THE 2022-23 season was a satisfying one for the city of Sheffield, with both Wednesday and United winning promotion to a higher level. Two reasonably big sides, both capable of drawing respectable crowds, the potential of Sheffield has rarely been realised in the post-1945 world. However, Wednesday fans, after a period in the doldrums, including two years in League One, can at least breath a sigh of relief that they are back in the second tier of English football.
As Wednesday prepared to welcome Southampton to Hillsborough for the opening match of the Championship season, they have just released their long-awaited financials for the 2021-22. Quite why it takes clubs so long to publish their accounts is something of a mystery – large corporates, who have more complex and sophisticated financial affairs do not take as long to reveal their fiscal health. Nevertheless, Wednesday were lagging virtually every major club in unveiling their economic situation.
There is some degree of encouragement for Wednesday’s followers in this latest set of figures, although the 2022-23 promotion campaign will surely provide more relief. Wednesday’s loss of £ 7.3 million is a big improvement on the two previous seasons where pre-tax losses were £ 24.1 million and £ 25.8 million respectively. Over the past decade, Wednesday have lost money every year bar one – in 2019 when they booked a profit of £ 38 million on the disposal of their Hillsborough stadium. Their 2021-22 loss was the third highest in League One, with only Ipswich Town and Wigan posting a worse outcome. But only six clubs in the division generated a profit, the highest being MK Dons at £ 3.6 million.
Wednesday’s revenues for the 2021-22 season totalled £ 16.4 million, an improvement on 2020-21 when the complete loss of matchday income due to the pandemic contributed to a 45% fall to £ 11.6 million. The club does not provide a forensic breakdown of their earnings around matchday and broadcasting, but estimates have averaged the figures to be around £ 7.5 million for matchday income and £ 2.5 million for broadcasting. Commercial activity amounted to £ 6.4 million, up from £ 3.4 million in 2020-21. In five years, though, Wednesday have seen their total revenues fall by 35%.
Wednesday’s wage bill was slashed in 2021-22 to £ 12.4 million, the lowest figure since 2012 and a drop of approximately 50%. Hence, the wage-to-income ratio went down to 76% from an astronomical 209%. This was mostly due to the post-relegation offloading of high earners, ending a five-year period where the slub was paying far in excess of what it earned. Hopefully, Wednesday will resist a similar strategy in the Championship, a division that has long lived beyond its means.
The club still has a high amount of net debt, particularly for the level they’ve been playing at, although most is owed to the “controlling party”, the owner, Dejphon Chansiri, whose company is the world’s largest producer of tuna fish products. Total debt is £ 63 million and with cash standing at just under £ 0.9 million, the net debt position is £ 62 million. This is an improvement on five years ago when it was close to £ 80 million, and a little less than 2020-21. That said, there is clearly a huge reliance on the support of the ownership to ensure the club is a going concern.
Wednesday’s dramatic promotion in 2023 demonstrated that success can be achieved without spending vast sums of money. Over the last five seasons (including 2022-23), spending has been very restricted in the transfer market and in the period 2018-19 to 2021-22, less than £ 4 million was paid out for new signings. In that same period, the club has received more than £ 7 million from sales. In 2021-22, Wednesday made a profit of £ 1 million on player sales, a relatively low figure. It is hard to see this rise, though, as the squad value is less than £ 2 million, which means Wednesday do not have any “crown jewels” to sell at present. That might change, of course, if Wednesday have a respectable year in the Championship or a gem comes through the club’s youth system.
The club is also welcoming a new manager in Xisco Muñoz at the start of 2023-24, who took over after Darren Moore and his bench team departed following a contract dispute. The Championship will be a challenge, especially as the sides relegated from the Premier – Leicester, Leeds and Southampton – will be desperate to return to the big time. Wednesday may find their financial position does not allow for speculation, but they will need to resist the temptation to try and spend their way to further glory. Whatever happens, Wednesday’s support – they averaged more than 25,000 last season – will be delighted to be back – starting with Southampton at home on August 4.
GAME OF THE PEOPLE 