The Political Economy of Football V2

Preston move from a profit of £2.6m in 2018 to a loss of £14.2m in 2018/2019 due to no significant player sales and big increase in wages, reports Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball. Preston player spend of £4.2m was lower than average in division of £14m but figures distorted by some clubs at the top of table. Preston owed Trevor Hemmings £43 million interest free at 30 June 2019. Since the end of 2018/19 the Preston owner has lent club a further £4.1 million. Preston have the third lowest matchday revenue in Championship. For every £1 paid in wages Preston fans paid 18 pence via matchday revenues. Preston had the seventh lowest wage bill in Championship but the sixth highest wage to income ratio. Combining wages and transfer fee amortisation costs meant that Preston spent £166 on player costs for every £100 of income in 2018/19. Preston average weekly wage £9,156, compared to average for the division of £16,014. For clubs to break even average wage would have to be £4,424 a we...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has been taking an in depth look at the recently published reports of Preston North End. He notes that Preston is 'the very definition of a club punching above its weight, though it does still require owner support.' The £3m profit is the third best reported so far in the Championship. The club's £13m revenue is 3rd lowest in the Championship, only above Burton Albion and Brentford. To show how much the club has outperformed, this is around 20% of the revenue clubs with parachute payments which distort the financial picture in the Championship. Revenue has grown by £6.0m (82%) from £7.3m to £13.3m in the 3 years since promotion from League One in 2015. Almost all of this is due to higher TV money in the Championship (£5.7m) with a small £0.3m increase in commercial. Match day has actually dropped by £0.1m. Preston's £36m debt is not that large for the Championship, and is considerably lower than some clubs, e.g. Boro £101m, Ipswich £8...