Christian Purslow - Resigned

[Risso]

I think in terms of the price hikes etc, he's just doing the owners' bidding there, and anybody expecting it to be different under Heck or any other bloke in charge is going to be very disappointed.

[eamonn]

Didn't someone post on here a while ago that they had heard CP's chauffeur saying that the season just gone would be his last? Taxi for Purslow and early retirement in the Bahamas. Wonderful.

[Toronto Villa]

Aston Villa are moving on without Christian Purslow – but he leaves a legacy

Gregg Evans - Jun 12, 2023

Christian Purslow has a saying.

“I’m a man in a hurry,” he would explain when discussing the growth of Aston Villa and his plans to help re-establish the club as one of the major powers in English football.

In his position as chief executive, Purslow was, as many in the industry testify, a “tenacious so-and-so” who fought hard for Villa in negotiations, spoke passionately in Premier League meetings and always encouraged those around him to think big.

Back in the summer of 2018, when he agreed to assist owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens in the day-to-day running of the club, it was under one condition: that he became a minority investor himself.

Sawiris had whisked Purslow off to a holiday home in Greece to discuss the grand plans for Villa and how, in five years, he hoped to have them back in Europe — a mission the team completed in the nick of time last month.

Yet the 2-1 season-finale win over Brighton & Hove Albion that secured a place in the Europa Conference League turned out to be Purslow’s final game at Villa.

There was no sign of the 59-year-old on the pitch during the post-match celebrations at Villa Park as first the players and then Sawiris, Edens, head coach Unai Emery and the latter’s personal assistant, Damia Vidagany, completed a lap of appreciation to a rousing ovation.

Purslow still interacted with supporters in and around the stadium as he remained proud of the collective achievement. For all his previous success in the business world, and stints with Liverpool and Chelsea, the rewarding feeling he has gained from his near five years in Birmingham trumps the lot.

Villa, however, are moving in a different direction now.

No longer is there a “triangle of power” where the coach and sporting director report to the CEO.

Instead, Emery and Vidagany will look after the “football” side of the club alongside new recruitment allies Alberto Benito and Pablo Rodriguez. The search for a new director of football continues following Mateu Alemany’s decision to stay at La Liga champions Barcelona. Sevilla’s Monchi is Villa’s first choice.

Johan Lange, Villa’s current sporting director, is expected to stay in a senior role within V Sports, the club’s holding company as Sawiris and Edens (NSWE) build up their multi-club portfolio. The club say the head of recruitment Rob Mackenzie will work alongside the Spanish arrivals, and Chris Heck, the new president of business operations will take charge of the efforts in globalising the Villa brand, increasing revenue and overseeing all important off-field matters as they try to close the gap to the best-performing clubs in the country.

Purslow, who has played his part in one of the most transformative periods in Villa’s history, has stepped aside. He was offered the chance to stay at the club and assist the way forward but was reluctant to take on a reduced role.  His time in the spotlight at high-profile football clubs seems over.

Purslow worked at Chelsea between 2014 and 2017, but was never fully satisfied in his role there.

While he enjoyed his time as managing director at Stamford Bridge and brought in some huge commercial deals, he always wanted to be closer to the sexy side of football. There was an eagerness to be involved in the decision-making process around the areas that were most discussed: the hiring of managers, the signing of big-name players, and everything else that went around building a successful team.

When Sawiris got in touch through a mutual friend shortly after taking over from Tony Xia at Villa in July 2018, Purslow was out of work. He was considering a long holiday with his wife and they had discussed visiting some of their favourite places in the world. Trips to Paris and New York, among other destinations, were on the agenda. Moving to a then-Championship club was hardly at the top of his wish list. But Sawiris wanted an experienced operator, and the opportunity to invest in Villa while also having the power to make the decisions that matter appealed.

On his first day at the club, Villa signed Tammy Abraham on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season and Purlsow was visibly delighted to be in charge when such a move was secured.

He said from the start that he would put his own twist on running the club and started building relationships with those he wanted to keep while also sourcing new additions.

Negotiations with Villa became tighter and more secretive. He would later go on to warn player representatives that deals would not go through if they were leaked into the public domain. Privacy almost became an obsession; the club would take great pride in announcing transfers that had not been reported previously in the media. For some, this felt draining.

But Purslow also helped Villa make big profits on the sales of academy graduates Jack Grealish, who joined Manchester City for £100million ($124.5m at current exchange rates) in 2021 and Carney Chukwuemeka, who moved to Chelsea last summer. He had inserted the £100m release clause into Grealish’s contract to ensure Villa received a record fee for a British player. And when it became clear that Chukwuemeka had no interest in staying at Villa, it was Purslow’s conversation with new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly during a dinner party that helped secure a £20m fee for the then 18-year-old.

The video Purslow made to explain local lad and captain Grealish’s departure from his boyhood club to supporters was a surprise move. His public speeches and interviews were few and far between but, when he did talk, he was passionate in his message and keen to explain how his decisions were always what was in the best interests of the club.

When he addressed fans at consultation meetings, he always tried to explain why some key choices had been made. His enthusiasm to make Villa, champions of England in 1981 and European Cup winners a year later, great again was evident.

Before games he would often shout encouraging messages to the players, sometimes switching between languages to target some of Villa’s foreign recruits.

He was intent on making them become the “best of the rest” behind the Premier League’s so-called ‘Big Six’.

Playing a part in this season’s seventh-place finish — an achievement inspired by October appointment Emery’s elite coaching — suggests he achieved those aims.

Purslow’s first big decision — sacking manager Steve Bruce in October 2018, as Villa languished awkwardly in the middle of the Championship table — was made easy for him.

The atmosphere at Villa Park turned toxic following an infamous 3-3 draw with Preston North End in which the home side’s Glenn Whelan missed a stoppage-time penalty, but the headline-grabbing event of the evening came before the game had even started. When a supporter launched a cabbage at Bruce prior to kick-off, it was clear change was needed.

In came Dean Smith, another boyhood Villa fan, from Brentford as his replacement and an upward journey began.

Villa had spent big in the Championship and were expected to face troubles relating to financial fair play, but Purslow stayed cool, stressing in public that the club would adhere to all the rules and regulations. The plan, it soon emerged, was to sell Villa Park to a company controlled by the owners for £56.7million — a move that ensured Villa fell in line with profit and sustainability rules.

Upon promotion to the Premier League at the end of that season, Villa spent around £120million reshaping their playing staff, with Jesus Garcia Pitarch as the sporting director. There was a strategic plan to lower the average age of the squad while also signing players who could help the club gain traction in new markets.

Douglas Luiz became only the second Brazilian to join Villa and has gone on to become a steal as a £15million buy from Manchester City. The first — the forward, Wesley Moraes — had joined a few weeks earlier, but struggled to recover from a serious knee injury halfway through his debut season. He will go down as an expensive mistake.

The signings of Trezeguet, an Egypt international who had more social media followers on his own than the club at that time, and Zimbabwe’s Marvelous Nakamba helped open up Villa to new supporters and other parts of the world. Purslow enjoyed this building process and got heavily involved in negotiations.

Villa stayed up in their first season back in the Premier League, but there were changes ahead as Pitarch left and was swiftly replaced with Lange. Purslow had worked through a list of candidates for the role and was certain that Lange was the man to help take Villa forward when he presented his ideas for their future.

The pair quickly developed a close working relationship and would sit together at games — often welcoming Villa-supporting HRH Prince William. Purslow loved to host such royalty and enjoyed the ambience of the modernised director’s lounge.

Alongside NSWE’s continued support, Purslow and Lange have also helped modernise the infrastructure at the club.

Villa’s Bodymoor Heath headquarters is a state-of-the-art training venue now. There is an inner-city Birmingham academy on the way. A loans programme has been developed. The player-care department is strong and the squad has grown in value.

Look through the Villa team now and there are so many success stories around players signed over the past two to five years.

There has been John McGinn’s elevation, Jacob Ramsey’s development and Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins making their full England debuts. Ezri Konsa is closer than ever to international recognition, while Luiz’s form has stood out this season.

There were other hits and misses along the way, but the biggest mistake was choosing Steven Gerrard to replace Smith when NSWE wanted to push on towards the European positions in November 2021. Purslow liked and respected Gerrard from their time together at Liverpool, but insisted that the then-Rangers manager had to go through the same process as any other candidate to get the job.

Others were interviewed and one candidate, in particular, was surprisingly under-prepared. Gerrard, meanwhile, explained his plans with conviction and precision. He spent three hours detailing a playing style he thought would take Villa up the league. His record at Rangers, winning a Scottish title and doing well in Europe, also suggested he was worth a try.

Sadly, though, the former England captain could never fully get Villa going and the club’s progress duly stalled.

Significant funds were invested to hire and, a year later, fire Gerrard, as well as in trying to give him the players he wanted — under-performing former Liverpool team-mate Philippe Coutinho the most obvious.

There was never a fall-out between Purslow and the hierarchy, but a tweak had been implemented to the club’s management style which effectively reduced the CEO’s role. Sawiris became more hands-on and it was clear that, when Villa were chasing Emery as Gerrard’s replacement, Purslow was not in charge.

Sawiris did the hard negotiating after calling on the assistance of superagent Jorge Mendes to smooth things over. While convincing former Arsenal manager Emery to return to the Premier League from La Liga’s Villarreal required a hard sell, given Villa’s difficult start to the new campaign, it was clear to the 51-year-old that there was plenty of potential — not least the summer additions of Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos — for them to fly up the table.

Yet Emery joined only because he was given the keys to the castle.

He asked for assurances. He was accompanied by a large backroom team and was told he could add further recruitment personnel when the opportunity to do so cropped up. Benito and Rodriguez, both long-term Emery allies, have since joined and will form a new-look team alongside Mackenzie.

Since his arrival shortly before the World Cup break began in mid-November, Emery has been in charge of key football decisions, such as new contracts and transfer business. Purslow, therefore, was focusing more on other areas, like the stadium upgrade.

Villa signed Jhon Duran in January after extensive research through Lange, Mackenzie and the data team, but the same window’s move for Alex Moreno was pushed by Emery. That is how the club’s next round of arrivals will be sourced. Youri Tielemans, the first player through the door this summer, was identified by Emery.

Perhaps, one of the most important deals Purslow negotiated, just before Emery’s arrival, was extending Luiz’s contract. Several top clubs were asking the midfielder to consider joining them as a free agent this summer after his then-deal expired. Arsenal also lodged three bids to sign the now 25-year-old last August, but Villa stood firm, promised to reward him with improved terms, and then delivered.

Some of that good work behind the scenes provided Emery with the platform upon which to flourish. Yet whispers of change had been floating around for months.

The scene around the boardroom at the final game of the season was described by one source, granted anonymity so as to protect relationships, as “weird”.  Heck, a newcomer chosen by Edens to take Villa on to a new level, was in attendance, alongside the owners. The former president of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers hasn’t revealed any of his plans yet but, as a commercial expert, Heck is expected to help Villa close the gap on some of the bigger clubs in the division through savvy off-field moves.

What Purslow will do next remains unclear.

He helped pull Villa out of a desperately low period and towards a brighter future. He reconnected the supporters with the team so he should be respected and thanked for the role he has played. Villa are now restored as a Premier League force to be feared with an impressive structure around the edges as a solid platform.

Yet the club’s future will now be shaped without him.

[chrisw1]

They do really need to sort out the catering though. It's always been bad, but surely it's low hanging fruit as far as increasing revenue is concerned.

Not satisfied with pricing out the common man, we're also now determined to starve any that have the temerity to still attend!

I've no doubt if Emery was put in charge of pies, it'd be absolutely world-class within a season, but I can't see him doing a tactical analysis of serving methods and queueing routes.

I've only been to one baseball game in the US, but the service there put Villa Park to shame. So I imagine Chris Heck would be whatever the American equivalent of flabbergasted is were he to spend a game trying to get his mitts on one of the fourteen balti pies they seem to have decided to prepare (and dry out) per stand. But again, I can't see this being high on his bonus list.

So who now is actually going to feed us? Questions need to be asked!

A lot of it comes down to space. We've got old, mostly badly designed, cramped concourses so trying to serve thousands of people at one time is always going to be a bit of an issue. Clubs where you can move people outside at half time in new pupose built facilities will always do better. That said, there's no excuse for how poor the actual service is.

I was just typing a post that's basically this. It'll be interesting to see how things change in the new north stand as that will give us the chance to add proper modern facilities. I guess, as much as it pisses people off, the new terrace view thing in the Holte will serve as a bit of a trial of how things can be improved, frustrating that fans are having to pay for the club to do that though.

To be fair there's ample space in the Hote Upper (well there was until some prick decided to halve it anyway) and they still can't even get close to getting it right.  I do agree that it's far harder in the Witton and North upper.  But even then, why not try the beer on the back sellers like you see elsewhere?  10 -15 of them spread throughout the concourse would surely take some of the pressure off the tills. 

With that said, with the lack of toilet facilities in the Witton it's probably for the best that they don't sell more beer.

[dave.woodhall]

When he addressed fans at consultation meetings, he always tried to explain why some key choices had been made.

That's not right for a start.

[PeterWithesShin]

I said on the Chris Heck thread that I wondered where that left Purslow. Guess it was surplus to requirements which is what I thought could be the case.

[Dogtanian]

Batted for us above our average at the EPL.

Negotiated the FFP rules and progressed the club from mid table Div 2 to European football next season.

Several missteps along the way, but imo he's been a big positive for us.

Fans are always going to moan.

He can't on his own improve transport to VP - that's down to Network Rail, Andy Street and West Midlands Travel.


We sell less than 750k shirts so are going to be at the back of the queue at the manufaacturers (who have a finite capacity) when it comes to ordering - 3m Real/ManU shirts  for Nike/Adidas is much more attractive the in terms of setting up production lines and profitability.

And don't compare facilities at Villa Park with Arse/Spuds and their Legobowls. Granted improvements could/should be made, but we've got  a unique ground standing on a Victorian footprint with space limitations which is yhe major problem.

Income comes from 4 sources - sponsorship/commercial, TV/EPL, UEFA income and ticket sales. NSWE have put millions into the club and as we move up, then the other revenue sources should increase and that is why Heck has come in. Despite price increases our tickers are still reasonably priced compared to the competition. It seems to me that some of us expect to pay pop bottle prices for champagne football.

Gerrard will always be held against him, but what doesn't kill  you makes you stronger and the subsequent and ingoing  transformation will I am sure see the Gerrard era and how it resulted in change as a  positive pivotal moment.

Purslow wasn't here to be liked, he did  what he was brought in to do.

Let's thank him for what he did, recognise that there's more to be done and move forward.

Don’t you come here with your facts! 

I think you are right.

[Stu82]

Batted for us above our average at the EPL.

Negotiated the FFP rules and progressed the club from mid table Div 2 to European football next season.

Several missteps along the way, but imo he's been a big positive for us.

Fans are always going to moan.

He can't on his own improve transport to VP - that's down to Network Rail, Andy Street and West Midlands Travel.


We sell less than 750k shirts so are going to be at the back of the queue at the manufaacturers (who have a finite capacity) when it comes to ordering - 3m Real/ManU shirts  for Nike/Adidas is much more attractive the in terms of setting up production lines and profitability.

And don't compare facilities at Villa Park with Arse/Spuds and their Legobowls. Granted improvements could/should be made, but we've got  a unique ground standing on a Victorian footprint with space limitations which is yhe major problem.

Income comes from 4 sources - sponsorship/commercial, TV/EPL, UEFA income and ticket sales. NSWE have put millions into the club and as we move up, then the other revenue sources should increase and that is why Heck has come in. Despite price increases our tickers are still reasonably priced compared to the competition. It seems to me that some of us expect to pay pop bottle prices for champagne football.

Gerrard will always be held against him, but what doesn't kill  you makes you stronger and the subsequent and ingoing  transformation will I am sure see the Gerrard era and how it resulted in change as a  positive pivotal moment.

Purslow wasn't here to be liked, he did  what he was brought in to do.

Let's thank him for what he did, recognise that there's more to be done and move forward.

Great post, as I see it.

[Toronto Villa]

Purslow wasn’t the worst CEO a club have had or will have. He played his role in the reinvention of our club over the past 5 years. But he had a ceiling and you could see that from the shortcomings on the commercial side. Our revenues should be greater than they are yet clubs with a lesser scale, footprint and potential consistently outperformed us. For me, this just sounds like he got to the end of the road. The owners wanted more after 5 years and didn’t see us bridging the gap to the elite quickly enough as we entered a new and critical chapter. To play in the CL and consistently in Europe will take us much more investment and it all cannot come from NSWE. So this for me is evolution at board level. He’s played his role and we move on to new senior leadership.

[chrisw1]

Yes good post Sadd

[edgysatsuma89]

7.5/10.

[dicedlam]

The Greasy handling and use of the money, the Gerard appointment, Not fixing the catering or the transport and in the absence of great commercial deals fleecing the season ticket holders at every opportunity is not the odd bad call.
Its a litany of fuck ups.
Thankfully we have owners that we have.

Your usual hyperbole.
The spending of the Grealish money will have been mostly down to Lange.  Yeah he gave his silly speech, but people like you will have been calling for a statement from the board.
The Gerrard appointment  - yes it was a shit decision.  It's amazing how no other CEO in the PL has ever made a bad managerial appointment isn't it?
Transport - I agree it's poor.  Do you think we should have spent 30 million improving the train station or do you think persuading the council to do exactly that would have been better?
And as for fleecing fans, I agree to a point.  But our season tickets are still competitive in PL terms.  Is it really that surprising that they're looking to bridge the revenue gap with the exact teams we are trying to chase down on the field?

You say 'Usual hyperbole' from Chicago and then go on to agree with his points!

The spending of the Grealish cash may have been down to Lange, but it would of had to be agreed by Purslow, or are you saying that Purslow would not of got involved with the football side of things?

You agree also that his appointment of Gerrard was a shit decision and then go on to say ''and no other CEO in the premier league hasn't?. Well, not like the one he made appointing a manager whose credentials were based on his playing ability and a couple of years in a second rate league.

As for fleecing fans, again you agree to a point. However, I also don't remember hearing in great detail of his successes made from other revenue streams, only that of increasing prices directed totally towards the fan base.

For me, Purslow was an appointment that at the time made sense due to his previous stature at such places like Chelsea and Liverpool which was a good start to make when a team was looking once again to reach the high echelons of the premier league. However, I believe the owners knew that if the club was to progress further, we needed a structure that is proven above and beyond the levels we are operating at right now.

I wish him no ill and good luck in the future.

[Ads]

We've had a much better 5 years than the 8 that proceeded it.

[Drummond]

Which managerial applicant was woefully underprepared I wonder... Lampard perhaps?

[Hookeysmith]

He'll probably be running for the Tories in one of the upcoming by-elections. He strikes me as a Rishi-loyalist.

Is all this Tory-stuff simply Red Scouse, chip-on-the-shoulder nonsense? I recently read Purslow's father's obituary and it seems Mr Purslow Sr was a devout Catholic and paid up member of the Labour Party.  Now, that doesn't necessarily mean CP was the same, but still...

It seems any opportunity to mention the Tories is the obsession of some on here - quite pathetic really as there are enough political threads elsewhere.