The harsh realities of life for MK Dons has been revealed and analysed by Price of Football expert Kieran Maguire, with the Dons losing £14m per year or £52,000 per week.
It’s not exactly a revelation, Pete Winkleman revealed they were losing £10,000 per day back in September. Those numbers are now laid bare for all and it doesn’t make pretty reading.
Despite having a hotel at the ground, all revenue streams at Stadium MK are significantly down, apart from car park fees. They also owe £11 million to Stadium MK, the holding company controlled by owner Winkleman.
The Dons are nine points clear of the dropzone in League One, but are clearly in a financially perilous situation. Their accounts show that despite the wage bill coming down 17%, the club are still paying £107 in wages for every £100 of income. Whilst it isn’t unheard of in the lower leagues, it is unsustainable and if the owner was to pull out, we could see another Bury situation unfold.
Whilst it may be a concern for fans of the Buckinghamshire club, there seems to be little sympathy from around the football world. The manner in which they came into being is still an issue for some, despite almost 16 years passing, as you’ll see below.
Below that, you’ll find an ‘our view’ special.
25,000 empty seats don't bring in any money
— PeterB (@justadon88) February 6, 2020
If the hotel and stadium ever decide to pull the plug, the club is gone, simple as that. Nobody's going to save it because there'll be nothing to save.
— Simon (@HungryHatter) February 6, 2020
Like… how is that still a running functioning football club. I can’t fathom why somebody at the top is sat there thinking everything’s running fine ?
— Bendrews (@TheBendrews) February 6, 2020
Last year they sold some land to the council for £11m which they'd bought just a year or so before for £4m or something.
— PeterB (@justadon88) February 6, 2020
Couldn’t happen to a nicer club
— Dan Johnstone (@Dan_Mariner) February 6, 2020
It's a really bad sign of a business when the losses are getting larger instead of smaller. Won't be profitable anytime soon.
— Lucas (@IknowBaII) February 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/gregcharnock7/status/1225383017067241472
Our View Special
I’m not convinced the vitriol is entirely justified anymore. At the time, MK Dons coming into being did seem unfair on Wimbledon, but since that, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Are they really the enemy here? They’re not the only ones spending beyond their means either. Look at Salford City, Forest Green and even Fleetwood to a degree. How would these clubs survive if their benefactor pulled out?
Coupled with the history, MK Dons are not popular with supporters of other clubs, but with the likes of Liverpool snubbing the FA Cup are a little club in League One really everything that is wrong with football?
If these losses carry on, the serious concern for their supporters is opinions won’t matter, because they’ll be gone just like Bury and Maidstone. I say Maidstone because back when they folded they wanted to move out of Kent as MK Dons moved out of London. They were refused permission and folded. Had MK Dons remained as Wimbledon back in 2003, they may have folded too.
Perhaps, within the next ten years or so, the whole sorry story will have a sad conclusion for their fans.
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