Accrington well supported by Chairman

Rumours that Andy Tretton has left Hereford United because Accrington Stanley have offered him £200 a week more money are unlikely to be confirmed. However Stanley appear to be a club with little debt according to their last published accounts, are said to be well-supported by their chairman, so may think they can afford higher wages.

Because of an exemption, Accrington Stanley only publish adbriged accounts so it is difficult to be certain how well the club is doing.

Normally gate receipts make up around two thirds of all income (unless the club has received income from transfers) and it is fairly easy to estimate what that income is for most clubs based on their gate prices.

In the year to May 2004, Stanley had an average gate of 1797. In the season just ended it dropped to 1537 according to Confguide.

Stanley charge higher prices for their season tickets than most clubs but matchday entrance charges are about average for the Conference.

Therefore it can be assumed that income from the gate last season was unlikely to be more than £350,000. This could equate to a turnover of around £525,000.

Last campaign Accrington had a squad of around 23 according to the list published when they played at Edgar Street. Without allowing for higher wages, their total bill for salaries would be expected to be higher than that at Hereford as they had more players.

It is therefore safe to suggest that their total bill for salaries was at least
£500,000 for the season ending May 2005. To add to that will be other items from the "cost of sales" and "administrative expenses". Those items could add around £250,000 to the bills.

Stanley went full time at the beginning of last season so strict comparison with
Hereford can not yet be made. But if our assumptions are correct they might have lost around £200,000 last season.

However their accounts to May 2004 show that the club made a profit in that year of £183,000 and had over £100,000 in the bank at the year end. The profit came on the back of a reasonable FA Cup run. One of the games was televised by Sky and another by the BBC.

But the inference has to be that whilst Stanley had a bank balance at the end of May 2004, lower income this season and the certainty of the club paying higher wages (because the players are now full-time) will put a strain on finances.

If Tretton is being paid £200 per week more than at Edgar Street, it suggests that without the help of the Chairman Mr F Whalley, who has the controlling interest in the club, they might be unable to afford this sort of expenditure.

Stanley can't have made any money last season with the kind of gate receipts they
took. And unless their income improves this season, Mr Whalley might have to dig a little deeper to help out.

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