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Ken Anderson claims Wanderers have spent around £4million on the salaries of injured players this season.
The Whites chairman disclosed a major hit had been taken on the likes of Mark Davies, Darren Pratley and Dorian Dervite, which has contributed to the financial problems experienced at the Macron in the last few months.
Replacements have been sought to maintain a competitive squad and Wanderers remain in the market for a right-back to replace Lawrie Wilson, who could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring tendon tear.
“We have suffered both on and off the field this season with several of our ‘big hitter’ players being not available through season-long injuries,” Anderson said. “The financial cost of this to the club has been circa £4million.
“To put this in to perspective, the Premier League last week released an article on the cost of injured players to Premier League clubs and we would have ranked in the top 10 - something hopefully which we can avoid going forward.”
Anderson confirmed in December that 17 professional players were out of contract at the end of the season and that a concerted effort would be made to bring the wage structure back in line.
Jay Spearing, David Wheater and Gary Madine are among those who will be free agents in the summer but Anderson hinted attempts could be made to keep some of the top players on lower salaries.
“As has been well reported, at the end of the season, we will have a number of players whose contracts come to an end, which will enable us to renegotiate and also bring in a new batch of players on a more sustainable cost basis,” he said.
“Our budget this season, at circa £10m, is amongst the highest in Sky Bet League One and indeed the Championship, and it is imperative that going forward, we control our squad budget and work within a framework that is financially sustainable.”
A statement released by Anderson on the official website yesterday painted a bleak picture of the current financial climate, which will be expanded when accounts filed yesterday to Companies House hit the public domain.
At the heart of current difficulties lies a dispute between Anderson, fellow owner Dean Holdsworth and BluMarble – the company who supplied a loan to Holdsworth’s Sports Shield company buy the club in March last year.
Anderson maintains that the amount loaned was £4million but that guarantees were supplied for £5m, while Holdsworth maintains the £5m was loaned in full, with £1m used to pay-off fees associated with the takeover.
The lack of headway made in this battle could, in Anderson’s opinion, result in legal action.
“The biggest challenge of all will be reaching a solution with Blu Marble and Sports Shield which could, in my opinion, save us several millions of pounds, but this is likely to go to litigation and unfortunately, may take several years to finalise,” he said.
“For the record, I would also like to mention that I took no part in the original discussions with Blu Marble. Furthermore, the club does not have an agreement with Blu Marble; it has an agreement with Sports Shield and I am currently disputing the validity of this.”
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The Whites chairman disclosed a major hit had been taken on the likes of Mark Davies, Darren Pratley and Dorian Dervite, which has contributed to the financial problems experienced at the Macron in the last few months.
Replacements have been sought to maintain a competitive squad and Wanderers remain in the market for a right-back to replace Lawrie Wilson, who could miss the rest of the season with a hamstring tendon tear.
“We have suffered both on and off the field this season with several of our ‘big hitter’ players being not available through season-long injuries,” Anderson said. “The financial cost of this to the club has been circa £4million.
“To put this in to perspective, the Premier League last week released an article on the cost of injured players to Premier League clubs and we would have ranked in the top 10 - something hopefully which we can avoid going forward.”
Anderson confirmed in December that 17 professional players were out of contract at the end of the season and that a concerted effort would be made to bring the wage structure back in line.
Jay Spearing, David Wheater and Gary Madine are among those who will be free agents in the summer but Anderson hinted attempts could be made to keep some of the top players on lower salaries.
“As has been well reported, at the end of the season, we will have a number of players whose contracts come to an end, which will enable us to renegotiate and also bring in a new batch of players on a more sustainable cost basis,” he said.
“Our budget this season, at circa £10m, is amongst the highest in Sky Bet League One and indeed the Championship, and it is imperative that going forward, we control our squad budget and work within a framework that is financially sustainable.”
A statement released by Anderson on the official website yesterday painted a bleak picture of the current financial climate, which will be expanded when accounts filed yesterday to Companies House hit the public domain.
At the heart of current difficulties lies a dispute between Anderson, fellow owner Dean Holdsworth and BluMarble – the company who supplied a loan to Holdsworth’s Sports Shield company buy the club in March last year.
Anderson maintains that the amount loaned was £4million but that guarantees were supplied for £5m, while Holdsworth maintains the £5m was loaned in full, with £1m used to pay-off fees associated with the takeover.
The lack of headway made in this battle could, in Anderson’s opinion, result in legal action.
“The biggest challenge of all will be reaching a solution with Blu Marble and Sports Shield which could, in my opinion, save us several millions of pounds, but this is likely to go to litigation and unfortunately, may take several years to finalise,” he said.
“For the record, I would also like to mention that I took no part in the original discussions with Blu Marble. Furthermore, the club does not have an agreement with Blu Marble; it has an agreement with Sports Shield and I am currently disputing the validity of this.”
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