Oxford United Financial Problems

A situation such as Oxford's was inevitable. The EFL has ignored the financial issues of their clubs for many seasons and failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation. Their failure to control the spending of Championship clubs in particular and institutionalising loss making in the Championship for nearly 15 years has been a scandal. Oxford are a victim of that having now been relegated into Lge 1 where controls on squad costs are now ironically much tighter and broadcasting revenues much reduced. I sort of feel sorry for Oxford although they should have been aware of what was coming. I hope now that the IFR's fingers are slso being pointed at the EFL Board for their continuing failure to exercise better control.

 

I agree that ultimately it's the clubs which have to be convinced about changes in the way the EFL manages. Having said that, the EFL have managed to introduce various forms of FFP over recent years, sometimes against the wishes of some clubs and only recently introduced reduced wages caps (albeit without using the phrase) across all leagues. That's progress imo and illustrates that the EFL can introduce change when it's in the longer tetm interests of the league and sometimes without the agreement of all clubs.

The EFL now has the IFR looking over its shoulder and the IFR has more extensive powers than EFL particularly in areas of governance and the overall strategic direction of football. Hopefully the EFL and the clubs will understand the implications of the change and act more sensibly together in the future for the 'good of football overall'. That was a phrase used by Ryan only recently when the clubs agreed to reduce the wages cap down to 50% in our league.