Portsmouth CEO Mark Catlin fires warning to Blackpool, Bristol Rovers, MK Dons, Lincoln and rest of League One over curtailment
Mark Catlin has warned the cost of curtailing the season is likely to dwarf seeing it out on the pitch.
And the Pompey chief executive believes some clubs are using short-term thinking in their decision over the fate for the League One campaign.
Outfits are set to begin the process of voting over what will happen with the third tier this season this week, with safely continuing on the pitch and an unweighted points-per-game curtailment the options.
A number of clubs remain on the fence over the decision they will take, with MK Dons suggesting over they weekend they will go with the majority.
Catlin estimates it will cost clubs between £350,000 and £400,000 to take players off furlough and carrying out testing to finish games.
But he feels that will outweighed by the expense of curtailment and likely costs that will incur in reneging on TV deals, loss of sponsorship, season-ticket refunds and loss of iFollow revenue.
Catlin said: ‘I think we’re setting a dangerous precedent for two months’ time.
‘If you work out the cost of the tests and taking players off furlough, depending on the club because you’ve still got some travelling to do, our estimation is it would cost £350-£400,000 per club.
‘If you want to start the season in September, players have to be back training in July.
‘That’s only two months away. What’s going to change in eight weeks?
‘I cannot see a scenario where fans are allowed back into stadiums in September.
‘So if we don’t finish this season, how can we convince season-ticket holders, sponsors and media rights holders to enter into new contracts when we can’t finish the season? It’s those elements you can’t put a figure on I think will dwarf the £350-£400,000 required to finish the season.
‘It’s the knock-on effect.
‘We’ve had some real tough calls with staff. Portsmouth and most clubs are huge employment enterprises as well as football clubs.
‘The quicker we can get back as safely as possible the quicker we can get the academy started again and staff back to work.
‘The quicker we can get people off the burden of furlough the better. While we accept we can’t do it now, I struggle to understand what the cost difference is going to be in eight weeks’ time.
‘We’re still going to have to test players and we’re still not going to be able to let fans in.
‘You’re still going to have to take your players off furlough if you want them to play, so what’s the difference?’
Catlin has been a vocal campaigner for seeing the season out on the pitch, despite Pompey having a play-off place assured if the vote for points per game carries.
The Blues remain close to an automatic promotion berth and the top two remains a realistic ambition if games restart.
But the CEO is adamant he feels he a moral obligation to everyone at Fratton Park to get the 2019-20 term finished in the usual fashion.
Catlin added: ‘If it does prove to be impossible to continue the season I feel we had a responsibility to do all we could to try and get the season finished - for our fans, for the players and for the staff.
‘We didn’t want to pull up the white flag - we want to fight until the bitter end in an attempt to get the season finished.’