Cobblers open to more investment to stay competitive after ‘crazy’ rise in League One wages

Wages have soared over the last few years, especially in League One, leaving the likes of Northampton and similar sized club playing catch up. Cobblers are now losing £2.5million annually compared to under £1million just a couple of years ago.

Speaking on the Cobblers Show on BBC Radio Northampton this week, Thomas discussed various matters.

On becoming established in League One and the possibility of future investment

"It’s not that we are doing anything wrong but we have a threshold and a limit. We have money as an ownership group but we also have a realistic, sensible head in terms of what we’re willing to fund.

"Of course everyone is looking for the billionaire owner and the Hollywood story and the Wrexham journey but that’s not us and we’ve never said it’s us. What we try and do is do things in a reasonable way and we’re sensible and we can cover it because we never want to put the club at risk.

“In the end it comes down to finances and we’re losing £2.5million compared to £1million a few years ago and that’s just to standstill so it’s a big commitment for anyone. Some of the other clubs are lucky enough to get big investment or they've done well. Wycombe did well but now they have significant investment with their owner.

"Part of the reason for Nigel (Le Quesne) coming in was so that we could continue to compete in League One with some additional one. Would we consider further investment? Of course we would. I think any club in the EFL would consider additional investment.

"But if it’s not there, we continue to do what we do. There’s no ceiling in football but it is hard and we do have one of the smallest budgets in the league and yet we're still losing £2.5million a year. That’s a lot of money but some clubs in this league are losing £8million or £10million or even more.

"If you look at it purely on finances, we’re actually punching above our weight and we’re doing better than the majority of the league. We say to Kevin (Nolan) that he’s doing fantastically well to be where we are given our financial position.”

On the numbers behind the ‘crazy’ rise in wages

"Football clubs are loss-making businesses and the money always comes out of somebody’s pocket in the end. We try and be as reasonable as possible and of course any club has a chance of getting to the Championship or even the Premier League but finances in football have gone through the roof. We are having serious conversations as chairmen about how crazy it’s gone in the last three years.

"The regulator that comes in will be tasked with making sure clubs are more sustainable so they’ll have to have a say in the redistribution from the premier League and that’s being discussed.

"The average salary in League One is £7.5million. A few years ago salary caps were introduced and those were £1.5million in League Two and £2.5million in League One before they got kicked out. Those numbers were picked because they didn’t impact many clubs but since then we’ve got up to £7.5million and that gives you an idea of what direction football has gone in.

"We’re sitting here thinking something has got to happen and we’re having a lot of conversations in the background with the EFL and there needs to be a correction at some level, not just in terms of cost but revenue as well.”

On Le Quesne’s future after he recently sold his business in a £2.7bn deal

"We talk all the time and I was pleased for him because he has put a lot of work into his company over the last 39 years. He’s a really good guy and he’s really supportive of what we do as a club.

"I’m catching up with Nigel next week and we’ve talked about different things and the investment that’s needed but I don’t think anything will happen in the short-term. He’s got other commitments and he’ll still be involved in his business.

"That’s such a big deal and a big regulatory process that I don’t think it will close for another six to 12 months, but we have talked and we’ll continue to talk but it’s not something that will change in the short-term.”