16 Feb 2026 12:51:59
This initially went to rumours, not sure why.
Hi
I have been a Villa supporter for 63 years and I have finally become totally disillusioned by the way football is run.
I noticed that after Pep moaned about Marc Guhei being cup tied the rules were changed. It seems the authorities will do anything to maintain the top six, can’t have upstarts like Palace winning again.
This is of course the tip of the Iceberg, 3 years waiting for the Man City report, yet those top teams, Everton, Forest and Leicester are docked points immediately.
The transfer market is practically a no go for teams like Villa and Newcastle who are debt free. Look at Spurs though, just shy of a billion in debt but still paying out top dollar for players even though Spurs can no longer be classed as top six, or is this the amount of managers they have had this season? Spurs debt repayments each year are £38.7 million, the Villa player spend over 3 years £40 million approx, how can this be fair?
Isn’t it about time that the slate is wiped clean, if your owners want to spend, let them. Football is a business after all but it should be a fair business where if you have the money you can spend it.
When the City report comes out what is the odds that they won’t be able to buy players for 2 years but will come into effect a week after the end of the Summer transfers?
At the moment it appears a corrupt affair. I am just waiting for the last game of the season if Spurs need 3 points to stay up, who would vote against them getting the win by any means possible.
16 Feb 2026 17:41:29
Yes, it's not fair that teams like Chelsea and City managed to spend their way to the top before psr and are now benefitting from the income and sales revenue that jump created.
Of all fans though, we have experience of what happens when an owner spends loads on massive wages for players and then pulls the plug. Sustainability rules are a good thing, the problem is that they took too long to be implemented.
City's situation has dragged on too long, but the number and complexity of the charges means they cannot be compared to the other teams you mentioned. Everton and Forest were clear cut cases, trying to prove City were hiding and falsifying information is much more difficult, rushing the case and losing it would achieve nothing.
16 Feb 2026 19:14:30
Hi RK I just think if the football authorities are worried about clubs going out of business why don't they appear to take in overall debt into account. Football is a business, like it or not, businesses and it's owners should be the people who make decisions on affordability.
Putting up realistic bonds that the club can't touch and perhaps interest being distributed to lower league clubs should be a way to go. The bods could then be used if clubs are in financial trouble.
There certainly has to be a better way than just letting the top six win everything 9 years out of 10.
16 Feb 2026 22:25:31
Football clubs are community interests just as much as they are businesses and therefore require more protection.
If you win the lottery, open a small business and throw your cash down the drain for a couple of years then it doesn't really affect anybody, the whole of Bury was affected by the loss of their football club.
How do you make a decision on how much an owner has to put as a safety net in order to spend whatever they like? Create a squad on a combined £5m a week on 5 year contracts creates £1.25b of player costs alone, wages that would be extremely difficult to fully shift down the road (Sterling and Sancho being prime examples in the current market) .
If you take your Villa hat off for a moment, allowing us and Newcastle to spend freely makes us more competitive at the top end but just adds to the overall problem. The end game of free spending? The whole premier league just becomes the new Saudi Pro League as only clubs owned by the princes can really be competitive.
17 Feb 2026 09:07:32
Hi RK. The Premier league is not for community interests, it is about money. The lower leagues are possibly more community based clubs. Just look at mascots, there used to be 1 chosen from a children's home or because he had done good deeds for an old lady, today we have 11 mascots who are paying anything upto £500 a pop, that's not community, that's business.
The Premier League was set up to make money from the TV and European games, there used to be the Inter City Fairs Cup, how many competitions are there now?
If you have no opportunity to play in Europe you will always be playing catch up, especially when you get into Europe like Newcastle did a few years ago, you have to sell players which weakens the side.
I really don't know what can be done to equalise it more, but I do know that so many supporters are getting fed up with the usual cartel spending millions and millions and other clubs having to buy any promising youngsters that are left after Chelsea and man City has bought the rest.
17 Feb 2026 17:47:00
Some great well written posts there from both of you. Unfortunately this is the way football is going now and sooner rather than later honest hard working people will be priced out of a marchday experience with their families.
The PL and the European footballing body will have to look at this sometime in the future.As for us as a club for now I would take CL football to secure our future over a cup they will come but it's paramount we qualify for the CL this season otherwise we will be in severe trouble.Money makes the world go round afterall.
17 Feb 2026 18:20:44
A premier league club failing still has the same impact on the area. Hospitality and travel businesses will all suffer if a premier league club fails and therefore it still represents a community interest.
I don't like that the rules have inadvertently protected the top teams as much as the next person but I understand why they are needed.