Sheffield United have just posted their finances for their successful promotion season. Turnover of £64m, with £42m of that coming from broadcasting/parachute payments. This enabled them to have a salary roll of £48m which is broadly 4x that which BFC had in the Championship. Despite the significant parachute payments the club made a loss of £31.5m a big factor being the write down of the transfer fees paid in their premier league season of £18m of intangible asset amortisation. Another set of accounts which show the madness of the Championship and how parachute payments have created at best an unlevel playing field and, at worst, a closed shop.
My theory, which obviously would never happen, is that parachute payments should come with a points deduction but be flexible in order to level the paying field. Eg you can take the full amount of payments but start the season on -30 points, take half but start on -15., take 0, start on 0
Stop parachute payments altogether for me, the disparity between a promoted league 1 club and a relegated PL both playing in the championship is ridiculous. If teams promoted to the PL have to be prudent then so be it and get a***h***d every week then good it devalues the PL as a spectacle and might force the hands of decsion makers to redistribute correctly. For all the rules around Profit and sustainability/FFP not once has wage capping been considered, the PL isn't interested in what clubs spend they just don't won't a club going bust on them.
It won’t devalue it all it will do is create a closed shop, where the same teams would be relegated/promoted as the clubs with the biggest pockets would benefit. I’m not a fan of the parachute system but at least if you gamble and get promoted you can be set up moving forward.
