Reply With QuoteThanks for that Adventus.
It goes to show what a mess football is in (as Greavsie would say 'it's a funny old game') where a loss of £1.7 million is heralded as a roaring success
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ROTHERHAM United have been hailed as “the smartest club in the Championship” by the country’s leading football-finance expert following the publication of their latest accounts.
The figures, which run up to the end of June 2022 and cover the Millers’ League One promotion, show a loss of £1.7 million.
Putting that in perspective, Kieran Maguire says it is a tenth of the average deficits posted by the teams they are now competing against in the second tier.
“For me, they’re the smartest club in the Championship,” he said. “They either break even or have by far the smallest losses in what is a complete car crash of a division. They simply say: ‘We’re not going to pay daft wages.'”
Maguire is a highly-respected academic, author and broadcaster. A lecturer at Liverpool University, he is also the man behind the acclaimed Twitter site, The Price of Football.
He says much of Rotherham’s loss can be attributed to the fact that their central funding (share of Premier League TV money) fell from £7.9m to £3m in their successful 2021/22 campaign following their drop into the third tier the previous year.
“The reduction in TV money accounts for probably 60 per cent of it,” he said. “That was counter-balanced, to an extent, by the return of fans. Obviously, the season before stadiums had been empty because of Covid.
“Promotion bonuses have to be factored in as well. That’s the paradox: if they hadn’t gone up, the losses would have been lower.”
Tony Stewart took over Rotherham 15 years ago and is determined to establish them long term in the Championship following three relegations since 2017.
The chairman invested heavily on recruitment in the January transfer window and, with eight games left to play, the Millers are on course to remain clear of the drop zone.
Maguire said: “They continue to be a well-run club and if they stay up this season I would expect them to make a smallish profit.
“I think they look to a four- or five-year period and say that over that time frame they’ll break even. You can’t say that about any other club in the Championship.”
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Thanks for that Adventus.
It goes to show what a mess football is in (as Greavsie would say 'it's a funny old game') where a loss of £1.7 million is heralded as a roaring success
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A contract my old company had if they lost 10 million it was a success.Originally Posted by CAMiller
Thanks for that Adventus.
It goes to show what a mess football is in (as Greavsie would say 'it's a funny old game') where a loss of £1.7 million is heralded as a roaring success
Its not just football
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Part two of the article.........................
FOOTBALL-finance leading light Kieran Maguire would love Rotherham United to safeguard their place in the Championship as a reward for being such a well-run club.
The chartered accountant and podcaster held up the 20th-placed Millers as an example for other teams to follow in competing in the second tier while refusing to put their future stability in jeopardy.
“Fingers crossed, they’re going to do it this season through a combination of their performances on the pitch and points deductions elsewhere,” Maguire said. “They stick to their guns and don’t pay over the odds. They are a club who are really ‘savvy’, in my opinion.”
In their latest annual accounts, running to the end of June last year, the Millers posted a loss of just £1.7 million as they headed back to the second tier with promotion from League One.
“The best thing I can say about Rotherham and their finances is that they’re spectacularly dull,” Maguire said. “I mean that entirely as a compliment. There are never any nasty surprises, which I can’t say about all the clubs in South Yorkshire. I’ll say no more than that!”
In addition to the £1.7m loss, other figures include:
- Turnover of £9.9m, down from £12.1m in the previous season in the Championship when Covid kept fans away from games. This backs up owner Tony Stewart’s famous revelation that being in the second tier with empty stadiums was financially more beneficial to the Millers than a season of full houses in League One.
- Central funding down from £7.9m to £3m.
- A wage bill for 164 staff, including players, of £5.8m, down from £7.3m the year before when the number of people was 163.
- £2.6m generated by season-ticket sales, gate receipts and prize money, compared to zero the year before.
- Sponsorship/advertising income up to £2.9m from £2.3m.
- Merchandise sales rising from £883,000 to £922,000.
- Broadcast fees of £95,000 received for televised games, down from £691,000 the previous year.
- An increase in miscellaneous income from £64,000 to £202,000, achieved mainly by UEFA funding for new floodlights for Women’s Euros matches held at AESSEAL New York.
- The sale of 6,256 season tickets and an average New York attendance of 9,337.
Maguire used a comparison with the club with whom Rotherham climbed out of League One last term, Wigan Athletic, to highlight the quality of the Millers operation.
Rotherham’s accounts were made public just a few of days before the Latics were deducted three points by the EFL on Monday for failing to meet their financial commitments to their players.
“Wigan got promoted last season and lost £7m, Rotherham got promoted and lost £1.7m,” he said. “And Rotherham are paying the wages every month. Which is the better-run club?”
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Repeat.... Repeat... Repeat.Thanks for that Adventus.
It goes to show what a mess football is in (as Greavsie would say 'it's a funny old game') where a loss of £1.7 million is heralded as a roaring success
Wigan won promotion from League 1 & accounts showed a £7m loss - we won promotion & accounts show a £1.7m loss.
We're still paying players wages - which club is being run correctly?
Bonus payments will have been paid to our players in that promotion season - so if you deduct around 60% off that £1.7m that loss looks good.
Long may it continue - we run a tight ship for a reason - survival this season is imperative - it's the best chance of survival we've had for quite a while.
Lot of respect for Kieran Maguire - well respected in football finance - clubs should live within their means.... or else!!!
Last edited by Godsend.F.C.; 24-03-2023 at 09:41 PM.
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Interesting stuff but effectively we are still a loss making concern.
Roughly £200 per fan per season
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Fan base isn't big enough Grist_To_The_Mill. - nowhere near enough season tickets sold.
If we survive this season I wouldn't be at all surprised if the club double decks the away stand. (watch this space)
Last edited by Godsend.F.C.; 24-03-2023 at 09:47 PM.
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Should we survive, the footings/ foundations are already in place to take the weight structure to expand the stand. Think of the big clubs coming down from the Prem. They’ll have 5-6 thousand fans followings and that is surely lost revenue. Add to that your Sunderland’s, , Weds, Boros, they’ll match any of those numbers.
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Just no chance of it being passed, built and made ready for next season, plus any construction work could well decrease the capacity in the away end until it's finished.
Big call by Tone if they were to go ahead with.
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One small snag there.
The possibility for expansion is in the east stand not the away end.
That’s the lowest and can be made higher.
We could of course relocate the supporters in the east stand to the away end and utilise the east stand for away supporters
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