Is money ruining football?

Those of you who follow my blog will know that im a big Aston Villa fan and just lately have not been to happy about the way the club and chairman have been acting. First of all it was the whole manager saga, which has come and gone now and there isn't much we can do about it. But after reading today that we are going to be losing Downing as well as Young it has sparked a bit of a fire in my belly.

I know im not the only person who believes money is ruining the beautiful game. Whether its clubs with lots of money putting silly bids in for players or even all the way up the top with Fifa officals taking bribes, the game is becoming a disgrace. The is just no loyalty anymore. What happened to the days when a player stayed at the club who made him and not just went where the money is? Player like Matt Le Tissier, Peter Beardsley, Alan Shearer, just to name but a few, who back in their day were brilliant and lets be honest could of played for anyone, but didn't. They stayed true to the club they loved.

It makes you wonder if players like Young and Downing are being sold for 17 million, how much would George Best, Pele or Maradonna be worth? In the hundred millions! Unless your a team these days with silly amounts of money like your Chelsea's and Man City's your team has got no chance of keeping there best players and building a quality team for the future.

I really do hope the FA bring in this new rule about transfer spending. I think it will be brilliant for teams like Villa, Everton, Spurs and all the teams with less money. Maybe then we can start to see a bit of a fairer game and maybe the players will start to think "Hang on a minute, why aren't they paying me a hundred grand a week?"

But I doubt it...

Should Alex McLeish be the new Aston Villa manager?

I have always been a life long Villa fan and over the last few years it has been a very tough time being one. Things were all good and dandy until (in my opinion) Martin O'Neill left. After the fiasco of his departure the club seemed to lose track of what they wanted and where we were going. First of all appointing Gerard Houillier was a BIG mistake in my eyes, yes he bought Darren Bent but apart from that what good did he do?

Obviously this is all in the past now as we are going through a similar problem with finding his replacement. There have been a fair few names mentioned in the press such as David Moyes, Frank Rjakaard and Steve Mclaren. The first choice for the club was Carlo Anchelotti, which I think would of been a great appointment, but unfortunately he wanted to take a year out from football. Then came the resignation of Mark Hughes which many thought was provoked by the vacant Villa post. Yet the club decided against because of the way Mark Hughes resigned. I can understand the decision to a point but I still think he would of been a good choice.

Several days after this they approached Roberto Martinez, who after having a big boost of confidence from Dave Whelan (Wigans chairman) decided to stay with the Latics. I personally think fair play to him. Obviously Villa are a bigger club but he had built himself a decent squad and his players loved him.

Now comes the biggest twist in the saga, Alex McLeish. I really can't think for the life of me what Randy Lerner is thinking even contemplating him. First of all he is the former Blues boss, Lerner must of known this wouldn't go down to well with the fans. Second, what has he actually proved in English football? Yes he won the Carling cup (well they were handed it on a plate by Arsenal), but they also got relegated. Now to me appointing a manager who just got your local rivals relegated is madness!!!

I do want to stress that I don't agree with the fans who have de-faced the training ground though. I think it is most irresponsible and down right stupid. What happens next is anyone's guess, but after reading today's paper it seems as though McLeish is going to get the job.

God help us is all I can say!!! 

Interesting news story on this can be found at : http://sport.uk.msn.com/football/news/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=158252023