Premiership winning players can command huge salaries

In a report by Grant Thornton, 93% of the industry insiders polled said clubs are failing to live within their means.

More worringly, nearly 70% expect to see at least one Premiership club to go bust during the next two seasons.

The outlook for the footballing industry looks at best "uncertain", says the report, and there is just a "glimmer" of hope for improvement.

The survey used feedback from over 100 club directors, chief executives, football agents, lenders and members of football-related bodies.

Players' wedge

The crux of the problem, according to the report, seems to be that the proportion of turnover spent on players' wages is too high at many clubs.

"Spending between 50% and 60% of a club's turnover on players' wages simply has to be the spending ceiling for any club," said Joe McLean, partner at Grant Thornton's Recovery and Reorganisation team.

Figures well in excess of 60% were revealed by half of the industry people surveyed.

Ironically, the same stakeholders that say clubs are living beyond their means also believe that more than 60% of turnover needs to be spent on wages if a club is to remain competitive and solvent.

Without the big names and a winning team, the arguement goes, it's difficult to get people to come to matches.

Wage spiral

But perhaps there are already signs that the spiralling wage growth is slowing.

A report from Deloitte & Touche earlier this year found that the total Premiership wage bill for the 2002/2003 season rose by 8% from the previous year.

This compared with an average annual rise of 25% over the past 10 years.

Sunderland, Fulham and Leeds United were the highest wage spenders when calculated as a proportion of turnover - each more than 80%, the Deloitte report said.

To help put the brake on clubs living beyond their means, the Premier League in January confirmed the introduction of a nine-point deduction for clubs that go into administration.