Shilen Patel shares PSR ‘concern’ as West Brom owner proposes new model
Shilen Patel has proven himself to be a popular figure at West Brom since his takeover at the Black Country club in February 2024.
The West Brom owner has helped to bring stability to the Championship outfit, something that had disappeared under the previous majority shareholder, Lai Guochuan.
Over the summer, Patel has overseen multiple popular changes, including safe standing being introduced at The Hawthorns.
West Brom also planted more hawthorn trees outside of stadium, much to the delight of supporters.
Now, the West Brom owner is pushing for changes outside of the club, with PSR continuing to be a controversial entity in English football.
Shilen Patel wants to see PSR replaced
PSR has no doubt forced West Brom to think smartly about their transfers throughout the summer.
This can be seen with the sale of Torbjorn Heggem to Bologna.
While it will be gutting for many fans to see the defender depart, the positive side is that it gives the Baggies more wiggle room within the Profit and Sustainability Rules, allowing them to dip back into the market in the closing weeks of the window.
However, PSR is often criticised, especially in the Premier League, with the traditional ‘big six’ clubs being able to outspend their other sides despite their recent hardships.
Now, Patel has called on these rules to be changed, citing his “concern” over the lack of parity that PSR has begun to cause.
- The EFL’s PSR rules limit the losses clubs can incur over a three-year period
- Championship clubs can incur losses of up to £39 million over a rolling three-year period, with this limit increased by £22 million for each season they were in the Premier League during that period
- Teams in League One and League Two adhere to the SCMP system, which set limits on the percentage of revenue that can be spent on player wages
He told The Price of Football Podcast on 15 August: “First and foremost, I find it odd that as you move through the tiers, the rules are different. At a minimum, there should be some consistency.
“Moving from PNF to at least a squad cost ratio system, and more broadly, there is long conversations about things that could work like a luxury tax.
“There is a way to balance what the highest revenue clubs want to do with something that keeps the league interesting, which I am concerned is something that is going away if you look at the last season in the Premier League.
“You knew who was going to win the league, you knew who was going to be relegated, there were just little bits in the middle to be worked out.
“Whereas in the Championship, with all the parity it has, with two weekends left to go, everyone in the league was in a position to either make the playoffs or be relegated.
“That speaks to the type of balance that you want, and even moving between tiers, you want to see clubs faring differently, and for there to be a little more parity.”
- Read more: Shilen Patel shares personal West Brom highlight after who he got to meet at The Hawthorns
West Brom will struggle to be an established Premier League side with PSR
Given the restrictions PSR imposes, it will be a struggle for West Brom to ever establish themselves in the Premier League again.
Promoted sides have to spend millions upon promotion to even compete in the division, yet no one has managed to survive in the last two campaigns.
Nottingham Forest were the last side to survive promotion and only managed to achieve this by breaching PSR.
Therefore, with the quality gap getting bigger and bigger between the top two tiers, PSR has to be reformed or abolished if the Baggies are to become established in the Premier League once more.
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