Stan Collymore has no doubt Leeds will be unfairly hit after what he’s witnessed happen at Aston Villa
Leeds United have enjoyed a productive transfer window this summer.
The Whites have signed several experienced professionals who look ready to take the Premier League by storm this season.
The likes of Gabriel Gudmundsson, Lucas Perri and Anton Stach looked at home in the top flight during Leeds’ opening match against Everton.
They each found it tougher as Leeds were thrashed 5-0 at Arsenal on Saturday, but many pundits have backed Leeds to thrive in the Premier League this season.
This is despite the PSR rulings that give promoted teams an objective disadvantage.
Stan Collymore says Leeds are disproportionately affected by PSR
Promoted teams can spend less than established Premier League clubs under PSR rules, because the allowed losses are much lower for seasons spent in the Championship.
Losses cannot exceed:
- £39m over a rolling three-year period while in the Championship
- £105m over a rolling three-year period while in the Premier League.
That leaves promoted teams at a significant disadvantage because they are coming out of a period where they have had to severely restrict losses, at least compared to Premier League mainstays.
They also tend to start with inferior squads compared to their league rivals, meaning they’d need to spend more than them to bridge the gap, but this is rarely possible with the current ruling in place.
Speaking about the problem on X, Stan Collymore questioned whether these rules only exist so that the elite clubs of English football cannot be challenged.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, he said he has “no doubt” that “huge clubs” like Leeds are “disproportionately affected” by this because they “could add as much at the very top of English and European football”.
Collymore has spoken regularly about the rather absurd financial regulations, having seen his Aston Villa side hit particularly hard of late.
Leeds need to focus on slowly establishing themselves among England’s elite again
Leeds certainly have ambitions of re-establishing itself as an elite club in England and in Europe, but it’s going to take a while to do it under the current set of financial regulations.
Daniel Farke has been backed by 49ers Enterprises, and the squad looks strong enough to survive in the Premier League on paper.
That will be the first step to becoming a force domestically and overseas. Once Leeds has multiple years of Premier League revenue (and three years of Premier League PSR limits), they can begin to compete with their league rivals on a level playing field.
That’s when Leeds fans will begin to see:
- More expensive signings
- Higher wages
- Higher ambitions
They have to play the long game. In the short term, the club needs to focus on surviving in the top flight and potentially finding alternative sources of revenue that will allow them to compete with the big boys.
Sign up for the MOT Leeds News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Leeds United news sent straight to your phone.