How would they have been gambling? The club still had to play 9 games whether they went for it or not - they weren't going to buy or sell and were not going to lose any revenue they would otherwise have received the only justification for your theory they might have saved money would be in letting Pugh and Hall go but even then only if the pair of them left before the expiry of their contracts and waived the payment of their wages. All other outgoings would have been the same and of course, no income. Anyway don't clubs get a certain amount of money dependent on where they finish ie the higher you finish the more you get. If so it would be interesting to know what the difference is between finishing say 7th and 16th where we may end the season...
So one more game and Pugh would have triggered a years automatic extension... So that was at 12 months at £10,000 a week (0.5 million) and then Hall would not take an extension past end of June without a new contract...and contract he was offered was no doubt not as good as the one he was on. So that did not happen. ...so lets put him on the same wages as Pugh, which I doubt...would have thought it was more! You could say they saved a million at least on those two players. In longer term...no Pugh or Hall allowed blooding of Masterson, Kakay and more game time for Chair, Kane and Shodipo and some for Bettache too