Sunderland striving to balance books

Sunderland have had a tricky 2003 on and off the playing field

The debts of Sunderland Football Club might be as much as £37m compared to just £26m five months ago.

The club was relegated from the Premiership in April, and manager Mick McCarthy has been forced to sell players from the Stadium of Light in order to try to balance the books.

The sales follow financial figures in April which showed the club to be £26.6m in debt, interim results which at the time led to 83 off-pitch staff and 15 players losing their jobs.

Sunderland made £16m from the Premiership in season 2002/03, but this year they will get just £5m to compensate for the drop and a package from the Nationwide league of £800,000.

A report by BBC Radio Newcastle says £13m was raised through summer transfers, but that after deductions for fees and sell-on-clauses the club will only see £8.5m.

It is thought this money will be used on day-to-day running costs at the football club.

Extra matches

Negotiations between the club and players' union PFA looked at ways to save money, including the playing squad members possibly deferring part of their wages until the end of the season.

Gate receipts are also expected to fall during the current season, when Sunderland will be playing in Nationwide League Division One.

Martin Emmerson, Radio Newcastle sports reporter said: "The average crowd last season was nearly 40,000 and this year it has been about 24,000 for the two games at home.

"With average ticket prices at £16 a head, gate receipts will drop from around £12m to £8m and that is with four extra matches too."

Unwanted record

And Vinay Bedi, a director at Stockbrokers Wise Speke said he believed the club's debts have risen by £10m in the last six months.

However the summer sell-off of players does mean the wage bill will drop by about £10m a year.

The team narrowly avoided equalling Darwen's 104-year-old record of 18 successive league losses, when they defeated Preston after 17 defeats spread over season 2002/03 and 2003/04.

Their revival continued when they beat Bradford City 4-0 at Valley Parade on Saturday.

And the wage bill was further reduced when American midfielder Claudio Reyna left Wearside for Manchester City.