How Premier League competitors suffer while Aston Villa avoided FFP issues
While Manchester City is being investigated for possible FFP violations and Everton has been punished points, Aston Villa can be happy that their long-term strategy is working.
In the midst of Premier League football clubs dealing with point deductions and others awaiting clearance after being accused of breaking Financial Fair Play regulations, it’s important to consider Aston Villa’s patient and cautious approach and the results that are beginning to show.
After a number of departures, including loanees and out-of-contract players not in the club’s future plans, Villa did have to act upon their promotion in 2019 to strengthen their squad both in terms of quality and depth. They brought in players like Trezeguet, Matt Targett, Ezri Konsa, and Douglas Luiz and made less significant signings, such as Wesley and Marvelous Nakamba.
Under Dean Smith, the caliber improved once more a year later with the signing of Emiliano Martinez, Ollie Watkins, and Matty Cash. Jack Grealish left the team in the summer of 2021 for a reported £100 million. Villa only used the money they received from the playmaker’s transfer to replace him when they signed Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey, and Danny Ings. Under Steven Gerrard, Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho came next.
Since then, the Lions have shown again that they are astute businesspeople. The acquisitions of Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, together with Jacob Ramsey’s promotion from the academy, have all been free for the team and have improved their midfield. Through Targett, Ings, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cameron Archer, and Aaron Ramsey, they have also been successful in raising money.
Villa and NSWE can be pleased with their strike rate, which has allowed them to secure a fifth consecutive top flight campaign. More than that, they have shown unmistakable signs of improvement on the field and in the dugout under Unai Emery—doing so with everything above board. While not every managerial appointment made in the interim has worked out.
Compare that to Everton, for instance, whose financial misdeeds have lost Sean Dyche’s team ten well-earned Premier League points and have thrust the team back into the relegation zone after they had been comfortably in the middle of the table. Then there are Chelsea and Manchester City, who are accused of making unscrupulous financial moves and, in the case of the former, are currently.
Even though he is no longer with Villa, former chief executive Christian Purslow’s remarks about football finances at the close of the previous season still hold true, particularly in light of the financial mismanagement of other teams that is coming to light.
“We [Aston Villa] are trying to do things the right way, that is the tradition of this great club, and that means patiently, consistently seeking to improve but doing so within the financial rules,” he told BT Sport in February of this previous year.
“I believe it’s very likely that we will see further reform of those crucial financial regulations in the coming months and years. Those rules are very topical today, which is why clubs like Fulham and Brentford are able to succeed.”
