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Spurs, FFP & PSR

Decent article from the Athletic regarding Spurs in relation to the FFP & PSR stuff, I’ve cut out the first few paragraphs for word count purposes as it’s just a very long preamble describing Everton’s situation etc.

Link to full article here for subscribers:
https://theathletic.com/5198441/2024/01/17/tottenham-levy-ffp/?source=user_shared_article

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As long as the anti-PSR voices dominate the media, people will be left with the wrong impression: that there is nothing to be said for these rules and that no one in football who supports them. The reality is the opposite.

There is a silent majority of clubs who have played by the rules since their introduction and only spent within their means. These are clubs who have repeatedly faced public pressure to spend more but have decided against it, knowing they would risk unpopularity with their fans and losing their competitive edge by doing so. It has not been an easy position for clubs to take.

There must have been moments for clubs in recent years when they wondered what the point was in playing within the rules. Because if those rules were not enforced — and it is only this season that the Premier League has started seriously punishing teams for breaches — then they were effectively meaningless. You cannot have regulation as something that clubs can choose to opt into. You may as well have a car race with an optional speed limit.

This is why the events of this season are so significant. If these rules are finally being enforced, then they are no longer something that clubs can opt into. The choice of whether to comply with the speed limit or not has been removed. And if this is now the case — and yes, it may still be too early to tell — then the landscape of English football has changed forever.

We may not hear much from the rule-abiding silent majority this week, but maybe they feel that they do not need to do the talking right now. Because if the landscape has changed, then it has changed in their favour.

Take, for example, Tottenham Hotspur.
They have worked very hard to run themselves sustainably throughout ENIC’s 22-year tenure. They have only spent what they generate, they keep wage costs as a smaller proportion of revenue than anyone else (just 47 per cent in 2021-22) and they do not rely on benefactor largesse to keep up. They have never won the Premier League, but the fact they have stayed competitive near its top end, despite the constraints they face, is a testament to their long-term strategy.
According to Swiss Ramble, the football business blogger, Tottenham were the most profitable team in the league across 10 seasons from 2012-13 to 2021-22. Spurs are nothing if not committed to staying well within the rules.

Central to this strategy is the money brought in by the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which they moved into in April 2019. This has transformed the club’s matchday revenue. In the 2021-22 season, Tottenham brought in £106m in matchday revenue, second only to Manchester United (£111m). In Spurs’ last season at the old White Hart Lane, 2016-17, they brought in £45.3m.

Tottenham have not yet published their 2022-23 accounts, which are expected next month or in early March, but it would not be a surprise if they have overtaken United and made more matchday revenue than anyone else. And that number will not include the eight-figure sum the club made for staging five sold-out Beyonce concerts in May and June last year. Their overall revenue for 2022-23 could be pushing the £500million mark.

As the money has started to roll in from the new stadium, Tottenham have slowly started to be more ambitious in the transfer market. When their 2021-22 accounts were published in February last year, a statement on the club website proudly announced Spurs had “invested more than £500million" in first-team players since their new stadium opened, “putting us in the top five of spending in the Premier League".

Tottenham continued to spend last summer and have done so again this month. The summer of 2018, when they signed no one, feels a long time ago now (continued…)

posted on 17/1/24

comment by LukaBrasi Ange-r management (U22178)
posted 36 minutes ago
The other issue now is no faaaacker is spending. So Newcastle don’t buy Olise and Palace then don’t reinvest that into 2 or 3 Championship talents who in turn don’t buy players from the lower leagues - so is it going to affect the trickle down economics of English football?
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If Newcastle can't afford Olise then tough. Plenty of more players in the sea.

FFP is a good thing for us fans. It will ensure the sustainability of clubs.

But if Clubs want to ignore rules and spend over and above their means, they risk the future of club anyway.

And if a billionaire one day loses his wealth it will be the club who suffers. Clubs must always come first.
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They need to include the balance sheet for that to happen.

posted on 17/1/24

For one spending beyond your means under Roman but that will probably be brushed under the carpet.

And spending a billy in 3 windows. I get he has been clever with accounting with long contracts but you should be charged for the past Roman poured his blood money into your club.

comment by JFDI (U1657)

posted on 17/1/24

comment by LukaBrasi Ange-r management (U22178)
posted 48 minutes ago
For one spending beyond your means under Roman but that will probably be brushed under the carpet.

And spending a billy in 3 windows. I get he has been clever with accounting with long contracts but you should be charged for the past Roman poured his blood money into your club.
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Yes we spentna lot, we also earned a lot. This is all taken into account when visiting the numbers and why there are no charges to date against us nor any indication that there will be other than wishful thinking.

posted on 17/1/24

comment by LukaBrasi Ange-r management (U22178)
posted 2 hours, 41 minutes ago
Everton are a joke. They even had guidance from the FA and still managed to break the rules. Then they tried to blame Spurs saying we short changed them on Richarlison 😂. Throw the book at them.

I'm surprised Forest are in trouble after we helped them out by paying over the odds for BJ.

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Was a month too late, if sold before August they would have been ok

posted on 17/1/24

If you look at what clubs like Brighton and Brentford have done (assuming they are not at FFP risk) then there is hope for clubs to mix it with the current elite and stay within FFP.

A club like Newcastle can easily do it with the backing they have but it would take some long term planning and patience. Something fans don't have when they know the club is loaded and heads have been turned by dollar signs.

If Newcastle build up their stadium or a new stadium then that would help with revenue. Better training infrastructure and improvement in youth development will help profits. All of which falls outside FFP restrictions.

Spurs have gone some way down this route but there is still room to improve in our youth development and bringing in money through better sales.

posted on 17/1/24

comment by The Hybrid Postecogdoos (U10416)
posted 30 minutes ago
comment by LukaBrasi Ange-r management (U22178)
posted 2 hours, 41 minutes ago
Everton are a joke. They even had guidance from the FA and still managed to break the rules. Then they tried to blame Spurs saying we short changed them on Richarlison 😂. Throw the book at them.

I'm surprised Forest are in trouble after we helped them out by paying over the odds for BJ.

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Was a month too late, if sold before August they would have been ok
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👍🏻

posted on 18/1/24

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-daniel-levy-ffp-psr-b1132961.html

posted on 18/1/24

Not that interested in the business side of things, just translate into success on the pitch.

posted on 18/1/24

comment by Automatic For The Process (U21889)
posted 4 hours, 55 minutes ago
Not that interested in the business side of things, just translate into success on the pitch.
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The 2 are inextricably linked

posted on 18/1/24

Well so far, so $hite then, one Trophy in 23 years under Levy.

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