Birmingham City

Birmingham City: Finance expert discusses Blues’ finances

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Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has been discussing the finances of Championship outfit Birmingham City.

The Blues are certainly no stranger to financial problems, having been hit with a nine-point deduction in 2019 for breaching Profitability and Sustainability rules (per BBC).

Furthermore, the club was in danger of being handed a second points deduction earlier this year for breaching financial rules.

However, Blues avoided the further deduction despite the EFL winning an appeal against an independent disciplinary commission’s decision to clear the club of a misconduct charge.

In the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the latest with the club’s finances.

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We will look at Marcelo Bielsa to kick off this quiz on the Championship's managers, which of these national teams has the Leeds United boss managed?

He said: “What we have seen consistently at Birmingham is a willingness to overspend. If you take a look at the four years between 2016 to 2019, they had [a] total income of £74m [and] total wages of £109m. So again, that’s before you throw your transfers in.

“I’ve been into their transfer details and I know what [listener] James is saying now because they’ve just sold Jude Bellingham [for] a fantastic price and he’s a very exciting prospect, but remember three or four years ago, they had Harry Redknapp as manager, they had Gianfranco Zola as manager, and the club owners – I’m not saying they did anything wrong – were perhaps a little bit starry-eyed and they just gave them, effectively, a blank chequebook.

“So, Birmingham, historically, have been spending reasonable sums on players, and I think it’s only in the last sort of 12-18 months that that trend has reversed and because it has reversed, I think from Birmingham’s point of view, they’re probably less likely now to be on the Financial Fair Play worry list.

“But given their form towards the end of the season, that’s the problem. If you do sell players, you end up with the type of run that they had at the end of 2019/20.”

TIF Thoughts…

As can be seen in what Maguire had to say, Blues are seemingly less likely now to break Profitability and Sustainability rules as they have done previously.

Would you prefer the club to be run more sustainably?

No, I want success

No, I want success

Yes, it's for the best

Yes, it's for the best

However, the finance expert makes a good point that this may have a knock-on effect on results, as is evident in the fact that Birmingham failed to win a single game following the Championship’s restart.

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