Many thanks to the chaps at SportingIntelligence.com, who kindly sent me a free copy of their annual report into wages at professional sports teams. They continue, to my surprise and delight, to consider the Scottish League to be worth reporting with the likes of the top leagues in England, Germany, Spain and Italy. Curiously, we are in the survey, but the French league isn't!
Can everyone please continue to keep it secret from them that our league is a bit pish, so that they fit us into the report next year too? Cheers.
How accurate is their data? I don't have specifics, but this report has been heavily publicized, so I imagine they know what they're talking about.
So here's a crappy little table showing the average first team wage of every SPL club in 2012-13, and how they compare to previous seasons.
| Average first team player weekly wage (£) | |||
| 2012/13 | 2011/12 | 2010/11 | |
| Celtic | 22103 | 21253 | 20457 |
| Hearts | 3206 | 5305 | 6310 |
| Aberdeen | 3033 | 2906 | 3002 |
| Hibernian | 2565 | 2804 | 3322 |
| Dundee United | 2125 | 2503 | 2513 |
| Kilmarnock | 1897 | 2274 | 2404 |
| St. Johnstone | 1533 | 1920 | 1960 |
| Motherwell | 1523 | 2296 | 2319 |
| St. Mirren | 1520 | 2007 | 2046 |
| Inverness CT | 1023 | 954 | 1122 |
| Dundee | 906 | ||
| Ross County | 748 |
Here are a few thoughts...
Celtic are falling behind Europe's big hitters
Celtic are now paying less to their average first team player than every single English Premier League side; in fact, they're well behind even mid-table clubs; a Newcastle player will on average make half a million a year more than a Celtic player. It makes their Champions League run all the more impressive.
Celtic are now paying less to their average first team player than every single English Premier League side; in fact, they're well behind even mid-table clubs; a Newcastle player will on average make half a million a year more than a Celtic player. It makes their Champions League run all the more impressive.
The domestic imbalance is staggering
There does appear to be a league even more imbalanced than ours - the Chinese Super League! In the CSL, the richest club's players make 33 times more than the poorest club's players. In the Scottish top flight, the ratio was merely 29.7 to 1. If you want a soundbite, then here it is: Celtic's wage bill is greater than that of every other top flight club put together.
There does appear to be a league even more imbalanced than ours - the Chinese Super League! In the CSL, the richest club's players make 33 times more than the poorest club's players. In the Scottish top flight, the ratio was merely 29.7 to 1. If you want a soundbite, then here it is: Celtic's wage bill is greater than that of every other top flight club put together.
For comparison, in the English Premier League, that ratio is 4.6 to 1, whilst in La Liga, where Barcelona and Real Madrid are miles ahead of the rest, the ratio is 13 to 1.
Who got good value for their buck?
I expected Ross County to be eighth or ninth in the list - it came as a shock that they paid their players less than anyone else. In fact, their average wage was less than half of that at St. Mirren or Kilmarnock, and less than 30% of Hibernian's. The Edinburgh clubs come across as the basket cases here - Hearts' bill will of course be a hell of a lot smaller this season. Don't forget as well that Aberdeen finished in the bottom six last time out, despite paying far more than most of the sides around them. Maybe, at last, Derek McInnes has them where they should be.
I expected Ross County to be eighth or ninth in the list - it came as a shock that they paid their players less than anyone else. In fact, their average wage was less than half of that at St. Mirren or Kilmarnock, and less than 30% of Hibernian's. The Edinburgh clubs come across as the basket cases here - Hearts' bill will of course be a hell of a lot smaller this season. Don't forget as well that Aberdeen finished in the bottom six last time out, despite paying far more than most of the sides around them. Maybe, at last, Derek McInnes has them where they should be.
What will have changed in 2013-14?
We know Hearts will have dropped well down the list. I'd be surprised if Partick Thistle weren't in the bottom three. Celtic apart, I'd imagine that the trend of gradual reduction in wages will have continued.
We know Hearts will have dropped well down the list. I'd be surprised if Partick Thistle weren't in the bottom three. Celtic apart, I'd imagine that the trend of gradual reduction in wages will have continued.
Where would Rangers be on this list?
They'd definitely be second, but how far behind Celtic and how far ahead of the rest? From their 2012-13 accounts, and from comparing them to those of other clubs, I would take an educated guess that their average first team player wage was a little more than £7,000/week. Though of course we know Lee McCulloch and Neil Alexander were earning far more than that!
They'd definitely be second, but how far behind Celtic and how far ahead of the rest? From their 2012-13 accounts, and from comparing them to those of other clubs, I would take an educated guess that their average first team player wage was a little more than £7,000/week. Though of course we know Lee McCulloch and Neil Alexander were earning far more than that!
L.
3 comments:
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I'd have thought the Greek league would be as bad, if not worse, than the SPL. Olympiakos have won more league titles than all the other clubs combined.
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