Positives if we are relegated

[Truro 1980]

Just to lessen the nerves slightly:

League one should be financially much weaker next season than when we were last there - With Portsmouth, Derby and possibly Bolton coming up the big clubs will mostly have left the division. (Although Wrexham will no doubt continue to have vast sums invested).

With,by League One standards, huge season ticket sales (which I think will largely hold up in league one), hospitality income, and sales of Cooper, Whittaker Hardie and Gibson, all of whom are too good for league one, we should have one of the highest playing budgets in the division and have some left over for investment in facilities without requiring more money put in. Some of our other players not quite up to championship standard at the moment may thrive a division below.

We will be big fish in a small pond again.

A lot in League 1, are saying it will be harder than ever next season. The clubs coming up from League 2 have more money. It's not just Wrexham, Stockport have had good backing and a decent wage budget over the last few years, as have Mansfield.

But the clubs in League 1 are likely to be stronger. Charlton spent quite a bit during the winter window and are looking to spend more in the summer. Wigan and Reading will not doubt start throwing money around again now that they won't have points deductions. Rotherham knows how to get out of league 1 and Huddlesfield will want to bounce straight back. Bristol Rovers have new investors since we were last there.

Hopefully we don't go down, but if we do, it's not going to be easy. Especially as a few players will probably be sold straight away and I'm not sure if it will be reinvested in the playing squad.

 

[greenpilled]

We havent always been told that, often told smallest or nearly smallest. Truth is I suspect we have similar budgets and nobody actually knows which is smaller!

Rotherham's latest wage bill in their annual accounts was £10.3m (in the Championship), in 2022/23. Argyle's was £9m in League 1. David Ray suggested that our turnover this year would be about £25m and a wage bill of 60% of turnover is generally seen as a hallmark of sustainability in football. So that makes me think £15m is a fair guess for Argyle, although possibly a little on the high side as I suspect we'll have been cautious of the risk of relegation and a precipitous decline in income.

Kieran Maguire has a neat summary of Championship wages from 2022 and 2023 here.

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/status/1764326163357311043

Over that period there were five Championship clubs with an annual wage bill of less than £20m... Barnsley, Blackpool, Peterborough, Rotherham and Coventry. Four of the five were not Championship clubs for very long.

 

[Mark58]

I have spent a lifetime (so far!) supporting Argyle - and witnessed eight relegations. Whenever this happens I always kid myself with the 'It'll be easier in the lower level and we'll bounce back up again straight away' argument.

Sadly, it has only happened once (Neil Warnock/Wembley). Once out of eight occasions aren't great odds... 😞

 

[Guiri Green]

Obviously it's preferable to not be relegated but let's not all act like we're some established Championship side that's seeing the likely drop out of this league as an unforseen, unexpected novelty.

We're in the position most of us, at least those who are honest to themselves, expected us to be. Maybe not quite relying on the final 90 minutes of the season, but did anyone really think we'd end much higher than we are ? Hindsight and variable recollections seem fashionable these days.

Yes we'll miss out on (to us) vast amounts of money, but nothing sufficient to close any existing gaps between us and our current peers. The budget waving comparisons are based on zero knowledge of what will be available to any of the L1 Clubs, including ourselves, it's how it's spent that will matter come May 25.

If we go down, we'll be one of the bigger teams again, expect Sky games v exeter and Wrexham, but hopefully we can go back to Saturdays and Tuesdays again.

Relegation ? Rubbish - yes. End of the world - nope. Just expect a little more "grief" from some opposition supporters.

 

[Jon with no H]

I have spent a lifetime (so far!) supporting Argyle - and witnessed eight relegations. Whenever this happens I always kid myself with the 'It'll be easier in the lower level and we'll bounce back up again straight away' argument.

Sadly, it has only happened once (Neil Warnock/Wembley). Once out of eight occasions aren't great odds... 😞

Don't forget Ryan Lowe's first season!

 

[Jon with no H]

Rotherham's latest wage bill in their annual accounts was £10.3m (in the Championship), in 2022/23. Argyle's was £9m in League 1. David Ray suggested that our turnover this year would be about £25m and a wage bill of 60% of turnover is generally seen as a hallmark of sustainability in football. So that makes me think £15m is a fair guess for Argyle, although possibly a little on the high side as I suspect we'll have been cautious of the risk of relegation and a precipitous decline in income.

Kieran Maguire has a neat summary of Championship wages from 2022 and 2023 here.

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/status/1764326163357311043

Over that period there were five Championship clubs with an annual wage bill of less than £20m... Barnsley, Blackpool, Peterborough, Rotherham and Coventry. Four of the five were not Championship clubs for very long.

To put this in perspective, Ipswich had a wage bill of £19m last season!

 

[Emeraldinho]

Echoes of the 60s here for me when Argyle failed to push on and strive for the top table resulting in a steady drift up and down the lower leagues over the following years. If we now get left behind again through lack of investment I’m pretty sure we’ll find ourselves completely and permanently cut adrift financially from the top 2 divisions (which will probably become Prem 1 and Prem 2 before too long imho).

 

[Argyleloyal]

Cant see any positives whatsoever in relegation. It will be a complete disaster . There is going to be shed loads of money pumped into the Championship via the new Sky deal which we would miss out on for starters
How we have got into this position is bewildering . A combination of bad luck & very poor Management decision making over the disastrous appointment of IF ! oh & that stupid corner given away in extra time v Coventry which led to their equaliser !!

That’s one reason it will be a disaster going down

 

[Brussels Bureaucrat]

I really don't want to get relegated and it'll be such a massive blow for the club and the city. I want the club to continue to thrive and relegation would be an absolute sickener.

but... Having watched Argyle for decades in three different divisions, I honestly don't think my enjoyment of an afternoon at the football is affected by which division we're in. When push comes to shove, I just want to watch the Greens, and that won't change, whether we're playing Liverpool in the Premier League or Parkway in the Southern Prem. Hopefully the former, obviously - but i'd still have a nice day out at the latter, I think.

 

[GU7Green]

I said this to my mate the other day, was desperately trying to gee myself up / be glass half full about going down and I just couldnt do it. Was looking down the league table....

Wigan. ugh.
Wycombe. ugh
Northampton. never done, but urgh
Cambridge. ugh
Shrewsbury. ugh.

I went back to being really dispondent on the prospect of going down so the cycle started again

I do appreciate what the OP is trying to do though.

 

[Guiri Green]

I really don't want to get relegated and it'll be such a massive blow for the club and the city. I want the club to continue to thrive and relegation would be an absolute sickener.

but... Having watched Argyle for decades in three different divisions, I honestly don't think my enjoyment of an afternoon at the football is affected by which division we're in. When push comes to shove, I just want to watch the Greens, and that won't change, whether we're playing Liverpool in the Premier League or Parkway in the Southern Prem. Hopefully the former, obviously - but i'd still have a nice day out at the latter, I think.

Agree, and that should be the bottom line for any true Argyle fan - shouldn't it ?

 

[Guiri Green]

That’s one reason it will be a disaster going down

Or....another reason why top level football will strangle itself eventually.

It should be about the football and not some sort of Top Trump budgets game.

 

[IvyG]

Well, its in the players hands on Saturday. How much do they want to stay up? How much can they give?

We will find out!

 

[jimsing]

That’s one reason it will be a disaster going down

Not a disaster, as surely the money will be spent on increasing transfers and increasing wages, which will not affect us until we get back up to the Championship again!

Anyway we will be a selling club if we go down so it might be a bonus that we can ask for higher prices for our players!

 

[rsp4]

6 points on the table from the Chinos
ST waiting list disappears
Back in the Mickey mouse cup for the reserves
Eye-watering wages drop off.

Another dozen or so years to get back. Look what the championship did to Yeovil🤦