Aston Villa have “spiralled out of control” financially, said Steve Bruce as he spoke of the irritation at having his hands tied in the summer transfer market. The manager has encountered restrictions owing to financial fair play, which he says the club are “on the cusp” of failing, and suggested he was not made fully aware of the situation when he accepted the job last October.
“I didn’t think I would be having to deal with it as such,” Bruce said, when asked about FFP. “But that’s the way it is. It is not a problem to me. I wouldn’t say I am enjoying it because it would have been nice to not have the restriction. That’s what’s come our way. Looking from afar, it’s spiralled out of control in a few years.”
Bruce backtracked on his comments when he was asked directly whether the financial position had been spelt out to him before he took charge. “I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist to realise this club had spent a lot of money,” he said. “It was made pretty clear, yeah.”
The overall impression he gave – before Villa’s Championship opener at home to Hull City on Saturday – was one of frustration. He said the need to balance the books had played a part in the decision to sell Nathan Baker to Bristol City for an undisclosed fee. Bruce has made four signings during this window – the free transfers of John Terry, Chris Samba and Ahmed Elmohamady and the £1m purchase of Glenn Whelan. He has also been hit by injuries to Jonathan Kodjia, Mile Jedinak and Jack Grealish.
“We spent an awful lot of money last summer and an awful lot of money the summer before,” said the former Hull City manager. “We can’t keep haemorrhaging more and more money. Obviously, the way FFP is – it is a complicated beast. There is talk about scrapping it. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know.
“People find ways round it. It’s a difficult subject and one for a bigger debate. Certainly, we’re on the cusp of it and that’s been on-going now for a good few months. Ultimately, the club has spent too much. When you see these big clubs now [spending huge money], you do wonder. But there it is.
“I’ve had to generate my own [money] all summer in order to spend. Ideally, we would love to say: ‘Cheque books open, we’re going to find someone.’ It’s the problem we’ve had all summer. We need to box a little bit clever because of FFP. We’ve got to restrict what we spend.”
Bruce described his squad as “still top-heavy”. “I might have to sell somebody I don’t want to sell although I don’t think that will be the case because nobody wants to sell their best players.
“Baker came out of the blue. And when we looked at it we thought that made decent business sense. We let the kid go because we couldn’t offer him the game-time and, of course, that chips away at the FFP and makes a little dent that we need. I am going to have to make some big decisions if they come our way – to balance the books.”
Villa are the favourites to win the Championship with some bookmakers and Bruce accepts expectation comes with the territory. “Why are we favourites when we finished 13th last season?” he said. “Because we are Aston Villa. It’s in the name and that’s what the club demands. So whether I have FFP or whatever, the demand is that we are there or thereabouts. We have to be. I am under no illusions about that. That’s why I came here.”
