Spare me the deep dives into the fate of Monchi, the departing director of football operations at Aston Villa.
Many things have contributed to Villa’s desperate start, from a few iffy signings to the lingering hangover from tripping up in the Champions League race on the final day at Old Trafford. Momentum is a powerful force but when it is lost, regaining it is like turning an oil tanker.
But let’s cut to the chase: the reason for Villa’s demise lands fairly and squarely at the door of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) that have been kept in place to do exactly what they are doing to Unai Emery’s side.
Think about it. Monchi’s recruitment track record was far from perfect – for every Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers there has been a Donyell Malen or Moussa Diaby – but it is a unique feature of the exacting PSR regime that it is the challenger clubs who end up paying a super-sized price for their transfer failures.
How else can we explain the fact that Villa – fresh off reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League and finishing sixth in the Premier League – spent the summer looking for takers for their best players? All the while Manchester United (15th in the Premier League, not even hitting 40 points) were able to prod the reset button by spending nearly £200m on new players.
Monchi and Emery had their hands tied (Photo: Getty)PSR not only bakes in existing advantages, offering clubs like Manchester United another roll of the dice, it also limits the room for error that a Villa, a Newcastle or an Everton are able to enjoy.
It was former Magpies co-owner Amanda Staveley who said that Newcastle “couldn’t afford” to make a mistake in the transfer market and those were prophetic words. The club’s PSR headroom was so limited that even though they barely made a misstep in the market in two years, there was nowhere for them to turn.
You might argue that Villa knew the rules before they started to play the game, and that’s correct. They were prepared to make big sales in the summer (Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez were two of their internationals keen to go) but their PSR situation meant that buying clubs knew they were in a pickle and any enquiries were pitched at a level well below market valuation.
The result of all this is that figures like Monchi and even Emery find themselves without the luxury of a fallow year, which is a status enjoyed by clubs who have feasted at the Champions League table for years. PSR is a problem but there is no solution available to Villa, so they are left to rearrange the chairs in the boardroom hoping for a magic formula.
We should all be worried about this. At the moment it is Villa suffering. Last year it was Newcastle, and they are not out of the woods yet either.
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Alexander Isak’s departure for Liverpool cannot entirely be blamed on PSR, although financially driven decisions over the last 12 months clearly contributed, but what comes next is going to be hugely shaped by complying with regulations rather than rebuilding.
They are fortunate that in Eddie Howe they have one of the best head coaches in the game. The outstanding job he has done at St James’ Park needs to be viewed through the prism of PSR.
Next? I’ve got my eye on an upwardly mobile Everton, who have already seen their wings clipped by PSR. Granted, they were reckless in the Farhad Moshiri era but haven’t Manchester United been? And Chelsea? Yet PSR protects one group of clubs while ensuring the chasers have to recruit with a ridiculous hit rate.
Villa have lined up Roberto Olabe, the architect of Real Sociedad’s impressive rise, to become their next sporting director. Given the scale of the task involved, the club will hope he arrives with alchemy in his briefcase.
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