[Derek Duckworth]

📊 The Only Ways to Increase Spending Without Breaching PSR
Since PSR caps losses at £39m over three years, clubs that want to spend more on players must find ways to increase financial flexibility without breaking the rules. Here’s how:

1️⃣ Sell Players for Profit (Biggest Factor)
✅ Selling players for transfer fees directly improves PSR calculations.

Player sales count as profit in financial reports.
Buying a player is spread over multiple years, but selling a player is booked as full profit.
💡 Example:

If Wednesday sells a player for £5m, that reduces the club’s reported losses by £5m.
That means the club could then spend an extra £5m on wages/transfers without breaching PSR.
Brentford, Brighton, and Southampton all use this strategy to reinvest in their squads.
📝 Takeaway:
If Wednesday wants to spend more on players, they need to start selling players at the right time and reinvesting wisely.

2️⃣ Increase Revenue (Tougher for Championship Clubs)
💰 More revenue = more flexibility to spend
SWFC has already increased turnover to £19.3m, but ways to push it even higher include:

Higher attendances & ticket prices.
Better commercial deals (shirt sponsors, stadium naming rights, etc.).
Better cup runs (FA Cup, Carabao Cup).
Premier League TV money (only possible if promoted).
📌 The issue: Championship clubs have limited commercial potential compared to Premier League clubs, so this method only works if SWFC goes up a level.

3️⃣ Using the Loan Market Instead of Expensive Transfers
💡 Instead of paying big transfer fees, clubs like SWFC can bring in Premier League loanees.

Loan signings don’t count as transfer spending—only wages.
This allows clubs to add quality players without breaching PSR.
🔹 Example: Clubs like Swansea and Preston rely on Premier League loans instead of risky big spending.
🔹 Could SWFC use this? Yes, but it depends on strong relationships with bigger clubs.

4️⃣ Smart Contract Structuring (Deferred Wages & Bonuses)
💡 Instead of paying players high wages immediately, clubs can structure deals where bonuses & payments are spread over time.

This reduces the immediate financial hit on yearly accounts.
Bonuses can be tied to promotion, cup runs, or appearances, meaning they don’t count against PSR unless triggered.
🔹 Example: Clubs like Burnley & Sheffield United structured deals where players get big bonuses only if promoted.

📝 Takeaway: If Wednesday wants to attract better players without breaking PSR, smart contract deals help.

5️⃣ Owner Investment (Within Limits)
✅ The EFL allows owners to cover £13m of losses per season through equity investment.

This means the owner can put in a total of £39m over 3 years to help spending.
However, this must be structured correctly (not just spending wildly).
🔹 Example: Stoke’s owners (Bet365) pumped in cash but structured it as equity, keeping them within PSR.
🔹 Could SWFC do this? Yes, but it depends on whether Chansiri is willing & able to inject more money.

🚨 Final Verdict: How Can SWFC Spend More on Players?
1️⃣ Sell players at the right time to reinvest wisely.
2️⃣ Increase revenue streams (sponsorship, commercial, ticket sales, cup runs).
3️⃣ Utilize loan players instead of risky transfers.
4️⃣ Use smart contracts to delay financial impact.
5️⃣ Owner investment (within £13m per year limit).

⚠️ Championship clubs must be extremely careful—many clubs (Reading, Derby, Birmingham) spent too much and got punished.
✅ Wednesday is now in a much healthier position but must manage spending wisely to avoid another PSR breach.

🔍 The Championship Business Model: Buy Cheap, Sell High
🔹 The most successful clubs in the Championship (Brentford, Brighton, Southampton, Burnley) find undervalued players, develop them, and sell them for big profit.
🔹 SWFC hasn’t done this consistently, which means we haven’t created new income streams from player trading.

✅ What smart clubs do:
1️⃣ Find young, undervalued players (released from bigger academies, cheap from abroad).
2️⃣ Develop them into key first-team players over 1-2 seasons.
3️⃣ Sell them for big profit (and repeat the cycle).

🔹 Example of the Brentford model:

Bought Ollie Watkins for £1.8m → Sold for £28m
Bought Neal Maupay for £1.6m → Sold for £20m
Bought Ivan Toney for £5m → Now worth £60m+
They reinvest that money into the squad without breaking PSR.
🔹 SWFC hasn’t done this well, which is why we are financially limited.

🛑 What SWFC Has Been Doing Wrong
❌ Signing older players with no resale value (e.g., big wages, no potential for profit).
❌ Not developing younger talent fast enough—our best academy players have barely been sold for money.
❌ Letting contracts run down, losing players for free.
❌ Not scouting well enough to find cheap, high-potential players.

📌 This is why we end up spending too much but never have money to reinvest.

💡 What SWFC Needs to Do Moving Forward
✅ Focus on signing young players (or under-the-radar talent) with resale value.
✅ Develop our own academy players and sell at the right time.
✅ Use smart recruitment to find hidden gems from abroad or lower leagues.
✅ Stop relying on short-term expensive signings with no future value.

⚠️ If we don’t fix this, we will always be financially stuck, unable to spend without breaching PSR.

📊 Final Verdict: SWFC Must Change Its Transfer Strategy
✔️ We must start working like Brentford, Brighton, or Burnley—finding rough diamonds, polishing them, and selling them for profit.
✔️ Until we do this, we will always be limited in how much we can invest in players.
✔️ If we don’t improve our scouting and player trading, we will always struggle financially in the Championship.

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