The Political Economy of Football V2

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 c...

Good financial news from Stoke City as the club has turned a loss into a substantial profit while investing in infrastructure.  The club continues to enjoy the solid backing of the owners as it seeks a return to the top flight:  https://www.stokecityfc.com/news/2026/march/03/stoke-citys-accounts-released-for-24-25/

The New York Times has taken an in depth and interesting look at why apparently solid mid-table clubs like Wolves eventually fall out of the Premier League. My view is that they tell half the story.   Statistical analysis shows that there is a strong correlation between spend on players and success.    You can fit a reasonable linear two variable regression lin to the data. Of course, there are outliers, clubs that punch below or above their weight: at the moment, Brentford on the positive side and Tottenham Hotspur on the downside. However, I think the Premier League is essentially an oligopoly, i.e., competition is controlled for the benefit of a few producers.    The big six or maybe seven ensure that they remain at the top financially and in other terms.    Insurgents are tolerated to an extent because they make the competition look more competitive than it actually is, but are eventually sent packing. In 2018, Stoke City and West Bromwich ...

Stoke City’s 2023/24 financial results covered a season when they finished 17th in the Championship, which means that they have now finished in the bottom half of the table six years in a row since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018. Recent results are in stark contrast to their time in the top flight, when they finished 9th in three consecutive seasons up to 2015/16. Stoke’s vice-chairman, Richard Smith, said, “I don’t think we’ve made any secret of the fact we want to get back into the Premier League. We spent 10 years there but we’ve been out of it for a while now and we’re very keen to get back up there.” To that end, Stoke have been among the bigger spenders in England’s second tier, but to no avail. They are backed by the wealth of bet365, but have 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.  ...

It’s not so long ago that Stoke City were a solid mid-table Premier League club.   The regression has been stark. Stoke have won just 12 of their 43 home games in the Championship since April 2022 and concerns over how this season ends simmer.   Relegation to English football’s third tier, a level they have not seen since the 2001-02 season, cannot be discounted as two points split Stoke from the Championship’s relegation places with eight games left.    There they could encounter Port Vale from Burslem, although they may well be relegated. This, almost certainly, will be Stoke’s sixth consecutive season ending in the Championship’s bottom half. Two finishes of 14th (2020-21 and 2021-22) are as good as it has got since relegation from the Premier League in 2018. The average gap to the team finishing sixth, and so taking the final play-offs place, in the five completed seasons has been almost 16 points. In the current one, they are 20 adrift of six...

Little appears to have gone right for Stoke City since the club dropped down to the Championship.  Even though they are backed by the wealth of bet365, Stoke have 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. Stoke swung from a £102m pre-tax profit to an £11m loss, though the decline reported in the accounts was almost entirely due to the owners of the club forgiving £120m of historic debts in the previous season.    In terms of normal business, Stoke’s revenue was unchanged at £31m, though profit from player sales rose £4m from £11m to £15m. Player trading This is the third highest profit from player trading to date in 2022/23, only surpassed by Watford’s £59.2m and Middlesbrough’s £22.3m. Traditionally, the only clubs in the Championship that make big money from player trading are those that have rece...

Stoke City have made a loss of £12m but the underlying financial position is better than it looks:  https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-financial-fair-play-9024918

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the 2021/22 accounts of Stoke City:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/stoke-city-finances-202122 Stoke swung from a £10m pre-tax loss to a £102m profit, though this was driven by the owners of the club forgiving £120m of historic debts that had been accumulated in support of investment into the club. Following four consecutive years of losses, this is the first time that Stoke have reported a profit since 2017. As a rule, they managed to make (small) profits when in the Premier league. Stoke’s profit from player sales increased from just £0.9m to £10.9m, mainly from Nathan Collins to Burnley and Sam Surridge to Nottingham Forest.   This is actually the highest in 2021/22 for those clubs that have so far published accounts, as the impact of COVID has resulted in a depressed transfer market, especially at the Championship level.   Since relegation from the Premier League, Stoke’s revenue has dropped by £96m (75%) from £127m in ...

Stoke City made a £29m loss from day to day operations in 21/22, down from £46m the previous year but player sale profits reduced this by £10m, reports Kieran Maguire.  A loan from Bet365 of £120m that was never going to be repaid has been formally agreed as never going to be repaid. Excluding the unusual stadium sale profits and debt write off the club has made operating losses over the years of £233 million. Stoke spent £35m more than they generated in 21/22 from day to day running of the club. This was effectively funded by reducing the club’s cash balance. Revenue down £10m as increase in matchday and hospitality could not offset end of parachute payments. Wages down 26% as Premier League contracts expire. Average wage now just £17,300 a week.   Wages were £120 for every £100 of income [a high figure, but not unusual in the Championship]. Stoke bought players for £5.9m. Players who originally cost £81m left at end of contract or were sold for £15m.   Club ha...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest accounts of Stoke City.   Thepre-tax loss narrowed from £88m to £10m, despite revenue falling £10m (19%) from £50m to £40m and profit on player sales decreasing £2m to £1m, as they made £33m profit on the sale of stadium and training ground. Operating expenses down £55m (39%). Loss after tax was £8m. Following four consecutive years of (small) profits between 2014 and 2017, Stoke have now posted losses four years in a row, adding up to a hefty £143m in total (£176m excluding the stadium/training ground sale). The £88m loss in 2019/20 was the highest ever in the Championship. Revenue decline Since relegation from the Premier League,   revenue has dropped by £87m (68%) from £127m in 2018 to £40m, very largely due to less TV money in the Championship (£73m decrease), though gate receipts and commercial are also down £8m and £7m respectively.    Even after the decrease, #SCFC £40m revenue was still 6th highest...

Karren Brady sets out the case against having an independent regulator of football on the grounds of damage to the Premier League by 'meddling' politicians.  Somehow she manages to drag Stoke City into the argument, a misplaced example that doesn't prove anything one way or another:  https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-ffp-karren-brady-7025974 One thing that is clear to me is that the regulator should not be a serving politician.  As for damage, some might argue that the Premier League has caused a lot of damage itself - as well as some achievements.  The details of the regulation proposal need to be scrutinised carefully, but attempts by the Premier League to derail the idea in principle have already failed.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has been reviewing the recently published 2019/20 accounts of Stoke City. The club’s pre-tax loss widened from £15m to £88m, as revenue dropped £21m (29%) from £71m to £50m and profit from player sales fell £15m (83%) from £18m to £3m. Total expenses increased £37m, mainly due to £43m impairment charge (reducing player values). Loss after tax was £86m. Unsurprisingly, the £88m loss is the highest to date in the 2019/20 Championship, though others have also reported significant losses in 2019/20.    Only three Championship clubs made a profit. Following four consecutive years of (small) profits between 2014 and 2017, Stok have now posted losses three years in a row, adding up to a hefty £134m in total, though it is worth noting that £74m of this is due to player impairment (non-cash) charge The main reason for the £21m revenue reduction was broadcasting, which dropped £20m (39%) from £51m to £31m, mainly due to lower parachute payment, thoug...

After huge losses of £88m because of the pandemic and a fall in parachute payments, Stoke City may have to sell and lease back their own stadium to avoid financial fair play penalties:  https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-bet365-stadium-sale-5466095

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball reports: 'The 32 clubs who have published some results to date in the top two divisions have made total day to day losses of £1,653,000,000. Clubs are averaging losses of £660,000 a week in the Championship and £1,250,000 a week in the Premier League.' Manchester City have made the biggest operating loss in the Premier League to date and Stoke City in the Championship.

The authoritative and thorough Swiss Ramble has reviewed the 2018/19 accounts of Stoke City. Despite relegation, Stoke City cut their pre-tax loss from £30m to £15m, even though revenue dropped £57m (45%) from £127m to £71m and profit on player sales fell £4m to £18m, as costs were down £75m. The Swiss Ramble comments from Zurich, 'The £15m loss is obviously not great, though in fairness very few clubs manage to make money in the challenging Championship environment. Worth noting that the highest losses are often reported by the promoted clubs – though these invariably include hefty promotion bonuses.' He adds, 'Following four consecutive years of (small) profits between 2014 and 2017, Stoke have now posted losses two years in a row, adding up to £45m in total (£30m in 2018 and £15m in 2019), though worth noting that £31m of this is from impairment (non-cash) adjustments.' Revenue trends The main reason for Stoke's £57m revenue reduction was broadcasting, whic...

Unsurprisingly, relegation hit Stoke City hard: Accounts Stoke City suffered a pre-tax loss of nearly £15.5m in their first year after relegation from the Premier League, but that was down on the pre-tax loss of more than £30m in the previous financial year. The club continues to be reliant on the finances of the Coates family. I will try and provide more detail once I have looked at the accounts online at Companies House. However, the documentation is still being processed. Meanwhile, Stoke City had the most expensive squad in the history of the Championship last season with £196 million, beating the £147 million of Newcastle United in 2016/17, notes Kieran Maguire. Since the end of 2018/19 Stoke City have signed players for £9.6m and had sales of £1.6m.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has reviewed the recently published 2017/18 accounts for Stoke City, the year that saw them relegated after ten consecutive years in the Premier League. He notes that the club 'has experienced a lot of changes in the last 18 months (players, managers, league status). The financial support of the Coates family will be more important than ever if they want to make a rapid return to the Premier League.' Since 2009 Stoke have had available cash of £245m: (a) £148m from owners’ loans; (b) £96m from operating activities (negative for the first time in ages in 2018). Almost all of this has been used to improve the squad with £217m (89%) spent on player investment. That said, it is noticeable how Stoke City are once again hugely reliant on the Coates family, as they put in a further £47m in 2018. The funding had been cut to just £2m for the two years 2015 and 2016, but it’s now back with a bang. The owners have put in £148m since 2009. Following the re...

Stoke City Football Club have announced losses of £30.1 million for 2017/18, mainly due to player write downs. Previous year was a profit of £4.9m. Stoke income down 6.5% in 2017/18 mainly due to less TV income as payments are linked to final league position. Income is likely to fall from £127 million to about £65-70m in 2018/9. Stoke wages up over £9 million in 2017/18 despite relegation to £94 million. Average weekly wage estimated at £45,300. Wages represented £74 out of every £100 of income, significantly above the £50 level recommended by Deloitte. Stoke City spent £52.2 million since relegation on new players and sold players for £22.8 million.

The extent to which Premier League clubs are reliant on broadcasting revenue is shown by the 2016/17 accounts for Stoke City. Eighty per cent of the club's revenue came from broadcasting, with just five per cent from gate receipts. Revenue increased by 31 per cent to a record £136m. Broadcasting was up from £79.5m to £108.7m. Commercial revenue was up from £16.3m to £20.1m with over half of that coming from sponsorship and advertising. Gate receipts were down from £8.4m to £7.2m. There was a £3.7m profit on player sales. Profit before tax increased from £2.1m to £4.9m, the fourth consecutive year in which the club has made a profit. The profit was a lot smaller than that of major clubs that have reported to date, but a club of Stoke's size needs to invest all its spare cash to ensure it stays competitive. A failure to do so can lead to the fate of Hull City whose results we reported on last week.