Premier League clubs could face bankruptcy in the future if they do not modify their spending The picture is complex and, although there was evidence of restraint, it remains only relative. Yes, there was a 70 per cent drop in Premier League spending compared to last year but it was the £225 million outlay in 2011 (and not the £68 million this January) which represented the greater anomaly. Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton and, most notably, Queens Park Rangers have still all spent significantly in the past month.It is undeniable, though, that a feature of the January transfer window was the absence of what might be described as a "marquee" signing. One crucial factor was simply the unavailability of top players. Manchester United and Arsenal both had the budgets to spend big but their long-term targets were not available. It was for this reason they turned to former players in Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry. "Exceptional players were not available," said Birch. What would Manchester City have done if they were offered Lionel Messi for £150 million? You can't say they would not have bought him. The experience of last January is also likely to have weighed heavily on the minds of clubs. Fernando Torres, Andy Carroll, Darren Bent and David Luiz have offered limited value for combined fees of around £150 million and interestingly this year Premier League clubs committed a high proportion of expenditure (25 per cent) on talent from the Football League. And so what of Uefa and the impact of FFP? The clubs are now very aware. Manchester City and Chelsea have already joined Tottenham and Manchester United in a trial test phase using FFP software to monitor their costs, but most in football remain cautious. "It is 2018 before you literally have to break even," said Birch. Uefa are certainly talking a strong game but there is a long way to go. Yet the call for football to grasp financial reality is becoming deafening. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger yesterday described overall losses in 2010 among European clubs of £1.34 billion as "absolutely amazing."He added: "That means tomorrow, if you had to stop your activity, half of Europe would be bankrupt." The Uefa general secretary, Gianni Infantino, sounded a similar warning last week. "This is the last wake-up call," he said. This red trend has to be inverted very, very quickly if we want to save European football.