Aston Villa: Unai Enemy

[lagos]

Yeah your 3rd paragraph summed up what I meant, sorry I wasn't very clear reading my post again. They obviously want CL but they want progress that is sustainable even if it means progession to the CL is not immediate!

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Yeh exactly.

O'Neill wanted to splash the cash, the board were happy to as long as they kept it within reason.

You only have to look at Portsmouth under Redknapp to see what happens when a board can't control their manager. As I said, i'd love us to be in the CL next season. but would I like it at the cost of a decade's worth of financial trouble? of course not.

So as it stands, yes it looks like O'neill's been an idiot. You can of course understand his frustration with the constraints, but plenty of managers, like Moyes especially, have worked in those conditions and in fact have thrived in those conditions.

MON has never been sacked, and i think this is why. Because as soon as he sees a situation that he may struggle with, like a season of few signings and wage cutbacks, he flees.

Maybe I've jumped to conclusions there. After all we've only heard the board's side of the story at the moment. But that's all we have to go on at the moment, and to me that's the picture it's painted.

 

[phenn]

That's an amazing wage to turnover ratio. Wow.

I feel like the wage bill is something most football fans don't really take into consideration when discussing transfers.

 

[lagos]

It's about efficiency of scale, for small and mid size clubs you have to pay market rates to remain in the EPL but you don't have the size or fan base or success on the field to generate significant off field revenues to reduce that ratio. A well run big club will no doubt have a higher absolute wage bill but it can also count on significantly more revenue streams from higher match day ticketing, sponsorship, international merchandising, prize money etc etc to cover the increased wage cost and bring additional revenue on top such that the ratio is reduced such that unless you are a side the likes of ManCity where self sustainance doesn't come up at board meetings, your wage to turnover ratio should theoretically be much lower the higher up the chain you go.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Nail on the head lagos.

To become a bigger club, top 4 lets say, you need to pay big wages. but to be able to afford to pay big wages you need to be a top 4 club. It's a good old fashioned catch 22.

Either that or get a sheik in!!

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Oh by the way, the Milner/Ireland deal is going through tomorrow it would seem.

 

[bertlb2]

Ireland wasn't named in the City Europa League squad but Milner is in Villa's. It doesn't mean anything, I know, maybe apart that Ireland is leaving City.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

I imagine we named Milner because we have a small enough squad to be able to give him a place just on the off chance his move falls through.

 

[DK Gooner]

It could end up being a very good move for VIlla. Milner seems to be unsettled and after what happened to Lescott at Everton prior to his move, his moving on for a lot of cash plus money may be more beneficial to Villa than if Milner stayed.

Ireland is a player who can bring dynamism to the Villa midfield which the likes of Sidwell and Reo-coker have failed to do. He seems unlikely to get called up for internationals either so you get a relatively fresh player over the course of the season.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Oh we'll be absolutely better off. Don't get me wrong, I loved Milner, i think he's a great player. but if we can get ireland back to his best then he isn't far off Milner to be quite honest.

So this deal is giving us a ready made replacement for Milner, together with 15m quid of cash (or whatever the final figure is)

Milner has reported to Bodymoor Heath this morning though for training. News is he'll be sent up to manchester once the Ireland deal is finalised, which again should be today. it's all being held up by City arranging pay offs and contractshit with Ireland, much like what happened with Dunne last season meaning we signed him with about 2 minutes to go on deadline day.

Funnioly enough, their chief exec who deals with all that is a Blues fan. Hmmmm

 

[GaelForce22]

Oh we'll be absolutely better off. Don't get me wrong, I loved Milner, i think he's a great player. but if we can get ireland back to his best then he isn't far off Milner to be quite honest.

I'd even say better, Ireland is the more talented player. And his 'problems' are exaggerated, he was brilliant for two or three years before Mancini stopped playing him.

 

[fabo]

Where would Ireland play Stevo?? As I said earlier, I see him being that #10/AM player for Villa......a player they've lacked for a while. He can spot a pass, makes runs into the box and scores goals.

Does Milner still need replacing though?? Or maybe Sidwell or Reo-Coker will get their chance to partner Petrov.

------- Sidwell/RC - Petrov
---- Downing - Ireland - Young
----------- Agbonlahor

or do you think Ireland might play CM in a 4-4-2 with Carew and Agbonlahor up top?

 

[patrick42uk]

Ireland is better than Milner. I just dont buy the Milner hype to be honest. He just doesnt have any outstanding footballing qualities IMO. Ireland on the other hand is technically gifted and one of the best in making late runs into the box.

 

[phenn]

Milner's pretty good at hitting a ball but no world beater. He crosses pretty well and certainly puts in an honest shift. That said, I've seen Ireland play better than I've seen Milner play.

 

[bertlb2]

I thought I figured out who the new Villa manager was going to be when I read the news this morning with Steve Coppell resigning, but then I read the whole article...

 

[NWgunner]

That's an amazing wage to turnover ratio. Wow.

I feel like the wage bill is something most football fans don't really take into consideration when discussing transfers.

My personal favourite is the 124% ratio. Patented by Hull City.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Ireland will play where Milner did I would think. The attacking player of a central midfield pairing.

Although I'd rather, as some on here have suggested, he played behind a lone striker in a 4-5-1/4-3-3. He'd have Petrov and possibly NRC behind him. But we've got Delph coming through to be a long term replacement for one of those two.

 

[number_0]

It seems like Ashley young will remain with villa this season, I assumed that villa would like to offload him since he has 2 years left on his contract and they are trying to reduce their wage bill.

 

[McIntyre]

It seems like Ashley young will remain with villa this season, I assumed that villa would like to offload him since he has 2 years left on his contract and they are trying to reduce their wage bill.

There's no point offloading a player to reduce the wage bill if their departure would create such fan apathy that your finances suffer anyway.

And, like you say, he's only got a couple of years left on his contract. They probably weighed up what the interested clubs were offering for him, what effect his wages would have on their finances and how his departure would affect the team and the fans and figured they're better off with him.

His influence on the team could directly earn them enough points next season to financially cover his wages and then some. Whereas selling him only to scrimp a few pennies might mean they lose just as much through lack of prize money and commercial revenue.

A year with Young playing for them might actually work out more sensible than letting him go for a pittance.

Next summer, especially if he has a stormer this year, clubs will still have to pay a pretty penny for him even if he does only have 12 months left on his contract.

If he has a stinker, then the interest might die down and they can offer him a new contract or keep him on for the remaining 12 months of his contract.

It'd be a case of brinkmanship but sometimes you have to play hardball.

All in all I think keeping Young onboard, especially with Milner supposedly leaving, is pretty sensible on Villa's part.

If there's a hole in your boat, you don't start making more holes to let the water out.

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Why would we want to sell Ashley Young, our best player who plays every game, to reduce the wage bill? Surely we'd rather sell the 5 or 6 squad players who hardly ever play?

It would be a terrible decision. The board seem to have kept most of the fans on their side through the departure of MON, but selling Young would change that.