Graham Clark":2e50pk4y said:i have posted on this before in answer to HC Green's misplaced assertion about Ryan Lowe's budget compared to Derek Adams. Argyle gave the budget details (as much as they were able) in their financial report on the accounts for the year end June 2020 (see link - https://www.pafc.co.uk/news/2021/februa ... al-report/)
In summary wages and salaries are the major cost for Argyle. From the report,
Adams (League One) 2018-2019 £3.3m
Lowe (League Two) 2019=2020 £2.9m
Lowe (League One) - Argyle pledged their adherence (at the time) to the proposed salary cap for League One of £2.5m which was proposed in the close season but only confirmed in August 2020. Subsequently, it was challenged successfully. Other clubs gambled on expenditure pre-August 2020 that evaded that salary cap.
The wages and salaries costs stated are for all wage costs and not, for obvious reasons, the playing budget. Under Adams the team management structure was slimmer and the number of hospitality employees would have been less too. that implies that the playing budget may have been proportionately even more
On the reasonable basis of the above, it is safe to assume that Ryan Lowe's playing budget for 2020-2021 was significantly lower than when we were last in League One after Adams. The Ennis acquisition may have equated to Wooton and Cavanan's wages and with Woods on loan I doubt come February 2021 whether the wage bill was materially altered.
League One survival is a reasonable expectation and achievement on the above basis. Swindon and Northampton did not manage it.
Next season will see our greatest challenge in recent years on recruitment. We have a number of players to recruit at a time when the standard of League One next season will be something like the lower reaches of the Championship in previous seasons, in terms of standard of clubs and quality of play. Reassuringly, for me at last, that recruitment will, initially at least, be on a structured data based analysis rather than a gut instinct whim. I have posted elsewhere that we have won less aerial duels than any other club in League One. We only scored 8 gaols from set pieces - Burton Albion scored 23!. We achieved the lowest number of interceptions in play than any other team. The data provides the framework for what we need.
Both have a part to play in recruitment but I remember Paul Sturrock saying that only 50% of his signings were successful. We simply cannot afford that rate of success and we have to do better. Hopefully, with the promise of fans back at Home Park the purse strings for next season's playing budget will be slightly expanded within the club's expressed pathway to maintaining a sustainable Club.
Indeed the 19/20 costs were lower than 18/19 but as you and the Club said that this was to be expected because costs were lower as we were in League 2. Also at the fans forum where the 18/19 figures were discussed it was said that 18/19 salary costs included exceptional items caused by the change of the management team.
The implication being that the 19/20 budget in League 2 was very similar to the budget for the 18/19 League 1 season.
By implication you would expect the Club to increase the 20/21 budget as we were in League 1.
Of course the Club could have agreed to abide by the proposed salary cap rules but as that didn’t start until August and the transition rules allowed the salaries of players signed before that date to be costed at the league’s average if they exceeded that figure it would seem to have been a bit of a mistake by whoever decided that in the Club.
Another implication being that some players are on such large salaries already that there wasn’t much wiggle room to sign others.