West Brom: Why the state of football finances show West Brom got it right
Jan 23 2010 By Chris Lepkowski
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JANUARY is traditionally a quiet time at Albion HQ. Little money, if any, being spent. Few players in or out.
Jeremy Peace may be mocked for his prudency but one look across the country tells a different story.
Debts approaching £800 million are prompting panic at Manchester United – talk of Old Trafford being sold off, Wayne Rooney leaving and Sir Alex Ferguson being asked to step down in ‘protest’ against the Glazers have already started.
And then there’s Portsmouth. Bottom of the League, struggling to sustain a wage bill which once topped £80 million, despite a modest Fratton Park capacity.
Their players have not been paid for three consecutive months, media-rights monies have been relocated to creditors and they are now subject to a winding up order – with Sol Campbell also threatening to sue them for unpaid bonuses.
Jerome Thomas was a lucky one. His season-long back injury must have seemed like the end of the world to him last year, but at least he got away.
Now at Albion, Thomas admits that he has sympathy for his old club – and, more so, appreciative to be at a club that’s as financially stable as Albion.
“It’s sad to see,” he said. “I still speak to David James, who is still there, but there has been a mass exodus of players from when I was there.
“Jermaine Defoe, Glen Johnson, Peter Crouch, Sean Davis, Sol Campbell, Djimi Traore have all moved on.
“It’s horrible to see but I’m sure they’ll get themselves out of it. They will just have to concentrate on what’s happening on the pitch and keep their minds off what’s going on in the background.
“They have no control over that. I know it’s hard when it’s in the media and it’s affecting their wages but they have to just try to get on with and knuckle down on the pitch.
“It makes you appreciate how well things are organised here and how secure we are but I’m sure things can change overnight at most clubs.
“The amount of money being spent nowadays and the recession is affecting anyone.”
Follow live updates from West Brom v Newcastle with Chris Lepkowski from 2.30pm today
