CEO talks about the recent transfer window and player investment
Shrewsbury Town Chief Executive, Brian Caldwell, has admitted that the club have invested this summer, but that they continue to live within their means.
Town spent transfer fees on around half-a-dozen players this summer including the likes of Jon Nolan, Stefan Payne and Omar Beckles.
“We have spent quite a lot on transfer fees this year”, Caldwell told ShrewsWeb.
“I think we wanted to show Paul that we 100% back him. The Chairman and I meet Paul very regularly and obviously spoke more during that period when we were spending the transfer fees.
“I think sometimes you have to take the view that spending a bit of money on a player is a good thing and I think most people would say that so far they have been value for money.
“Paul has a budget and he works to that budget, but we worked closely with him to give him what we can and we wanted to back him at the same time.”
Although transfer spending may have risen, Town’s have actually managed to save quite a bit of money in the last 18 months, something Caldwell is pleased about.
“In terms of the budget, I’ve managed to save quite a bit of money since I’ve been here because we were overspending”, admitted Brian.
“I think a football club always has to live within its means. I believe that, the Chairman believes that and we will only spend what we’ve got.
“When I came here there was certainly a lot of players – expensive players – that weren’t playing and were on good money, and I think over the last year and a half we’ve not only improved the team, but spent the money better.”
Brian also revealed that the club invested heavily in bringing Paul Hurst and Chris Doig to the club.
“When the Chairman and I identified Paul as the one we wanted to bring to the club, I don’t think we ever came out with how much compensation we had to pay Grimsby to prise Paul and Chris away from them”, said Caldwell.
“It took a considerable investment from the football club to prise Paul away from Grimsby, who at the end of the day wanted to keep hold of their Manager and Assistant Manager. We felt at the time it was the right investment and so far so good.”