Darragh MacAnthony: “I’m fighting for lower division football as well as Peterborough United”

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony insists he is fighting for the future of lower division football as well as his own club.
Darragh MacAnthonyDarragh MacAnthony
Darragh MacAnthony

MacAnthony adopted a conciliatory tone in the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truths’ podcast - ominously entitled ‘the Fat Lady is clearing her throat’ - today (May 22) even though a crucial EFL ruling went against Posh yesterday.

League One clubs will vote next week on whether to continue or curtail the 2019-20 season. It’s expected clubs will vote to curtail which would drop Posh out of the play-off places on a controversial points-per-game formula.

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MacAnthony said: “I’ve had a lot thrown at me in recent weeks, but the most hurtful accusation is that I’m trying to hurt clubs, to put them out of business.

Darragh MacAnthony.Darragh MacAnthony.
Darragh MacAnthony.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m the one who has been fighting on behalf of all the clubs. I’m the one who has been putting ideas out there on how to get financial help from the PFA, from the Premier League and from the EFL to help all clubs get through this crisis.

“I now want to put systems in place to make sure we can get through crises in the future. I’m a football person who wants the clubs to play football again. The ones who would rather hibernate than play are the problems.

“Of course I will fight for my club. It’s my job. And I believe passionately that we should still carry on and complete the season rather than accept a points-per-game solution that is simply unfair.

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“I have a lot of respect for Rick Parry (EFL Chairman), but I disagree with some of the EFL actions.

Darragh MacAnthony.Darragh MacAnthony.
Darragh MacAnthony.

“It wasn’t fair to drop in just before the League One conference call last week that testing for coronavirus could cost each club between £120k and £140k. That understandably frightened some clubs.

“Paul Scally (Gillingham chairman) came up with a good suggestion that the PFA could pay for the tests. They are sitting on £50 million and it’s their members who will be seeking other professions at the end of this if football does not return soon.

“This £500k cost for each club to complete the season that’s being bandied about is also wrong.

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“We could complete the season for between £200k to £300k with testing, putting on the games and bringing players out of furlough and not be liable for some of the refunds that are coming our way to season ticket holders, to Sky and to sponsors.

“If clubs can’t afford that sort of money I’m not sure what they’re doing in competitive football. They’ve probably saved a lot of money by not playing these last couple of months especially if they’ve furloughed their staff. They’d also benefit from the surge of interest in passionate fans who will buy their merchandise and pay to watch the games on iFollow.

“Player contracts are not a problem as we’ve established we can extend them to the end of July.

“Before we have this vote we have asked for costings from the EFL on playing the season and on curtailing it. So far we have had no specific numbers and that disappoints me.

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“We can still work out a compromise and reduce the potential cost if we know the true financial numbers, but we need to know the numbers before we vote.

“I’m hoping some of those figures might sway some clubs currently sitting on the fence into continuing the season.

“To me you can’t vote for PPG if you’re also voting to finish the season? That makes no sense.

“This is not a battle against Wycombe or Rotherham or Coventry. If any club deserves success after what they’ve been through in recent years it’s Coventry, but it is a battle against unfair procedures and against setting dangerous precedents for the future.

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“We as a club need to know when next season will start. I have 28 athletes kicking their heels. If games are still being played behind closed doors in September/October will clubs vote again not to play? If they did it would be catastrophic for our industry.

“We’ve been given the green light to play by the Government so we should be playing. The Premier League and the Championship are going to play and so should we. Hibernating will do us no favours in the long run and those top divisions might break away.

“Anyway it isn’t looking great for my club, but the fat lady isn’t singing just yet.

“I live in hope and I will continue to fight for my club. From minute one I’ve wanted to finish the season.

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“If the vote goes against us we’ll deal with it. I will take my licking, dust myself down and go again.”

MacAnthony has played down suggestions he will sue other clubs if the crucial vote goes against Posh.

“I have taken legal advice, as have many clubs, as it’s the sensible thing to do in business,” MacAnthony added. “But I was tired last week when I made those comments. It’s not something we will be doing.”