Skip to main content

Brentford and Brighton get value for money from players

In football money often talks, i.e. success on the pitch is almost invariably reserved for clubs that have spent the most on wages and transfer fees. However, the authoritative Swiss Ramble considers might be interesting to see which clubs have performed the best (and indeed worst) relative to their budget.

Looking at wages per point, the clubs with best value for money were Brighton £2.1m, West Ham £2.3m, Newcastle United £2.4m and Burnley £2.5m. Brentford are also likely to be one of the best even after their wages increased in the PL. In contrast,  Man United £5.6m, Everton £4.7m and Chelsea £4.5m by far the worst.

Another way of ranking clubs’ performance is wages per league position.    On this basis, the same clubs do best: Brentford, Brighton, West Ham and Newcastle, though worth noting Tottenham Hostpur’s impressive performance in 5th place. The three relegated clubs look bad on this metric, but this also highlights underperformance by Leeds and particularly Everton.

Excluding clubs promoted from the Championship, the clubs with the cheapest squad cost per point were Burnley and Brighton (both £3.6m), followed by Leeds £4.4m. Four clubs were higher than £10m: Man United £14.8m, Chelsea £13.0m, Everton £11.6m and Man City £10.5m.

The real stand-out for squad cost per league position is unfortunately Everton with £90.2m, which is almost exactly six times as much as Brighton £15.3m. Last placed Norwich were worst with £93.5m, but the next highest were Man United £57.4m and Chelsea £53.3m.

We can say that the clubs who get most “bang for their buck” are Brentford and Brighton.   At the other end of the spectrum,  the worst performing clubs in the Premier League, relative to money spent, were *drum roll* Everton and Manchester United, though this will surely not come as news to their supporters.

Clearly, many fans will say that the only measurement that counts is the number of trophies won by their club, but it is instructive to see which clubs outperform their budget. It looks like the data-driven strategy employed by Brentford and Brighton has worked pretty well.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...
Post a Comment
Read more