There's no money at all at Shrewsbury and plenty at Gillingham, both will be in L2 next season so can see why he's jumped ship
I have no idea how well funded Gillingham are nowadays, but there is certainly no money at Shrewsbury.
It is becoming ever harder for smaller clubs to survive in L1, let alone compete.
Consider this. Last season, Lincoln finished 7th with the 12th largest playing budget in L1.
This season, and despite increasing the budget from last season, they have the 19th largest budget in L1.
Their CEO states that they would need to add 60% to their budget to have the 12th highest this year, to double it simply to challenge the top six clubs, and far more multiples to match the top two or three. He has also stated that to finish in the top half of the league this season would be a far better achievement pound for pound than finishing 7th last year.
Here's the killer: that 19th-placed budget will still result in a loss of around £3m this year, money that has to come from investors.
Oxford - a similar sized club to Lincoln in terms of support - were promoted last season. A great achievement? No. They lost almost £16m in the process, taking their total debt to an eyewatering £49m. It should not be permitted, simple as that.
And the higher up the pyramid we go, the problem is magnified many fold.
The need for a football regulator with effective fair play rules has never been greater. In the meantime, traditional community clubs like Lincoln and Shrewsbury will continue to slip down the pyramid through no fault of their own.
Gills fans were sold a duff dream by a multi millionaire new owner who never spent the money and now moving on to his 6th manager in 2 years with the club sitting 19th place in League 2.
Things must have been horrendous at Shrewsbury for Ainsworth to choose that move.
These are the average attendances in L1, and they do show the expected strong link between attendances and where clubs are in the table.
Wycombe are the real outlier, reflecting their wealthy owner. Indeed I'm shocked by how poor their attendances are.
Just goes to show what an incredible job Nigel Clough did at Burton. From the Southern League to League 2 in his first spell and then from League 1 to the Championship (where they didn't get relegated until following their second season). Burton's actual capacity is 6,912 so their crowd would have been, even full, lower than any other team in the Championship with the associated income too.
Mark Bonner did not want Lapsie in the team. He was put on the transfer list and he lost his squad number. Anyway George got back in the team and scored a few goals. Then in January Bradford othered him a 3 year contract and he went .
Mark Bonner did not want Lapsie in the team. He was put on the transfer list and he lost his squad number. Anyway George got back in the team and scored a few goals. Then in January Bradford othered him a 3 year contract and he went .
My Gills mate told me, he was their highest paid player and they therefore had to get him off their books
Just listened to Ainsworth interview. Pretty much the same as he reeled out a few months ago when joining Shrewsbury. Talking of long term plans as a Gills manager is pretty pointless though when they only last a strawberry picking season.
Leaving aside everything else, I'm baffled why he would take the job anyway. He must be desperate for ANY managerial position to take over a club, facing a 99.9% certainty of relegation.
Comments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c93n4nqz5n5o
And, some people would have said the same about Nathan Jones away from Luton, before he joined us...
They can complete that stand that was never finished due to funding issues.
It is becoming ever harder for smaller clubs to survive in L1, let alone compete.
Consider this. Last season, Lincoln finished 7th with the 12th largest playing budget in L1.
This season, and despite increasing the budget from last season, they have the 19th largest budget in L1.
Their CEO states that they would need to add 60% to their budget to have the 12th highest this year, to double it simply to challenge the top six clubs, and far more multiples to match the top two or three. He has also stated that to finish in the top half of the league this season would be a far better achievement pound for pound than finishing 7th last year.
Here's the killer: that 19th-placed budget will still result in a loss of around £3m this year, money that has to come from investors.
Oxford - a similar sized club to Lincoln in terms of support - were promoted last season. A great achievement? No. They lost almost £16m in the process, taking their total debt to an eyewatering £49m. It should not be permitted, simple as that.
And the higher up the pyramid we go, the problem is magnified many fold.
The need for a football regulator with effective fair play rules has never been greater. In the meantime, traditional community clubs like Lincoln and Shrewsbury will continue to slip down the pyramid through no fault of their own.
Wycombe are the real outlier, reflecting their wealthy owner. Indeed I'm shocked by how poor their attendances are.
https://www.shrewsburytown.com/news/2025/march/25/gareth-ainsworth-and-richard-dobson-leave-shrewsbury/
https://www.shrewsburytown.com/news/2025/march/25/an-open-letter-from-the-chairman/
Things must have been horrendous at Shrewsbury for Ainsworth to choose that move.
Pretty much the same as he reeled out a few months ago when joining Shrewsbury.
Talking of long term plans as a Gills manager is pretty pointless though when they only last a strawberry picking season.
https://www.shrewsburytown.com/news/2025/march/26/michael-appleton-takes-charge-until-the-end-of-the-season-/