Aston Villa

[mrmojorisin75]

man u is owned by americans who took out loans to buy the club...you refer to what will happen when abramovich leaves chelski well what might happen when fergie eventually packs in and you have downturn in fortunes on the pitch (which history tells us is likely will happen)?

 

We'll probably be completely fucked.

 

Again this relates to the concern I've been pointing out.  The League really don't give a flying fuck who buys the clubs, I mean the Glazer's business model entirely consisted of "ok, we don't have any money to buy the club, so what we'll do is we'll buy it with magic pretend money and then fuck the fans senseless to pay for it."  How exactly did the league not have a problem with this?  Christ, people point out that this is a relatively normal way of doing business, but in no other area could you increase prices threefold and expect to retain your customers because of "brand loyalty."

 

To be allowed to buy a premier league club you should have to be able to prove that you know what you're doing, that you have a clear and fiscally responsible plan, and that you can create a sustainable future for the club which is beneficial both to fans and to the league as a whole.  The "fit and proper person" test shouldn't be the ethical equivalent of a primary school spelling test.  People like Randy Lerner and Niall Quinn shouldn't be held as some great illuminating beacon for football owners, they should be the goddamn standard.  The fans should be at the centre of every decision the league makes, because while its true that each and every club runs a monopoly on their product (you can't get Newcastle United anywhere else) their "consumers" can only be pushed so hard financially before they'll lose interest.  It's getting increasingly hard to avoid the conclusion that the Premier League's bubble is going to burst sooner rather than later, and it'll do so in spectacular fashion.

 

all very viable points indeed mate...still i'm sure mike ashley would have probably passed a test to buy a club and look he's doing

 

swap you one mike ashley for one glazers?  just kidding like

[Gash]

a big part of scolari getting sacked iyam, and also a big reason why arsenal may be forced to look at their position at the end of the season.

 

for the first time in a long while a team is threatening, really threatening to break up the top 4, and unlike evrerton, villa have cash to spend an an abundance of young talent which now dominates the enegland squad.

 

when did a team besides man utd/liverpool pack an england squad with 6 players?

 

chairmen are s*** scared that they may not make the top 4 because of villla, and for arsenal (i think im right in saying) the outcome could be catastrophic, im pretty sure they have financed their stadium on year on year chumps league.

naturally, im jealious as f***, and wish it was us, but i wish them well, top club villa, doing things right, their manager and chairmen are some boys too.

 

good to see another team shaking it up, its been boring as f*** for years at the top.

 

gives hope to the rest of us imo.

Your not, Peter Hill-Wood has said that it would be a blow, but the finances arent based on a year on year participation in the 'chumps league'

[brummie]

It's very interesting that even the THREAT of not finishing top 4 has got three clubs in turmoil (mad Sir Alex is too canny to panic)

 

just shows how they've built their business plans

 

If Everton keep climbing then maybe TWO of them will be in the s*** - maybe not even in the YUFA

 

To be honest, the thing that would throw British football into most turmoil would be Platini carrying through with his talk of reducing the number of CL places.

 

We only talk about a big four now because there are four CL places, and that is what creates the financial differential in the first place, but more importantly perpetuates it.

 

Even having shit loads of money and spending it freely isn't enough - as Man City have found out - as players will still use the excuse that they want to play in the Champions League.

 

It is a chicken and egg situation. Good luck to Man City if that is the route they take, but I think Lerner and O'Neill are going about it the canny way, in building something more sensibly and sustainably.

 

If Lerner walked away right now, the club would be in an infinitely better position than when he took over. If the City sheiks did that after a few seasons of crazy spending, the club would be fucked.

[Guest Stephen927]

It's making the league interesting up at the top end while we're struggling down the bottom.

 

Does make you think what would have happened if we had chose O'Neill ahead of Roeder, though he obviously wouldn't have had as much money as he's been given at Villa.

 

I'll happily admit I'm insanely jealous of the likes of Everton and Villa.