Exeter City's Supporters' Trust are expected to meet tomorrow to discuss the ramifications of the Professional Footballers' Association loan, which was taken this week to cover running costs.
The Supporters' Trust owners of Exeter City could tighten the purse strings at St James' Park even further, after the club requested a short-term loan from the PFA.
Following the news Laurence Overend, chairman of Exeter City Supporters' Trust, admitted the central problem for the Supporters' Trust model was that of "capitalisation" – the lack of a single owner or benefactor who could inject urgent funds.
The Grecians released nine first-team players last month, with manager Paul Tisdale saying he was seeking "value for money" from his squad.
Assistant manager Rob Edwards also left St James' Park after eight years at the Devon club – ostensibly for financial reasons.
The relegation of Westcountry rivals Torquay United and Bristol Rovers is unlikely to have helped the Grecians' cause, with boss Tisdale saying he believed it would directly affect their budget for the 2014-15 season.
But Exeter City director of football Steve Perryman has said reducing the playing budget could have a knock-on effect on the team's ability to earn "football money" – basically, player sales or revenue from success in league or cup combat.
Laurence Overend, chairman of Exeter City Supporters' Trust, which owns 53 per cent of shares in the club, said he was unwilling to make a formal statement due to the Trust's democratic nature..
Avoiding the "peak and troughs" of cashflow will be among the chief points of discussion at the Trust's meeting – suggesting a further reduction of the budget.
Overend said: "I don't think it's critical – it's very common for businesses and particularly football clubs to take out loans, so for most clubs this wouldn't be newsworthy.
"But we're not a traditional model, as Exeter City is at the forefront of the supporters-owned movement."
He added: "We need to reflect on the implications for our model – one of the common traits of a co-operative in the not-for-profit sector is that they lack capitalisation – what they lack is capital.
"While the club has proved to be sustainable under Trust ownership for the past ten years, it [the Trust] has never been able to provide an injection of capital into the club when it needs it."
Perryman said: "At any club, I think it's important to earn football money which is player sales, a cup run or a great run in the league which puts you near the play-off places.
"The more money you take out of the team – it makes life difficult.
"But nobody said being at a club like Exeter City was going to be easy."
A statement on the club's website said the loan was taken after finances were stretched as a result of below-par attendances and season-ticket renewals.
The statement read: "As we are all aware, Exeter City AFC is not owned and funded by any one individual and this means that finances are always stretched, and 2013-14 was no different.
"However, we have also been adversely affected by match attendances being below expectations and a lower than anticipated uptake of season-ticket renewals, so the finances in the close season have been under pressure.
"As a result, the club received a short-term, temporary loan from the PFA on Monday, June 2."
