Furneaux on Finances

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 07/11/2001

GRIMSBY TOWN chairman Peter Furneaux, speaking in an interview with Mariners Net, has revealed the Town board's prudent approach to finances, and the extent to which the club are relying on TV money to make ends go some way towards meeting. The club are currently losing over £20,000 every week.

"The NTL and TV deals may be short-lived, and if this money is removed then some players throughout football may find their income has been drastically reduced. We at Grimsby have been prudent, in that no contract exists longer than the current TV deal. Therefore the monies that we're spending have been covered by that.

"We also have clauses in players contracts which indicate that should we move down from the league we are in at the moment, then their wages will also drop with our income."

Talking about the possibility of a second division of the Premiership, Furneaux commented: "One of the big dangers is that the Premier League may have a second division to it. The monies that come from TV etc. may be split. The constitution of this league may be on the total capacity of the grounds, and not necessarily on the team performance.

"This would be a danger to Grimsby, because on our present crowds we wouldn't get into this league on gates. But being in this league at the moment if it was done on ability then we would be in because consistently over the years we have been in the first division eight of the last nine years."

In the interview the Town chairman described his typical day. "First thing in the morning you often get the various sports media ringing for comments - on most things that you usually haven't got any idea that they're happening, which is often quite funny! I then come down to the club for a briefing with the various heads of department to find out just what’s being talked about. For example - if your Manager’s just been connected with Barnsley, no-one at the club knows that, and you just carry on because it’s media speculation."