We re-tweeted an article by SupChina columnist Mark Dreyer about Tony Xia at the weekend.
The reporter used to work for Sky Sports but now spends his time writing about sport in China. His description of Xia and his summary of the current situation of Villa is very disturbing:
Aston Villa has been pushed to the brink of financial ruin under its enigmatic Chinese boss, Tony Xia, who bought the club two years ago. How much longer will @AVFCOfficial fans put up with the mismanagement and unanswered questions? https://t.co/TWgI2hDWIQ by @DreyerChina
— The China Project (@thechinaproj) June 9, 2018
Fans on Twitter were very concerned by the characterisation of the owner in the article:
Yeah the fit and proper test must be a tough on to pass……..
— Martin Conlan (@MConlan) June 9, 2018
I remember the FA (I think?) saying it took them longer to conclude the fit and proper person test because verifying details in Chinese business was difficult. You get the impression that no one was sure, so they just let it go through.
— MrAdministrationVilla (@villa1st) June 9, 2018
Yea looking a dubious call now but at the time it seemed the great new beginning for #avfc and fans couldn't wait. As they say hindsight is a wonderful thing.
— Martin Conlan (@MConlan) June 9, 2018
Well the statements given out so far by @Dr_TonyXia have been a waste of time, us fans want clarity on the Manager situation & a plan going forward "feed us some crumbs of comfort for god sake Tony" if that's at all possible mind. #avfc
— Roger. W (@RogerW42) June 9, 2018
That's how Chinese businessmen work – they don't believe in communicating ANYTHING to their 'customers'. Carson Yeung was exactly the same at Blues.
— William Jones (@wjones451) June 9, 2018
Very interesting piece.
— john wragg (@downthelamb) June 9, 2018
Time for him too go. I don’t think he has the money support the club no more. Should just sell up
— David o mahony (@Davidomahony18) June 10, 2018
Verdict:
There are major questions that need to be answered by the current ownership. Dreyer makes clear he was concerned about Xia even before he became owner because he was a complete unknown in business circles.
On top of that, Sky Sports confirmed late last week that the club refused to pay for Playoff final suits as they were not willing to spend £20k. If they couldn’t afford that then, how are they going to pay the £5m that is needed for the payroll and taxes at the end of the month?
There are major concerns where the money will come from, with Sky also reporting that last month’s wage bill was paid by persuading Burnley to pay an early £3.5m instalment on the signing of Ashley Westwood.