Trio Depart Villans

Erdington Villans manager Richard Birchall yesterday concluded the transfers of Jorge Villalpando, Martin Demichelis and Samuel Eto'o out of the club, easing the club's precarious financial position.

To be honest there is nothing I would love more than to keep my star players but keeping my club alive has to be the main priority and we just couldn't afford it financially.

It's quite sad for the economy that one of the top strikers in the game sells only £500k, but it was expected.

Despite 20 goals from only 23 appearances this season it had been widely reported that the Villans simply could not afford to hold onto their star striker and a fee of £500'000 was enough to see the 30 year old Cameroonian striker head to Folkestone Eagles. Eagles' manager James Bambridge was delighted with the deal:

I'm very happy and excited about the signing of Samuel. He is world class and, even though the wages are £65'000, I know I am buying goals. I hope he settles into the side nicely so we can continue our push up the UFFA rankings.

£750'000 saw commanding centre-back Martin Demichelis head to the Recreation Ground, signing for Villans' PFA Premier League rivals Fen Ditton. Villans' third departure of the day saw Villalpando head to XEFA 2nd Division leaders Smaley's Rams for £200'000.

Top players sacrificed as Clough Credit Crunch takes hold

Eto'o, Tosic, Moutinho and Arshavin. All top players that would no doubt be an asset to any club currently fighting for glory in their respective leagues in the UFFA. Yet the managers that currently look after these stars aren't trying to hold on to them. They're trying to get RID of them (or already have) as they battle against crippling wage bills and stadium costs.

Erdington Villans manager Richard Birchall is keen to offload Samuel Eto'o, despite the striker grabbing a hat-trick in a high profile match against Chester Rats in a high profile Gold Cup match a few days ago. But with the Cameroonian star's 65k pay packet accounting for a substantial chunk of the club's 240k wage bill, it's clear Birchall needs to streamline:

I have so much debt I will probably go bust so I have no choice to be honest. I need to find £5 million from somewhere in next 3 weeks to pay my debt before I go bankrupt.

When the Cloughite asked Birchall how he had such a high debt he replied:

I had a £4 million pound debt but needed a £9 million stadium.

So are these managers simply paying the price for their own financial stupidity, or are they genuinely victims of so-called 'Clough Credit Crunch'? There is no doubt the dramatic slow-down in the transfer market has hit clubs hard. But it can also be argued that managers had ample time to account for the financial impact of the stadiums.

Manager of DeeJayOne FC James Hargreaves says he hasn't been irresponsible:

My problem is that I didn't play the markets beforehand - I got a squad and stuck with it. That coupled with the uncertainty over actual costs for stadiums led me to believe I was being responsible. I knew the stadiums were coming, but there was constant uncertainty in the forums as to costs (which were changed several times) - by the time I realised there would be an issue, the markets had frozen. I was a day or two late on capitalising on the increased market before 'the big crash'.

A quick glance at DeeJayOne's finances reveals a reasonable wage bill with a sensibly planned stadium that matches the club's ambitions, so Hargreaves may indeed have a point.

One thing is for sure - the transfer market needs to get moving again for UFFA managers to have any chance of managing the financial crisis and to avoid being forced to let their top players go for relatively low acquisition fees.

However, manager of the Moles Shaun Meakin remains a voice of optimism:

I feel that, with this current fiscal situation, the market will make a steady rise within the next couple of seasons. It will never reach the dizzy heights it once was but it will return to a sensible level where players will sell for around their Market Value.

If Meakin's prediction does come true, then maybe one day we'll return to an era where top players (on reasonable wages) will continue to ply their trade in a fitting stadium for those loving managers who have the financial means in place to keep them there for many seasons.

Eto'o Bags Three for Villans

Samuel Eto'o was the hat-trick hero for Erdington Villans as they comprehensively beat Chester Rats in their Gold Cup Group B match which had been hyped as a clash of the titans.

However Rats' manager Jamie Cook will be scratching his head at how his team was beaten so soundly in this match between two heavyweights in the top 5 of the UFFA rankings; despite seemingly having more of the game it was Richie Birchall's Villans who took a decisive step towards qualification from the group.

Striker Eto'o was in devastating form in front of goal, and opened the scoring by volleying in Ashley Young's cross in the 10th minute. Chester Rats then pressed for an equaliser, with playmaker Carlos Vela at the heart of much of their attacking moves and opposition goalkeeper Jorge Villalpando was kept busy. But when it looked like the home team's efforts would bear fruit, up popped Eto'o to break their hearts with two poacher's goals in the last 5 minutes. He took advantage of some shocking Rats' defending to score in the 85th minute, and then completed his hat trick following a slick one-two move in the 89th.

Chester Rats will have to start winning if they are to have any hope of qualifying from Group B, while the Villans look to be in imperious form.