Bolton Wanderers chairman warns of Financial Fair Play implications

Phil Gartside, Chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club

Phil Gartside, Chairman of English football club Bolton Wanderers, has spoken about the difficulties that his club faced due to the Financial Fair Play rules that have come into force this season.

Wanderers, who were relegated to the Championship after the 2011-12 season, have lost about £30 million in income during the first 12 months of the Championship, according to Gartside, who claimed that the club is slowly beginning to get its finances in order.

The new FFP has been designed to stop clubs from spending beyond their means, but Gartside believes that it is prohibitive for clubs like his, which once played in the Premier League.

“I think people will start to realise the new (UEFA) Financial Fair Play rules that have been brought in by The Football League are very difficult to manage if you’re a team that has been in the Premier League for quite some time,” he told TalkSport.

He further added: “The transition from Premier League to the Championship is hard enough anyway, with the financial pressures it brings.

“In the first year we were down over £30million in income and you can’t swing your costs in the same way, and that brings its own pressures. The second year of our Premier League (parachute) payment is ironically a bit more than last year because of the change in the new deal that came out, but it doesn’t make life any easier.”

Source: The Bolton News (theboltonnews.co.uk)