Express & Star

Wolves and Baggies avoid debt own goal

Wolves and West Bromwich Albion were today revealed to be two of the best-run clubs in the Premier League.

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Wolves and West Bromwich Albion were today revealed to be two of the best-run clubs in the Premier League.

The Molineux club is the only one in the top flight which is not in debt.

Wolves' Black Country rivals Albion are just £10million in the red in a league in which one club — Chelsea — owes £734m.

Champions Manchester United continue to pay a heavy price for their silverware as American owners the Glazers have built up debts of £590m.

Aston Villa owe by far the largest amount in the Midlands at £110m, while second city rivals Birmingham are only £16m in the red.

Today's revelations that clubs recorded huge losses in 2009/10, despite making record income, prompted Wolves owner Steve Morgan to accuse his counterparts of "financial hari-kari".

The overall picture reflects soaring wages for players in the self-acclaimed best league in the world. Collectively the 20 top flight clubs lost £484m last year, with wages making up 68 per cent of turnover at £1.3billion.

The figures relate to last season, when Albion, Blackpool and Newcastle were Championship clubs.

The Wolves wage bill was a healthy 49 per cent of turnover but Albion, in their promotion year, spent 82 per cent on salaries.

Relegation-threatened Blackpool and Wigan were among the worst by this measure, with Blackpool paying more in wages — £13m — than its modest turnover of £9m. Wigan paid £39m in wages on a turnover of £43m.

Manchester City, who have built up a squad of expensively-assembled stars including striker Carlos Tevez who is reportedly on more than £200,000 a week, have a huge wage bill of £133m. The figure was £8m more than the club's turnover for 2009/10.

The debt figures are more alarming as the costs incurred by big-spending benefactors such as City's Sheikh Mansour are not included. He spent a staggering £493m aside from the club's debts of £41m.

Wolves owner Steve Morgan said: "We are trying to manage this club as a proper business and I wish other clubs would do the same. It is financial hari-kari what they are doing."

Despite Wolves being in no debt, Morgan has pledged a £40 million investment to transform Molineux. Work on the £16m first phase of the project, to dismantle the Stan Cullis stand to make way for a two-tier replacement closer to fans, will start on Monday.

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