on pure wages yes, but we also earn a large amount of money compared to others in the league. so according to Deloitte who review the entire finances for their annual PL report, we had the joint lowest wages to revenue ratio at 43%, at the time joint with Luton Town during their PL stint.
In the 2023/24 season, Premier League clubs generated £6.3 billion in revenue, a 4% increase on the previous season.
www.deloitte.com
To compare our 43% to our big 6:
Emirates Marketing Project: 57%
Man U: 55%
Liverpool: 63%
Arsenal: 53%
Chelsea: 72%
As you can see from the Link, after Luton the next lowest to us was Sheff Utd on 47%. So, the outcome is we can talk about transfers and fees but we also pay incredibly low wages compared to what we earn, and literally comparable to teams who currently in the Championship.
No doubt people will cry about "we need to be sustainable" as if they themselves are the CFO of ENIC, but the reality is, it's a choice. I certainly do not want to be Villa at 93% and failing PSR.
But we can easily, in terms of revenue, increase our wage bill and quality of our squad with investment and still be below peer clubs if we choose to.
If we are charging the 1st/2nd highest prices in the league, i think it's fair we expect some of that investment to go into improving the football team. Especially when that team finished 17th last season and has serious injuries to two of its star players in integral positions.