Burnley had earned a reputation as the archetypal yo-yo club – relegated from or promoted to the top division in each of the past five seasons.
But after a leveraged buyout by Alan Pace’s ALK Capital in 2020, the Clarets were carrying £142m in loans in the 2024-25 accounts – the year they went up – which was the highest debt level in the Championship.
This week Burnley set a new English league record for the longest run without a home win. When they host Portsmouth on Saturday, it will be 378 days since their last home victory.
Being humbled by a well-run, up-and-coming club like Lincoln, with far fewer resources but savvy ownership, will not be lost on Burnley supporters.
And the financial gap is huge.
Burnley’s total revenue for 2024-25 was £71.7m, which dwarfed Lincoln’s £7.81m.
The Clarets then received £48m in parachute payments. Lincoln can expect about £5.5m in solidarity funding.
Off the pitch there should be no contest, but football is not played purely on balance sheets.
In its State of the Game report, published earlier this month, the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) said a new financial deal between the Premier League and the EFL must “reduce the distortive impact that parachute payments have on financial incentives within the Championship”.
The solution is merit payments, which would mirror the Premier League’s model of prize money by final league position.
At present, every club in the Championship receives the same payment, regardless of where they finish.
“The amount of money paid in parachute payments will reduce and the amount of money going into the Championship will vastly increase,” IFR chair David Kogan said.
“The delta between parachute payment clubs and non-parachute payment clubs is going to significantly reduce, which makes the Championship a much more competitive league.”
Parachute payments are paid to clubs relegated from the Premier League to help them adjust to the financial realities of the second tier – £48m in year one, then £39m in year two,
Could this make the double drop more common as the revenue gap closes? Much will depend upon just how “significantly” the gap is closed.
The IFR report found that parachute payment clubs were more than four times more likely to be promoted. In 2024-25, four clubs were in receipt and they were almost 27 points better off, and filled the top three places (with Luton relegated).
“If you look at the numbers of teams that go back up or finish in the top places, there’s a huge correlation between those clubs and the ones that are parachute payment clubs,” McAnuff said.
“Even with a reduction in parachute payments, I still feel that advantage will prove to be massively significant for those teams.”
It may yet be that Burnley escape the double drop, that the financial advantage of parachute payments outweighs poor decision-making.
But the double drop has generally become far more common. And that should concern any club that gets relegated and is not prepared for life in the Championship.
