Playing budget will increase, but Cobblers won't be splashing stupid cash

Chairman Kelvin Thomas says the Cobblers won't be going down the road of splashing any stupid cash following the news that Chinese company 5USport have bought a 60 per cent share in the Sixfields club.
Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas (Picture: Kirsty Edmonds)Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas (Picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas (Picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

Thomas would not reveal the amount 5USport have pumped into the club, other than confirming it is ‘a decent amount of money’, and has made it clear the deal is all about a ‘long-term investment’.

That includes on the player recruitment side of things, and although Thomas did admit the extra spending power they now have available to them will help in certain situations, they are not about to change their philosophy on recruitment.

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“We are not going to go out and spend money on players,” said Thomas, who remains chairman and will continue to run the club as the Sixfields structure will not be altered.

“It might give us a bit more movement in some of our negotiations, but only to a level.

“We are not going to suddenly double what we have offered somebody just because this has happened.

“That’s not my style, and it’s not the way the club is going to operate, and it is not something we have talked about with 5USport, it is about doing things sensibly.”

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Thomas has been pleased with manager Justin Edinburgh’s recruitment so far this summer, and the Town boss will still continue to track his preferred targets.

Edinburgh was unaware the deal with 5USport was in the pipeline so it has not entered his thinking when it comes to recruitment.

“Justin only found out about the investment in the past few days,” revealed Thomas. “You have to get something over the line before you talk about it, even with Justin.

“In the back of my mind, and James Whiting’s mind, we have been thinking in terms of the investment coming in, but Justin has been concentrating on what he has been doing.

Recruitment is hard, it is difficult.

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“We are not the biggest club in the league, but we think this will help us in some ways, and not just financially. It will show people that we are going places.”

So will Edinburgh will now have a little more money to work with as he goes about signing the five players he says he needs to complete his squad?

“We have agreed initially there will be an increase in the playing budget, plus also a budget for the purchases of younger players who can be developed and improved,” said Thomas, who has already given the green light this summer to pay fees for George Smith and Billy Waters.

“There is a little bit more money available, and we are excited,” said the chairman.

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“Attacking wise we are looking good, but defensively we need a few to come in.

“Everybody wants players signed the first day of the close season, but it doesn’t happen that way. We have done quite a bit of business, and we have a bit more to do.”