FFP

[Risso]

Handing Bailey a big new contract. Signing Captian Rogers and the Serbian Cafu are also two other unusual steps to take if you've apparently lost €138m.

The young players are just guys we can just move on if they don't work out. Rogers scores 4-5 goals in a season but dosen't step up to the level needed, can just sell him to a newly promoted club in two years for more than we paid.

It makes more sense then getting in a Digne or Coutinho who are nearly impossible to shift permanently with the wages they're on.

I think the point is surely you wouldn't be buying anybody at all if the situation was that bad.

[chrisw1]

If we need to sell, then the most likely will be Ramsey who would fetch in £40m plus, and would be pure FFP profit.

Can someone explain to me why the likes of Luiz, Konsa, Kamara, Mings & McGinn wouldn't be pure FFP profit?  Probably Watkins too by this summer.  Surely their initial fees have already all been amortised so there's nothing in the books for them?

[Sexual Ealing]

If we need to sell, then the most likely will be Ramsey who would fetch in £40m plus, and would be pure FFP profit.

Can someone explain to me why the likes of Luiz, Konsa, Kamara, Mings & McGinn wouldn't be pure FFP profit?  Probably Watkins too by this summer.  Surely their initial fees have already all been amortised so there's nothing in the books for them?

I'm no accountant, but here's what I think...

[Dogtanian]

If we need to sell, then the most likely will be Ramsey who would fetch in £40m plus, and would be pure FFP profit.

Can someone explain to me why the likes of Luiz, Konsa, Kamara, Mings & McGinn wouldn't be pure FFP profit?  Probably Watkins too by this summer.  Surely their initial fees have already all been amortised so there's nothing in the books for them?

Yep, Mings, Martinez, Konsa, Luiz, and McGinn are all paid off as it were.

Looking at the deals, I don't think our yearly depreciation has gone up season on season, it looks to be about £71m again, when you take into account the new signings and drop-offs. We've had about £20m come off and added about £18m a year.

Again, it doesn't look on the outside like we are out of control and heading for a crash.

[Goldenballs]

If we have to sell a key player to the cheating fucker teams to strengthen them and weaken us because of some bollocks FFP rules, I'll be absolutely fuming.

Man City could just buy one of our players for a laugh, then stick them on the bench for a couple of seasons.

[Smithy]

If we need to sell, then the most likely will be Ramsey who would fetch in £40m plus, and would be pure FFP profit.

Can someone explain to me why the likes of Luiz, Konsa, Kamara, Mings & McGinn wouldn't be pure FFP profit?  Probably Watkins too by this summer.  Surely their initial fees have already all been amortised so there's nothing in the books for them?

They would. Anyone past the point of the end of their original contract with us would now be sold at 100% profit as far as FFP is concerned.  With Kamara I'm not sure how "signing on fees" are accounted for in FFP, whether they're treated like wages, or something else in the world of FFP to prevent people simply flipping free transfers every year.  But the rest, yes, pretty much all profit now.  McGinn for £50m or Ramsey for £50m would be about the same in FFP benefit, I would imagine.

People just tend to think of FFP sales in terms of youth players first and foremost, simply because for most clubs that's pretty much the best - or only - option. Chelsea, for example, are lumbered with a squad full of over-priced players who wouldn't generate a penny in FFP profit if they were sold today.  But I'd say we're well above average when it come to having purchased players now well in the black.  Not only in addition to the ones you mentioned, there is Tielemens, and players like Martinez and Bailey who are now worth considerably more than we paid (and their FFP value has depreciated over the last few years too).  Ollie's FFP value will be down to about 6/7 million this summer, too.

We've definitely had our flops, just like everyone, but considering we've been back in the premier league less than five full years, I think we've done really well to assemble not only a very good squad, but also one that's probably worth quite a lot more than we paid for it.

[eamonn]

Luiz going to Mould Trafford and making their midfield click would be just too much. The way they've spawned two wins out of us this season has made my hatred for them grow back to 1990s levels even though they're a shadow of the team they were then.

[Hookeysmith]

We all use the mantra of "In Unai we trust"

Why do we not have the same faith in the likes of Wes / Nas / Monchi etc to know what they are doing also. I am sure the former have not amassed their wealth by oversights like failing compliance.

I prefer to let them guys look after the finances of our club as i dont understand / know enough to be able to comment with any significance as i am sure some of the journo's who get involved also. Our accounts are published periodically - other than that no one will know what the details are.

[Smithy]

We all use the mantra of "In Unai we trust"

Why do we not have the same faith in the likes of Wes / Nas / Monchi etc to know what they are doing also. I am sure the former have not amassed their wealth by oversights like failing compliance.

I prefer to let them guys look after the finances of our club as i dont understand / know enough to be able to comment with any significance as i am sure some of the journo's who get involved also. Our accounts are published periodically - other than that no one will know what the details are.

This is a good point, I'm also pretty sure accounts don't allow you to get a true picture of our FFP position anyway, as individual transfer costs aren't listed, so you're still guessing what was paid for players and therefore what their FFP balance is.

Like you, I trust the owners, they don't strike me as the sort to sail to close to the wind, so even if we DO have to sell to buy this summer, it won't be because we've been 'mismanaged', it'll be because strategically the club have agreed that's what we need to do to move forwards and upwards.

[lovejoy]

If we lost €138m in the 2022/23 year selling players now won’t help the 3 year cycle which ended in 2023. I thought we were basically at the FFP limit already. I cannot believe the owners would allow such obvious overspending. It just doesn’t make sense.

[Hookeysmith]

I cannot believe the owners would allow such obvious overspending. It just doesn’t make sense.

So chances and logic should dictate that they haven't

[VillaTim]

If we have to sell a key player to the cheating fucker teams to strengthen them and weaken us because of some bollocks FFP rules, I'll be absolutely fuming.

Man City could just buy one of our players for a laugh, then stick them on the bench for a couple of seasons.

isn't that what they've done with Grealish

[algy]

I think most people would have seen it as a £17m gamble - which for a player that was sold a couple of years previously for +£100m was worthwhile.

As soon as his mate was sacked, then his days were numbered. Pity we can't at least get some of that £17m back...

Yep, this.  We paid £17m for a player who might've returned to being a £100m+ player.  It didn't work out.  There'll be other similar buys that do work out (e.g. Tyrone Mings was arguably a similar signing - loan then purchase of an out-of-favour player).  These things happen - it was worth a punt.

[VillaTim]

I think most people would have seen it as a £17m gamble - which for a player that was sold a couple of years previously for +£100m was worthwhile.

As soon as his mate was sacked, then his days were numbered. Pity we can't at least get some of that £17m back...

Yep, this.  We paid £17m for a player who might've returned to being a £100m+ player.  It didn't work out.  There'll be other similar buys that do work out (e.g. Tyrone Mings was arguably a similar signing - loan then purchase of an out-of-favour player).  These things happen - it was worth a punt.

i think it's a big mistake . The loan was perfect and anyone with a rationale head could see Coutinho was a busted flush other than irregular moments of magic. It was a crazy signing and again Purslow getting too involved doesn't help

[caster troy]

In net spend terms in 22/23 we lost £50m but we did bring in £20m for Chukwuemeka which was pure FFP profit and must have covered a few of our signings year one FFP. So if there was an issue it must surely have been around wages, I don't even want to know how much we were paying Coutinho, Ings etc. But we were also offering a huge deal to Chukwuemeka too so can't have been that concerned?

If Purslow had accidentally driven us into a financial abyss you'd think he'd be in hiding rather than sitting with the away fans at games.

It doesn't make sense to me however things have been going so well I am fully expecting it to happen.