Ebbsfleet United’s managing director Dave Archer has confirmed “95% of the financial restructure” is now complete at Stonebridge Road, stating that August “is the first month of the full implementation of the new budget”.
Speaking to supporters at an open Q&A session last night, Archer said, “Dr Abdulla [al-Humaidi, EUFC chairman] lost £2.3m in 2018/19 but that’s been reduced to £900,000 a year” by the introduction of the new budget and significantly tighter controls on spending, and added that “Dr Abdulla has put in over £20m in the six years” since KEH Sports Limited purchased the club in May 2013.
Garry Hill, Ebbsfleet manager, “is comfortable with the playing budget” according to Archer, even though it has been “reduced significantly but it’s still substantial”.
Hill also answered questions at the session and was extremely honest about the situation he discovered when he replaced Daryl McMahon last season. “I inherited players on international telephone number salaries, wages that I’ve never seen in my time in football”, Hill said, while also admitting that he had “two clubs asking me to jump ship” last season “which isn’t my style”. He reassured Fleet fans that “if they came in again the answer would still be no. I want to do a job for this football club.”
The manager was brutally honest when he said, “I don’t think there’s many in this room who know how close this club came to going bust” last season and added “I’ve done things for this club out of my own pocket.”
The issue of 3G/4G pitches was raised from the audience and it’s clear that Ebbsfleet are seriously considering swapping their grass for plastic. Hill said, “Without a doubt if I owned a football club I would have a 4G pitch. I don’t like playing on them but you get £120 an hour [when it’s hired out], £600,000 if you have one. It makes clubs self-sufficient.”
Archer has been doing his research, revealing “it would cost £550,000 to install a 4G pitch and £200,00 to rip it up and replace it with grass [should Fleet get promoted to the Football League]. It would be the loveliest problem to have!”
Results on the pitch have shown it’s taking time for Fleet to find their new financial feet but the determination of Archer and Hill to make it work for the sustainable future of the club is there for all to see.