Aston Villa PSR admission shared amid £900m Premier League development
Dan Bardell can understand why Aston Villa and some of their fellow Premier League clubs are reluctant to agree upon a new financing deal with the EFL.
The Daily Mail reported on its website on 12 March that Villa are one of the 10 top-flight clubs who have blocked the £900million financial package for the football league.
It said a growing number of Premier League sides are considering ditching English football’s “New Deal” and taking legal action should a government regulator try to force them to pay up.
Bardell admitted that he can understand why the clubs have taken their stance due to the increased scrutiny they are currently under due to the profit and sustainability rules (PSR), but he conceded that it’s “never a good look”.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I’d love to know the reasoning. The problem Premier League teams have got is they are so heavily scrutinised with all this PSR stuff and every penny counts.
“They are probably saying ‘we can’t spend as much money on our own team, why do we then have to give money to other people?’.
“I can understand it to an extent, but the 10 that haven’t gone along with it, they’re never going to come out of it looking good because the gulf now between the Premier League and the Championship is bigger than it’s ever been.
“The EFL is quite reliant on the Premier League for these funds, but to an extent, I can understand why there is resistance from the Premier League clubs because of the time we’re living in.
“If you look at January, clubs couldn’t really buy, it was a pretty dead transfer window.
“I can to an extent understand it, but it’s never a good look.”
Are Aston Villa right about EFL stance?
This situation has caused an awful lot of controversy over the past few weeks and has really split the opinions of various stakeholders.
As Bardell points out, it’s never going to be a good look due to the history of football in this country and how much the pyramid is valued by many people.
There perhaps needs to be a change to the PSR model in the Premier League to allow those clubs more wriggle room to potentially help out the EFL and come to an agreement.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has raged at the “unfair” criticism he’s seen aimed at a Villa star.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.