One of the big changes between the two statements from argyle is that we brought in a new CEO. He was there for the first statement but hadn't really got his feet under the table yet. One of the big criticisms of the way he works, from a lot of the fans is that he sees just the numbers, and not the fact that the club is part of the community.
I think whilst mens football in the EFL is run so wildly unsustainable, there will be more hits to the up and coming women's teams.
Thank you for taking to time to give me more from the club perspective.
I was aware it wasn't the same CEO but failed to make that clear in the article.
Such a shame for the club to now have a CEO who doesn't get it. For most clubs further down the pyramid, the community is the most important part of a club. Failing to recognise is never going to end well for some aspects of the club.
It's short-sighted but common across most businesses.
It will have damaged Argyle's reputation, which is a real shame for a club with such a strong community around it
I'm amazed male players so far down the pyramid can earn 200k per year. For context, that outstrips what I earned as a firefighter by more than 5 times.
It would appear that what some clubs are doing is running women's teams as some form of virtue signalling - promoting the idea publicly that they care about the women's game but when it comes to it, not backing that up.
I was shocked by the figures too when I started investigating. I think I see why lower league clubs struggle with their finances!
It's an indicator of how far wrong we get things in sport when adequately kicking a ball around earns so much more than someone putting their life on the line to save others.
For me, the FA are really to blame for allowing the virtue signalling.
There is so much money floating around the men's game in England. Liverpool topped 700 million earnings for the last 2 seasons. There is no excuse for not sharing that to develop other areas of the game.
I completely agree. The Premier League are very good at supporting women's football but the individual teams are mostly rubbish.
In an ideal world, I'd like to see the women's teams independently run and funded - then this isn't the issue any more (obvs there are other issues but sexism isn't one).
The PL and EFL could introduce rules around the women's sides that make certain standards a criteria of the men being in their leagues - make them share the money around.
I was at FGR in September with their academy doing a demo of the product I sell. It was made very clear to me that them being able to purchase the system would be solely reliant on them being promoted out of the National League. As you said, the boys programme has been cut, they only get 2 years of funding from the EFL after they are relegated, after that they lose I believe 100k a year from the EFL.
It should not be the case that this happens but, unfortunately, 99.9% of clubs are men focused, if the men's team does badly, funding goes down, crowds go down, what limited profits there are go down.
It is the double edged sword of where women's football is, the traditional men's teams have the facilities, branding and funding to provide these teams, but you are dependent on them to not shit the bed. Alternatively, you can try to control your own destiny by going solo, creating your own team like London City etc but then the funding becomes FAR more precarious.
I have no idea what the right answer is. Men's teams, at the EFL level, will never respect their womens teams the same way Lewes does. Does it become easier for a team like Lewes because their men's team is at a similar financial level to their women's? No idea.
No matter the choice, more women's teams going bust is never good. I hope those players can swiftly find new teams at the right level and arent forced to drop down just to find a game!
It is of course much more complex than I can convey in my post. I don't know the answer either.
The whole structure of football below the top couple of leagues is precarious, full stop.
The answer is partly to have people in genuinely believe in equality at the top.
QPR are a good example. Not interested in the women's side until getting their new CEO, Christian Nourry, who understands a women's team is not a nice to have but a duty. There clubs make it work. There's then no excuse for the rest.
I think the money in the PL and EFL makes it worse because they get used to it and can't cope without it. I'm sure cleverer people than me could make it all work. If there was the will.
One of the big changes between the two statements from argyle is that we brought in a new CEO. He was there for the first statement but hadn't really got his feet under the table yet. One of the big criticisms of the way he works, from a lot of the fans is that he sees just the numbers, and not the fact that the club is part of the community.
I think whilst mens football in the EFL is run so wildly unsustainable, there will be more hits to the up and coming women's teams.
Thank you for taking to time to give me more from the club perspective.
I was aware it wasn't the same CEO but failed to make that clear in the article.
Such a shame for the club to now have a CEO who doesn't get it. For most clubs further down the pyramid, the community is the most important part of a club. Failing to recognise is never going to end well for some aspects of the club.
It's short-sighted but common across most businesses.
It will have damaged Argyle's reputation, which is a real shame for a club with such a strong community around it
A fascinating, if slightly depressing read.
I'm amazed male players so far down the pyramid can earn 200k per year. For context, that outstrips what I earned as a firefighter by more than 5 times.
It would appear that what some clubs are doing is running women's teams as some form of virtue signalling - promoting the idea publicly that they care about the women's game but when it comes to it, not backing that up.
The FA absolutely could do more about this.
I was shocked by the figures too when I started investigating. I think I see why lower league clubs struggle with their finances!
It's an indicator of how far wrong we get things in sport when adequately kicking a ball around earns so much more than someone putting their life on the line to save others.
For me, the FA are really to blame for allowing the virtue signalling.
There is so much money floating around the men's game in England. Liverpool topped 700 million earnings for the last 2 seasons. There is no excuse for not sharing that to develop other areas of the game.
I completely agree. The Premier League are very good at supporting women's football but the individual teams are mostly rubbish.
In an ideal world, I'd like to see the women's teams independently run and funded - then this isn't the issue any more (obvs there are other issues but sexism isn't one).
The PL and EFL could introduce rules around the women's sides that make certain standards a criteria of the men being in their leagues - make them share the money around.
I was at FGR in September with their academy doing a demo of the product I sell. It was made very clear to me that them being able to purchase the system would be solely reliant on them being promoted out of the National League. As you said, the boys programme has been cut, they only get 2 years of funding from the EFL after they are relegated, after that they lose I believe 100k a year from the EFL.
It should not be the case that this happens but, unfortunately, 99.9% of clubs are men focused, if the men's team does badly, funding goes down, crowds go down, what limited profits there are go down.
It is the double edged sword of where women's football is, the traditional men's teams have the facilities, branding and funding to provide these teams, but you are dependent on them to not shit the bed. Alternatively, you can try to control your own destiny by going solo, creating your own team like London City etc but then the funding becomes FAR more precarious.
I have no idea what the right answer is. Men's teams, at the EFL level, will never respect their womens teams the same way Lewes does. Does it become easier for a team like Lewes because their men's team is at a similar financial level to their women's? No idea.
No matter the choice, more women's teams going bust is never good. I hope those players can swiftly find new teams at the right level and arent forced to drop down just to find a game!
Brilliant insight into what many people would palm off as ‘money problems’. Thank you for making it clear that this is a choice, not a necessity!
Thanks for your comment, Maryam.
When some clubs can do it, you know the rest are choosing not to.
It is of course much more complex than I can convey in my post. I don't know the answer either.
The whole structure of football below the top couple of leagues is precarious, full stop.
The answer is partly to have people in genuinely believe in equality at the top.
QPR are a good example. Not interested in the women's side until getting their new CEO, Christian Nourry, who understands a women's team is not a nice to have but a duty. There clubs make it work. There's then no excuse for the rest.
I think the money in the PL and EFL makes it worse because they get used to it and can't cope without it. I'm sure cleverer people than me could make it all work. If there was the will.
Which I think is still the problem.