Plymouth Argyle 2017/18 budget

MANAGER Derek Adams will have a 'competitive budget' in League One next season, according to Plymouth Argyle chairman James Brent.

The financial planning for 2017/18 has already been completed by the Pilgrims' board of directors so Adams knows exactly what money he has to work with.

Brent explained his comment about a 'competitive budget' was based on figures for League One clubs' payroll for this season.

Argyle will be competing in the third tier of English football for the first time since 2010/11 after Adams led them to promotion in his second season as manager.

Brent told Herald Sport: "When you start a competition you aspire to win. You don't aspire to come second.

"I'm sure Derek will go into next season with that ambition, but that does not mean we are sitting there saying 'If you don't get promoted, you are a failure'.

"Derek will have a competitive budget, but it won't be a budget that buys soft promotion. To get promoted, he will have to outperform his budget.

"I can't speak for Derek but I would imagine he will be expecting to compete well. We share that expectation."

He continued: "We are provided with data for this season that shows us where we would have sat in League One, in terms of budget.

"We know roughly who is going to be in the league (in 2017/18), and who the big spenders have been, so we can adjust for that.

"There is quite a bit of science to it. We work out what the cost per player is at other clubs.

We have been much more scientific this year than we have beforehand. It is quite data driven."

Brent replied 'That is my secret' when asked how much the Argyle budget would rise from this season to 2017/18.

He said: "It is increasing quite a bit, and it is increasing more than the additional revenues that we will receive in League One.

"But we are able to do that because we have built the club on sound foundations.

"This is sustainable competition. This is what Argyle absolutely needs to be about.

"It's not about betting the bank. We have been there as a club, we have done that, we have got the scars from it.

"Each season, for the last five years, we have done better than the previous one.

"By definition we will hit a point – and probably not as winners of the Champions' League – where we can't progress beyond that, but I think we have got a lot further we can go."

Brent has always stated his belief, and desire, that Argyle can regain their Championship status, which they held from 2004 to 2010, on a 'sustainable' basis, but is not setting a time-scale for that.

He said: "Looking at the next chapter, it is absolutely our ambition and expectation that we will get promoted back into Championship.

"The Championship is a really, really tough place to be at the moment.

"The English Football League clubs lost £245 million last season, and the majority of that was lost in the Championship.

"You need to get it right in the Championship but that is why you build sound foundations, which I think we have been doing.

"You then build your success on those sound foundations.

"You don't find you have got a few quid under the sofa and chuck it in, and then get promoted and not know where you are going."

No mention of the million pound plus cup money? will it be another season of argo punching above their weight against teams with four thousand fans?

"Derek will have a competitive budget, but it won't be a budget that buys soft promotion. To get promoted, he will have to outperform his budget."

Say's it all....

Proof of the pudding will be in the eating. I suspect what brent calls a strawberry cheesecake for a competitive budget will in reality be a dogshit pie disguised with whipped cream.

James Brent says it is to be a competitive League One budget does he, bet it is not a top ten budget.

More like a mid-table budget I expect.

They seem cock-a-hoop over the road there.

More corporate mood music from Brent without actually saying anything concrete at all, but then concrete isn't his strongest point.

"Competitive budget" means nothing. In fact I'm sure it is a phrase we have heard before and it turned out to be weasel wordage then. It will in all probability prove the same this time.

That said what can we deduce from this vague statement?

"To be promoted he'll have to out-perform his budget." All that means is that it is not likely to be in the top 2.

That begs the question: who will we be competing against?

Well here's what we know so far...

We'll be not be playing one of Millwall, Bradford, Fleetwood, Scunthorpe with one of them winning the play-off promotion spot.

We'll also be playing Southend, Oxford, Bristol Rovers, Rochdale, Peterborough, MK Dons, Charlton, Wimbledon, Northampton, Walsall, Oldham, Bury, Shrewsbury and Gillingham who stay in Div 1.

Alongside us Pompey and Doncaster are promoted as will be one of Luton, Exeter, Carlisle, Blackpool, Stevenage, Cambridge, Colchester or Wycombe.

Relegated into Div 1 will be Rotherham, Wigan and one of Blackburn, Forest or Birmingham.

So which of them would we expect to out-budget us?

Wigan, Forest and Birmingham for a start (but we'll only be up against one of them) but about the same as Rotherham.

I'd imagine our budget was similar to Doncaster and Luton, worse than Pompey's and better than the other play-off teams.

Then we're probably about the same as Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Southend, Rochdale, Wimbledon, Northampton, Walsall, Oldham, Bury, Shrewsbury and Gillingham but worse than Millwall, Bradford, Oxford, Bristol Rovers, Peterborough, MK Dons and Charlton.

So where does that put us?

Lower budget than:

Wigan
Blackburn or Forest or Birmingham
Pompey
Millwall
Bradford
Oxford
Bristol Rovers
Peterborough
MK Dons
Charlton.

Similar to:

Rotherham
Doncaster
Luton
Fleetwood
Scunthorpe
Southend
Rochdale
Wimbledon
Northampton
Walsall
Oldham
Bury
Shrewsbury
Gillingham

I suspect our budget will be resoundingly mid-table: about 13th. Possibly lower.

So there's our benchmark for next season: halfway.

It's against that position we should be calibrating how successful we are.