AnAstonVillafan

I hate Birmingham City more than most. I'd wet myself laughing if they went down. But are they not allowed to try to be ambitious ? To be positive and hope for better things ? I don't begrudge them that. To me the proposal for a new stadium is a load of nonsense. Something isn't adding up. I don't understand why they'd build a 55 to 60k capacity ground with training facilities when they get average 20k crowds in the 29.5k capacity available currently. They own TWO training grounds but want to build another in the city. The fans are already talking about a Man City style campus, NFL games, concerts and Premier League football. If they don't pull their fingers out they will be in League One next season. I also would love the the details on this alleged revenue increase. They have spent on infrastructure in the last 9 months but where is that turnover coming from ?

Don't judge all Villa fans, or the club itself on the rantings of one guy on Twitter who is wrong. There is some merit to what Purlsow is saying. FFP protects the top six and stops upwardly mobile from upsetting the order. FFP shouldn't force clubs to sell their homegrown talent unless its a business/footballing decision.

Because at the moment its holding back ambitious clubs and sustaining a hegemony which means only the Sky Six clubs can afford to overhaul their squads. There is a trap-door effect where Chelsea and Man City found vast foreign investment and were able to advance themselves from average outfits to world superpowers, and now they have pulled up the drawbridge behind them. I believe the limit amounts need to be increased slightly in line with inflation but the punishments harsher, clearer and carried out in season. Sometimes and club has to spend money to move forward, not just on players but on infrastructure, facilities, stadiums, etc. Short term loss long term gains. FFP isnt about football, its about turning the football clubs into sustainable business'. If a business can earn an income, and that income generates a profit that its helping the club become more sustainable.

This is the best Villa side I have seen in 28 years. I ain't crying. But not many clubs can pull a £100m player out of their youth academy and sell him before he reaches his peak just to balance the books. We will spend but we will also coach, drill and improve our players to progress. I reckon FFP will be overhauled soon anyway. Its not fit for purpose.

I'm not sure how a team trying to elevate, move forward a level sells its best players and somehow strengthens by not replacing them. Man City didn't sell Aguero at the peak of his powers to get better. Spurs didnt sell Kane until he broke their scoring record. They got the best out of their top players. Villa are in the top as of four now. We arent going to stay there by selling Douglas Luiz to Arsenal, unless he is adequately replaced. Same goes for Newcastle. How are they going to compete at the sharp end while Chelsea, Arsenal and City simply bring more in. Academy setup ? Villa ? Jesus Christ we have always done that. 14 million on youth developmement to May 2022. 8 millon going in just now at the new inner city academy. It is literally what this football does. Davis, O'Hare, Ramsey, Archer, Chukwuemeka, Grealish all products of the youth setup sold on at profit. The club is trying to increase commerical revenue and sponsorship to close the gap, but its a glass ceiling. FFP is merely stopping the Sky SIx from being challenged.

You hope that we are forced to sell players ? How are Villa or Newcastle, Brighton or West Ham supposed to compete, get to a higher level without strengthening their squads ?

The £30million debt to Randy Lerner was only payable if the club were promoted within three years of relegation.

Our survival did not hinge on that single game.

I actually think the intention of FFP is a good and noble one but it is not enforced correctly. The gap between the PL and EFL is too large. I'm not sure how that can be fixed. Parachute Payments are a good thing but it needs a little tweak. Maybe reduce the figure or reduce the number of years. Villa's recent success in mostly down to an astute, driven, coach. We need to get to a position where The Emery's Klopp's Iraola's and De Zerbi's and McKenna's can do what they do best and improve teams on the training pitch rather than in he transfer market. I'm also fascinated as to how Ipswich, Sunderland, Hull and Coventry seem to progress without Parachute Payments while Watford, Norwich, Stoke and Huddersfield struggle with them although I understand that Huddersfield's old owner paid off loans owed to himself. Man City ? Terrible. But nothing will happen to them, the Abu Dhabi's will not be put in any jeopardy and the Government will see to that.

I have said this to you before, most Villa fans , in fact most fans in the Premier League do not understand FFP or P&S. Most PL lower 14 clubs fans believe it's simply a way of stopping the top six from being challenged by outsiders. I have never thought this personally but I can see why people do. Everton's punishment has brought that into sharp reality for many. Because a lot of fans never considered that it could affect them. Now they simply see City, United, Arsenal and Chelsea turnover players with huge net spends, but when Forest, Villa, West Ham or Everton do the same, some authority has an issue with it. It is seen as anti-competitive and stopping wealthy owners putting money into their clubs. As for Villa fans in general we have demanded transfer activity as a fanbase every year for the whole 36 years I have supported them. We literally shouted for Chairman Doug Ellis to get out of the club if we didn't think he had spent enough money. On Villa fan pages and groups right now fans are arguing with each other about how FFP may or may not affect transfer activity, and most of us have no or limited understanding of the restrictions. Also, after ten years of utter shite, we find ourselves second in the Premier League. Many fans think transfer business is the only way to keep that challenge alive whilst competing in the European stage. I disagree with that thinking, but I am sure that the league is better if Brighton, West Ham, Newcastle or Aston Villa can upset the status quo and disrupt the old order. There is nothing wrong with spending money. Its not a bad thing.

Let it go. All that abuse stuff was a bit silly if you ask me. I just don't care. The important thing was that the Villa got three points. Most Villa fans have got even more pressing matters to concern ourselves with.

The only foundation to our success, Mr Popodopolous is our ownership. We have spent money, yes. You actually need to do that in Premier League to progress. There is nothing wrong with that. Our owners have put in the club a similar amount of money to what Brighton's owner has put into that club. And less than what Arsenal, City, United, West Ham have put into theirs.

Aston Villa did not cheat. Two investigations found no wrong doing. It was good ownership and astute decisions leading to improved footballing performance that got us promoted.

And they think the punishment is overly harsh !!

I hear what you're saying. These owners are taking risks and leveraging in a desparate attempt to reach or return to the PL. There's never an even playing field. If you think its uneven in the Championship, its worse in the Prem. Villa's costs included a contractual payment to a former owner iirc. We did spend far too much especially in 2016 under the previous owners and that in my opinion was reckless. As I said to Mr P we were very fortunate with the change of owners. Without that, or if we had beaten Fulham at Wembley and gone up (which would have been a false dawn) I reckon we would have gone into administration.