Another day, another team hit with charges for breaking the Premier League Profit & Sustainability Rules.
Fans of clubs breaking the rules act the victim, but the rules are needed. PSR protects the future of clubs, and since their introduction (under FFP), we have seen a dramatic drop in clubs going into administration.
Those Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City fans complaining should actually drive their anger towards those in-charge of their clubs for running them so poorly. The rules are their, they all signed up to them, and the losses they made would have put their existence in danger had it not been for the rules.
Everton have been one of the worst run clubs in the league since Farhad Moshiri took over. He acted like a Russian Oligarch but he didn’t have those Ruble’s.
So keen to impress when he first bought the club (and show Arsenal what we were missing out in), he quickly made Everton one of the highest spending teams in the league. But it was recruitment without thought and almost all the big money signings flopped.
As Everton tumbled down the table, they could not finance the huge wages and, with the Moshiri money drying up, lost £373m from 2018-21. They tried to blame Covid but in reality the issue was they were spending uncontrollably.
Covid or PSR is not the reason Everton are financially screwed. It is all because they are poorly run. Their fans should be grateful for PSR as the rules curtailed their uncontrolled spending. If it was not for PSR, I am sure Everton would have entered administration.
Nottingham Forest are another club that are poorly run.
Since gaining promotion back to the Premier League in 2022, they have signed 47 players.
Forest fans will point to out that they lost of a lot of players when gaining promotion to the Premier League. This just highlights how poor they were run.
Their promotion was secured by having a squad of loan players and others on short-term contracts. The management of the club were not looking long-term.
And since returning to the Premier League, the transfer philosophy has been the same – 12 of the 47 players have been loan deals, and many others (Lingard, Shelvey) came in on huge money and short term deals.
Compare the way Nottingham Forest have acted on promotion to the likes of Brighton and Brentford. The later two have solid recruitment plans in place and are not looking to fast-track themselves based on overspending in the short-term.
And this is my biggest issue about fans who criticise PSR.
Forest and Everton fans make claims such as “PSR exists to protect the top 6”. This is simply not true.
The real beneficiaries of PSR are all clubs who are run well, and spend within their means. Aston Villa, West Ham, Brentford, Brighton and others. All of these are very well run clubs who have had some level of success in recent years (with 3 of the 4 having European football as a reward).
PSR also exists to give an advantage to someone like Luton Town who, upon promotion, have kept a tight reign on their finances. Why should Nottingham Forest gain an advantage over those teams around them purely because they have an owner who is happy putting the future of the club at risk?
Leicester City were once one of the best run clubs in England.
They recruited well, buying players from across Europe that no-one else was looking at, and were rewarded in 2016 with the league title. But since the death of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the impact of Covid on the King Power International Group, they have struggled financially.
For those that do not know, King Power International Group are a Thai travel retail group whose main business is operated duty free shops. When Covid hit, air travel dramatically dropped which hit the company hard.
Leicester’s biggest issue is that after winning the league, Leicester dramatically increased their spending with an expectation that they would remain a top 8 team, and continue to reap the rewards of European football and finishing in that position.
From 2019/20 – 2021/22, Leicester lost £191m, including a huge £92.5m in 2021/22. They have still not yet published their 2022/23 accounts (when they finished 18th in the Premier League).
It is quite clear that they were spending too much and were in an unsustainable situation. I expect their 2022/23 loss to be north of £100m. Again, their fans will blame PSR but it is not the rules’ fault that they were making huge losses.
One thing I find hilarious is fans blaming PSR for their clubs not spending.,
I see West Ham fans saying PSR is the reason they are not spending big. But 2-years ago that blame was on their owners. Literally nothing has changed in that time, they have just decided to direct their anger elsewhere.
West Ham do not spend as much as someone like Arsenal because they are not as big. They do not have our revenues. And they have owners that run a tight ship to ensure their is a club for the future.
Another to pipe up is Newcastle United.
After one season finishing top 4, their fans got arrogant and thought they have made it. They have since tumbled to 10th and are pointing the fingers at the Premier League.
Restrictions on spending is not why Newcastle have struggled this season.
Since coming under new ownership and under the guise of Eddie Howe, Newcastle have spent in excess of £300m on new players. The problem is not that they have not spent a lot of money, but they have bought some very average players.
They have over £150m spent on Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento, Chris Wood and Matt Target. These are all mid-table Premier League players. None would get a look in at a “Big 6” club.
Their fans will claim that “they have bought poorly but they should be allowed to spend to get out of the trouble they created”. And this is how poorly run clubs behave – instead of trying to improve how you spend, you just continue spending poorly in the hope you get it right.
As for Manchester City, certain fans do not seem to get their head around the fact that Everton and Nottingham Forest have plead guilty to their charges, whilst Manchester City are appealing them. That is why City have not yet been handed a punishment.
Think in the real world. You are caught speeding once. You accept you are speeding, pay your fine and take the points.
I have been caught speeding 115 times, but I have challenged each and every single charge. I have not pled guilty and am appealing my punishment.
You do not have a case to be heard as you have pled guilty, I am awaiting my day in court as I have appealed. I am still going through the process, whilst your process is over.
It is not unfair that I have not yet been punished and you have, despite less charges. You pled guilty, I did not. It really is this simple.
A final thought on this is when fans point out clubs net spend. It is not obvious that the more you generate in income, the more you can spend (and the less reliant you are on having to make a profit in transfer windows?)
The best run clubs do not rely on having to sell players to fund their next batch of transfers. That is done through the difference between revenue and expenditure. Poorly run clubs need to sell to buy because they are not making enough revenue outside of players sales to buy new players organically.
Fans need to upskill themselves in how process works, and stop blaming the Premier League and “Big 6” for their owners running their clubs into the ground.
Enjoy your Friday.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 