We keep hearing about budgets in football. From post-match interviews to fan forums, from boardrooms to social media, it’s one of the game’s most polarising topics.
Some believe it’s a crucial metric for determining success. Others are less convinced, arguing that regardless of what’s spent, more can always be achieved. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between.
While official wage bills aren’t publicly disclosed, credible figures do circulate through reliable fan forums, industry leaks, and club insiders. Using these sources, it’s possible to assemble a working budget table—and the findings are illuminating.
The Budget Table
| Club | Estimated SCMP Outlay | Outlay Position | Difference | Points | Cost Per Point (CPP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | £17,500,000.00 | 1 | 0 | 111 | £157,657.66 |
| Wrexham | £13,800,000.00 | 2 | 0 | 92 | £150,000.00 |
| Stockport | £7,600,000.00 | 6 | 3 | 87 | £87,356.32 |
| Charlton | £8,100,000.00 | 5 | 1 | 85 | £95,294.12 |
| Wycombe | £7,600,000.00 | 7 | 2 | 84 | £90,476.19 |
| Leyton Orient | £5,300,000.00 | 14 | 8 | 78 | £67,948.72 |
| Reading | £6,000,000.00 | 11 | 4 | 75 | £80,000.00 |
| Bolton | £9,800,000.00 | 4 | -4 | 68 | £144,117.65 |
| Blackpool | £6,800,000.00 | 9 | 0 | 67 | £101,492.54 |
| Huddersfield | £11,000,000.00 | 3 | -7 | 64 | £171,875.00 |
| Lincoln City | £4,800,000.00 | 17 | 6 | 61 | £78,688.52 |
| Barnsley | £6,800,000.00 | 8 | -4 | 61 | £111,475.41 |
| Rotherham | £6,700,000.00 | 10 | -3 | 59 | £113,559.32 |
| Stevenage | £4,100,000.00 | 19 | 5 | 57 | £71,929.82 |
| Wigan | £6,200,000.00 | 12 | -3 | 56 | £110,714.29 |
| Exeter City | £3,800,000.00 | 22 | 6 | 56 | £67,857.14 |
| Mansfield Town | £5,200,000.00 | 15 | -2 | 54 | £96,296.30 |
| Peterborough United | £4,900,000.00 | 16 | -2 | 51 | £96,078.43 |
| Northampton | £4,100,000.00 | 21 | 2 | 51 | £80,392.16 |
| Burton Albion | £4,700,000.00 | 18 | -2 | 47 | £100,000.00 |
| Crawley | £3,300,000.00 | 23 | 2 | 46 | £71,739.13 |
| Bristol Rovers | £5,800,000.00 | 13 | -9 | 43 | £134,883.72 |
| Cambridge | £4,100,000.00 | 20 | -3 | 38 | £107,894.74 |
| Shrewsbury | £2,700,000.00 | 24 | 0 | 33 | £81,818.18 |
At the top, Birmingham City led the way with an estimated wage bill of £16 million, plus around £1.5 million allocated to their academy. They were followed by Wrexham (£13.8m), Huddersfield (£11m), Bolton (£9.8m), and Charlton (£8.1m).
Meanwhile, the bottom end of the table tells a very different story. Shrewsbury Town (£2.7m), Crawley Town (£3.3m), Exeter City (£3.8m), and a trio of clubs—Northampton, Cambridge, and Stevenage—on approximately £4.1 million were among the lowest spenders.
The range is stark. The best-funded clubs outspent the lowest-funded by more than fivefold, and it’s little surprise that teams near the top of this table occupied the promotion places.
Who Overachieved—and Who Fell Short?
Looking beyond pure budget to relative performance gives us a clearer picture of managerial success. Comparing each club’s league position to their estimated budget position reveals who punched above their weight—and who failed to live up to expectations.
Richie Wellens is arguably the standout name. His Leyton Orient side, operating with the 14th-highest budget in the league, finished 6th—an overperformance of +8. It was a season that showed what can be achieved with strong tactical organisation and squad unity.
Michael Skubala (Lincoln City) and Gary Caldwell (Exeter City) also impressed, each overperforming by six positions, while Alex Revell (Stevenage) delivered a +5. Rounding out the top five were Noel Hunt and Ruben Selles, who collectively helped Reading overachieve by four league places.
Conversely, Bristol Rovers recorded the most significant underperformance in the division, finishing 11 places below their estimated budget ranking. Huddersfield Town also disappointed, with a gap of -7 between spend and finish, while Barnsley, Bolton, Wigan and Cambridge all fell short to varying degrees.
In fairness to some of those clubs, expectations must be tempered by context. Cambridge, for instance, had one of the smallest budgets in the league—so while they underperformed, they were still battling with limited resources. But for Huddersfield, who operated with a top-three budget, the return was underwhelming at best.
Cost Per Point: Who Got Value?
A deeper layer of analysis is cost per point—a calculation that divides estimated wage bills by final point totals to assess financial efficiency. While not perfect, it does offer a sense of which managers and squads got the most for their money.
Gary Caldwell topped this list, with an estimated cost of just £67,857 per point at Exeter. Richie Wellens was close behind at £67,949. Rob Elliott and Scott Lindsay, guiding Crawley Town to survival, came in at around £71,000 per point, with Stevenage’s Revell not far behind.
Birmingham and Wrexham, despite their success, featured towards the bottom of this metric—each spending over £150,000 per point, while Huddersfield’s figure reached an eye-watering £171,875.
Leyton Orient again stand out for efficiency, with a variance of +17 between their position in the cost-per-point table and their actual league finish. Stockport (+13) and Reading (+12) also showed strong value, while Bristol Rovers (-17), Cambridge (-14), and Burton Albion (-9) were among the least efficient.
Final Thoughts
So, does budget matter? In short—yes. The clubs at the top of the spending table mostly performed as expected, and it’s no coincidence that the promotion places were occupied by big spenders. But it’s also clear that good management, recruitment, and continuity can allow less wealthy clubs to thrive.
Leyton Orient, Exeter City, Lincoln City and Stevenage demonstrated that well-run clubs can compete above their weight. Meanwhile, for others—Huddersfield, Bolton, Bristol Rovers—questions will inevitably be asked about value for money.
Budget isn’t the only metric that matters, but it remains one of the clearest indicators of potential success. Ignore it at your peril.
