The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has produced a ‘State of the Game’ report, which has taken a forensic look at English football over the past 18 months, concluding that the game’s finances are dangerously exposed, with the majority of clubs living on the edge of financial disaster.

The IFR added that interest and investment from around the world continues to grow within English football, but the underlying foundations of the pyramid are under intense strain and require urgent reform.

Despite over £9bn generated in revenue, 94 per cent of clubs are loss-making, with long-term security being put at risk through excessive short-term spending to keep up with rivals. This, the IFR says, has led to a “dangerous cocktail of rising debt and an over-reliance on owner funding, leaving clubs and their fans at risk”.

The report acknowledges that the success of the Premier League has driven economic success, making English football the “richest, best and most deeply competitive in the world”.

However, it points to “financial cliff-edges between and within leagues”, with the average Premier League club making more than eight times the revenues of an average Championship club, and the system of parachute payments paid by the Premier League to Championship clubs relegated contributing to significant overspend by clubs in the Championship.

Indeed, the report highlights player wage inflation leading clubs to take big risks chasing a place in the Premier League.

The State of the Game report found that lower down the pyramid the pressure from operating costs was also on the rise, with 17 EFL and National League clubs incurring costs exceeding revenues. These clubs would be loss-making even if they did not pay their players.

It uncovered too that more than 60 per cent of EFL and National League clubs are technically insolvent, with their liabilities exceeding the book value of their assets.

And it found that more than a quarter of clubs would be unable to survive for more than one month if owner funding was withdrawn, with the majority lacking a basic contingency plan to mitigate their risk.

‘We’re trying to take an interventionist approach’

Chair of the IFR David Kogan told Sky: “I think what we see in English football is two completely different positions.

“The first is £9bn comes in every year, yet we have 94 per cent of the clubs of the 160 we regulate are trading unprofitably.

“We have 32 clubs that have got less than 30 days’ cash cover in their accounts. So if the owner walks away or drops dead, they’re insolvent and go bust.

“So what we see in football is rising debt. It’s a problem of cash cover and liquidity within clubs, and it’s a lack of management, and what financial management? And now we’re in a position to help those clubs achieve a more stable future.”

Kogan added: “What we’re implying is today there’s enough money going through into the Premier League and the EFL and into their individual clubs for the sun to shine. This is exactly the moment when we need to address structural issues because once that sun stops shining, those clubs will be in real trouble.

“So what we are trying to do is get ahead of the problem and take an interventionist approach with individual clubs that need it to help them get to the point of being stable and secure because too many clubs get close to the edge and depend on one thing and one thing only, which is a new owner coming down the track.

“That supply of owners may dry up, and supply of media money may dry out so we have to now get ahead of the game and give them levels of security and stability that allow them to go into the future.”

The IFR’s six-point plan…

The IFR report offered solutions, issuing a six-point plan to address some of the issues it has identified.

The plan includes measures for clubs to improve how they manage financial risk, including holding more cash and putting robust contingency plans in place in case owner funding is withdrawn; it also outlines how revenue distribution should be reformed to ease cliff-edges throughout the pyramid, urges action on rising losses and calls on clubs to show how they take fans’ views into account, and the steps they are taking to improve diversity and governance in the boardroom.

It also highlighted yet again that the current distribution arrangements in English football create risk and should be reformed.

For several years the Premier League and EFL have been discussing and negotiating a new financial distribution model, but no agreement has yet been finalised. The IFR has consistently said, and has said once again in this report, that it is preferable that the Premier League and EFL come to an agreement themselves, but again mentioned that the IFR could apply a “back-stop” power to intervene if the Premier League and EFL do not come to an agreement.

The IFR said its goals on reform of the current distribution model were to:

• Maintain the Premier League as the leading football league in the world and the Championship as the leading second-tier competition.
• Maintain vital funding for the wider game.
• Mitigate the financial impact of relegation from the Premier League.
• Reduce the distortive impact that parachute payments have on financial incentives within the Championship.
• Protect clubs by giving clubs the opportunity to rebuild their balance sheets and reduce risk.
• Consider short-term support to clubs that face severe financial distress.

Kogan said: “There are three moves that are taking place that we think will help on this.

“First is that the Premier League and the EFL are currently discussing a new distribution deal with the game, which will radically change the amount of money going from the Premier League down to the lower leagues. And that will have associated with it controls on how that money is spent, which actually will go to the stability of those lower leagues, but we’re going to see more money flowing down, assuming the deal is done, and we’re going to see cost controls involved in that.

“The second is that from November onwards we’re going to be licensing clubs, and by licensing those clubs we’re going to intervene directly in individual clubs where we think they’ve got exposures that we can help them resolve and that includes things like having a business plan that involves having cash cover more than 30 days; it involves having genuine provision for the debts that they’ve raised.

“And the third thing we’re doing is working with leagues to actually look at cost controls over a longer-term basis to actually build in financial stability as we go forward.”

Ellie Scotney has been forced to withdraw from her WBC featherweight title fight with Tiara Brown.

Scotney had been due box Brown on November 8 but injury has ruled her out of the contest.

It was going to be Scotney’s first fight at featherweight after a thrilling battle to beat Mayelli Flores and win the undisputed super-bantamweight championship in April.

Alycia Baumgardner’s clash with Elif Nur Turhan for the latter’s IBF lightweight world title remains the main event at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, live on Sky Sports.

Ramla Ali’s fight with New York’s undefeated Mikiah Kreps for the vacant WBO and IBF super-bantamweight world titles is now the chief support.

Mexico’s Irma Garcia also takes on Nataly Delgado in an IBF and WBA super-flyweight title unification.

Other bouts have also been added to the card: Brittany Sims against Shera Mae Patricio for the vacant WBA regular title at 118lbs; Nat Dove and Nayeli Rodriguez in an eight-round flyweight rematch, plus Fernando Garcia-Alexander Castellano and Javier Guerrero-Aiden Anderson.

“We’re disappointed Ellie Scotney is unable to compete, we wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her and Tiara Brown back in the ring soon,” Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of MVP, said.

“Ramla Ali now has the biggest opportunity of her professional career against an undefeated Mikiah Kreps, while Irma Garcia and Nataly Delgado will put their world titles on the line in another major unification bout.

“We’re also adding more MVP talent to the preliminary card, including Brittany Sims and newly-signed Shera Mae Patricio competing for a world title, along with undefeated rising star Nat Dove returning for a highly-anticipated rematch.

“Sunday, November 8 is loaded with high-stakes fights featuring some of the best talent in boxing.”

Watch Ramla Ali vs Mikiah Kreps on Sunday November 8 live on Sky Sports.

Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has “100 per cent” trust in Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola after the two £100m-plus signings came in for criticism.

Wirtz has had the benefit of a full season already with the club but has yet to deliver on his £116m price tag, and in Sunday’s home loss to Manchester City he struggled to exert any influence on the game even when his side were in the ascendancy.

Barcola, who joined from PSG in a £123m deal, can be given more leeway after arriving late in this summer’s transfer window, but he looked short of confidence and has yet to properly contribute in six appearances.

The pair have come under increased scrutiny as injuries to Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai – the team’s leading three goalscorers this season – have left a small squad looking to their remaining big-name signings to produce a spark.

Liverpool’s injured trio are missing for the Champions League trip to Austria to face LASK, and with Iraola unsure of their availability for the following three matches against Brentford, Villarreal and Brighton, the spotlight will only become more intense.

“It’s true Cody, Alex and Dom are top scorers this season as they are the ones playing more in those positions,” said the Liverpool boss.

“We need our players to give us those numbers; we trust the players we have now to play in those positions.

“Bradley and Flo have had good and bad games this season like everyone else, but we know their level, and for sure we know they will give us good performances.

“At the end, the responsibilities are the same. Sometimes we are too focused on just the numbers.

“I was happy with a lot of things the other day. Bradley had good situations; we didn’t finish them, but him and Flo also are players I trust 100 per cent.”

Iraola: Wirtz has had good games this season

Wirtz has been a big disappointment since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen as one of Europe’s top young talents.

Despite lighting up the Bundesliga, he has struggled to find a role at Liverpool – not helped by the change of head coach in the summer – and remained on the fringes and unable to influence games the way he did in his homeland.

But Iraola pointed to his performances for Germany in the last international break as a positive.

“He probably didn’t have his best game but has had good games this season with us. Everyone starts looking for answers,” he added.

“He had some good performances in the national team; he scored one goal. He will have better and worse games, but I like to look at it more collectively, how they [Wirtz and Barcola] help us play well and get results.

“I don’t care if one scores or the other scores, it is a more collective thing.”

The match in Linz is Liverpool’s second of six in 18 days and Iraola is set to make changes.

“Because of freshness reasons and some niggles it will be difficult to put the same starting XI out tomorrow,” he added.

Carra: Wirtz has to be dropped

Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher speaking about Wirtz after the 3-0 defeat to Man City:

“I’m just sorry to say this: the Florian Wirtz signing isn’t working, and it hasn’t worked so far, and [Ryan] Gravenberch should not be sitting on the bench when Wirtz is playing for Liverpool.

“Barcola hasn’t made a good start so far for Liverpool, but if we started being critical of him, that would be harsh because he’s been here six weeks and didn’t have a pre-season.

“You want a bit more from what you’ve seen already, but you think, ‘hang on slow down, give him a bit more time’. That would be harsh having a go with him right now – it’s not harsh to be having a go at Wirtz right now; he’s got to do so much more.

“I struggle to think of one game where he’s won Liverpool the game, or he’s been the man. He was brought in to be a star of the Premier League. I felt he could be the Kevin De Bruyne that at times got Manchester City over the line.

“Wirtz has been here for 55-60 games; it’s a lot, and I don’t see it changing. Wirtz, where he’s almost nailed on that he plays every week in that No.10 position, it has to stop.

“He needs to come out of the team. I said that last time out, and I’m going to say it again.”

What does Wirtz actually bring to Liverpool?

Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:

If the challenge ahead of Florian Wirtz was like climbing Everest, comparing him to the best the Premier League has or had to offer when their legacies are already cemented isn’t going to make life easier.

The issue is, the majority of these names made bigger impacts from the jump. Thus far, Wirtz has played 39 Premier League games since his big-money move last summer. In that time, he has averaged 0.18 assists, 0.16 goals and created 2.2 chances per 90.

Without context, these numbers mean nothing. Compare them to other players and then the problem begins to magnify. In De Bruyne’s first 39 Premier League games at Manchester City, he far outperformed Wirtz in all three of these areas. And it’s not just the Belgian.

The same can be said of Cole Palmer at Chelsea and even Martin Odegaard at Arsenal, who was equally hit with claims of a slow start to life at the Emirates.

Those defending Wirtz may argue that isn’t all his fault. Assists rely on those he is feeding to finish. True, and he is in the 90th percentile of chances created among all attacking midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues since the start of last season. Despite that, his assist numbers don’t even put him in the 50th percentile.

You can read analysis on Wirtz in full here.