Why is the pot comparatively empty?

[Tony_Kaufman]

I'm trying to figure out and racking my brains as to why we seemingly don't seem to have a pot to piss in financially compared to the rest of the Premier League. I'm not saying we haven't spent anything, because we have, but we seem to be broke in comparison to last summer and I can't figure out why when we're not financially better off.

Last season, up until lockdown, we had sell out crowds at Bramall Lane, and we are were in the top ten for home attendances.

We came up with the sixth lowest wage bill in the Championship, which became the lowest wage bill in the Premier League. Our starting eleven had only one new signing in it as well as a chunk of Henderson's wages, albeit may players would likely have gotten pay increase claused written into their contracts, but we still had the lowest wage bill in the division.

We spent a fair bit on players in the summer, approximately £44.5mil, but that was still a small amount compared to the majority of clubs. A lot of this was future spending of the astronomical TV money that we'd get just for being there for one season.

When the Prince took over we finally got out of debt and the club spent within it's means.

So how come, despite all of this, we don't seem to have a pot to piss in this summer?

Granted, we were always going to buy a keeper and back up for the full backs, particularly with how poor Stevens was at the end of last season, and replacing your first team won't come cheap if you want better players. But it's a little bit disheartening to see what appears to be our bench getting strengthened and not the main eleven. To start a new season with only one new signing in your starting eleven is not a positive sign, and I can only see Bogle and maybe Burke competing for a shirt.

How come the likes of Villa seem to have an endless cheque book? Are they spending within FFP or fudging the figures to avoid it? Where has all the cash that's funded the last three summers come from? They spent £100mil alone on fees last summer and the season before they overspent and would have ended up breaching FFP if they hadn't have gone up. Their wage bill is considerably higher than ours and they've gone for it again this summer. Where has the money come from? Fulham spent £100mil when they last came up, got relegated, went back up and have spent a lot again this summer. How?

Are we just too honest and responsible with our finances? Do other clubs risk their long term futures in the summer and we won't?

Has the Prince had to take a huge chunk of the TV money to pay off McCabe leaving us with not a lot left for transfers?

Are we not a lucrative enough draw for big sponsors and that's why we've got some door company on the back of the shirt?

Have the new contracts offered to players last season ended up doubling the wage bill?

Is the fact that our team is made of up of no superstars a bad thing, as no one wants to buy our players for silly money as they're not deemed attractive enough propositions individually? The last time I can remember a supposed bid coming in for one of our current players, excluding the sale of David Brooks, was Brighton for O'Connell after they were promoted, and that was only £8mil. Do other teams benefit from selling their best players for insane profits and we're missing out because they have bankable stars? Even Bournemouth made £16mil profit from selling Ramsdale back to us.

I'm wracking my brains as to how a team with decent crowds, no debt, the lowest wage bill in the division, who were among the lower spenders in the division last summer, who finished 9th in the table, seem to have no money to spend compared to some other teams in the division. I keep hearing it's because of Covid, but I don't see other teams struggling to spend the money. I just can't figure out where theirs comes from and what we're doing right or wrong.

I'm not criticising the club by any means, I'm just confused and bewildered by it. Anyone?

 

[SufcBilly]

I'm trying to figure out and racking my brains as to why we seemingly don't seem to have a pot to piss in financially compared to the rest of the Premier League. I'm not saying we haven't spent anything, because we have, but we seem to be broke in comparison to last summer and I can't figure out why when we're not financially better off.

Last season, up until lockdown, we had sell out crowds at Bramall Lane, and we are were in the top ten for home attendances.

We came up with the sixth lowest wage bill in the Championship, which became the lowest wage bill in the Premier League. Our starting eleven had only one new signing in it as well as a chunk of Henderson's wages, albeit may players would likely have gotten pay increase claused written into their contracts, but we still had the lowest wage bill in the division.

We spent a fair bit on players in the summer, approximately £44.5mil, but that was still a small amount compared to the majority of clubs. A lot of this was future spending of the astronomical TV money that we'd get just for being there for one season.

When the Prince took over we finally got out of debt and the club spent within it's means.

So how come, despite all of this, we don't seem to have a pot to piss in this summer?

Granted, we were always going to buy a keeper and back up for the full backs, particularly with how poor Stevens was at the end of last season, and replacing your first team won't come cheap if you want better players. But it's a little bit disheartening to see what appears to be our bench getting strengthened and not the main eleven. To start a new season with only one new signing in your starting eleven is not a positive sign, and I can only see Bogle and maybe Burke competing for a shirt.

How come the likes of Villa seem to have an endless cheque book? Are they spending within FFP or fudging the figures to avoid it? Where has all the cash that's funded the last three summers come from? They spent £100mil alone on fees last summer and the season before they overspent and would have ended up breaching FFP if they hadn't have gone up. Their wage bill is considerably higher than ours and they've gone for it again this summer. Where has the money come from? Fulham spent £100mil when they last came up, got relegated, went back up and have spent a lot again this summer. How?

Are we just too honest and responsible with our finances? Do other clubs risk their long term futures in the summer and we won't?

Has the Prince had to take a huge chunk of the TV money to pay off McCabe leaving us with not a lot left for transfers?

Are we not a lucrative enough draw for big sponsors and that's why we've got some door company on the back of the shirt?

Have the new contracts offered to players last season ended up doubling the wage bill?

Is the fact that our team is made of up of no superstars a bad thing, as no one wants to buy our players for silly money as they're not deemed attractive enough propositions individually? The last time I can remember a supposed bid coming in for one of our current players, excluding the sale of David Brooks, was Brighton for O'Connell after they were promoted, and that was only £8mil. Do other teams benefit from selling their best players for insane profits and we're missing out because they have bankable stars? Even Bournemouth made £16mil profit from selling Ramsdale back to us.

I'm wracking my brains as to how a team with decent crowds, no debt, the lowest wage bill in the division, who were among the lower spenders in the division last summer, who finished 9th in the table, seem to have no money to spend compared to some other teams in the division. I keep hearing it's because of Covid, but I don't see other teams struggling to spend the money. I just can't figure out where theirs comes from and what we're doing right or wrong.

I'm not criticising the club by any means, I'm just confused and bewildered by it. Anyone?

I don’t the time or the intricate knowledge to answer every question in there but I think the best way to describe it as the Prince is basically doing the moneyball strategy. Will not risk the clubs standing/future for short term success. Percentage game on the wages vs income and hopefully spending well but not outrageously. I assume this will level itself out a touch if we cement ourselves in the league but only time will tell

 

[WhittingtonBlade]

I think we would have spent more this summer if times weren’t so uncertain. Covid cost the club roughly 30 million in TV money from abroad (which will be distributed over the next few seasons), a major second spike could cost them the same again if not more. We don’t have an owner rich enough to eat those loses, it has to come from other sources. There is no matchday revenue, potentially all season.
This is a sensible approach all things considered, yes I would have loved to see us sign multiple 30 million pound players, But i’d much rather see us be sensible & not end up potentially relegated with massive debts.

 

[Nah den]

Bankrolled by owners far wealthier than ours? Combined with managers far more ready to 'gamble' with the club's sustainability, presumably and understandably given the transient nature of the role.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

We spent a fair bit on players in the summer, approximately £44.5mil, but that was still a small amount compared to the majority of clubs.

Can you list the majority of clubs who have spent significantly more over the summer please, as I’m unable to think of more than a couple?

 

[Hartley Hare]

I can't help thinking player wages is a big issue for us. No doubt we have a pay structure for first team players and on average it must be the lowest.

Take Wilson. I am sure we could have found the £20m to sign him. A proven Premier League forward. According to the newspaper he is earning £100k a week at Newcastle. I know this maybe fanciful, but if true you could understand why he was beyond our means.

We can not compete with the other clubs around us as our owner is simply poor in comparison. Take Brighton for example. Tony Bloom has an estimated net worth of over £1billon. Brighton's wages are around £100m a year.

Aston Villa and Wolves owners are multi billionaires (Estimate £5b +) more than the Glazers at Man Utd.

Football sadly, as we all appreciate is about money now. Having a super wealthy owner helps.

HH