EPL side Southampton Exec Chair Nicola Cortese "has criticised the Premier League's decision to impose wage and spending controls on member clubs," according to Peach & Ziegler of the PA. Saints reported a £0.9M ($1.34M) profit for the last six months" of '12, helped by "the increased income of being promoted to the top flight." That result, and a wage bill that is 59% of turnover, would see Southampton comfortably comply with the new financial regulations, "but Italian banker Cortese insists owners should be allowed to run their clubs as they wish." Cortese: "We believe very strongly that each club should continue to be permitted to run their business - including their pay rolls - as they see fit. This is fundamental to the future integrity of football" (PA, 3/8). The BBC reported that under the new controls, no club will be allowed to make a total loss of more than £105M ($156M) over the next three seasons and "must limit their player wage bills from next season." Clubs whose total wage bill is more than £52M ($77M) will only be allowed to increase their salaries by £4M ($5.9M) per season (BBC, 3/8).
