0% villa - The Swiss Rambler's Verdict on Football's Finances

[Risso]

One thing must be said though, it doesn't look like those figures will ahve us anywhere near complying with the new Financial Fair Play regs

They only apply to clubs in Europe, so we needn't worry about that for the time being.

[ozzjim]

The new regs have some silly caveat that certain amounts each season that are pumped in by the owner can be written off. I think I read only Man City would fail it at the moment.

[Mister E]

A useful read; thanks for posting it Dante.
So, the accounts show that there is no bottomless £££ pit and that it is not possible to spend what has already been spent; that Villa struggle to increase their revenue without the benefit of regular European competition; that loans from the owner are disproportionately high.
I think we already knew this. What is more interesting is the assertion in the article that RL has been - in the view of the author - 'gambling' on the early achievement of CL qualification. Perhaps it was MON who seeded this possibility in RL's mind, or maybe RL is just a very optimistic person.
Either way, we should perhaps expect a much more cautious approach to player-investment for the foreseeable future, with low-risk purchases from Hou as a way of bolstering short-term performance ahead of the youth prospects becoming the mainstay.

Well, it's one view.

[Tezmond]

Great blog, if you've got the patience to read the articles.

I've read the Bolton and Premier league analyses he's done - scary reading.

I'm not looking forward to reading our accounts this year. Seems Randy's whole business model has, for the first 4 years of his stewardship, been based on getting into the champions league. We've been told all along that his investment in the Villa has been a business plan and not as a benefactor, as bourne out by his quite tidy 2% over standard bank rate he's been earning on his loan notes and "management fees". Is going to be very interesting how his new business plan plays out - fingers crossed it works better than plan A!

As for the premier league, and even champions league, the downfall in TV income that must be around the corner with the increasing threat from streaming to subscriptions. Will Sky/Premier league/Uefa learn from the music industry and provide legal channels to access content or bury their heads in the sand with their current protectionist stance? The wind is definitely changing direction - games streamed free, revenues generated from advertising instead of subscriptions.?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Either way, we should perhaps expect a much more cautious approach to player-investment for the foreseeable future, with low-risk purchases from Hou as a way of bolstering short-term performance ahead of the youth prospects becoming the mainstay.

Well, it's one view.

Even without European football, the club have made significant investments on corporate facilities in the hope of raising revenue. Until we have a team that 'entertain', these facilities will go largely unused or at best go under priced, which leaves Randy no choice other than to continue to invest.

[Dante Lavelli]

I have just read the Lyon article (again very long). Their model is pretty much the only way forward for Villa in my opinion. It's worth reading, but in a nutshell their policy is to buy undervalued footballers and sell ANY player that receives an offer in excess of his market value, with no room for sentiment.  This combined with an awesome youth system and Villa would be part way there.

This is not dissimilar to what spurs have done (and what most people do on FM). Signing Wheater for £500k may not be the "required level of ambition" but as he is worth in excess of £3m he would be classified as a good "investment".

In summary, i think H&V is heading for meltdown.

[Mister E]

In summary, i think H&V is heading for meltdown.

Which will be nice.

[Macho Man Randy Savage]

The article makes clear that we will need to generate more revenue to compete. There's more the management could do at Villa with some planning and creativity to raise revenue, but it also seems that fairly good attendances for relatively cheap prices won't raise enough money for us to push on.

[Greg N'Ash]

Seems Randy was gambling on getting into the CL. Not that it will happen, but if you ever decide to do it again, get a decent manager in first eh?

[RonBurgundy]

I think Man City were the game changer - when Randy came in a plan to invest fairly heavily  to reach the Champions League would have been more feasible. Since he took ownership more and mroe clubs have been taken over, and in Man City a team that blows everyone else out of the water.
Can't shake the feeling that we've spent and wasted our big chance. The future will be based on bringing through the kids and buying in young talent at modest prices. Just hope we can keep hold of our up and coming lads who could be the real deakl

[Tezmond]

our man in Switzerland has just posted a blog on SHA, just reading it now ...

[AV82EC]

I've just read the Blues blog from Swiss rambler can be summarised as follows:

Cloak and mirrors ownership structure
Serious questions about having the capital to fund the business moving forwards
share placement last year to raise funds and dilute Yeungs shareholding - no-one knows if its raised the necessary capital
With no TV Revenue they quite literally don't have a pot to piss in