Skip to main content

Championship finalists punch well above their weight

Here is a financial comparison of the two clubs competing in the 2022/23 EFL Championship play-off final, Coventry City and Luton Town.    On paper, the two clubs are pretty evenly matched. Coventry’s £18.1m revenue is slightly higher than Luton’s £17.7m, while their squad cost is £7.4m compared to Luton’s £5.5m. On the other hand, Luton’s £17.8m wage bill is higher than Coventry’s £15.7m.

However, what is abundantly clear is that both finalists are punching well above their weight, considering the financial power of many of their Championship rivals.    In terms of revenue, both Coventry and Luton are towards the lower end of the table, well below the Championship average of £27m.

Luton’s £2.3m commercial income is one of the lowest in the Championship, less than half of Coventry’s £5.0m. However, both clubs are far below the top clubs, led by Stoke City £16.6m, followed by Bristol City £15.8m and Fulham £14.0m.

The real differentiator in the Championship is broadcasting income, due to the parachute payments awarded to clubs relegated from the Premier League, which are worth an estimated £44m in year one, £36m in year two and £16m in year three. As a result, Fulham, Sheffield United and WBA all enjoyed revenue of around £51m in 2021/22.

Other Championship clubs generally receive between £8m and £10m broadcasting income, mainly the EFL distribution £3.6m and Premier League solidarity payment £4.8m.

Luton £10.5m earned more than Coventry £8.8m, partly due to more televised games, including last season’s play-off semi-final.

Only three clubs in the Championship have reported lower wages to date than the play-off finalists, namely Blackpool, Hull City and Barnsley. Luton’s £17.8m wage bill is 14% higher than Coventry’s £15.7m, but there’s really not that much in it.

Neither Coventry or Luton have spent much in the transfer market in the last few years, so the cost of their squads is very low at £7.4m and £5.5m respectively. This is in stark contrast to clubs that were recently competing in the top flight, who often manage to retain a decent squad in the Championship, even after some player departures.

Given their financial disadvantages, both Coventry and Luton have massively over-achieved simply by getting to the Championship play-off final.

The winners of the game will see a dramatic increase in their revenue in the Premier League, which surely few will begrudge, given the trials and tribulations that they have suffered in recent years.

 

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