£90 M Losses: Cowling Predicts L1 Breakaway

Club chairman, Robbie Cowling, thinks there would be a breakaway league formed if the Football League imposed a salary cap in the division.

He talks about the idea in the Colchester Daily Gazette having been at a conference that discussed the impact of the credit crunch to all chairmen outside the Premiership.

Cowling, who took over as U's chairman in 2006, was formally associated with West Ham, where his company once known as Jobserve sponsored the Hammers.

The talk was based on a recently published independent report.

The findings showed that an overwhelming amount of turnover is splashed by lower-league sides on wages, although happily Colchester are infamously parsimonious when it comes to dealing with agents.

Cowling was critical of some chairmen, who claimed to be unable to control what happens with regard to a club`s money.

"The statistics didn`t surprise me," said Cowling. They showed that side`s in United`s division collectively lost £90 last year.

Cowling heard some buck-passing at the event, evidently, as questions were raised, but assured U`s fans things would remain stable at Colchester United in the long-term.

Manager Paul Lambert said last week that he would not demand a specifically set budget for transfers this summer, form dual chairman and owner, Cowling. Cowling had previously announced youth-team cut-backs due to tight finances earlier in the year.

"Some suggested that there should be a salary cap installed but I`m not so sure - I`m undecided on the issue, added Colwling.

"If the league started to cap wages, there is a chance there could be a breakaway league formed," he said.


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