Tue Sep 29, 2015 10:11 pm
BRISTOL CITY: Cost of Championship survival poses dilemma for the Robins
By a_stockhausen
September 29, 2015
WITH the three newly-promoted clubs occupying the bottom three places in the Championship, Andy Stockhausen looks at the dilemma of life in the second tier for Bristol City.
THE rising cost of Championship football is making it more difficult than ever before for promoted teams to stay there.
With a fifth of the campaign already gone, the three clubs that came up at the end of last season are currently occupying the relegation positions in the second tier.
Crowned League One champions just five months ago, Bristol City are bottom of the table after registering only one win in their opening nine games.
And fellow promotion winners MK Dons and Preston North End, immediately above them and one point better off, are also finding the going tough at the higher level.
In all three cases, the newcomers are struggling to compete financially in one of the most expensive leagues in European football.
Should City risk running up further debt in order to retain Championship status?
With the exception of Rotherham United, newly-promoted City, Preston and MK have the smallest turnovers and lowest wage bills in the division. And the latest league table suggests a direct correlation between expenditure and league position.
All of which raises the question: should City risk spiralling debts in order to retain their Championship status come next May?
Bankrolled by a £20 million interest-free loan from owner Steve Lansdown these days, the Robins ran up debts in excess of £50 million when last in the second tier.
The Ashton Gate wage bill has since been reduced from a high-point of £18.6m to around £6m in a bid to balance the books and those responsible for the day-to-day running of the club are determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Following promotion in May, Robins chairman Keith Dawe labelled the Championship "the league of death." And it is easy to see why; the Championship amassed £1.1bn in debt last season and the most recent accounts for all 24 clubs revealed that total debt was almost double the division's collective turnover figure.
Charged with the task of coming up with a sustainable business plan and operating within their means at the same time as keeping the club in the Championship, Dawe and his fellow directors find themselves between a proverbial rock and a hard place.
Their dilemma is reflected in City's performance in the transfer market this summer. Despite Lansdown demonstrating a willingness to dip into his own back pocket and fund large transfer fees, manager Steve Cotterill's prime targets were either not available or not affordable when it came to wages.
City's attempt to woo strikers Dwight Gayle and Andre Gray from Crystal Palace and Brentford respectively, are a case in point. On both occasions, City's bid was accepted, only for the player to turn down a move to BS3.
Gayle was not prepared to drop a division, while Gray was unable to agree personal terms after agreeing to talks with City officials. City were not prepared to meet the forward's wage demands and he promptly upped sticks and signed for Burnley instead.
A reluctance to pay the Championship's inflated going rate and risk a spiralling wage bill meant precious time was wasted during the key month of August, ensuring City began the season with a painfully thin squad.
Their one cash signing, Jonathan Kodjia, was of the bargain-basement variety, City paying French Second Division club Angers £2.1m for his services. Baulked on price and frustrated by a failure to bolster his squad in May and June, manager Cotterill was forced to pursue a Plan B, which required him to recruit four players on loan.
A similar story unfolded at MK Dons and Preston, who made just three cash signings between them. MK paid an undisclosed fee to Real Madrid for Sergio Aguza, while Preston landed City left-back Greg Cunningham and Sheffield Wednesday forward Stevie May on permanent deals. Otherwise, managers Karl Robinson and Simon Grayson were forced to fall back on the loan market to supplement under-strength squads.
Even supplemented by four short-term signings, City's squad comprises a modest 21 players, far fewer than the vast majority of their Championship rivals. City's lack of cover was highlighted as recently as last weekend when injuries to Korey Smith, Scott Wagstaff and Ben Hamer caused Cotterill to name just six substitutes at Ipswich.
It is clear further investment will be required when the transfer window reopens in January and Cotterill remains in the market for a striker and a midfielder.