Rival watch

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PleaseNotPoll said:
You don't even have to back that far to see a rather swift demise for Villa.

In the 09-10 season we were neck and neck with them at the end of April, as we sat in 4th place above them on goal difference.
We won two of our remaining three games, including the Crouchigol at the Etihad, while they lost both of theirs.
Our first Champions League campaign came off the back of that, including wins over both Milan sides.

They lost the final of the League Cup, got knocked out in the semis of the FA Cup and ended up in the Europa League after finishing 6th.
This meant a second meeting with Rapid Vienna in the play-off round of that competition in order to reach the group stages.
They lost to them for the second time in two years. A 9th place finish lead pointed the way down that they've been following ever since.

Relegation, a play-off loss to Fulham, having John Terry play for them and now apparently they're going bankrupt.
What would HolteLegends make of it all?
Click to expand...

I remember them chucking money around like there was no tomorrow under Martin O'Neill and a lot of our fans asking why we weren't doing he same? Pretty soon, it became apparent that a lot of the players that they bought weren't better than the young players that we were developing and had a good deal less loyalty to boot. Citeh did something fairly similar in buying Robinho, Bellamy and the like. It saddled Villa with huge debts. Citeh just shrugged and bought more and more players.

I've never taken to Villa and they deserve the problems that are coming their way. They bet the farm on signing Terry and the like, now it's gonna cost them. Some fans think football is only about chasing glory today. I'm with RCL. Remember the lessons of yesterday and make sure your plans include tomorrow.

Beware owners who promise CL football in 5 years. It's bollocks and they're mad men.
 
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"Thanks for that Brian" said:
I remember them chucking money around like there was no tomorrow under Martin O'Neill and a lot of our fans asking why we weren't doing he same? Pretty soon, it became apparent that a lot of the players that they bought weren't better than the young players that we were developing and had a good deal less loyalty to boot. Citeh did something fairly similar in buying Robinho, Bellamy and the like. It saddled Villa with huge debts. Citeh just shrugged and bought more and more players.

I've never taken to Villa and they deserve the problems that are coming their way. They bet the farm on signing Terry and the like, now it's gonna cost them. Some fans think football is only about chasing glory today. I'm with RCL. Remember the lessons of yesterday and make sure your plans include tomorrow.

Beware owners who promise CL football in 5 years. It's bollocks and they're mad men.
Click to expand...
Gamblers look great when they win. They don't look quite as good when they overspend chasing their losses and crash.
The Ace of Spades is a great anthem for a rock band. I don't want to see a football chairman using it as an instruction manual, though.
 
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PleaseNotPoll said:
Gamblers look great when they win. They don't look quite as good when they overspend chasing their losses and crash.
The Ace of Spades is a great anthem for a rock band. I don't want to see a football chairman using it as an instruction manual, though.
Click to expand...

Also in that group of teams below us in 2005/06 was Bolton. Their level of debt was £200m a couple of years back. That's just suicidal. Whatever's included in the famed 'Fit and Proper Person' test isn't working.
 
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"Thanks for that Brian" said:
I've never taken to Villa and they deserve the problems that are coming their way. They bet the farm on signing Terry and the like, now it's gonna cost them. Some fans think football is only about chasing glory today. I'm with RCL. Remember the lessons of yesterday and make sure your plans include tomorrow
Click to expand...

I like to think that enough of the living supporters remember 1991,
and would rather have a club still in existence 100 years from then
that has the chance to achieve the success of the 100 years before,
then some brief success with an aeon of real obscurity (or worse -
bankruptcy) .


"Beware owners who are not real Sugga Daddys nor the children of
cash-rich autocracies, that promise CL football in 5 years.
It's bollocks and they're mad men."

< fixed >
 
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The RDBD said:
"Beware owners who are not real Sugga Daddys nor the children of
cash-rich autocracies, that promise CL football in 5 years.
It's bollocks and they're mad men."
Click to expand...

Is the PL likely to attract any more of those? I just can't see that the FFP rules and the massive cost of trying to create a financially doped club, like Citeh or Chelsea, is worth it. The value's gone in England.

The Chinese are buying Italian clubs, not English ones. What's Chelsea worth now that they're not capable of outspending Citeh and they've got an under-sized stadium, that they don't even own?

Moshiri bought Everton but does he really expect to be able to build them into a powerhouse CL team? They'll need to displace 3 of the current Big 6. Apparently, they're still having to sell to buy and have lots of ageing or flaky players and another manager who represents a roll of the dice as much as he does a sound investment. Plus there's the pain of funding a stadium with no savings and no current history in European football, other than one of their fans and his toddler fighting the opposition at Boooodison.

I think the days of the Sugga daddy may be gone.
 
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"Thanks for that Brian" said:
Is the PL likely to attract any more of those? I just can't see that the FFP rules and the massive cost of trying to create a financially doped club, like Citeh or Chelsea, is worth it.
Click to expand...

The answer is yes, if the owner has the appropriate
ulterior motive (vanity, a desire to project credibility etc) .

The FFP stuff is a joke, and will not discourage such owners.

The PL rules are non-existent, and seem intentionally
designed to AVOID scaring away such potential owners.

The UEFA rules have already been stress tested, and
they failed (Citeh, PSG etc) in making the punishment stick.
 
The RDBD said:
The answer is yes, if the owner has the appropriate
ulterior motive (vanity, a desire to project credibility etc) .

The FFP stuff is a joke, and will not discourage such owners.

The PL rules are non-existent, and seem intentionally
designed to AVOID scaring away such potential owners.

The UEFA rules have already been stress tested, and
they failed (Citeh, PSG etc) in making the punishment stick.
Click to expand...

FFP 2.0 is en route. That's supposed to close the ridiculous Citeh/PSG/Lesta 'owner sponsors club to monsterous levels via a linked corporation' loophole and deal with the Chelsea Hire Shop model by restricting players on loan to 10 per club. Sure, clubs will wriggle like **** and bring in the lawyers but it's getting harder and harder to financially dope a club.

The PL rules about raising wages beyond 9% out of non-PL TV money only is biting on Moshiri, etc. and is why Chelsea need a bigger stadium and they and Arsenal need CL football. <laugh>

We've got ourselves to the top table at a time when getting knocked off it is going to become more difficult for the dictators and criminals..
 
"Thanks for that Brian" said:
I remember them chucking money around like there was no tomorrow under Martin O'Neill and a lot of our fans asking why we weren't doing he same? Pretty soon, it became apparent that a lot of the players that they bought weren't better than the young players that we were developing and had a good deal less loyalty to boot. Citeh did something fairly similar in buying Robinho, Bellamy and the like. It saddled Villa with huge debts. Citeh just shrugged and bought more and more players.

I've never taken to Villa and they deserve the problems that are coming their way. They bet the farm on signing Terry and the like, now it's gonna cost them. Some fans think football is only about chasing glory today. I'm with RCL. Remember the lessons of yesterday and make sure your plans include tomorrow.

Beware owners who promise CL football in 5 years. It's bollocks and they're mad men.
Click to expand...

Shame for the fans though. My ex-Brother in Law was a season ticket holder and would often get me a ticket in the Holt End when Spurs were playing. Everyone knew that I was a Spurs fan but I never got any aggro. Used to beer afterwards with loads of them and again no aggro. Hope they pull through, if only for the fans.
 
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Villa down.Birmingham down. WBA down. Only Wolves to save the area's face. Wonder if Wolves will stay up?

These teams used to hold their own in the premier league.....until big money and stupidity took over!
 
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bigsmithy9 said:
Villa down.Birmingham down. WBA down. Only Wolves to save the area's face. Wonder if Wolves will stay up?

These teams used to hold their own in the premier league.....until big money and stupidity took over!
Click to expand...
Wolves have got money behind them and substantial connections with powerful agents, too.
I'll be very surprised if they go straight back down.
 
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