SPL clubs told to sort finances as game suffers

ACTION to remedy the poor financial state of the SPL is required or Scottish football will fall into "a downward spiral", according to the annual report into the game's health.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' 21st Financial Review of Scottish Premier League Football reveals the 12 top-flight clubs made a collective loss of 22 million during the 2008-09 season, compared to a profit of 23m during the previous 12 months.

With the recession starting to bite, net debt among the SPL clubs rose by 11m to 99m, with income falling by 15 per cent from the 2008-09 record high of 198m to 167m in 2009-10.

David Glen, author of the report, said: "In a nutshell, the SPL cannot compete financially (with England and Europe]. It is simply unable to match the transfer fees or wage demands of the top talent needed to be competitive on an international platform and, with it currently unable to generate a sufficient audience to attract the major media contracts enjoyed in other leagues, opportunities for investment are slipping away.

"The lack of, and uncertainty over, levels of income simply do not create a sound platform for investors or banks. Worryingly, unless action is taken now, it could be an increasingly downward spiral for the SPL."

Glen calls for clubs to nurture home-grown talent with a view to selling on players. The report also highlights falling attendances, in particular an 11 per cent decline at Celtic and Aberdeen.

Players' wages have fallen by 3m, but eight out of 12 clubs returned a wage-to-turnover ratio in excess of the recommended 60 per cent, in particular Hearts who recorded a 126 per cent ratio. The report said this was "wholly unsustainable in the medium to long term".