‘Their time is up’ – Luton director talks tough over plan to end rule-breaking

A delayed government white paper has been released outlining a radical transformation to how English football is run with Luton Town director Stephen Browne declaring it a ‘huge step forward’ in levelling the financial playing field against rivals that ‘bend or break rules’.

In a forthright message, the 2020 board member has written about how fan-led push for a ‘sustainable financial management’ model that the 2020 board have been practising over their 15 years in charge of the Hatters will end the unfair disadvantage inflicted on clubs like Luton that live within their means.

While Browne admits the implementation of the white paper’s recommendations won’t solve all of football’s ills, the one aim is to prevent clubs going out of business like Bury and Macclesfield Town. But the director has also hit out at ‘greedy’ clubs in the wake of Premier League champions Manchester City this month being charged with breaking financial fair play rules around 100 times over a nine-year period from 2009. 

The year before, the 2020 consortium – a group of Hatters fans including Browne and current CEO Gary Sweet – saved Luton from the brink of extinction after previous mismanagement, though the club was still slapped with a never-since-repeated 30-point penalty that effectively relegated them out of the Football League.

In recent years, under the board’s custodianship, the Hatters have risen from the non-league to Championship play-off contenders, all while cutting their cloth accordingly and operating on one of the division’s smallest budgets. In contrast, in the 2020/21 season, there was a wage-to-revenue ratio average of 125 per cent across the Championship, which means rivals were paying out more in wages than they were earning in attempts to gain promotion to the riches of the top flight.

With these unsustainable practices carrying on, one of the key proposals in the government white paper – recommended by a fan-led review last year, which Luton Town Supporters’ Trust took part in – is for an independent financial regulator to be appointed, which would help to prevent the repeat of financial failings seen recently at Derby County last term.

The regulator would also implement a new licensing system from the Premier League down to the National League, which would require clubs to demonstrate sound financial business models and good corporate governance as part of an application process before being allowed to compete. 

The white paper also sets out how fans will be given a greater say in the running of clubs, including key heritage such as team names, badges, and stadia, which follows in the example already set by Luton Town who, in 2014, handed the club’s image rights to the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust, so that they cannot be changed without the fan groups’ consent. The Trust are also a key stakeholder in the development of the club’s new Power Court stadium.

Writing in Luton’s match-day programme for Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Championship leaders Burmley, director Browne addressed the ‘levels the financial unfairness’ affecting the English and international game, and said that the new white paper will be the start of levelling the playing field, aiming to ensure that rival clubs are obliged to operate within their means – as Luton do – or face sanctions.

He wrote: ‘We have very often felt like a stuck record, and watched as club after club has rejected the principles that we see as vital for the future of our national game. And, we have watched many owners fail, leaving fans distraught.

‘Even now, we watch the current Premier League champions potentially in dispute about exactly how those wins were funded, and whether that was done within the rules. We see another club spend an obscene amount (in Luton Town’s terms – more than 3x the cost of Power Court) in just one transfer window, which again challenges the way football is financed, funded, and managed.

‘In both cases, their own supporters seem to be spending more time defending their clubs than thinking about the implications for the game or even asking questions of their owners’ actions.

‘We also watch as the very authorities that were put in place to ensure the success of our national game for the benefit of all, continue to work for themselves, showing a complete disregard for fans, with no idea how to deal with the issues they themselves have created.

‘UEFA sit there accused of complete incompetence by not being in control of Europe’s most watched Game; FIFA is thinking of giving the Ladies World Cup to that well-known bastion of women’s rights, Saudi Arabia, and accepting Saudi sponsorship money for the ’23 Ladies World Cup being held in Australia and New Zealand this summer (it seems without even consulting the Australian and New Zealand authorities).

‘Meanwhile, the FA and Premier League are so wrapped up in their own squabbling and self-interest that they cannot come to an agreement to secure the future of the football pyramid. You could not make it up.

‘However, all this does at last have a silver lining… we now have a white paper being put in front of the government that will shake things up (led by fans, don’t forget, including you, and our Trust). It’s been a long haul, many years in the making.

‘I also said last season that the white paper proposals are no silver bullet and issues will remain that still have to be dealt with. Nevertheless, it will be a huge step forward.

‘Do not underestimate the work that Luton Town has done over the past decade to get to this point. A huge thank you goes to David (Wilkinson – chairman) and Gary (Sweet) as our representatives at countless meetings, away games, committees, think tanks and conferences.

‘Over months and years, they have promoted the ‘Luton way’ and how the game must change for the better; always being front-footed in talking to other owners, media, MPs, authorities and decision-makers to explain how we see good financial management, academy football, fan involvement, and ensuring the sustainability of the football pyramid with a pathway for advancement.

‘They have regularly been accused of just looking after Luton’s interests because we are a club that would benefit from regulation changes and be able to compete better – maybe even better than we do now.

‘But let’s be clear: It is ONLY in Luton’s interest because we are not the ones paying 150% of our income to players, we are not the ones spending money we don’t have. We are not the ones offering players and managers and executives contracts we can’t afford, and we are not the owners who burden a club with insurmountable issues and obligations and then just run away leaving fans to pick up the pieces.

‘Of course we benefit – because we’re already trying to work within sound principles! 

‘Not only do the principles give fans across the country more say in both their local team and national game, but it also levels the financial unfairness in the game.

‘Clubs like us that try and work hard within their means will no longer be punished and placed at an unfair disadvantage. Clubs that seek to bend and break rules will be sanctioned. And, first-hand, we know about the type of punishments that can be given, so we want to see the same level of sanction against anyone who cheats – however they cheat.

We’ve always said that some of the financial games played by greedy clubs and expensive lawyers are the same as doping – ‘financial doping’.

‘Lance Armstrong was stripped of the titles for his cheating, Glasgow Rangers and Juventus suffered demotions, so what is the difference for a football club that has won silverware? If found guilty, should they be stripped of the titles and books and history books re-written? After all, a fine of any size for some Premier League club owners is pretty pointless.

‘So why charge Manchester City now? It has taken over a decade for the Premier League to place charges dating back to 2008 (sic); and yet they pick the month of the white paper to act. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the final act of the self-elected so-called ‘guardians’ that have tried to steal our game.

‘Did they think they could avoid an Independent Football Regulator and keep control if they were finally seen to be doing something?

‘They have lobbied obfuscated, and spent large amounts of money trying to avoid an independent regulator by clinging on to money that isn’t theirs and power they don’t deserve. Not for the good of the game or out of consideration for fans, just themselves.

‘Their time is up, and soon fans across England will finally start to get their game back…welcome to our world!

‘And of course, with a more level playing field, the future is bright – the future is orange!’

After the release of the white paper, Luton CEO Gary Sweet told the club’s website: “As the club that has experienced the greatest spread of positions in the pyramid over the last decade, we fully understand the importance of preserving the values of our beautiful game and care passionately about the protection of its heritage.

“As is being rightly implemented in other important sectors of our society, Football also needs a levelling up initiative to ensure our national game remains intact. Football has had ample time to repair itself without success, which is why the publication of the White Paper is welcomed by everyone here at Kenilworth Road.

“It’s worth observing that whilst the white paper has yet to be reviewed in detail, our hope is that its intent will be to improve the sustainability, viability and commerciality for all clubs from bottom to the very top whilst ensuring that supporters are more fully engaged.

“We also hope that any regulator will set boundaries of operation ensuring clubs can’t overspend and create this falsely commercial, over-competitive environment we have today. Any regulator will need to work empathetically, alongside the existing football authorities to ensure the game provides a fair and level playing field for all involved.

“We look forward to an independent regulator to provide all clubs with the fairest opportunity to compete through sporting endeavour whilst operating sustainably, with the inclusion of supporters and influence on their communities.”

The EFL also released a statement, which reads: “The EFL has been clear that the English game needs a fundamental financial reset in order make the game sustainable so that all Clubs can continue to serve their supporters and communities long into the future.

“After an extensive period of consultation, the EFL is therefore pleased to note that the Government’s announcement regarding an Independent Regulator proposes to “oversee the financial sustainability of the game” and we welcome that a Regulator will have “targeted powers of last resort to intervene and facilitate an agreement as and when necessary”, should football be unable to find a funding agreement that safeguards the future of our pyramid for the long term.

“Going hand-in-hand with financial reform, the League is supportive of proposals relating to enhanced regulation and looks forward to consulting with Government on matters including Club Licensing, the Owners and Directors Test and heritage protection in the period ahead.

“A landmark moment for the future of our game, we now await to review the White Paper in its entirety and will consider our position in full. The fan-led review white paper represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity that must be seized to address the systemic issues that football has been unable to sort itself over the last 30 years.”

Read the full government white paper