Birmingham City had a quiet transfer deadline day, with just Alex Pritchard joining and three young players leaving. To be sure, the biggest accomplishments of the window for some Blues supporters were making sure Jay Stansfield and Jordan James signed contracts that would keep them with the team through the summer.
The Blues’ transfer window served as a microcosm of the English game overall, if you will.
Due to the Premier League’s recent crackdown on teams who violate thresholds, profit and sustainability regulations have gained more attention. As a result, many clubs have held off on making changes for fear of running into problems of their own.
I have previously written about the challenges the Blues have this season in adhering to sustainability and profit guidelines.
Although the Blues’ signing of a naming rights agreement will allay some concerns, players still had to leave before they could enter.
The P&S laws are just the tip of the iceberg, though, much as in the Premier League.
I’ve written this essay to go further into some of the problems the club was facing in the previous window and to discuss how this summer will bring about positive changes.
Sustainability and Profit Are Rules
Nobody should be surprised that the Profit and Sustainability Rules are a problem for the Blues this year.
Those who regularly visit this website will recall that I stated in May of last year that the losses from the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons, which totaled about £25 million apiece, would make this season difficult.
The way the club has approached the P&S standards has changed dramatically since Knighthead took charge, as I have stated time and time again this season.
Instead than continuously reducing expenses to stay under the constraints, Knighthead has made every effort to increase revenue.
I think the club’s ability to turn down lowball offers for Jordan James was mostly made possible by the naming rights agreement.
In fact, I’ll even go so far as to express my gratitude to the BTS aficionados on Twitter, who appear to be working tirelessly to make sure the Blues meet their social media bonus goals twice as quickly.
The £3 million that Blues might potentially make from that portion of the agreement will go a long way toward guaranteeing that the team won’t be in financial difficulties at season’s end.
The fact that the team is likely nearer the straight and narrow than they were at the beginning of the month is encouraging, but it doesn’t mean the Blues should go crazy in the transfer market.
Even though I can see why supporters would want the Blues to play as near to the line as possible, it’s crucial that there be some leeway to account for situations that we may not have anticipated.
But the P&S regulations weren’t the only thing preventing the Blues from recruiting players after Alex Pritchard.
Squad Guidelines
It’s difficult for me to believe that the Blues first team roster is a little bit fat, yet it might be because of how many injuries the team has had this season.
On transfer deadline day, though, Blues’ main issue was still the size of their first team roster as they considered their options for transfers.
The Blues are allowed to name up to 25 players over 21 in their first team roster according to championship rules. All 25-man roster players, regardless of age, must be listed, including those on loan at Blues.
I’ve been keeping track of Blues roster statistics for a while, and one of the things I look at is the number of players who are older than 21.
Blues reached their player cap when Alex Pritchard signed, and I believe this was the main factor that caused the management to emphasize that players had to depart if more were to be added.