Pompey could be sustainable in Championship, says Cullen
Andy Cullen is adamant Pompey can be sustainable in the Championship.
But the Blues’ chief executive admitted it’s a legitimate concern from supporters over their club balancing the books, in the ‘insane’ financial terrain of English football’s second tier.
Cullen believes there is now a hunger from outfits to redress the balance, in the division John Mousinho’s side are looking to reach.
Speaking to Pompey Supporters’ Trust chair Donald Vass in a video discussing their recent support survey, the CEO tackled a key subject raised by supporters.
When asked if he feels Pompey can be sustainable in the Championship, Cullen said: ‘I think you can. It’s a challenge when you win promotion to any division. Yes, the revenues go up, but equally the costs go up as well.
‘Financial sustainability isn’t necessarily about break even, it’s about how much your owners are prepared to invest to keep you sustainable.
‘We’re very fortunate with the owners we’ve got and what they’ve done over the last five years, slowly but surely building up the infrastructure around the stadium.
‘If you go through the last set of accounts from all clubs in the Championship, in 2021-22 the average loss for a Championship club was £16m.
‘It’s a potential concern for the club going forward, but there’s a number of things happening.
‘We’re seeing a new squad salary cap ratio that’s going to come into place shortly. The vast majority of Championship club owners want to see that.
‘So many clubs have gambled and got themselves into financial difficulties, because the owners have decided to take on the parachute payment clubs – which is one of the insane things in the Championship, having £104m coming down with a parachute club to compete with clubs earning £7-8m from central distributions.
‘That’s not competition and we’ve seen a lot of clubs try to gamble.
‘The previous owner put a lot of money into Derby, didn’t succeed and had to step away. We’re seeing the same with Reading at the moment, the Reading owner put a significant amount of money into the club chasing the dream of promotion and didn’t succeed.
‘So there are two good examples, so clubs are now looking at that and saying “we need these costing controls in place”. For the first time I’m sensing unity between club owners.’
Cullen explained in detail how building blocks have now been put in place
which would make Pompey a ‘top 10’ Championship outfit, in terms of ticket and commercial revenue, if and when promotion arrives.
The club store, improved food and drink offerings, Pompey Health and Fitness Club, non-matchday revenue and stadium improvements are all part of the equation, with the Eisners injecting equity into the club to deliver that progress.
On the pitch, a strategy is in place when it comes to delivering progress, with the likes of Luton and Coventry offering a blueprint for success, without putting their clubs in financial jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Ipswich are pushing for promotion to the Premier League, after going up from League One last term.
Cullen added: ‘We look at our commercial income and, at the moment, we would rank in the top 10 for Championship clubs in terms of ticketing and commercial revenue. So that’s a good sign that we have a good chance of being financially sustainable.
‘Underpinning all that is the football model, having that long-term plan and strategy in place in terms of what we want to do with player recruitment.
‘I think supporters can start to see that it’s bearing fruits.
‘We have a really good, strong squad for next season whatever division we compete in. That’s underlined by reducing the expenditure on loans. We will still have loan players, it’s important to do so, but we won’t be spending twice as much as the next club in this division on loan players.
‘We’ve recruited young players who will become assets for the club, but equally players who are first team-ready and again are able to compete whatever division we compete in.
‘I’m very confident about the future, and I look at Coventry and Luton last season contesting the playoff final. They weren’t the richest clubs in the division by any means.
‘It does show you can get up there and compete with the big boys, the parachute payments.
‘Ipswich, of course, have enjoyed success this season having come up from League One. So we’re very optimistic and bullish about the future.’