The time-bomb finances of many English Premier League clubs has been exposed by West Bromwich Albion.
With domestic broadcasting deals giving clubs £100m plus at the start of each season clubs have let other areas of fund raising fall by the wayside with every effort concentrated on ensuring the golden ticket of playing in the EPL each season.
West Brom looked to have mastered that by finishing in tenth position last season but with just three wins this term they look certainties to be relegated and are currently 11 points adrift of safety.
Mark Jenkins recently returned to The Hawthorns as chief executive and was stunned by the state of the accounts that he inherited.
Spelling out the grim state of affairs he told the club website: “I’ll be honest I’ve come back and I’m shocked at what I have found in some of the decisions that have been made.
“We have wages, transfer fees and loan fees running at record levels and yet we find ourselves in this position [bottom of the Premier League].
“When I was on the outside looking in, for example, I read the reports about the club operating at the limit of its short-term cost control [STCC]. Knowing the business as I did, I thought that was a negotiating position but I’ve come back and can assure you that we are right at our limit on STCC. There is no more money for wages.”
STCC was introduced to stop clubs spending too much of their television money on wages. It means Premier League teams can increase their wage bill above a specified level by no more than £7m each season, unless funded by the club’s own revenue uplift or playing trading profits.
Clubs relegated from the EPL in recent seasons are as likely to be relegated again as they are to bounce back and win promotion despite the comfort of the parachute payments.
Sunderland finished bottom of the EPL last season and look like falling all the way through to League One. Hull City are also in the relegation fight with Middlesbrough battling for a play-off spot.
