Newcastle United could still recruit the best behind-the-scenes talent in football without having to worry about breaching Financial Fair Play rules, claims finance expert Dr Dan Plumley.
The Lowdown: Non-playing staff
On Saturday 28 May, The Times reported that the non-playing staff at Newcastle will be handed a pay rise for the first time in several years.
The current FFP system in the Premier League permits clubs a £105m loss over a rolling three-year period, with salary costs counting towards that total.
However, the Premier League is expected to adopt UEFA’s new profit and sustainability system imminently. This limits clubs to spending 70 per cent of turnover on wages and transfers, but it ultimately means only player and manager wages will be counted towards the quota.
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The Latest: Plumley’s claim
Plumley believes that Newcastle can utilise the new system to pay elite non-playing staff big wages to gain an advantage, without breaching FFP rules.
Speaking with Football Insider, Plumley claimed:
“This is potentially one way to get around FFP.
“If you look at the makeup of the backroom staff, Liverpool are the gold standard. They look at data, sports science, and psychology. The list is endless.
“In a sport where the margins are so fine, it can really pay off if you can get an edge in this area. If you have the best minds and the finest talent in football, you can make gains behind the scenes.
“Of course, everything needs to be streamlined and the culture needs to be right, and the commercial team and the finance team can grow too.”
The Verdict: May have already started
Just last night Newcastle announced the appointment of highly rated Dan Ashworth as the club’s new sporting director.
The 51-year-old joined former club Brighton in 2018 with an impressive reputation after his spell with the FA, where he helped various England age groups triumph at three tournaments in 2017, and then proceeded to establish the south-coast side as a mainstay in the Premier League.
With such appointments already taking place, this will be a huge sign of things to come for Newcastle, who will be doing anything they can to make marginal gains in pursuit of European qualification.
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