GUTTED VILLA FACE LIFE WITHOUT TERRY AND GREALISH
THE hug was heartfelt and lasted a good 20 seconds. As Steve Bruce met John Terry outside the Aston Villa dressing room, it looked very much like a long goodbye. Sources have disclosed to Sportsmail that was indeed the conclusion from a Villa perspective. Terry is said to have told colleagues to ‘keep in touch’, in the way you do when parting from a holiday romance. And like a sunny week in Spain, for all the strong feelings stirred, it has to end. Villa will not generate the money to keep Terry, on wages of £60,000 a week, for another season in the Championship. The 37-year-old trudged on to the team bus, pondering offers from the MLS and China, and saying only that he was ‘gutted’ about the result. He added on Instagram yesterday: ‘Absolutely devastated… It kills me that we weren’t able to achieve what we set out to do.’ For Villa, losing 1-0 to Fulham was about more than missing out on a minimum £170million in expected Premier League revenue. They now face a desperate fight to avoid sanctions for breaching financial fair play regulations. Come the close of the summer transfer window, the Villa squad will look very different. Primary among discussions will be Jack Grealish. At Wembley, the 22-year-old midfielder illustrated why he deserves to play in the top flight. Skill and bravery were the pillars of a performance that nearly dragged his boyhood club back from the brink. Stamped on,
kicked and generally targeted, he kept getting up and demanding the ball. His run through four Fulham defenders to create a shooting chance was electrifying. But he could not summon the killer act and now he could be sold to raise around £25m. The contract he signed in September 2016 has two years to run. Leicester have shown interest but leaving the club he supports would be an enormous wrench for Grealish. For all his mistakes off the pitch, he has matured considerably and has been playing at a consistently high level this season. That he should be playing at a higher level seemed to be the sentiment of a prolonged, almost paternal embrace with Terry after the final whistle. Villa’s players knew the importance of this game. The club’s plight had been laid bare in annual accounts released in February, which showed Villa were effectively losing £800,000 a week in 2016-17 before factoring in a £26.6m profit on player sales. Last summer Bruce spent only £2.9m on signings — actually making the club £19.5m net through selling. Given that Villa’s parachute payments from the Premier League will drop to £15m next season from a previous £33m, the budget must be cut again. There has been speculation that the training ground could even be sold. But Villa are hamstrung by a wage bill that stood at £61m last season. For example, Mile Jedinak, a fine leader, has a year left on his £45,000a-week salary. Villa are committed to paying others who have long since ceased to be considered. Ross McCormack takes home more than £2m annually. Micah Richards has a season left on his deal. Henri Lansbury, on £35,000 a week, was not in Saturday’s squad. Most of the contracts were signed off by owner Tony Xia, the Chinese businessman who spent heavily in his first window after taking over Villa post-relegation. Now, he invests on social media instead. ‘Sorry for all fans for this difficult moment,’ he tweeted after the defeat. ‘Have to stay stronger.’ James Chester would be another saleable asset. The Wales defender has been magnificent for two seasons, not missing a single minute of Championship action since signing. He got married yesterday, deliberately organising the ceremony to allow for the possibility of the play-off final. He hoped for a perfect weekend. His team-mate, Ahmed Elmohamady, vowed that Villa would challenge again. ‘You have to get together and go next season,’ he said. ‘The supporters were behind us all the way. We will make sure we do it for them.’ Bruce is determined to remain at the club as manager, even after his recent personal turmoil — losing both parents this year. Remarkably, there is uncertainty over his position. Xia wanted the Premier League and twice before in this season Bruce was on the edge before pulling out a win that saved his job. It would be scandalous to sack Bruce, given his work in restoring pride at a fractured club; he should be trusted to try again, especially amid the sweeping changes ahead.