From The TimesJanuary 5, 2008 Luton’s plea for financial help from Liverpool is turned downTom Dart Liverpool have refused a request from Luton Town to donate their share of the gate money from tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round tie to their opponents, despite the Coca-Cola League One club being in such dire financial straits that they are in danger of folding and cannot afford to pay their players. Luton are losing about £400,000 a month and went into administration in November. Their players have been paid only 2½ weeks’ wages in the past nine weeks. The club’s joint-administrator, Brendan Guilfoyle, asked the Barclays Premier League club if they were willing to forgo a share of the revenue from the tie, but was rebuffed. “They probably said, ‘We have to pay players £100,000 a week. You must be joking, otherwise we will be like you,’ †Kevin Blackwell, the Luton manager, said. “You just have to accept it. There are people in life who have got a Rolls-Royce while some people have a Mini. We are Mini drivers.†The match will be televised live, earning each club £150,000, and Kenilworth Road will be full to its 10,000 capacity. Of the gate money, 45 per cent goes to each club and 10 per cent to a Football Association pool, so Luton and Liverpool stand to receive about £100,000 each from ticket sales. The winning club earns £40,000 in prize-money. Blackwell is donating his wages to Luton’s trainees, who are paid £70 a week. “I’ve got players here on £175 a week, some on £400, so there are lads here who can’t even handle being in the situation because it came out of the blue,†he said. “We went into administration three days before pay-day in November. It wasn’t as if anyone was given any warning.†While Luton’s mess - they also face a series of charges relating to alleged irregular payments to players - is hardly Liverpool’s problem, their decision not to make a gesture of support will reopen the debate about whether the nation’s leading clubs should do more to help their smaller cousins, given the vast amount of money flowing into top-flight football. League One clubs receive about £375,000 a year from the Football League’s television deal. The Premier League’s various television contracts bring in about £900 million a year, of which they donate roughly 1.2 per cent to the Football League to be shared among its clubs. But even the club that finishes bottom of the Premier League this season can expect to be handed more than £30 million in TV revenue alone. Going into administration provoked a ten-point deduction that leaves Luton in the relegation zone. With other clubs circling, they face a player exodus during the transfer window. The administrators have set a deadline of 5pm Monday for offers from prospective buyers and two parties are thought to be seriously interested. An FA spokesman confirmed that there is no rule to prevent a club donating their share of the gate money to an opponent. Chelsea gave £25,000 to Scarborough for youth development when the clubs met in the FA Cup in 2004, though Roman Abramovich, the owner, can easily afford such largesse. Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, are not in Abramovich’s financial league. Their takeover of the club last year and plans to build a new stadium rely heavily on bank loans. Liverpool refused to comment on Luton’s request.
Really sad to see this, i hate seeing clubs in this position. Who knows if Liverpool can afford to give their share or they do need it, but it would be a really nice gesture if they gave it to them.
What do you all think about the gate receipts story? http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/0105/luton_liverpool.html If its true.......hmmmmmm Are we that desperate for cash?
Desperate, i wouldn't say so...I think at the end of the day liverpool is run like a business and all this money is factored in some way into the day to day running of the pool, whether it be wages or otherwise... My own personal opinion is that the FA could have done alot more and situations like this shouldn't need to be put to other clubs...if there were proper systems in place this wouldn't have come to this...there should have been a proper indemnity type fund in place for this type of prediciment...
Seen this from a luton fan posted on otk First of all, I'll admit im a Luton fan. The reason I come on here is because Liverpool is a great place, your supporters are great people who normally know their stuff. Also, I like supporting the HJC/Anne Williams. Luton asking for money from Liverpool is more than a bit cheeky, its a f**king disgrace. This is the third, yes third time we have been in admin in ten years. Go down the years and Luton has been run by money making twats. From when i started supporting them in 82, when Evans our Chairman was best mates with Thatcher. Hence the away ban on fans. Then the plastic pitch. Then the snow incident. No wonder none of you guys have good memories of the place! Our new chairman came in last year, promising the usual new start. After the club selling £13m worth of players over the last four years, he decided last november he was skint. Thats after buying a player for 500 grand, deciding he was no good, letting him go for free to a league rival a year later, and now he's one of the top scorers in the division! So, there's some of the reasons why were skint, and why we should'nt ask for charity. Cut your cloth accordinglye! good luck for the rest of the season (after tomorrow)
Top Bloke.No Agenda.No Bias.Just says it as it is. I was lucky enough to have a mate who used to work in Luton and he always got me tickets for the away games.It was a disgrace the way they tarred everybody with the same brush and barred the away fans.Atmosphere was terrible.There was nothing positive about the away supporters ban.They ruined the club and took away it's identity as a football club.This was not the theatre,it was football. I don't like seeing a club in trouble,but they were a small club who tried in many ways to change the future of football and none of it for the better.
POST The one bright spot of the weekend was the hilarious suggestion by Luton’s Administrators that Liverpool donate their share of the gate receipts to help the struggling club. I suppose they had to ask, but quite why Liverpool should subsidise their financial incompetence is anyone’s guess. Luton, remember, had more than 50 charges levied against them by the FA for irregularities, including illegal payments to agents. They’ve built up debt not through some devastating unforeseen calamity, but through living beyond their means. So why should we help bail them out? We might reconsider it though should the Administrators agree to waive their fee.