit because it is a reality check on the wages being paid,” Wright said.

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“The money which flies around in the Premier League, it’s immoral.

“There are some clubs who will fall by the wayside inevitably after all this.

“When you talk about income, we rely on gate receipts and sponsorship. But 
if you think about local 
businesses, will they have any monies to invest in the local football club when they are fighting to keep their businesses going?

“That’s a reality check for everyone. All income streams are going to be affected.

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“Clubs will have to cut their cloth which I don’t think is a bad thing particularly at the top end.

“We are always sailing close to the wind but that’s what we have to do because as a non-league club we rely on gate receipts, sponsorship and other monies we can raise through different directions which are relevant to football.

“But when you see it documented that such a player is on £400,000 per week or £300,000, you just think, ‘What is going on?’

“Like I say, it is immoral and football will have to take a reality check”

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Clubs in the National League have voted to end the season now and will not play their remaining games.

A further vote on final league placings, promotion and relegation is set to take place and this will have a significant impact on Chorley, who are at the bottom of the table.

The club favours the season being declared null and void, but in the present climate which division Chorley will play in next season is not important to Wright.

He said: “Wherever we will be playing next season does not really matter at this stage of proceedings when people are losing their lives and the country is in such a state.”