It may have not have been the best of weeks so far on the pitch for Sheffield Wednesday but the club released figures yesterday on its official website, www.swfc.co.uk that show good signs of development in relation to the clubs business plan.
As most Owls fans will know, the ambitious target of 16,500 season ticket sales was not reached but figures of around 14,000 allied with good match-day sales have seen the club achieve their target of just under 24,500 average attendance in home league fixtures to date.
Significant improvements have been made in the fields of match-day revenue and merchandise sales with both up by around 40% compared with the same period last year, justifying the clubs decision to overhaul match-day catering and refreshments. The partnerships with Puma and The Children’s Hospital Sheffield have also proved very popular.
This has enabled the club to increase the footballing budget available to Brian Laws and although the Owls are still in the bottom half of the Championship in terms of total wages paid this is not always a precise indicator of league performance.
Burnley achieved promotion via the play-offs last season with a budget not significantly bigger than what the Owls currently have and both Preston and Bristol City have maintained serious promotion challenges for two seasons on a similar budget. At the other end of the scale Charlton were relegated last season with a wage bill greater than most other clubs in the division.
A great deal can be achieved through hard work, team spirit and solid tactics if there is the base of a sound playing squad to build on.