Look ... the World Cup is over and camps are opened in most of Europe. Heck the season is underway in some countries. Time for a new seasonal news thread!
Selfishly, I'll start with Aston Villa. After a summer of discovery following their loss in the Championship playoffs ... mostly discovering that their Chinese "billionaire" owner was either a liar or a fraud or both, and discovering that the financial fair play rules had basically been ignored for two years, and discovering that the staff weren't properly paying their tax bills ... Villa have announced new investors. A consortium led by the owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and an Egyptian financier, both ACTUALLY worth billions, unlike Tony Xia who now holds the title of Co-Chairman but probably only until he can be completely levered out the door. Villa's new cash means they will avoid administration, which was a real possibility as recently as a month ago, but they still have a LONG row to hoe to get out from under their FFP issues. Some player sales are all but guaranteed, with Jack Grealish being the highest priced toy in the shop window. They've basically sacked everyone in the offices aside from Steve Bruce and his sporting staff. Look for a year of re-building the organization and hopefully survival in the Championship.
And yes ... this is an utter disgrace. The FA should be ashamed of approving Xia's purchase of the team in the first place, but this mess is fully on Villa's Board at the end of the day. Clean it up guys.
Selfishly, I'll start with Aston Villa. After a summer of discovery following their loss in the Championship playoffs ... mostly discovering that their Chinese "billionaire" owner was either a liar or a fraud or both, and discovering that the financial fair play rules had basically been ignored for two years, and discovering that the staff weren't properly paying their tax bills ... Villa have announced new investors. A consortium led by the owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and an Egyptian financier, both ACTUALLY worth billions, unlike Tony Xia who now holds the title of Co-Chairman but probably only until he can be completely levered out the door. Villa's new cash means they will avoid administration, which was a real possibility as recently as a month ago, but they still have a LONG row to hoe to get out from under their FFP issues. Some player sales are all but guaranteed, with Jack Grealish being the highest priced toy in the shop window. They've basically sacked everyone in the offices aside from Steve Bruce and his sporting staff. Look for a year of re-building the organization and hopefully survival in the Championship.
And yes ... this is an utter disgrace. The FA should be ashamed of approving Xia's purchase of the team in the first place, but this mess is fully on Villa's Board at the end of the day. Clean it up guys.