Bristol City's operational losses last year further emphasised the amount of work still required to further make the football club more sustainable as Championship sides continue to chase the Premier League dream.
The Robins' accounts showed they faced losses £532,000-a-week in the previous financial year, with only five other clubs topping that figure in Fulham, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham and Stoke City, as past and present league rivals continue to post their figures.
City have worked tirelessly to address their financial woes, which were inflated by the Covid pandemic including the collapse of the transfer market and the loss of revenue. In their latest accounts which were posted in November, it confirmed a pre-tax loss of £28.5million for the 2021/22 financial year which was £10m better off than the year prior.
City saved costs on player wages, which fell from £5m from £31.5m to £26.9m, while turnover was £29.6m in the latest financial year compared to £16.6m in the year before. However, the cost of operational losses is still an extraordinary and unsustainable figure, although the Robins aren't the only team.
Fulham (£1.3million) and Bournemouth (£1.1m) were the two clubs who were losing over £1m-a-week but their respective returns to the Premier League via promotion meant they have been able to recoup and put money back into the coffers. Nottingham Forest's gamble to the top-flight paid off after they were sustaining weekly losses of £981,000.
Including Bristol City, nine Championship sides incurred losses of over £400,000-a-week while Blackpool's figure was the lowest at £75,000. Speaking to Bristol Live, Football's Finance Expert and author of The Price of Football Kieran Maguire said of the figures: "The approaches taken by owners of Championship clubs suggest their decision making is a combination of love, vanity and insanity as they try to provide the means for their clubs to achieve promotion to the Premier League.
"As one owner said, 'Football club ownership is a bit like owning a racehorse, the two days are the ones when you buy it and sell it, the ones in between are very expensive with occasional highlights but plenty of forgettable ones too'."
City owner Steve Lansdown, who is still hoping to sell the club or source extra investment, has invested just under £240m in the club during his tenure which includes over £120m over the last six years. "Bristol City are dependent upon Steve Lansdown’s affection for the City and the club in sustaining their position in the Championship," Maguire added.
"He has put £230m into the club and whilst there have been improvements in terms of the stadium and infrastructure hasn’t had a financial return on his investment on the pitch.
"The club does have a strategy in that it is trying to generate more non-matchday income from the stadium and achieve better cost control. Having said that over the last decade, wages have averaged £125 for every £100 the club generates which is not sustainable.
"The EFL’s Chief Execitive Trevor Birch is trying to knock heads together and encourage clubs to live more within their means. The culture of clubs, from owners, managers, and fans, is that spending more and more money is seen as a shortcut to success on the pitch, and that leads to more financial risks being taken.
"Until that mentality ceases or there is less of a gap between the Premier League and the EFL there’s little chance of a significant fall in the losses currently being generated."
City have managed to avoid a points deduction having fallen in line with the EFL's Profit and Sustainability rules, however, Reading became the second side this season to be punished. Earlier this month, they were docked six points having failed to meet an agreed budget following an earlier breach of the profit and sustainability limits in 2021.
Wigan were also handed a three-point penalty in March after failing to pay their players on time. It's worth noting Derby have yet to submit their accounts, alongside Sheffield United, Huddersfield and Peterborough.
Championship operational losses 2021/22 (per week)
- Fulham - £1.3m
- Bournemouth - £1.1m
- Nottingham Forest - £981,000
- Birmingham City - £577,000
- Stoke City - £548,000
- Bristol City - £532,000
- Reading - £487,000
- QPR - £468,000
- Cardiff - £463,000
- Preston - £450,000
- Blackburn Rovers - £418,000
- Middlesbrough - £410,000
- Milwall - £240,000
- West Brom - £227,000
- Hull City - £151,000
- Luton - £144,000
- Barnsley - £122,000
- Coventry - £110,000
- Blackpool - £75,000
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