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Dover chairman Jim Parmenter thinks it will be tough for the club to return to the National League soon - without significant investment.
Their eight-year stay in the league ended on Saturday, as they lost 2-0 to Yeovil at Crabble.
It was always going to be an uphill task for Dover to avoid relegation this season but they have endured a miserable campaign, winning just once so far.
He said: “We have got to compete with the multi-million clubs, we have got to compete with the relegated clubs with the parachute payments and the big crowds so, unless there’s a big investment in Dover, I think it’s going to be very hard for us to get back to the National League.”
Even before a ball was kicked, Dover suffered a major blow as they were fined £40,000 and handed a 12-point deduction.
After relegation was confirmed, Parmenter reflected: “I think it has been confirmed for a long time, to be honest with you.
“We were served up a pretty impossible task by The FA and the National League at the beginning of the season. We have done our best.
“I don’t think we could have done more, given the budgets that we had to work with and the fine we had to pay.
“I think we have been drastically unlucky in some games and I just think it was inevitable, and I think we have gone down fighting.”
Parmenter vowed he wouldn't spend money the club didn’t have to try and stay in the National League but believes a competitive playing budget in National League South would be just a tenth of what clubs need to compete in the National League.
He commented: “To compete in the National League now, you need £3 million to £4 million. The average playing budget in National League South I know is little more than £350,000 to £400,000.
“That’s about half what our playing budget would be in the National League.
“But our playing budget in the National League is nowhere near big enough to compete with the big clubs.”
When asked if Whites would have a bigger playing budget next term, he replied: “Well, we won’t need it because the budget that we have had for this season would be in the top 20% of the South.
“People have to understand that the amount of money that's needed in this league now makes it uncompetitive for teams like Dover.
“You have got teams coming down, two a year, with a £1.5m parachute payment in their back pocket. Some of these bigger clubs are getting 5,000-10,000 crowds.
“They have got big catchment areas, big conurbations around them, and they are taking lots of money. We are working with a crowd, even when we were doing well in the National League, of maybe 1,100.
“We have got a 180-degree catchment area and we have never had a parachute payment in our life which, I think, is probably the biggest evil that’s ever hit football - and certainly the National League.”
Manager Andy Hessenthaler has brought several Academy players into his first-team squad, including teenage midfielder George Wilkinson who has been on trial at Stoke.
But Parmenter warned: “The problem you have got with Academy players at our level is, of course, they are not protected.
“As soon as we start to introduce them to men’s football, we find the vultures are on the fence, trying to take them for bigger clubs.
“That’s the issue we have got. What sort of compensation or protection do we get with Academy players?”
Attendances have been dwindling due to Dover’s troubles but Parmenter admits he can understand fans’ frustrations.
“I’ve navigated the club through the tough times of Covid,” he stated.
“I have done what I said I would do, which is make sure we have no debt so we can start next season debt-free, and in a position so we have a budget that is competitive in National League South.
“I understand the disappointments and frustrations. They’re no more than the ones that I have.
“We are going to build for next season and to try and be competitive.”
And Parameter is looking forward to playing in National League South - and the derbies which will come with doing so.
He added: “To be honest, I’m quite looking forward to it - local derbies. There’s some great clubs in the South, there’s great clubs in Kent.
“We need to get some enjoyment back into the game and we need to get some crowd involvement. We need to get some local involvement in the game.
“For too long, we have been travelling the length and breadth of the country on reduced budgets, trying to compete with the likes of Stockport who are paying £500,000 for a player. We can’t do it.
“It’s stupid of us to throw money at trying to do it."
The club are holding an open meeting for supporters in the Centre Spot at Crabble tonight, where Parmenter and Hessenthaler will answer questions.
