Mr. Aston Villa himself, also known as John McGinn, is never one to be particularly shy about speaking whatever truth needs to be said in the moment. The most significant piece of Villa news relates to the official departure of JacoRamsey to Newcastle United.
McGinn took to social media to express his appreciation for his now-former teammate.
On Instagram, McGinn also made a statement that is all too telling and familiar among Villa fans in particular. The final portion of his post mentioned how "it seems to be the way football is set up these days!"
It is this aspect that can often frustrate supporters. All of these Financial Fair Play and compliance issues make it so that clubs that are not in the 'big six' are forced to constantly make maneuvers that are essentially forced on them. Some may make the incorrect counterpoint that the guidelines are set up equally for everyone and were already agreed to by all involved parties.
This is far from the reality of the situation.
This new era was set up with the knowledge that the 'big six' would always be able to maintain a significant advantage. To now act as if things are on a level playing field after years of having clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool with an inherent built-in advantage has to play a part of the equation when discussing how FFP actually impacts the game nowadays and how clubs are able to operate.
Impact on Aston Villa
Add, too, that the enforcement of said rules is always disproportionately levied against the perceived smaller clubs, and McGinn's statement can be interpreted in an even deeper way that actually affects the sport.
It does little good to speculate now, but perhaps if Villa were allowed to simply operate as they see best fit, they would have been able to offer Ramsey the type of contract he was looking for, if that indeed was the main point that ultimately led to his departure from B6.