[Albion] Albion lose £21.2m in 2018/19

[blue-shifted]

There are a number of players contracted to the club that don't figure that have a significant combined asset value - Knockaert, McAllister, Tau, Andone, Locadia, Ali J - while the production line has already produced Connolly, with Baluta getting closer and Molumby, Walton and Ben White earning plaudits in the Championship.

With the prospect of getting money in for some of those that aren't playing, and saving a few quid in the summer by drafting in the likes of White and Molumby, Bloom must be tempted to go big on a replacement for Murray.

Yes. You have to remember we haven't made real money on a player sale for years.

In addition to the players you mentioned, there are some on the fringes of the first team who could conceivably leave and be replaced by academy players.

For example White in for Duffy would be a 8 figure profit. Similarly we'd get good money for bissouma and, arguably alzate has already replaced him.

In future, the academy graduates should mean we dont have to spend 70m per year on transfers

In addition we will probably start to get regular modest profits from players like cox and mlakar.

I don't think we'll make a loss again for a while

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[blue-shifted]

Funding football has always been a struggle because there were clubs with a big fan base and others with a smaller following. However, up until Sky took the rights to football there was always a semblance that money didn't dominate - now it does.

I pointed this out before - when Sky took over the top players in the PL were on about £5K a week while full-timers in the Conference were on £250 a week - now in the PL top players get up to £500K a week what at the other end the wage can still be as low as £250 a week. This is unsustainable and will eventually wreck football (VAR is a symptom of this and it is a shambles).

Now - this problem can be solved (at least partially) - by taking the approach of the NFL - limit every squad to 25 players - cap the total transfer budget for every club - and set up a salary cap for the 25 players with a minimum salary and benefits that have to be paid for every player. Now this will lead to massive profits for some clubs - so you counteract that by distributing the money evenly across all the leagues - this would stop individual clubs across all leagues, it would raise wages down the leagues and it would stop individual clubs dominating (as they now do in practically every country). And to work this would need to be implemented on a global basis - which won't happen because there is too much money involved for a few conglomerates.

Which governing body should be implementing those rules?

(I agree with you in principle btw)

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[Jolly Red Giant]

Which governing body should be implementing those rules?

(I agree with you in principle btw)

There lies the problem - instead football is becoming dominated by (as Roy Keane said) the 'prawn sandwich brigade'

 

[Brovion]

Funding football has always been a struggle because there were clubs with a big fan base and others with a smaller following. However, up until Sky took the rights to football there was always a semblance that money didn't dominate - now it does.

I pointed this out before - when Sky took over the top players in the PL were on about £5K a week while full-timers in the Conference were on £250 a week - now in the PL top players get up to £500K a week what at the other end the wage can still be as low as £250 a week. This is unsustainable and will eventually wreck football (VAR is a symptom of this and it is a shambles).

Now - this problem can be solved (at least partially) - by taking the approach of the NFL - limit every squad to 25 players - cap the total transfer budget for every club - and set up a salary cap for the 25 players with a minimum salary and benefits that have to be paid for every player. Now this will lead to massive profits for some clubs - so you counteract that by distributing the money evenly across all the leagues - this would stop individual clubs across all leagues, it would raise wages down the leagues and it would stop individual clubs dominating (as they now do in practically every country). And to work this would need to be implemented on a global basis - which won't happen because there is too much money involved for a few conglomerates.

Oh I totally agree. And I would love to see some sort of collective "all treated equal" system like the NFL over here instead of the "I'm alright Jack, devil take the hindmost" way that football clubs currently operate. (Getting into debt trying to keep up in the arms race). Won't happen though for any number of reasons. Weird though isn't it that the home of Trump and unfettered Capitalism can have such an equitable sporting set up!

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Weird though isn't it that the home of Trump and unfettered Capitalism can have such an equitable sporting set up!

They realise that if one or two teams dominates the 'market' fans will turn away and they will end up losing money in the long run.

 

[Mr Putdown]

I don't think we'll make a loss again for a while

Interesting. Personally I think next season will see a higher loss than this year.

 

[blue-shifted]

Interesting. Personally I think next season will see a higher loss than this year.

The reason i think we won't is that I think we will sell or loan a lot of players this January or in the summer, freeing up wages and recouping some transfer fees. I think the following won't start next seaaon at the club.

Propper
Duffy
Montoya
March
Schellotto
Bong
Bissouma
Ali j
Knocky
Locadia
Murray
Button
Steele
Kayal
Baluta and 4 or 5 u23 or loaned youngsters.

We'll get approx 70m in transfer fees and some will be loans with an agreed transfer next year. Some are out of contract

I think we'll bring in about 4 to 6 players to replace them at an average of 20m each, but the rest of the squad will be from resolving the work permit situations, recalling loans and promoting from the academy.

The act of recouping some transfer fees will give us something in the plus column we haven't had for a while. Though i doubt the wage bill will drop as inflation will wipe out the benefits of us clearing off some very high earners

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[Mr Putdown]

We'll get approx 70m in transfer fees and some will be loans with an agreed transfer next year.

I think we'll bring in about 4 to 6 players to replace them at an average of 20m each, but the rest of the squad will be from resolving the work permit situations, recalling loans and promoting from the academy.

I’m not quite sure how recouping £70m from sales and then investing £80m on new players is going to actually reduce any loss.

On a serious note, do you really think the club will clear that many players out over the next two windows?

 

[blue-shifted]

I’m not quite sure how recouping £70m from sales and then investing £80m on new players is going to actually reduce any loss.

On a serious note, do you really think the club will clear that many players out over the next two windows?

On the basis that for the last few years, we've net spent £60 to £70m (because we're not selling players). And if we do sell £70m and buy for £80m next year the net spend is only £10m

Only a guess though, but yes, I think there will be a massive clearout in the summer. GP's new contract, to me, was about giving him carte blanche to build a squad to play the football style he wants to play and I think apart from a core of current first team players, everyone you could describe as fringe, he will look to ship out

Some of the activity will be predictable, such as getting in Mooy, some much less so (I left Andone off my predictions of departures for example, but I believe there's another thread to discuss that).

The issue we will have is to do with finding teams to pay, (for example) Bissouma's wages whilst still recouping a proportion of the initial outlay. I think we will see more Knockeart style try before you buy type deals

 

[Creaky]

Funding football has always been a struggle because there were clubs with a big fan base and others with a smaller following. However, up until Sky took the rights to football there was always a semblance that money didn't dominate - now it does.

I pointed this out before - when Sky took over the top players in the PL were on about £5K a week while full-timers in the Conference were on £250 a week - now in the PL top players get up to £500K a week what at the other end the wage can still be as low as £250 a week. This is unsustainable and will eventually wreck football (VAR is a symptom of this and it is a shambles).

Now - this problem can be solved (at least partially) - by taking the approach of the NFL - limit every squad to 25 players - cap the total transfer budget for every club - and set up a salary cap for the 25 players with a minimum salary and benefits that have to be paid for every player. Now this will lead to massive profits for some clubs - so you counteract that by distributing the money evenly across all the leagues - this would stop individual clubs across all leagues, it would raise wages down the leagues and it would stop individual clubs dominating (as they now do in practically every country). And to work this would need to be implemented on a global basis - which won't happen because there is too much money involved for a few conglomerates.

The NFL can only successfully impose that type of financial regime because the game, as the name suggests, is essentially only continental in nature whereas football is global.

Even if those types of rules were able to be established across Europe, UK teams would still be disadvantageously competing against teams on other continents for players resulting in the football equivalent of a “brain drain”.

I can’t see either the FA or FIFA ever agreeing to a system that would effectively reduce their international influence.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

The NFL can only successfully impose that type of financial regime because the game, as the name suggests, is essentially only continental in nature whereas football is global.

I didn't suggest that it was a runner - I merely pointed out that it will stop the massive inflation in fees and wages.

Even if those types of rules were able to be established across Europe, UK teams would still be disadvantageously competing against teams on other continents for players resulting in the football equivalent of a “brain drain”.

This I don't understand - how would UK teams be disadvantaged by a level playing field? It would result in some money leaving the UK - but it would reduce the overall outflow of expenditure and reduce football inflation. It also would likely lead to a reduction in ticket prices.

I can’t see either the FA or FIFA ever agreeing to a system that would effectively reduce their international influence.

Of course they wouldn't - when the primary motivating factor in football is money, then the people who benefit from it will never want to change how the system works.