League 1 Budgets

[Alan Southstand]

I know it’s a sore topic, etc, but just seen on X an article by FLW, that our budget has us 23rd in L1, with only Exeter lower than us.

Highest (no surprise) is Luton, with a budget of £17+ M.

Ours is reportedly about £4.5M’ish.

Makes you wonder!

[GazLaz]

Fairly sure they’ve just guessed at the figures.

[Padge_DRFC]

Seems unlikely based on the size of the first team squad

[sedwardsdrfc]

Can’t see us spending less than Burton and Northampton.

[Alan Southstand]

It’s based on weekly playing budgets, apparently - full list:

League 1 weekly wage bill - Low to High

#ecfc £77k
#DRFC £79k
#AFCW £81k
#mtfc £86k
#BarnsleyFC £87k
#ntfc £94k
#pvfc £95k
#WeAreImps £98k
#StevenageFC £107k
#bafc £108k
#pufc £108k
#BCAFC £111k
#LOFC £117k
#wafc £120k
#ReadingFC £121k
£122,500 per week and an annual number of £6.37m Stockport
£6.42m Wycombe
£129,850 per week and £6.72m Rotherham
£159,377 per week - a seasonal total of £8.28m Blackpool
£168,000 per week and £8.73m Plymouth
£170,712 per week and £8.87m Bolton
£241,500 per week - season-long salary in excess of £12.5m Huddersfield
£265,000 per week and a seasonal figure of over £13.7m Cardiff
£340,623 per week and over £17.7m luton

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Fairly sure they’ve just guessed at the figures.

Yep. Very much based on guesswork, like these sites which profess to tell us the value and wage of each player. 

The information can't be trusted and it certainly doesn't help anyone assess whether budgets have been used well, especially given there's another transfer window on the horizon.

[DonnyOsmond]

Don't believe everything you read on Twitter.

[monkeytennis]

Alternatively, don’t believe anything you read on twitter.

[ForsolongaRover]

I suppose that the speculative basis for such stats as are quoted in FLW also lead you to question how accurate our own club’s spokesmen are - and Baldwin has given a view on this subject in the past - when he might tell us how our budget compares with others in the division. If we don’t know what other clubs are expending on wages how does he know? (Having said that, I don’t think he is expressed a view recently.)

However, in negotiating player contracts, clubs have to be competitive so they must have a fair idea of going rates. Knowing the terms of some contracts might therefore provide something of a key for extrapolation by journalists.

[silent majority]

I suppose that the speculative basis for such stats as are quoted in FLW also lead you to question how accurate our own club’s spokesmen are - and Baldwin has given a view on this subject in the past - when he might tell us how our budget compares with others in the division. If we don’t know what other clubs are expending on wages how does he know? (Having said that, I don’t think he is expressed a view recently.)

However, in negotiating player contracts, clubs have to be competitive so they must have a fair idea of going rates. Knowing the terms of some contracts might therefore provide something of a key for extrapolation by journalists.

When GB discusses budgets its because he does know what other clubs have allocated in their budget, and therefore he's speaking from a position of knowledge!

The reason he knows is because the EFL release that information to each club. Its anonymised, but that doesn’t stop you knowing where you are in relation to other clubs, and of course a lot of that information becomes obvious, i.e. the biggest spenders and the smallest etc.

[silent majority]

I know it’s a sore topic, etc, but just seen on X an article by FLW, that our budget has us 23rd in L1, with only Exeter lower than us.

Highest (no surprise) is Luton, with a budget of £17+ M.

Ours is reportedly about £4.5M’ish.

Makes you wonder!

Ours is much more than that!

[GazLaz]

I know it’s a sore topic, etc, but just seen on X an article by FLW, that our budget has us 23rd in L1, with only Exeter lower than us.

Highest (no surprise) is Luton, with a budget of £17+ M.

Ours is reportedly about £4.5M’ish.

Makes you wonder!

Ours is much more than that!

We’ve been told where we stand in the pecking order, by Gavin, at the start of the season. It’s certainly not bottom 4 from what he alluded to.

[Drover]

I suppose that the speculative basis for such stats as are quoted in FLW also lead you to question how accurate our own club’s spokesmen are - and Baldwin has given a view on this subject in the past - when he might tell us how our budget compares with others in the division. If we don’t know what other clubs are expending on wages how does he know? (Having said that, I don’t think he is expressed a view recently.)

However, in negotiating player contracts, clubs have to be competitive so they must have a fair idea of going rates. Knowing the terms of some contracts might therefore provide something of a key for extrapolation by journalists.

When GB discusses budgets its because he does know what other clubs have allocated in their budget, and therefore he's speaking from a position of knowledge!

The reason he knows is because the EFL release that information to each club. Its anonymised, but that doesn’t stop you knowing where you are in relation to other clubs, and of course a lot of that information becomes obvious, i.e. the biggest spenders and the smallest etc.

SM,Genuine question,When do they release that info to clubs albiet anonymously? Is it close to beginning of season,somewhere around mid-season/January,at end of season when totals could be more accurate or more oftenly periodically,say every 3 months?

[ForsolongaRover]

I suppose that the speculative basis for such stats as are quoted in FLW also lead you to question how accurate our own club’s spokesmen are - and Baldwin has given a view on this subject in the past - when he might tell us how our budget compares with others in the division. If we don’t know what other clubs are expending on wages how does he know? (Having said that, I don’t think he is expressed a view recently.)

However, in negotiating player contracts, clubs have to be competitive so they must have a fair idea of going rates. Knowing the terms of some contracts might therefore provide something of a key for extrapolation by journalists.

When GB discusses budgets its because he does know what other clubs have allocated in their budget, and therefore he's speaking from a position of knowledge!

The reason he knows is because the EFL release that information to each club. Its anonymised, but that doesn’t stop you knowing where you are in relation to other clubs, and of course a lot of that information becomes obvious, i.e. the biggest spenders and the smallest etc.

Thanks SM. I see from a brief look at the EFL site that there is a percentage limit on "player-related expenditure" based on club turnover which can include some "owner equity injections" too, so clubs with low incomings will be more restricted from the start.

[Chris Black come back]

Almost impossible for us not to be bottom half budget.

[GazLaz]

Almost impossible for us not to be bottom half budget.

I think, like in most divisions, there will be a fag paper between the budgets of 8th to 16th.

[silent majority]

I suppose that the speculative basis for such stats as are quoted in FLW also lead you to question how accurate our own club’s spokesmen are - and Baldwin has given a view on this subject in the past - when he might tell us how our budget compares with others in the division. If we don’t know what other clubs are expending on wages how does he know? (Having said that, I don’t think he is expressed a view recently.)

However, in negotiating player contracts, clubs have to be competitive so they must have a fair idea of going rates. Knowing the terms of some contracts might therefore provide something of a key for extrapolation by journalists.

When GB discusses budgets its because he does know what other clubs have allocated in their budget, and therefore he's speaking from a position of knowledge!

The reason he knows is because the EFL release that information to each club. Its anonymised, but that doesn’t stop you knowing where you are in relation to other clubs, and of course a lot of that information becomes obvious, i.e. the biggest spenders and the smallest etc.

SM,Genuine question,When do they release that info to clubs albiet anonymously? Is it close to beginning of season,somewhere around mid-season/January,at end of season when totals could be more accurate or more oftenly periodically,say every 3 months?

They do it several times per season. Every club has to submit their budgets before the start of each season and then have to define what their salary levels are so as to stay within the SCMP levels which are 60% of club turnover. They then have to make several returns during the season to show that their expenditure is on track and not getting out of control.

The EFL provide this information so that clubs are not second guessing their rivals and therefore overspending because of what they think others have done.

[silent majority]

I suppose that the speculative basis for such stats as are quoted in FLW also lead you to question how accurate our own club’s spokesmen are - and Baldwin has given a view on this subject in the past - when he might tell us how our budget compares with others in the division. If we don’t know what other clubs are expending on wages how does he know? (Having said that, I don’t think he is expressed a view recently.)

However, in negotiating player contracts, clubs have to be competitive so they must have a fair idea of going rates. Knowing the terms of some contracts might therefore provide something of a key for extrapolation by journalists.

When GB discusses budgets its because he does know what other clubs have allocated in their budget, and therefore he's speaking from a position of knowledge!

The reason he knows is because the EFL release that information to each club. Its anonymised, but that doesn’t stop you knowing where you are in relation to other clubs, and of course a lot of that information becomes obvious, i.e. the biggest spenders and the smallest etc.

Thanks SM. I see from a brief look at the EFL site that there is a percentage limit on "player-related expenditure" based on club turnover which can include some "owner equity injections" too, so clubs with low incomings will be more restricted from the start.

That's correct. It currently, for LG1, stands at 60% of turnover. It's called Salary Cost Management Protocol, or SCMP for short. Every club in the country has some kind of salary control although it varies from division to division.

There is currently a proposal by LG1 clubs to set a maximum spend for playing budgets at £4.75m. I'm not sure if this will get the go ahead as it doesn’t have EFL support and will probably face opposition from the PFA as well.

[Chris Black come back]

Probably not a great proposal for us, as we don’t spend our budget very effectively. We succeed because Terry allows us to buy success, rather than having superb recruitment that gives us a competitive edge. We’d have to recruit exceptionally well with a cap at £4.75m and that’s not where we are at present.

[ForsolongaRover]

Probably not a great proposal for us, as we don’t spend our budget very effectively. We succeed because Terry allows us to buy success, rather than having superb recruitment that gives us a competitive edge. We’d have to recruit exceptionally well with a cap at £4.75m and that’s not where we are at present.

I may be mistaken, but your first statement seems to be contradicted by your second. Without wishing to be hypercritical, I would question whether Terry’s pockets are deep enough to “buy success” which I would define by purchasing proven talent. We are surely in the position which you describe in your last sentence in that we have to recruit well which has only been a very qualified success this season.

[Chris Black come back]

Perhaps better put as we can afford to make mistakes. As we are surely about to see in January when we acquire a new striker. We certainly have successes but also lots of mistakes. And we very rarely monetise our best talent. If we were genuinely self-sufficient and didn't have the moral hazard of knowing Terry will always bail us out, we would be laser focused on developing and monetisation. As that pressure doesn't exist, we take a bit of a blunderbuss approach to recruitment, truth be told.