Burnley finances claim that Chris Wilder has responded to the “lazy” theory that Sheffield United’s success this season is due to their receipt of Premier League parachute payments, calling the idea “absolute nonsense” in the face of Leeds United. Following Sunday’s draw at West Bromwich Albion, the Blades have recovered from last season’s top-flight horror show with an incredible effort to return there on the first try.
There are claims that parachute payments are somehow distorting competition levels in the second tier and giving relegated teams an insurmountable advantage once they come back down. This is due to Burnley’s own promotion challenge, as they were also relegated from the Premier League last season, and Leeds United’s involvement in the current reorganisation, as they are another team with recent top-flight experience and money.
Although there are merits to the argument, discredited broadcaster Richard Keys made the point in his most recent blog post from the Middle East this week, demonstrating that Luton Town’s difficulties this season demonstrate that parachute money is not the magic bullet some people think it is. “Have you recently taken a look at the top of the Championship?” Keys wrote. Leeds, who dropped the previous season, is sandwiched between Sheff United and Burnley, two of the top three teams that were demoted last season. Are we taken aback? When Rick Parry claims that parachute payouts skew competition in that league, he is correct.
Following Sunday’s draw with West Brom, the subject of United’s financial situation came up once more this week. Tyrese Campbell and Callum O’Hare, United’s two goal scorers at the Hawthorns, were both acquired on free transfers, although Gus Hamer and Vini Souza, two more high-profile additions, were brought in following promotion rather than relegation. With Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Alfie Gilchrist on loan at Bramall Lane, the seven other starts in that game cost less than £5 million in total permanent transfer costs.
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The parachute charges further ignore the reality that United turned a profit in the summer transfer window, selling players like Will Osula, Jayden Bogle, and Auston Trusty before the season started in order to finance deals for players like Michael Cooper and Harrison Burrows. This afternoon, before the travel to Millwall tomorrow, Wilder was asked what he thought of the hypothesis. He responded, “Absolute nonsense.” Simply put, it’s a lazy assumption.
“Hey, our wage bill is competitive. We worked on minor fees, frees, and loans during the summer, and we also brought in some respectable numbers. People usually take cheap shots can use, if you do a bit of digging you’ll see. We’ve got some good players and kept some decent players, there’s no doubt about that. And the owner and the board backed us getting those
However, you simply need to accept that with a grain of salt and move on. Right now, all that matters to me is the group and their performance. It is not distorted by it. We couldn’t touch any of the boys on that West Brom team a few years ago, but they’re still there now. The players we pursued included Mikey Johnston, the [John] Swifts, and the [Jed] Wallaces. That is a lazy assumption, but I won’t get into that.
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