Aston Villa’s battle with Financial Fair Play (FFP) will reach its climax this afternoon when the club face Fulham in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off final at Wembley.
The Villains manager Steve Bruce has had to battle against financial constraints throughout the campaign, with the club’s January transfer window dealings being particularly restricted.
Villa face promotion rivals Fulham in front of a sell-out crowd at the national stadium knowing that failure to reach the English Premier League could cause boss Bruce a major recruitment headache in the summer.
Promotion for Villa could be worth up to £280 million according to some financial experts and that increase in both revenue and stature would enable the club to operate on a bigger playing budget next season. The club’s battle against Financial Fair Play would effectively be over, securing the immediate futures of many of their key players.
Defeat to Fulham would result in a very different scenario for Bruce and his troops. Villa’s high wage budget would need to be slashed over the summer and that is likely to mean that there could be high profile departures. Bruce would also be forced into wheeling and dealing in the transfer market as he would look to mount a fresh promotion challenge.
There have been plenty of big games in Villa’s proud history and there is no doubting the importance of their latest fixture against Fulham.
