Cash-strapped Football League clubs could be forced to play on in empty stadiums because of end of furlough scheme

Cash-squeezed League One and League Two clubs believe they have no choice but to play on in empty stadiums this season because players and staff were taken off furlough weeks ago for pre-season.

Mark Palios, the Tranmere Rovers chairman, explained how most teams - reliant on gate receipts for up to a third of their income - will see there is no point in another curtailment because Government salary support schemes would not be made available again. Palios was among a host of club owners who were forced to restructure their financial planning after the English Football League decided to begin the season this weekend. He is critical of governing bodies for failing to introduce salary limits to stop clubs overspending, but said he understood the EFL's decision to return in September, having cancelled the bottom two tiers last season.

"I understand why the EFL has pushed for the start of the season, even though we  haven't a clue of when fans are going to come back," he told Telegraph Sport.

"The problem with that is the major cost to the club for players wages. What's actually happened is that you have got to get the players in to have their pre-season for about six weeks, five weeks. As a consequence, you take them off furlough so your support has gone. And more than that, you've lost some players over the close season so you've had to sign new players. So you've basically got your full wages bill, and I don't think we've seen the benefit yet of the wages market rationalising. I think there's basically been a missed opportunity to actually sort that particular cost base out."

Palios says he owed a debt of gratitude to the 3,000 season ticket-holders who have resisted applying for refunds, but he is still planning for further £400,000 losses this season under his forecast that he will have around 3,000 fans back by Christmas. His salary cap proposals were supported in a recent report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which launched a scathing attack on financial mismanagement at the top of the game.

Tranmere are in better shape than many of their League Two contemporaries thanks to Palios' financial crisis planning. But he accepted the current uncertainty around the return of crowds was a nightmare. "In the absence of knowing how you can properly plan, we've had to go and sign up players, because you don't want to start the season and be so far behind because you haven't signed the players," he added. "We still don't know when gate's are going to come. On current budgeting we probably would predict we will make a loss of around £300,000 or £400,000 if crowds do come back by the end of the year. At this point in time, you know, that's the best we could do. We'll use our reserves to cover that loss."

Since the last football season was curtailed in March, Palios estimated "the Covid loss for us would have been in the region of a million pounds". However, those losses were reduced to £250,000, thanks to furloughing players and staff to the tune of about £550,000 and season tickets that were not reclaimed, totalling around £225,000. "Roughly three quarters of our loss was bought by Government and season ticket holders not reclaiming," he said.