I see it everywhere.
Everywhere you look people have a desire, in fact some might call it a need, to own “things”. They look into windows, seeing the latest gadget, the latest clothing, the latest “must have”, and suddenly this desire is transfixed in their mind. From that moment on, their lives will not be complete until this “thing” is theirs. Some “things” are needed whilst, on the other hand, a lot of “things” really aren’t.
Now before you think to yourself “This Turvey bloke has lost the plot getting all existential”, consider the deeper meaning that can seen in this observation. The widespread view that we are put on a persistent treadmill that constantly evolves, that needs spending just to stay still, and that constantly leaves us with others who have more than us. Remind you of anything?
In recent times, it could have been stated as an underpinning for the recent riots in England but, of course, the connection I am making is to our beloved football club.
We are entering, whether we like it or not, into an age of relative austerity. I am loathe to actually use the term austerity as spending £10m on a player and considering yourself, as a club, to be somehow “poor” would probably cultivate indignant feelings.
Relatively speaking, we have less money than some clubs, yes. We aren’t going to be able to compete, at present anyway, with the global merchandising empires of Manchester United and Liverpool. These clubs have their talons into resources in far and away lands, both in terms of ownership, and in terms of global revenue. You’re just as likely to see a United top in Asia as you are in Accrington, in Miami as much as you are in Manchester.
How can Villa compete with these dominant empires of money? We have to engage in new markets such as the Far East, as we have with Genting, and we have to build the image of the club till it is in keeping with the clubs that are bigger than us. It’s not an overnight solution, but it has to be done. I wish I could tell you it was easy and fast, but the reality is it isn’t.
Sorry guys. If it was easy, it would be worthless anyway because everyone would do it right now. Maybe patience really is a virtue after all.
So for us to compete, we have to get into the top 20 clubs in Europe in terms of revenue then, and only then, we can say we have a chance against the real big money clubs. Till then, those not of our own support will continue to see us as the uppity bunch who consistently, and persistently, live in the past.
Aston Villa – The Brand
So as Financial Fair Play looms large, much like the threat of having a credit card suspended for frittering your money on rubbish, we, as a club, have to stop the pursuit of “things” we think we really need.
What we have to put in place is a structure that let’s us get what we actually do need to progress, but in a sustainable manner. Much like your parents probably told you, when you were a child, and, for some, to the present day, you should save to get to where you want to be.
Of course, debt is a difficult problem to dodge in today’s exorbitant housing market but, one can limit one’s own ability to get into it unnecessarily.
Getting back to the comparison with Aston Villa, one could say, quite correctly, that there are players both in our squad, and formerly of our squad, that we really didn’t “need”. We bought them sure but, as I have stated prior, there is a significant difference between what one needs, and what one perceives they need.
Take for example Curtis Davies. Or, for that matter, Habib Beye. Maybe Zat Knight. Or any other player that did little to serve a long term purpose if, in reality, they ever served a purpose at all.
Every overpaid player has either had to leave at a horrendous transfer fee value loss, or is still on the books. The future of developing the club is stunted until these people are cleared out of the club.
Answers, not just questions
When belts are tightened, and you are left with a bloated remnant of a time gone by, one has to look at how the situation is resolved. I’m not going to get into whose fault it is that we are where we are, the immutable fact is that we are where we are. Our wage bill is bloated, we over pay players, and, till this is resolved, we are going to have to get by in, what some might perceive as, a miserly manner.
Again, this is all relatively speaking. Lavishing £20-30k on your average players much like the Premier League does in today’s game is hardly miserly. I doubt that Bob Cratchett would be asking for extra at Christmas if he was a Premier League footballer.
However, when you read that Tottenham Hotspur have a wage bill that runs at, at the last time of official counting, £12m per year less than ours, most struggle to understand it on any level. How, in all sensibility, can a club with players such as Modric, van der Vaart, and Bale, be spending less money than us? Seriously. How can they? The answer, sadly, is obvious.
We overspent. We spent far too much money on players who didn’t make it and, in all probability, were never going to make it.
Of course, all managers make mistakes and proceed to sign poor players, but not all of them then proceed to hand these players comparatively ludicrous amounts for their real worth. Nobody is doubting the relative merit of Manchester City paying a world class Aguero a high wage, but paying Beye £40k a week? Ford Escorts shouldn’t cost Ferrari money. Cut your coat according to the cloth you own. It makes little sense to do anything else.
Now, I know many of us see football as escapism, as something to watch at the weekend that dulls the persistent boredom of a 9-5 that does nothing for us, and that we want to indulge ourselves in something fantastical, in something that excites us.
Sadly, the reality is that football has to run as a consistent business commensurate with the finances available to the club. This is what we are seeing, and what Randy set out in his letter to those of us who are season ticket holders.
So whilst we may well be lacking a defensive midfielder, or an extra winger, consider the following for a moment:
We could support Birmingham City. Then money really would be an issue.
The Author
