Bates: More Help Needed For Clubs

Leeds United Chairman Ken Bates believes that there needs to be more done for Football League clubs that find themselves going into administration.

It now appears that Rotherham United may be set for a fate shared by both Luton Town and AFC Bournemouth this season, with Championship side Coventry City narrowly missing the cut-off date, the Midlands club being taken over as administration companies were circling overhead.

Speaking at the press conference called to announce Leeds’ new kit deal, Bates, no stranger to administration himself following the proceedings that United have suffered over the last 8-or-so months, believes that more needs to be done to help struggling clubs. Speaking to Yorkshire Radio our Chairman said:

'I don't know the full facts about Rotherham, but they could be the third club this season to have gone into administration.'

'I suspect there are others out there. It was hinted at by the Revenue that there were as many as 20 or 30 clubs experiencing difficulties and they were going to take a stand against the fact that football creditors got paid in full while others - including the Revenue - didn't.

'My earnest advice to clubs who are in difficulties is to go into administration, get it out of the way, and have a fresh start. And after that the important thing is to run your club on a proper business-like basis and pay your taxes.

'Administration for us put the mess of the past behind us. We're now trading profitably and paying our bills on time. It's a business not a madmans plaything.'

A good call from a smart businessman, as the Premier League look to grab extra money from lucrative 39th league fixtures in the Far East and the America’s, the smaller clubs, even ignoring fallen giants such as Leeds, are struggling to pay their way in the lower echelons of the English football pyramid.