Sunderland extend furlough scheme into June as club waits for EFL clarity on season restart

As previously reported in early April, all players and backroom staff, as well as academy contracted players, were placed on the Government’s job retention scheme following the suspension of football.

All employees are being paid in full and a small number of backroom staff have since returned to work.

The Echo understands the club has extended furlough for those still on it until the end of June, it had originally been due to expire at the end of May, though clearly the situation would change if the season was to restart and the players given the green light to return to training.

The EFL is due to hold a vote on Monday at which it will be decided whether to either curtail the campaign or resume.

The furlough scheme was one of the questions in our weekly Q&A with our SAFC writer Phil Smith.

Here's the pick of the Q&A and read it in full here:

Hi Phil, how do you think the EFL vote will go on Monday? Is Sunderland’s season over?

PS: “I suspect Sunderland’s season is over.

“I think it will be quite a close vote, but I don’t see how those who want to play can get up to the 12 votes needed.

“There’s eight we know want to play on: the six who went public around a fortnight ago, plus Gillingham and Tranmere Rovers.

“Tranmere obviously oppose the EFL framework and will vote against it, but once that passes (which seems certain), it is then clearly in their interests to play on.

“So you then need four votes to hit the magic number.

“Who might support you?

”Rotherham and Coventry will almost certainly vote to confirm their automatic promotion.

“Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth said he wanted to play but then admitted his owner (who previously called for voiding) has concerns.

“Doncaster might support a resumption, but have a decision to make with their chances of getting into the top six only slim.

“So you need at least three of the mid-table teams with nothing to play for to back you.

“Burton almost certainly won’t, given what their chairman has said on the issue so far.

“MK Dons have said they will go with the majority.

“It will be interesting to see what their interpretation of that is in terms of how they will vote.

“Overall, I just don’t see where the votes come from.”

Any updates on the takeover situation?

PS: “Nothing substantial at this stage.

“A sale this month, as Charlie Methven said he expected, always seemed unlikely and Madrox confirmed to us a couple of weeks ago that they now shared this view.

“It’s clear that there was always going to be a big debate about price, and as we now know, there is the Madrox balance to be paid back into the club to consider as well (currently around £11 million).

“Now you also have to consider uncertainty over what division Sunderland will be in next season, and above all else, the uncertainty surrounding when fans will be allowed back into the stadium.

“Until that happens, anyone taking over a club is going to lose money and so that has to be considered.

“Worth having a look at an interview with former Swansea City chairman Huw Jenkins, who has considered buying Charlton Athletic and had some interesting comments on these issues yesterday.

“A vote to curtail the season next week would at least clear one issue up for potential buyers.”

Any update on the furlough situation at the club for those players/staff on it - will it be extended?

PS: “It will be extended through June as it stands.

“Clearly, that would change in the event of a resumption. That looks unlikely at the moment.”

It seems increasingly likely Jon McLaughlin is leaving, how much of a shame would that be (if he does)?

PS: “There is a lot of interest in Jon, as you would expect.

“As I said last week, it’s going to be an interesting market.

“Will the kind of wage a player might have expected to be available three months ago at other cubs still be there? On the other side of it, will there be more opportunities as Championship clubs become more open to free agents?

“Either way, Jon will be in demand.

“Those close to him say he hasn’t made a final decision yet, and still hopes to stay at Sunderland.

“There’s been some dialogue with the club since January, though obviously no resolution.

“It seems pretty clear there aren’t going to be any concrete talks with payers until the fate of the season is settled.

“McLaughlin himself has said that he wants to stay, that there aren’t many bigger clubs even in the Championship.

Blackburn would clearly

“At this stage, it’s likely he’ll be stepping up a division. It’s a good club with a strong history and a good level of stability at the moment.

“They need a new number one and could probably offer real security. How exactly it ends up we’ll have to see.

“For Sunderland, there will absolutely be a lot of questions to answer about how a potentially multi-million asset has again left for a fraction of their value.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

With the Covid-19 crisis and the £20.5million ‘write-off’ do you think Sunderland is a viable purchase given the debt?

PS: “It’s all a question of value, isn’t it?

“First of all, the Madrox balance and how exactly that will be settled is absolutely a factor in the sale.

“Madrox say that balance is now around £11 million (the £20.5 million figure was just the balance at the time of the accounts being signed off)

“So £9 million has been paid in since, potentially with FPP assistance.

“Settling the rest will be part of the conversation.

“Another factor will be the fate of this season, and even greater factor still is the possibility of a major hit in revenues for as long as football is behind closed doors.

“So some of the figures recently touted (upwards of £30 million) now look very optimistic.

“Sunderland by and large is still surely a very attractive proposition.

“Huge fanbase, the cost base is now significantly reduced, and the facilities are outstanding.

“The other side of the coin is that investment is needed in the playing squad and the academy (this is absolutely pivotal), parachute payments are now over and the current situation is likely to incur losses.

“It’s about agreeing a price that balances these things out.”

Like Kevin Phillips, I’m worried for Sunderland’s future – what do you think?

PS: “It’s fair to say that whatever the plan was when the new regime took charge in 2018, three seasons in League One certainly wasn’t it.

“A curtailment, as we expect to happen, will confirm that and leave the club with major issues.

“The wage bill will likely have to come down again, given that there will be no parachute payments next season.

“There aren’t too many more players pushing through from the U18s and U23s at the time when they are most needed, and the continued instability at boardroom level means we still don’t have much in the way of a long-term strategy.

“It’s not hard to understand why fans are concerned.

“The hope has to be that some good planning for the short-term has been done during this lockdown, so in the short-term at least, there is the possibility of a much more decisive and successful window than we had this time last year.”