Stoke City's tale of woe

Stoke City were once a solid mid-table club in the Premier League, but they have struggled to return despite considerable support from the club ownership.

In many ways the club''s fate reflects the economic challenges faced by the Potteries as what remains of the historic Potteries industry succumbs to high energy prices.

Time for the Swiss Ramble to review the club's finances with his usual forensic analysis.  Much more on his Substack page.

Stoke have consistently under-performed since their relegation from the Premier League in 2017/18, finishing in the bottom half of the Championship eight seasons in a row, despite being backed by the wealth of bet365.   Stoke did very badly financially, but without the compensation of doing well on the pitch.

Stoke have posted losses in six of the last eight seasons, the only two exceptions being the years that benefited from substantial loan write-offs. This is very different from their time in the Premier League, when the club consistently made (small) profits.  Recent seasons included a huge £88m loss in 2019/20, which is actually the largest ever recorded in the Championship, a long way above Aston Villa £74m (2018/19), QPR £70m (2013/14) and Leeds United £61m (2023/24).

Recent results are in stark contrast to Stoke’s time in the top flight, when they finished 9th in three consecutive seasons up to 2015/16.

The club would argue that it has been constrained by the need to comply with the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability regulations, though it’s also true that they did not make the most of the parachute payments they received after relegation.

They have not been helped by the frequent changes in manager, which has led to much upheaval in the squad.  An incredible seven managers have been tasked with restoring Stoke’s fortunes on the pitch since the club dropped down to the Championship eight years ago (excluding caretaker appointments).

On first glance, Stoke’s results in 2024/25 (the latest available) appeared excellent, as they swung from a £25.7m pre-tax loss to a substantial £60.8m profit.  However, this was entirely thanks to the waiver of £90.5m of inter-company loans as part of the demerger from bet365 during the summer of 2024.  If this exceptional item is excluded, Stoke’s loss before tax would have actually widened from £25.7m to £29.7m.

Revenue

Revenue rose £3.1m (10%) from £32.3m to £35.4m, but this was more than offset by cost growth, as operating expenses increased £3.6m (6%) from £63.0m to £66.6m, while profit on player sales also reduced from £4.4m to £0.2m.

The main driver of the revenue growth was broadcasting, which rose £2.1m (21%) from £9.8m to £11.9m, due to an uplift in central TV rights, though commercial also increased by £1.1m (7%) from £16.7m to £17.8m. Gate receipts were flat at £5.7m.

Stoke’s £35m revenue is one of the highest in the Championship – if you exclude the clubs that benefit from Premier League parachute payments, whose revenue is normally twice as much.

Since relegation from the Premier League, Stoke’s revenue has dropped by nearly three-quarters, falling £92m from £127m in 2017/18 to £35m, almost entirely due to less TV money in the Championship (£89m decrease). Gate receipts and commercial are also down, but only by £2m and £1m respectively.

On an underlying basis, Stoke’s £30m loss before tax was the third worst financial performance in the Championship in 2024/25, only better than Leeds United £49m and Cardiff City £35m. In fairness, it is absolutely normal for clubs to lose money in this ultra-competitive division, so no fewer than 17 clubs lost more than £10m.

Stoke’s profit from player sales decreased from £4.4m to £0.2m, as the club “retained key players”. Most of the departures were on free transfers, while the only deals that brought in any money were Mehdi Léris to Pisa and Josh Laurent to Burnley.

Stoke have benefited from parachute payments in the past, receiving £92m between 2019 and 2021, but these ended five years ago.  Whatever the rights and wrongs of parachutes, there is no doubt that they make it difficult for other clubs to compete, so it’s fair to say that Stoke wasted this advantage by spending badly.  However, they did do better than Luton Town and Leicester City, who were both relegated to League One in, despite receiving parachute payments.

Stoke’s average attendance increased from 22,517 to 22,805, with further growth to 24,133 last season.  Even with the uninspiring performances on the pitch, the club has managed to reverse the downward trend, but crowds have still fallen by more than 5,000 from the 29,280 achieved in the last season in the Premier League.

Wages

Stoke cut their wage bill by £In the last five years Stoke have had available cash of £215m, which was very largely provided by the club’s owners. They put in £58m capital and £25m loans, supplemented by £95m from property sales, which added up to £178m. In addition, they made £34m from player sales.

The largest amount was spent on covering £111m of operating losses with another £47m used to purchase players, They also invested £30m in infrastructure, while the cash balance was increased by £27m.

The club “continued to invest in its long-term future” with £13m going on infrastructure at the bet365 stadium and Clayton Wood. Much of this was spent on the development of a state-of-the-art first team training facility, which opened in February 2026.

Generous owners

The Swiss Ramble reckons that the Coates family have pumped around £400m into Stoke City since regaining control of the club in 2006, comprising loans £251m, share capital £60m and £86m payment for the sale of the stadium and training ground.

Excluding the property sale proceeds, Stoke’s owners put in £83m of funding in the five years up to 2024/25. That’s a lot of money, only surpassed in the Championship over that period by Leeds United £330m, Cardiff City £133m, Norwich City £115m and QPR £110m.

The Swiss Ramble concludes: ‘There is no doubt that the owners have provided strong financial backing to a whole raft of managers, but the performances on the pitch have left a lot to be desired.

Indeed, the club has finished closer to relegation from the Championship in the past few years than promotion back to the Premier League, so supporters will hope that this is the season when they get it right.

Stoke are competing against teams benefiting from substantial parachute payments, including a couple of big clubs like West Ham and Wolves, while Birmingham City and Wrexham are not afraid to splash the cash.  That being said, If Stoke can start next season as well as they did last time round, but maintain their form, then who knows?’ (4%) from £34.4m to £33.2m, which the club said “demonstrated the continuing constraint placed on the club whilst operating under the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations.”   This was the second lowest since relegation, having fallen by nearly two-thirds from the £94.2m peak in 2017/18.

Following the decrease, Stoke’s £33m wage bill was down to mid-table in the Championship, a lot lower than the three clubs that went up, whose figures were inflated by promotion bonuses, namely Leeds United £103m, Burnley £82m and Sunderland £54m.

Comparing wages with the final league position, it is clear that Stoke dramatically under-performed in the Championship in 2024/25. They were ranked 12th in wages, but finished in a much lower 18th, so they were worse by six places.