2021-22 Season Recap -
Preseason: Manager and Team Status, Yearly Budgets, Board and Media Expectations
My stats continue to edge up, with my reputation now up to "Decent" and a solid spike to my "Managing Finances" rating after handling our woeful budgets this year. One note about my contract - in August, I'd be given another one year extension and a small raise, with my salary moving up to £1800 per week (£93,600 per annum).
We see some excellent progression here with our club as a whole - our estimated value more than triples to ~£2.7 million but we don't really gain any ground in that area versus our peers, as we actually fall to 88th in England (out of the 160 major clubs). Our finances are now considered "Okay" and we put through modest increases to our ticket packages this season as well. Season ticket holders increase by around 50%, from 698 to 1047, a wonderful bump and one that hopefully indicates that we are playing an attractive brand of football now. You'll also notice a nice, healthy bump to our Scouting budget and that allows me to send our scouts to visit Championship clubs to look for some additional talent.
Not much change here, although we see slight regression in our Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment ratings. That's very disappointing but likely related to our financial situation.
Media predictions vary: at the beginning of the season, they list us at 17th (out of 24 teams), which is pretty damned insulting considering our 6th place finish last year. However, that's modified somewhat to 12th as we approached the beginning of the league season - most of my transfer/loan moves were done in mid-July so I'm guessing the media predictions evolved with player signings during the summer transfer window.
My board expect a solid, mid-table resting spot - I contemplate setting the bar higher but that usually isn't smart. It's best to undersell on expecations unless you really need the extra money, which I don't at this point. Personally, I'm looking to finish in the top two in order to lock in automatic promotion.
Here is the budget that the board provides based on their expectations of a mid-table finish:
2021/22 TRANSFER BUDGET - £23,400 (Last year: £0)
2021/22 WAGE BUDGET - £29,609/week (Last year: £21,868/week)
We can definitely work with these figures. I plan on being smart with talent acquisition anyway, with most of my work being done in the free transfer or loan markets.