First off the FFP that applies to the PL is completely and utterly different to the FFP that applies to the Championship. The former to drawn up and governed by UFEA with the PL agreeing to it, the latter is a self imposed Football League matter. So the rules and scope of the two versions of FFP are very different and shouldn't be confused, it's an easy mistake that many people fall into, not least in the UK, sometimes even in our media.
It boils down to adding up your income over the course of 3 years, and limiting the net spend on transfers to less than you've earned in income. Reviewed each year taking the previous 2 into account also. So if for example you want to splash out one year but reign it in the next, you can.
AFCB earns north of 100m per year in income currently. I don't have the 3 years of accounts to hand to tot it all up, but it's substantial income. Using very fag-packet numbers, as long as our transfer fees, player wages, and agent fees don't add to up to some 250-300m, we're ok.
It's worth noting we've posted operating profits in recent years, a 14m operating profit I believe it was last year.
We're certainly spending a lot in recent months and have moved well up the table in transfer fees paid. However our wage bill remains relatively low down the table, due to many of our players being in the younger stages of their careers. As an example, Crystal Palace are struggling to find money for signings currently, but they have a squad of experienced players, multiple of them on 6 figure salaries. That's how they choose to apportion their budget, and that's absolutely fair enough. Different strokes for different shareholders..
Our approach seems to be to put together this group of young players, even if it takes lot of money to get them, and then build them up. As long as we continue to stay up and as long as those young players develop well, it's a sound tactic that in the medium term would give us a squad full of valuable assets. The only danger to us is more of those young players going the way of Jordon Ibe as opposed to the way of Ake or L.Cook or Brooks.