PRICE DROP: In the new market, Reeco HackettFairchild is probably worth just a third of the price Portsmouth paid to lure him from Bromley in January.
In a division poisoned by parachute payments, it isn’t an easy gig. Not for him the pursuit of proven £15m strikers, nor a cosy relationship with superagents who can cherry-pick the cream of the continent.
Freebies, loans, flat-out punts and a regular trawl through European backwaters are his stock-in-trade.
Or were, at least. Coronavirus and its attendant shutdown have kicked the legs from under every football club in Europe.
Even the mighty Barcelona – who in June posted world-record revenues of 990m Euros – are feeling the pinch.
Closer to home, former FA chief executive Mark Palios has warned that a “double figure” number of EFL clubs could be forced into insolvency, echoing the concerns of Luton chairman Gary Sweet.
“I think several clubs, on the basis that they can’t pay contractual wages, will move down the path to a formal insolvency,” he said.
Even if the majority survive, as Palios predicts, they won’t be in any position to go on a shopping spree. The transfer market will become a buyer’s paradise, with supply outstripping demand and fees and wages taking a tumble.
Denne historien er fra April 19, 2020-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
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Denne historien er fra April 19, 2020-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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SHAKERS REVEL IN MAKING HISTORY
DAVE McNabb says Bury's FA Cup heroes are proud to be writing their own chapters in club history.
WILCOX: WE FEEL COMPLETE WITH WIN
RUSS WILCOX'S verdict after watching his Gainsborough Trinity side outmuscle and outplay their hosts was that it was \"probably our most complete performance\".
CRACKER BY KABIA TOPPLES TUDORS!
ASSISTANT boss Stewart Yetton said his Truro City side were good value for their win over table-toppers Hemel Hempstead Town.
BRAKES PUT STOP ON BORO BATTLERS
SEPARATED only by goal difference before kick-off, these sides remain neck and neck in the embryonic table after playing out 90 minutes in the October sunshine that was a great advert for the division.
BOSS COTT'S GOT A REALLY GOOD THING WITH ROVERS
STEVE Cotterill hailed Forest Green Rovers’ first class performance as they produced a spirited comeback to topple fellow high-flyers Eastleigh at the Silverlake Stadium.
SKIPS STEER HEED'S SHIP
GATESHEAD captains of the past and present are playing a lead role in helping the National League club move on from the departure of FA Trophy-winning manager Rob Elliot.
FA CUP PREVIEW: SWEET! 'DREAM' DRAW IS CHANCE OF OUR LIFETIME
DAVE NORTHFIELD says minnows Biggleswade FC were like 'kids in a sweet shop' when they drew out York City in what he describes as the 'draw of a lifetime'.
PARKER'S HEART IS STILL AT HOME
FORMER England right-back Paul Parker has revealed he would never completely rule out a return to management – but says he would only do so for one of his beloved local clubs.
LOCALS RALLY TO REBUILD BRIDGE
WHEN committee members at Bamber Bridge set out to raise £30,000 to protect the club's future, they were apprehensive about the response they'd get.
RUTHLESS BEES FIND THEIR FEET
ASTERLING second-half performance resulted in league leaders Barnet brushing aside a Boston United outfit that led at the interval through Keaton Ward’s early strike.