From The Athletic (only parts relevant to us)
Eight years later, he returned to football with Aston Villa after Xia took control following their relegation from the Premier League.
“Tony wanted me as CEO. I didn’t expect to be coming into that role,” he says. “The staff were completely demoralised and we had a lot of people who we had to let go. I thought, ‘Here we go again. I’m back at the real end of football’.”
At the start, Xia was very hands-on with transfers. He told Wyness to get the early deals done for Ross McCormack and Mile Jedinak, for example, as Villa were rebuilding in the Championship. Big wages were handed out and there was a push to make Villa stylish again.
One move they couldn’t get over the line was Hull City’s £14 million-rated striker Abel Hernandez, represented by agent Mino Raiola at the time. The financial demands to get Hernandez — including the agent fee and the wages were too much for Villa — and would have made him the highest-paid player at the club.
It was also Xia’s decision to appoint Roberto Di Matteo and then sack him after just 12 games that season, although it was Wyness who had to break the news to the Italian, who had taken Villa’s neighbours West Bromwich Albion up from the Championship in 2010 and led Chelsea to Champions League final glory in 2012.
“Tony had made his mind up and was in a rush to do things and get success,” Wyness says.
“Over in China, he told me his decision about Roberto in the half-time interval at Preston (when Villa were losing 2-0, the game’s final score), then it was down to me to do it.”
He recalls the unpleasant exchange that had to be done there and then over the phone from inside an office at Preston’s Deepdale stadium, rather than face-to-face.
“Roberto didn’t take it very well. It was a shouting match,” says Wyness. “He said that he hadn’t been given enough time and that he didn’t get the players he wanted in.”
Still, Villa had to find a way to move forward and, after pulling together a 50-page report on potential new managers, the shortlist was whittled down to three.
Moyes had turned down the offer of a 10-year contract as he insisted he wasn’t prepared to drop down into the second tier of English football. He would end up relegated from the Premier League that season with Sunderland. Burnley’s Sean Dyche and David Wagner of Huddersfield Town were also both considered, but Steve Bruce was viewed as the outstanding candidate despite having played for and later managed Villa’s arch-rivals Birmingham City.
“I tried to give Steve as much support as I could,” Wyness says.
Villa were competitive with transfers, bringing in striker Scott Hogan for £12 million in January 2017 and then former England captain and centre-back John Terry from Chelsea as a free agent the following summer.
But after missing out on promotion in the 2018 Championship play-off final, Bruce was left working under difficult circumstances. The money had dried up from Xia and the stack of bills was growing. Promotion to the Premier League that day might have solved the issues, but a missed tax bill soon left the club facing a winding-up order and administration looked inevitable. Owner and CEO disagreed over the way the situation could be resolved and Xia ended up suspending Wyness.
Villa’s current owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens came in to clear up the mess and also Wyness’ name, as he was prepared to sue for unfair dismissal.
To this day, there are glimpses of hurt. He says: “The way the story came out with Villa was as if I had committed fraud, which was so wrong. It was important for my name to be cleared.”
For a short period, there were no such issues at Villa. While Xia called the shots, the money would always arrive. It is fair to say he wanted the best for the club, even if he wasn’t quite sure how to deliver it.
Xia’s ownership period was strange, reflected mainly in presentations to the first team that were confusing, as ex-captain James Chester explained to The Athletic earlier this year.
Admittedly, some of the businessman’s hands-on ways were welcomed, but other occasions created serious division.
Take, for example, a game at Sheffield Wednesday in February 2018.
At half-time, Villa were 2-1 down and Xia wanted a message to be delivered to Bruce in the dressing room. Xia was underwhelmed by the performance of midfielder Glenn Whelan and requested that he be substituted. Wyness blocked it, Villa ended up winning 4-2 — and Whelan scored against his former club to spark the fightback.
There were happier times, of course, and staff in the Villa Park offices describe Wyness as an engaging and friendly boss who always adopted an open-door policy. That included a deadline-day announcement of Lewis Grabban in January 2018, with the CEO asking Amazon virtual assistant Alexa who the Bournemouth striker played for.
Wyness was tasked with the job of rejuvenating a stale and depressed workforce still coming to terms with Villa as a Championship club after 28 years in the top division. He encouraged employees to “not be in the stands, and get on the pitch of life”.
