AnAstonVillafan

What is the problem with our spending ? You do realise that we had to spend ? in 2015 we lost a 20 goal a season striker, and our best midfielder and best defender. We HAD to spend. In 2016 after relegation we lost 14 players. We HAD to spend. Little choice. Even last summer we spent £130m approx in fixed fees, but we were down to 12 first team players (2 of whom were injured). So we had to spend to build up the squad. As for what my fellow Villa fan says, we do have a proud history. We were Premier League for 27 years before relegation and won two trophies in that time. Villa Park ifself is a tribute to that heritage. There is nothing wrong in celebrating that. It is very difficult for a Villa fan to see their local rivals such as Wolves or Leicester develop past them after decades of being top dogs in the area. 11 years ago, we were in the quarter-finals of Europe, beat Ajax, Arsenal and finished comfortably in front of Man City and Spurs. Anyone older than mid 40s remembers major honours. For these people our transition to a yo-yo club is a very bitter pill to swallow and FFP to them is merely a way of keeping the top six at the top. Even I who accepts and understands whats happening to us feels outraged at the current predicament. We've fallen a long way. Imagine if Bristol City fell into League Two while the Gas and Forest Green developed past you or even got into Premier League ?

You say unfinished business, but was selling our stadium illegal ?, (I dont like it). Yes the EFL should have had a standardised method, but thats not our fault. Method of payment ? Seems acceptable to me. In the past we've seen clubs convert loans to equity, write debts off sponsor themselves, etc. Cash flow ? I see no issue here, I know that recently NSWE put money in for working capital. What is your issue with the valuation exactly ? Too high ? Too low ? I cant comment on the method, it may have differed. How do you put a price on a football stadium ? Aston Villa owns Villa Park, and some large plots of land around it. Some of that land was sought after by developers. Some of it was sold off a few years back. I've seen fans of other clubs try to compare the value of VP to to other stadiums saying it was overvalued because of it's age, and some Villa fans say its undervalued due to its historic significance. All conjecture. Many dont consider its design, upgrades, surrounding area, transport links or size. Consider also that less than a mile away there are major building projects in progress to deliver the 2022 Commonweath Games. Could this affect the value of Aston Villa's property assets ? Other things you have mentioned is guess work. I knew about the Dr Xia's promotion payment from when Dr Xia first took over. He has hidden a lot of details and been very unclear about many things. But he was upfront in saying that we would incur losses in an attempt to get promoted. Many opposing fans feel resentment that we brought players in, but we lost a few too. HS2 ? we invested heavily in Bodymoor 14 years ago and i feel the compensation is fair. The way the clubs books are filed has differed every time we've had a chage of ownership. They are very good at hiding debts and wage bills.

I say so. Unless you can present evidence that suggests otherwise. Thats a serious accusation.

We did not cheat https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2020/02/28/financial-results-villa-2019

I am not in denial. FFP is a real concern to me. Our spend in the 2016-17 season was ...well reckless ? But I would have to see evidence of wrongdoing before any action was taken against us. And so far, I dont see any. I would accept if we were charged and convicted and say the club would deserve any penalty. I see only resentment that we brought good/high priced players. You have highlighted the the more high profile arrivals at Aston Villa, but not mentioned where we sold international standard players and had others taken off the wage bill. Transfers were a two-way activity. You pointed out Snodgrass however we were only paying one third of his wages. Bolasie earns a kings ransom at Everton but i'm yet to see proof that we were paying all of his retainer. I'm not convinced. I know many opposing fans wanted to see us lose Grealish and as I said before it nearly did happen, but in the Championship we should not be a selling club. Its a club that's going to aim to get back where it was. And we did blood Green, Hepburn-Murphy & Davis our youth graduates but we cannot fill the team with them. We were promoted relying our 3rd choice Goalkeeper. I respect Bristol, hope you get promoted soon, but I'm here to stick up for my club. If I was satisfied that we had done something wrong I'd be the first one to condemn.

What does that mean ? Don't sign any decent players ? Just give up as a club ? These seems to be resistance any time the club tries to improve or remain competitive. Or simply get some bodies in. We do have to replace players. Its essential.

All based on rumours. Rumoured overspend. Rumours of what the EFL wanted to do ? If you want us so severely punished, you would need evidence. Not hearsay. Everytime Aston Villa buy a player there seems to be opposition to it. (And I am a fan who feels we did overspend in 2015/16 and were extremely fortunate to win promotion last season to seemingly escape some of the consequences)

What would the points deduction actually be for ? May 2020's books wont be published until March 2021. You want us relegated but when ? This season or next ? 20 points is a little harsh.