Cost Control to Reducing Procrastination
The Economist and The Athletic are two digital publications I try to read daily. Each week, I'll share two articles that caught my attention; one from each publication.
This week: Premier League from PSR to SCR and reducing procrastination
Explaining the new squad cost ratio rules
Although announced late last year, the new squad cost ratio (SCR) rules take effect from the 26-27 season, replacing the profitability and sustainability rules (PSR). PSR covered a rolling three-year period and limited clubs to £105m in losses. SCR instead links specific club costs (player and manager wages, agent fees and transfer amortisation) to revenue, including net profit/loss from transfer dealings (averaged over the previous three seasons).
SCR was adopted in part to align EPL clubs with the amended UEFA SCR. The key difference is that UEFA sets its cost limit at 70% of total revenue, whereas the EPL allows greater flexibility with an 85% limit. EPL clubs competing in UEFA competitions must nonetheless adhere to the stricter 70% figure.
The following thresholds and sanctions apply where a club exceeds the 85% limit:
Up to 115% (a 30% allowance above the 85% threshold): no sporting sanction, though a financial sanction applies for breaches from the 27/28 season onwards.
Above 115% (the "Red Threshold"): a points deduction is imposed in the season of the breach, described by the EPL as "a fixed six-point deduction, which increases by one point for every £6.5m spent over the Red Threshold".
The EPL's explainer note also clarifies how the 30% allowance reduces after breaching the 85% threshold:
“Where a club breaches 85%..., its 30% allowance is decreased for the following season by the same percentage as the breach, until the 30% allowance is exhausted. For example, should a club’s SCR for season 1 be 100%, in season 2 its allowance will be 15% and its Red Threshold will be 100%. If the club’s SCR for season 2 was 101%, it would have exhausted its allowance and breach the Red Threshold, thereby becoming subject to sporting sanctions.” A club can rebuild its 30% allowance by falling below the 85% threshold, though by no more than 10% in any single season. Clear? Good.
Putting things off, delay and making excuses to avoid doing something resonates deeply. The voice that tells you to do the easier thing, the course of least resistance is something I’ve written about in Build The Invisible. In one of my other blogs I talk about this Naval Ravikant podcast, where he quotes his personal trainer’s mantra: “Tough choice, easy life. Easy choice, tough life.”
Hard decisions are liberating. I found it activated extra levels of self-control whilst making conscious decisions on how to act, since regulating yourself is otherwise difficult. Just as the Economist article articulates, social media is so enticing as it distracts people from their underlying state. “Scrolling often delays bedtime too. Lack of sleep impedes executive function, leading to more failures of self-regulation.” The distraction loop becomes self-fulfilling. Doing the harder thing is hassle and friction. Counterintuitively, that’s why it’s so useful.