Premier League 2024/25

[Finnegan]

4 minutes ago, fox_up_north said:

No. I'd say Real Madrid are worse.

 

I'll give you that tbf

[Guest Bilo]

22 minutes ago, fox_up_north said:

No. I'd say Real Madrid are worse.

Lazio, Rangers, Beitar Jerusalem...

[Bert]

12 hours ago, Bilo said:

Villa are only one point behind them, have won five of their last six and have the following run-in.

 

Bournemouth (A)

Tottenham (H)

Man United (A)

 

So a team on the beach and BOTH Europa League finalists. 

I think the key game for all of this is Newcastle Chelsea. One of them if not both are dropping points. Forest next two games are relegated Leicester who have a historically bad record at the city ground & on the beach West Ham. 
 

Newcastle also away at Arsenal which again could work in their favour, especially with Man City breathing down Arsenals necks for 2nd place now. 

[Finnegan]

41 minutes ago, Bilo said:

Lazio, Rangers, Beitar Jerusalem...

 

That's something very different though isn't it. You could name loads of clubs with really vile fan bases for political or violent reasons. 

 

The vast majority of Madrid fans are apolitical, the vast majority aren't even Spanish, they have a massive online presence (obviously) from all over the world and they're generally some of the biggest tool bags in social media spaces. 

 

Sincerely make the average Liverpool fan look sane. 

 

[Guest Bilo]

2 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

That's something very different though isn't it. You could name loads of clubs with really vile fan bases for political or violent reasons. 

 

The vast majority of Madrid fans are apolitical, the vast majority aren't even Spanish, they have a massive online presence (obviously) from all over the world and they're generally some of the biggest tool bags in social media spaces. 

 

Sincerely make the average Liverpool fan look sane. 

 

Oh, I was just having a bit of fun.

[Super_horns]

Spurs get their way with the Villa game moved back to the Friday evening so more time to prepare for the Europa final .

 

Just got to make sure they get there !

[Lionator]

1 hour ago, Bert said:

I think the key game for all of this is Newcastle Chelsea. One of them if not both are dropping points. Forest next two games are relegated Leicester who have a historically bad record at the city ground & on the beach West Ham. 
 

Newcastle also away at Arsenal which again could work in their favour, especially with Man City breathing down Arsenals necks for 2nd place now. 

As long as Newcastle don’t lose, all other results wouldn’t favour Forest. That last game is very likely to be winner takes all though. Unless Villa and Newcastle win every game, then it could be a 6th place shootout.

[Nalis]

1 hour ago, Super_horns said:

Spurs get their way with the Villa game moved back to the Friday evening so more time to prepare for the Europa final .

 

Just got to make sure they get there !

Absolute scenes if they don't make it

[PhillippaT]

9 hours ago, Nalis said:

Absolute scenes if they don't make it

Relative scenes if they do?

[The Horse's Mouth]

16 hours ago, Finnegan said:

 

They're honestly the most pathetic fanbase in football. 

 

Nah it’s still Arsenal 

[Leicesterpool]

21 hours ago, Super_horns said:

Spurs get their way with the Villa game moved back to the Friday evening so more time to prepare for the Europa final .

 

Just got to make sure they get there !

Does anyone remember when Spurs requested to change a ref when it turned out he was from leicestershire.. kevin friend even though he was supposedly a Bristol City fan. 

[Heathrow fox]

I think the next breakaway attempt will be made by the usual suspects plus 4/6 others.A 48 team strong European competition split into 4 conferences or zones,with a huge play-off at the end of the season.One of the main criteria for membership will be priority use of a 50000 + Stadium.

 

[UniFox21]

Suggestion villa need to sell this summer to comply, funny given they sold Duran for £60m in January. 

[Super_horns]

47 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Suggestion villa need to sell this summer to comply, funny given they sold Duran for £60m in January. 

Watkins ?

[splinterdream]

57 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Suggestion villa need to sell this summer to comply, funny given they sold Duran for £60m in January. 

Was all so predictable, PSR is not fit for purpose and just ruining clubs having a go, Forest will be next if they don't get CL I'm sure, and if they fall out of top 7 they're bang in trouble.

I can't understand why more of the clubs aren't getting together to object to it, it's ruining our club and has been since the 22/23 season. 

[Chelmofox]

1 hour ago, splinterdream said:

Was all so predictable, PSR is not fit for purpose and just ruining clubs having a go, Forest will be next if they don't get CL I'm sure, and if they fall out of top 7 they're bang in trouble.

I can't understand why more of the clubs aren't getting together to object to it, it's ruining our club and has been since the 22/23 season. 

Is '1 big sale' really ruining Villa. Their wages to revenue ratio is high, they have competed in the CL this season and have a good chance to qualify for it next season. One big sale seems that they are doing ok, and presuming they do it they just amortise any incomings. 

[RowlattsFox]

Sell Watkins. Sign Vardy 

 

After Watkins though, I don't think Villa have many sellable assets that will bring in lots of money.

[Torten]

 

1 hour ago, Super_horns said:

Watkins ?

Can see it now. Watkins to Arsenal for £60m and flops hard.

[Finnegan]

2 hours ago, UniFox21 said:

Suggestion villa need to sell this summer to comply, funny given they sold Duran for £60m in January. 

 

We're all just going round on a merry-go-round aren't we? Arguably Everton before us, despite not reaching the same heights, Villa after, at the risk of going full @Bilo, it'll inevitably be Forest next.

 

It just isn't sustainable. The rules are specifically written to stop mid-sized clubs cracking the top six consistently. You spend, you have your moment there, then you have to sell.

 

I do feel like amortisation has been something of a trap for clubs. You see it even in the mentality of fans on here, how often do you hear (and even I've said this) "oh, we sold a player for 4m profit, we can spend 20m now." When you stop and think about it, that's really, really stupid. It's extreme short-termism, all that money has to be paid at some point. Not to mention the ballooning wage bills that come with it.

 

 

[filbertway]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

We're all just going round on a merry-go-round aren't we? Arguably Everton before us, despite not reaching the same heights, Villa after, at the risk of going full @Bilo, it'll inevitably be Forest next.

 

It just isn't sustainable. The rules are specifically written to stop mid-sized clubs cracking the top six consistently. You spend, you have your moment there, then you have to sell.

 

I do feel like amortisation has been something of a trap for clubs. You see it even in the mentality of fans on here, how often do you hear (and even I've said this) "oh, we sold a player for 4m profit, we can spend 20m now." When you stop and think about it, that's really, really stupid. It's extreme short-termism, all that money has to be paid at some point. Not to mention the ballooning wage bills that come with it.

 

 

I asked ChatGPT to come up with a system that primarily focuses on the sustainability and future of football clubs. Gotta say, I think it's pretty good. Doesn't prevent owner investment but ensures that if the owner decides to leave one day, that the club won't collapse under debt obligations.

 

Fixing Football Finance: The Sustainable Commitment Model (SCM)

Ultimate Goal: Prevent clubs from being financially destroyed by reckless ownership while allowing ambition and sustainable growth.

---

Core Principle:

A club must be able to survive and honour its financial commitments without owner support, if necessary.

---

1. Cash-Based Compliance (CBC)

• Clubs report actual cash inflows and outflows, not amortised accounting figures.
• Covers: transfer payments, wages, agent fees, and real-time revenue.
• Removes timing tricks and ensures spending reflects current affordability.

2. Equity-Only Owner Funding

• Owners can inject money, but only as equity (non-repayable).
• No loans, no debt leverage, no financial strings.
• Ensures club isn’t loaded with repayable obligations that can collapse it.

3. Rolling 3-Year Spend Cap

• Total annual football outgoings (wages + transfers + agents) capped at 80% of average 3-year revenue.
• Scales ambition to income, rewards stable growth.
• Forces choice between transfer splurges and wage inflation.

4. Live Obligations Dashboard

• Monthly reporting of all financial commitments:
  • Transfer instalments, wage bills, bonus triggers.
  • 12-month and 36-month projections.
• Monitored centrally for early warning signs.

5. Pre-Season "Going Concern" Test

• Independent auditors assess whether club can operate safely for next 12 months.
• Clubs that fail:
  • Can be blocked from registering new players.
  • May face enforced restructuring or change of ownership.

6. Net Transfer Cap Trigger

• If a club records net spend > £150m over 2 years, it must:
  • Pass a forward cash-flow test.
  • Submit sustainability plan.
  • Publish an independent audit.

---

Comparison to Current PSR Rules:

Feature	Current PSR	SCM Proposal
Basis	Accounting (amortisation)	Real cash-based accounting
Owner Funding	Unlimited loans allowed	Only equity allowed
Transfer Reporting	Amortised	Actual spend as paid
Risk Detection	Reactive (after breaches)	Proactive (dashboard + audits)
Fairness to Small Clubs	Low	High (scales to revenue)

---

Philosophy:

Football clubs are community assets. Financial rules should protect their existence first, and performance second.

The Sustainable Commitment Model: No gambling. No loopholes. Just honest, scalable, future-proof football.

[Stadt]

Villa will be fine, they've successfully managed to flog players to Saudi, something we did once successfully about 7 years ago and never bothered trying to again. 

 

Two of Buendia, Bailey and Watkins will be enough 

[Chelmofox]

2 hours ago, RowlattsFox said:

Sell Watkins. Sign Vardy 

 

After Watkins though, I don't think Villa have many sellable assets that will bring in lots of money.

Bet they sell Youri for £40 mil. 

[Fear Of The Fox]

There isn't any common sense (on purpose ofc) among the people that make these rules either financial or the actual game ones. There is one way to make PL competitive from top to bottom and it's called Salary Cap but this needs to be implemented by FIFA/UEFA and forced on all European leagues. 

You're Real Madrid and you want to build a team around 2-3 overpaid stars? It's alright. The rest of the team will have "low tier" rotation players. And if these overpaid OnlyFans primadonnas object let them go to China or to the butchers of Saudi Arabia. 

 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

56 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

Bet they sell Youri for £40 mil. 

Nah Youri will "asses his options" when coming to the end of his contract, do interviews with a little smirk on his face and then walk away into another juicy sign on bonus, like he did to us

[splinterdream]

3 hours ago, Chelmofox said:

Is '1 big sale' really ruining Villa. Their wages to revenue ratio is high, they have competed in the CL this season and have a good chance to qualify for it next season. One big sale seems that they are doing ok, and presuming they do it they just amortise any incomings. 

1 big sale. Where does that 1 big sale go? Often to one of the giant clubs who don't seem to be having to have 1 big sale, with said player ending up a squad player, and we should know if you don't manage to replace that talented player you're forced to sell, it creates a spiral that's very difficult to get out of, there has to be a better system of creating fairness in the leagues