Could It All Have Been Different If It Wasn’t For These Two People?

Following Aston Villa is a lot like going for a walk in the park. You expect to have an enjoyable time. Time with a friend or partner. All in for a good time. But halfway out, the clouds roll in and it starts to rain. (Maybe that’s OK as most of you live in the Midlands – you’re used to it :)).

Cursing, you turn for home only to step in some dog’s doo. Thoroughly ticked off, you reach into your pocket for your plastic mac and you find a 20 pound note hidden there for months. That is Villa’s story at the moment. Drab, grey, and uninspiring with just enough of a sprinkle of wonder to really mess with your head.

Is all this grief completely the fault of one man? Or two or three? Or is it a combination of circumstance and poor choices by the Premier League that has put a twist into Villa’s existence? What would have happened if Sheik Mansour, Roman Abramovich and their ilk hadn’t spilled hundreds of millions into football? What if they held a steadier hand and didn’t sack people on a whim? I don’t think wages would have spun out of control, nor do I think fans of all the other teams would have unreal expectations of their club due to the actions of a few. A weak hand by the league has created an unmitigated mess.

The Premier League isn’t alone in this hell of an existence. It’s happening in Europe as well. All this trouble has spawned Financial Fair Play to try and put some order in place for the leagues. It appears to me that the goal is for teams to spend on wages up to approximately 65% of their income and not to run a deficit to excess. Bailing out of trouble by wealthy owners is hopefully coming to an end. For example, Manchester City ran a 240 million pound deficit give or take. Manchester United about 130. And Liverpool around 50. Debt that can be written off easily by wealth.

Now there is a lawsuit being laid against the Football League from Championship League clubs. Clubs that have in the recent past been bought by wealthy foreigners. They feel wronged by FFP and the rules that have been put in place regarding finances. They feel they are being cheated out of a place in the Premier League due to restricted spending and by limiting their deficit that they can carry. I’m sure that Manchester City will be cited in their lawsuit.

Just suppose that these teams win their lawsuit and are allowed to spend and run deficits in the near future? What does it mean to Aston Villa or, for that matter, all the clubs who run a similar financial plan? Also, what does it mean to these clubs, Villa included, who don’t have a giant network of retail sales throughout the world? Retail sales that would increase the ability of such clubs to spend to a greater degree? I can see complaining about an unfair playing field regardless of FFP’s efforts to reign in spending, wages and running a deficit.

There are a number of teams that don’t reside in the Premier League that have wealthy owners. One in particular is Derby County. Funded by a number of owners, one stands out in my mind. Brett Wilson, a Canadian worth approximately $1,500 million. The possibility of Derby having serious financial clout is real. Their stadium holds 33,000+. Derby have the where with all to do well in the Premier League if they get there. Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Leicester and, one league lower, Sheffield United have wealthy owners with the Premiership in mind.

So what does this all have to do with Villa apart from possible competitors for Midland supremacy? A lot really. The possibility of teams coming up with money is very real. If they can work around FFP, they will take to task every team that’s run on a meagre budget. Hull City have done it albeit with a large deficit. The reality is that they are in the Premier League and, most likely, a club with less financial clout has vacated for this to happen. Hull aren’t going to relinquish their spot easily.

Watch out Villa, all your book balancing and working within financial means just might come up snake eyes before (if it happens) FFP becomes a force. If that happens, how hard is that going to hit?

My answer to the above is a salary cap with an upper and lower spending limit with perhaps one or two players bought and paid outside of the cap. It’s the only way the league can be fair. It’s the only way relegation and promotion can be fair. We can’t worry how much an owner is worth, but we should worry how much an owner is willing to spend whether it’s over the top or not enough.