Lerner reasoning re the Financial Fair Play rules .

[godzvilla]

Taken from an interesting article in todays Times , basically saying that Randy is looking to the future with the Financial Fair Play Rules on the horizon .

" Retaining a proud sense of tradition nurtured by a spell studying at Cambridge, Lerner, who inherited his fortune when selling his father’s MBNA credit card company in 2002, has worked in the faith that Villa could yet grow into a powerhouse in English football. Rather than gate-crashing the top four, however, they might have to take the long way round.

Now that football’s financial landscape has been skewed by the £380 million that City have invested on players since Sheikh Mansour took control, Villa find themselves on the outside looking in. Tottenham, their template, have ridden the kind of epic Champions League rollercoaster that O’Neill envisaged when he came in aspiring to emulate what he achieved as a player under Brian Clough a generation ago, when Nottingham Forest rose from anonymity to rule Europe.

If Villa, Everton and Tottenham have given the old oligarchy a run for their money, only Villa have failed to qualify for the Champions League. Has their moment gone? Has the window of opportunity closed on Lerner’s English dream for ever?

Talking to people close to the shy tycoon, it may just have been postponed. He will only be 53, a year older than McLeish, when Uefa intends to bring back greater democracy through Financial Fair Play (FFP).

If Lerner is not balancing the books now with an intention to move on — selling a prize player each summer, bringing down the wage bill, promoting the kids, aiming for a “collaborative” manager who would work under constraints — then realigning his sights for the time being could prove to be another prudent investment.

Lerner’s friends speak of staying within the Premier League’s top eight, which would be in keeping with their wage bill, until FFP kicks in and City and Chelsea have to shed exorbitant earners, superfluous to whoever is passing through as their manager. “We shouldn’t underestimate these rules,” one Villa source said. “They will become a reality for leagues across Europe. No one knows what kind of reality that will be because the rules must reflect the collective acceptance for football to be more sustainable than it is. But it is seeping into people’s world view and it’s going to help, hopefully, everyone get to a sustainable model.”


My only worry with these new rules is that real power-houses of European Soccer will  , with all their high priced Accountants and Lawyers , find a way around them and further divide Football into the 'haves' and have-nots ' ........Godzvilla!

[Duncan Shaw]

Of course they friggin well will.

[Caiphus]

Why not spend until the rules come in like everyone else?

[pooligan]

I always remember old Doug saying when everyone else is skint we will be ready to rule.

[steamer]

Sounds like Dougs rationale about us being the only ones left standing !

[Nev]

Financial prudency and balancing the books is all very well, but whats that got to do with appointing a shit manager?

[frank]

Dave Woodhall also has a piece in the Times today - on the same page as the article above - in which he argues that AM's record doesn't qualify him for the Villa job.

[Risso]

What a load of bollocks.  If anybody thinks this is going to make a blind bit of difference to the likes of Man U, City, Arsenal, Barcelona et al, they're living in cloud cuckoo land.  As the poster above says, this is just the same as Doug waiting for the bubble to burst.  We're a mid table team now battling it out with the likes of Sunderland and Stoke, get used to it.

[not3bad]

Financial prudency and balancing the books is all very well, but whats that got to do with appointing a shit manager?

[UsualSuspect]

What a load of bollocks.  If anybody thinks this is going to make a blind bit of difference to the likes of Man U, City, Arsenal, Barcelona et al, they're living in cloud cuckoo land.  As the poster above says, this is just the same as Doug waiting for the bubble to burst.  We're a mid table team now battling it out with the likes of Sunderland and Stoke, get used to it.

I'm sure Im not alone in thinking that the Financial Fair Play rules will end up being seriously watered down. The big clubs will hire the finest barristers to find a way around it like giving them a basic salary and the 50 grand a week in Luncheon vouchers

[CJ]

I may be being a bit thick here (wouldn't be the first time) but won't the new rules further strengthen the current divide between the 'big' clubs and the rest? Yes, it may stop rich Arabs or Russians throwing silly money at players but as they have higher turnover they can pay more for players, whereas the lesser/normal clubs will by definition get poorer

[ktvillan]

UEFA will probably come a cropper over EU employment and fair trade laws among other things, and have to back down.  Clubs will find back door ways of paying players more, such as via sponsors.  RL will probably be the only one trying to play by the rules and it will mean we are operating with one hand tied behind our backs.  It may reveal why we weren't going for the really good managers, but as someone said, it still doesn't justify appointing a manager who's made PL relegation something of a specialism.

[ktvillan]

I may be being a bit thick here (wouldn't be the first time) but won't the new rules further strengthen the current divide between the 'big' clubs and the rest? Yes, it may stop rich Arabs or Russians throwing silly money at players but as they have higher turnover they can pay more for players, whereas the lesser/normal clubs will by definition get poorer

Good point - At the moment the only way to genuinely elevate yourselves into the upper reaches is by getting rich owners pumping stupid money in, a la Chelsea and Citeh.  If UEFA have their way, that will no longer be an option, and the status quo will be more difficult to breach.  Plus the bigger clubs will no doubt push for individual TV rights like Real and Barca have, in order to boost their turnover, and thus their wager limit.

[garyshawsknee]

Still doesn't excuse appointing a very average manager.

[David_Nab]

And doesn't it only stop you entering European compitions ..which we are not lookly likely to be doing anyway !!