From £22.5million to £80million in 4 years - AVFC wages

[TimTheVillain]

Isn't it sad that we look at the wage bill and ignore the fact that there's a whole team of people at VP who are also paid on the football and Admin side - got to be more than 100.

It's just that they're paid (in total) about £2 million of that sum ( total guess) between a vast number of employees.

The rest goes to the players.......

Mad world.

[Mister E]

How many other managers would have gave Habib Beye £40k a week? Sidwell £50k a week? Heskey £50k a week? on deals that were obviously too long.

Probably quite a few at the time.
And a number of people on here complain that we don't put our players on long enough contracts: 4 years for Downing  / AY etc when it should have been five.
I think MON was pretty cavalier with RAL's money - but so too were other managers with their Chairman's dosh. If we're looking to attribute blame, it's down to RAL not being better-informed about football finances; but - as I say - other managers will have been paying journeymen top dollar.

[Risso]

Has anybody pointed out that our wage bill wasn't £22.5m 4 years ago?

[Villa'Zawg]

The telling thing to me is less than a year after he left there's nothing left really of his signings. He didn't leave a basis of a good team for the future and by next summer all of them could be gone. All thats left are old men, deadwood and failures. Delph is the only one you can still see playing a part in 2 or 3 years time

You have an "interesting" way of looking at things. We spent approx £80m net during O'Neill's tenure. We've raised £43m by selling Milner and Young and can push that figure through £60m if we sell Downing.

I hope you're wrong about the assessment of the rest of the squad because it looks as though we are going to be relying on the crop of youngsters he brought through.

[Greg N'Ash]

The telling thing to me is less than a year after he left there's nothing left really of his signings. He didn't leave a basis of a good team for the future and by next summer all of them could be gone. All thats left are old men, deadwood and failures. Delph is the only one you can still see playing a part in 2 or 3 years time

You have an "interesting" way of looking at things. We spent approx £80m net during O'Neill's tenure. We've raised £43m by selling Milner and Young and can push that figure through £60m if we sell Downing.

I hope you're wrong about the assessment of the rest of the squad because it looks as though we are going to be relying on the crop of youngsters he brought through.

Milner was sold before MON left and replaced by Ireland so that leaves only young who was a 1st team player under MON and sold since. So as of today'MON's total legacy is:

Downing
Heskey
Young
Beye
Petrov
Dunne
Collins
Ireland
Guzan
Delpth

So basically a nuttter, 2 accident prone/trouble making defenders and a few veterans approaching retirement. Again only Delpth is one you could see being part of our medium term future. Not much to show for 80m in fee's and probably not far off the same in wages is it? Basically take young and Downing out and its not any sort of asset or basis for the future at all

And the youth was already there. MON spent half his time flogging them off to bring some money in to finance his tat. Mcdonald and GH blooded more of the youngters than MON managed in his 4 years at the club. If he'd had his way we'd probably have mcgeady in with allbrighton flogged off to bolton or similar

[pauliewalnuts]

Has anybody pointed out that our wage bill wasn't £22.5m 4 years ago?

Yes

[Concrete John]

The telling thing to me is less than a year after he left there's nothing left really of his signings. He didn't leave a basis of a good team for the future and by next summer all of them could be gone. All thats left are old men, deadwood and failures. Delph is the only one you can still see playing a part in 2 or 3 years time

Sorry, just can't agree with that!

The side he left included Ash, Milner, Downing and one of the tightest defences in the league.  Yes, there were holes in the squad that needed filling, but what happened to those players post MON - as in being sold and loss of form under a poor managerial appointment - he shouldn't be blamed for. 

[Greg N'Ash]

we lost one player since MON left in Young. Milner was sold and replaced by MON. You can't convince me that the list of his signings still here is much of a team or would even stay up.  The fact is we've made a profit on 2 of his signings, maybe 3 if you include Knight. Downing is the last one we're ever likely to make any money on or who will be an asset. The rest are either nearing the end of their careers, useless or in delpth's case potential. Dreadful, dreadful use of the money provided, and probably why MON realised the writing was on the wall. If i was told to cut back by lerner and had that pool of players i'd probably bail out as well.

[Concrete John]

No, Milner was sold and replaced after MON left.  He may have wanted Ireland as part of the deal, but it happened two weeks or so after he left. 

And you can't expect to continually sell players on for more than you paid for them.  What you do is buy them and get their best years, so that when they go they go for less.  Yorke at Man Utd is a prime example.  Some players were brought in with the full knowledge of a minimal resale value (Dunne and Freidle) as we needed them as players and were willing to spend the money for them.

The judgement of a transfer outlay is the results that money brings you and not just the resale value.

[Villa'Zawg]

...

Milner was sold before MON left and replaced by Ireland so that leaves only young who was a 1st team player under MON and sold since. So as of today'MON's total legacy is:

Downing
Heskey
Young
Beye
Petrov
Dunne
Collins
Ireland
Guzan
Delpth

So basically a nuttter, 2 accident prone/trouble making defenders and a few veterans approaching retirement. Again only Delpth is one you could see being part of our medium term future. Not much to show for 80m in fee's and probably not far off the same in wages is it? Basically take young and Downing out and its not any sort of asset or basis for the future at all

And the youth was already there. MON spent half his time flogging them off to bring some money in to finance his tat. Mcdonald and GH blooded more of the youngters than MON managed in his 4 years at the club. If he'd had his way we'd probably have mcgeady in with allbrighton flogged off to bolton or similar

I know it is hard for you to put things into perspective Greg, that’s why facts are so useful in these situations.

Milner played for Villa against West Ham after O’Neill left and MacDonald said after the game that a deal had yet to be done. Of course, if you must insist on the “Gregworld” version of events, you’ll have to reduce the £80m accordingly.

The crop of youngsters we’re talking about all came through the ranks whilst O’Neill was in charge of the football side of things. Indeed, he gave professional debuts to the likes of Clark, Albrighton, Bannan, Lowry and Delfouneso, as well as awarding professional contracts to several others.

I’m interested to see how you reconcile your opinion that O’Neill was a control freak with the counterintuitive opinion that he had nothing to do with the emergence of these young players.

Just out of interest, how much do you think the owners should have invested in the squad over the course of O’Neill’s tenure and what do you think could have been achieved on your budget?

[Greg N'Ash]

*Sigh* are you really saying MON hadn't agreed to Milner leaving or Ireland wasn't bought by him? More conspicacy theories no doubt..........

[pauliewalnuts]

Indeed, he gave professional debuts to the likes of Clark, Albrighton, Bannan, Lowry and Delfouneso, as well as awarding professional contracts to several others.

I wonder how many games they racked up between them under MON.

[Fuse]

Any idea what the wage bill is now given we have taken Sidwell, Carew, NRC, Young, Davies and Friedal off it since last year amongst others?

[TheSandman]

I'd imagine it would be well down.

Unfortunately, some of those players might need to be replaced.

[Villa'Zawg]

*Sigh* are you really saying MON hadn't agreed to Milner leaving or Ireland wasn't bought by him? More conspicacy theories no doubt..........

This is probably the most futile argument ever. He was sold after O'Neill left. It isn't a conspiracy to say so, that's what happened.