Stocksbridge Park Steels manager Chris Hilton insists Non League footballers will have to be “realistic” with wage demands when Government restrictions are lifted.
The Non League game is facing an existential crisis and Stocksbridge are facing the same challenges as all clubs. The loss of their three sponsors last year painted a chilling picture of a possible future.
Hilton, who managed Worsbrough Bridge without spending a penny from 2010 to 2014, has seen player wages spiral out of control over the last decade and he expects them to decrease.
But the Steels chief also concedes that recruitment will be difficult for all clubs regardless of finances until the FA’s leagues structure changes and travelling is reduced.
“You’re still going to get the clubs who spend crazy money and have big budgets,” Hilton told Non League Yorkshire.
“A level playing field is never going to happen in million years. A lot of clubs are going to struggle and have to cut their cloth accordingly so players are going to have to accept they will be on less money than they were getting before from a lot of the clubs.
“The kind of wages what have been paid out has got to come down. It won’t stop people spending silly money, but it will definitely come down.
“Stocksbridge are in a position where we do spend accordingly to what we have got. We are only in a difficult position because of what is happening in the world.
“If what is happening had’t happened we would have probably held onto those three sponsors and would be on the same playing field as we were last year.
“Some clubs are to struggle big time and Stocksbridge is one if we don’t get new sponsorship in. We won’t be able to compete at the level we are at now. Hopefully we can get some sponsors in and be on the same playing field as we were last year.
“On the other side of the coin, players are not going to travel for a small amount – especially in our league where you are out at 9am on a Saturday and not home until 8pm. Then you have Tuesday away games miles away in Stoke and you don’t get home until after midnight and you have to be up for work in the morning.
“People are not going to do it for £20, certainly in the NCEL. They will look at it and go play local. The local leagues may get stronger because players will drop into those leagues because there’s no travelling. Alternatively they may just pack in playing. The ones motivated by money will fall by the wayside.
“We’ve said this before, but the FA need to look at regionalising the leagues so the travelling times are cut right down. That will help players with their time and it will help clubs out financially. The Christmas fixtures for us at Stocksbridge in the last few years have been ridiculous. We travelled to some silly places on New Year’s Day.
“They need to be cutting down travelling time as a matter of urgency. I know they were bringing in an extra league this year, but that’s been postponed until next year.”
Hilton does not believe wages will drop to levels from the 1980s and 1990s and he also expects the “gulf” between clubs with finance and the ones without will dramatically increase.
He said: “The £5 or £10 win bonus days will never return. It is easy for the ones who have no money to say that and for the ones with money to say it shouldn’t go back to that.
“Football won’t go back to that, but it does need a reality check on some of the money that is paid out because it has been ridiculous. But having said if the owners are happy to pay it, it is not the players who are at fault. If players are offered silly money they are going to take it.
“Some clubs are going to fall by the wayside and the cash-rich clubs will take advantage and continue to push on and do well by doing what they have been doing – spending plenty of money.
“I think the gulf between clubs with money and ones without money is going to become massive. There was some good money in our league this year, but it was still a lot closer. I can only see the gap growing next season.”
Stocksbridge’s main sponsors Dransfield Properties, General Fabrications and Look Local were forced their end their associations.
Hilton admits the news was devastating and he has sent out a plead for people to support their Non League football teams.
“We lost all three main sponsors within a week which is basically a big chunk of the club’s revenue. We rely on the sponsorship.
“The club won’t fold, but unless we replace the sponsors we won’t be able to compete at the level we are now because we will have to cut our cloth.
“There’s a plan in place to try and replace the lost sponsorship. A load of a companies have contacted us for information about our packages. It is about trying to find new sponsors.
“The club knew it was going to lose one, but they didn’t realise they would lose all three in a week. We have time on our hands to work to solve our problems because no-one knows when the football season will start again.
“The football world is a strange place for the professional game and the Non League game at the moment.
“We need to be safe, but I think we are all missing football. There is a lot of clubs out there who will need local businesses and volunteers to help them get up and running for the new season.
“If you can invest in your local side whoever they are please try and do that so we can ensure we don’t lose any clubs – or lose very few.
“Stocksbridge is no different to anyone else. We are in the same boat and we need as much support as possible like all the teams around us.
“It is about making clubs survive and ensuring we don’t lose the history of the clubs who have been going 30, 40, 60, 100 years. We don’t want to lose our heritage by the clubs folding.
“They may have to cut their cloth accordingly, but the main thing is that they survive.”