Villa blows whistle on player costs

ASTON VILLA chairman Doug Ellis has warned on the finances of soccer as half-year operating losses at his Premiership club spiralled to £11.4m from a £9.2m loss a year earlier and the interim dividend was halved.

'The industry is facing challenging times,' said Ellis. 'We must satisfy a increasingly demanding supporter base but we cannot afford to woo them with player transactions when that involves placing the club in jeopardy by taking unhealthy financial risks.'

The club reported a £4.4m deficit on its operations after a 25% increase in wages in the six months to the end of November. That is worsened by a £7m write-down on the depreciating value of players' contracts. Pre-tax losses came in at £1.6m, from a £2.65m loss last time. Gate takings and television income rose. The dividend fell to 1.1p a share from 2.2p.