Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has said he doesn't see the EFL's profit and sustainability rules coming in to punish Sheffield Wednesday again in an interview with the Sheffield Star, with the Owls releasing their 2019/20 accounts yesterday.
The South Yorkshire side have endured a turbulent time over the past few months, as relegation, unpaid player wages and unpublished accounts took their toll at Hillsborough.
Because of Owls' failure to publish their financial accounts for the 2019/20 season, they were hit with a transfer embargo that's still in place as things stand.
These restrictions have heavily disrupted manager Darren Moore's plans in the transfer market, with 13 senior players already leaving Sheffield Wednesday this summer and plenty of work to do in the transfer market if they want to push for promotion back to the Championship.
However, a report on Monday from the Sheffield Star believe the transfer embargo could be lifted this week. And with their accounts finally being released yesterday, the EFL may finally lift the restrictions that have been hampering the Owls for a while now.
With Covid-19 adversely affecting Wednesday's revenue and the club still recovering from previous financial mismanagement, they posted a £23m loss. However, the pandemic has also hit other clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two and football finance expert Kieran Maguire is calm about their latest figures.
Speaking to the Sheffield Star about where the Owls are in terms of the EFL's profit and sustainability rules, he said: "In League One, FFP is based on a percentage of your revenue.
"Wednesday’s big challenge will be to get their wage bill down, which they have continued to do with the outgoing players.
"You do get some parachute payments because of the difference in TV money, though nothing like the amounts from the drop from the Premier League to the Championship.
"I don’t see a huge problem with Financial Fair Play because it’s assessed over a three-year period and Wednesday still have the benefits of the sale of Hillsborough in 2019 to offset the losses elsewhere."
The Verdict:
Many people will be feeling the EFL have already punished the South Yorkshire side enough after their six-point deduction last season, securing their relegation from the Championship.
As Maguire rightly pointed out in the article, many other clubs have suffered heavier losses due to a mix of the pandemic and high wage bills, so there are likely to be widespread punishments across the EFL if Wednesday are penalised again.
However, there does now seem to be light at the end of the tunnel for Sheffield Wednesday after a horrible few months at the club and now their accounts are submitted, restrictions could be lifted very shortly, so it might be time for Owls fans to get excited.