GM football fans. Route One here, we’re like bananas - once you peel us open, you just can’t stop.

Btw… FA Cup 3rd Round Replay results are at the bottom.

Today’s briefing is a ~3.7 min read:

1. The wage cap 💰

2. Brentford boosted by Toney's return 🐝

3. Graph of the day: biggest underperformers in the league 📊

Morning Brief 🗞️

THE WAGE CAP 💰

It’s been exactly 63 years since the maximum wage was abolished in English football. 

The wage cap meant the most a footballer could be paid was £20 a week - and only £17 during the summer.

Ex-Liverpool player John Aldridge found the Reds’ 1960 wage bill…

Fulham’s Johnny Haynes was the first footballer to reach £100 a week. 

That’s around £2,311 a week in today’s money. A very good wage - but nothing on what footballers currently demand.

Players turning up to training in a Vauxhall Astra doesn’t quite have the same appeal, does it?

There’s no sign of wages slowing down…

… according to Deloitte’s Annual 2023 Football Report which chronicles the 2021/22 campaign.

Across the board, total wage costs increased for the third consecutive year, rising 6% to - uh - £3.6 billion… 

Other interesting findings:

• Despite wages going up, the league’s wages/revenue ratio fell by 4%.

• Manchester City’s wage cost didn’t rise, but Liverpool (16%) and Manchester United (26%) were the highest risers.

• Clubs’ operating costs soared - an increase of £395m - which could squeeze wages in future.

Any promising sign? Yes, the relationship between league position and wage cost ranking was weaker in 2021/22 than in 2020/21. 

BRENTFORD BOOST 🐝

The Bees will be looking forward to Brentford’s clash against Nottingham Forest this Saturday.

Their main man - Ivan Toney - is back in action after serving an 8-month ban for breaching betting rules.

Why should they be excited? Well, Toney…

• … was the third-highest scorer in last season’s Premier League. (!!)

• … scored 20 goals and assisted 4 in 33 appearances.

• … has a near-perfect penalty record (with only one miss in 2018).

GRAPH OF THE DAY: UNDER- AND OVER-PERFORMERS📊

🎵 Money, Money, Money… Must Be Funny 🎵

Many of the ‘top 6’ clubs are in the bottom 10 for expected goal differential, meaning they’re underperforming. There’s one core driver: a draught of goal-scoring strikers.

It’s costing them big time!

But, you know what else is going to cost them big time? The hefty price tag that clubs and agents demand for a striker whose finishing boots are firming laced. FFP is the bottleneck for these big moves, but it’s only a matter of time before clubs get desperate.

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Soccer AM’s crossbar challenge was a Saturday morning staple. It’s safe to say that Mido’s attempt at hitting the crossbar will go down as the worst of the lot.

Adidas is bringing back the old-school football adverts, this time featuring Jude Bellingham. We think they’ve done a good job of promoting their new boots with this one.

A strange turn of events. When Jose Mourinho substituted Willian for Kevin De Bruyne in the 85th minute, Mo Salah scored for Basel almost immediately. Who would’ve thought they would become two of the Premier League’s greats?

Former Fulham player Aboubakar Kamara was labelled as ‘AK-47’ in Mauritiana’s line-up for an AFCON game. It caused a stir on social media but apparently, it’s just his nickname for the national team.

MEME 😆