Villa post multi-million pound loss

Aston Villa will look to trim their wage bill after posting a 37 million-pound loss for the year ending May 31, 2010.

While turnover at the Birmingham club actually increased by six million pounds in the 2009/10 season, the club’s wage expenses rose by nine million pounds to sit at around 80 million pounds.

The club’s turnover for the season was 90 million pounds – including 52 million from television revenues, 24 million from matchday earnings and 14.4 million from commercial income – seeing Villa become one of Europe’s top-20 earning clubs.

Villa owner Randy Lerner injected 12.5 million pounds during the season from a new share issue and doubled that amount in loan notes.

The American businessman also bankrolled the January signing of striker Darren Bent from Sunderland in a 23.5 million-pound swoop.

As well as Bent’s arrival, manager Gerard Houllier also welcomed Kyle Walker and Michael Bradley, while highly paid Norwegian marksman John Carew joined other big names Steve Sidwell, Curtis Davies and Stephen Ireland in exiting.

The 37 million-pound loss left the club nine million pounds better off than in the previous season, but with a long way to go if they are to adhere to UEFA’s new financial fair-play laws.

The regulations come into effect for the 2012/13 season and state that clubs can only incur a loss of 39 million pounds over three seasons.