John Gregory - Scandal or Scapegoat?
By Jonathan Fear
December 4 2002
In fairness to John Gregory it needs to be stressed that he is reportedly in contact with his lawyers over press coverage on the issue below. JG has, under legal instruction, refused to comment.

This report is based on articles by the Guardian, fa.com, Evening Mail and the Express & Star plus the joint statement from Villa and The FA. It is in no way meant as an anti JG article, I am merely rounding up the days events.

I again wonder why is Villa a soap opera as opposed to the great footballing club it once was? 20 years of pain, is it time for the board to jointly resign? I have tried not to be to pro or anti the Board in my Villa times etc, but surely enough is enough. We want our football club back.

Reports have suggested that Villa are under investigation along with John Gregory for several transfer deals done during his reign. Villa have said the FA had also asked other clubs to hand over information as part of an overall investigation into transfer dealings but none of those clubs were named and the FA would not confirm if any other clubs were involved. All they did say was "We can confirm the FA compliance unit is conducting an investigation into a number of transfers involving Aston Villa Football Club." (fa.com) The investigation started several months ago and it could take a significant time before any conclusions are made."

The joint statement also confirms that the Compliance Unit is required to deal with these matters and "Not only is there no suggestion today that Aston Villa Football Club is under investigation, but the club took extra precautions in respect of transfers highlighted in the press."

"The FA are grateful that Aston Villa are prepared to champion a campaign to rid the game of any 'bung' culture." Which leads you to believe that Villa took pre-emptive action in response to circulating rumours (see below) before any investigation started from elsewhere and that the board requested that the FA look at the deals, hence either distancing themselves from any blame over any improprieties. Remember John Gregory's departure came as a shock because a few weeks previously he had said he was happy at Villa and enjoying his time at such a great club. Then when he left it was said to be because he needed a break from football, only to join Derby 2 weeks later.

What also worries me is that the board have worked hard at distancing themselves from JG recently with 'leaks' that GT is struggling to get rid of the 'deadwood' brought in by JG etc.

Most articles are suggesting that the issue surrounds a few of the foreign signings including Angel, Alpay and Bosko, 2 of which were good signings but doubts are bound to be cast on spending £6million on Bosko. However Bosko's agent has said "The transfer was carried out solely through Doug Ellis and Mark Ansell. John Gregory was not involved at all and I cannot understand why the club has not made that clear." The Express and Star report. "The club have released their files after a request from the FA's Compliance Unit amid suggestions that as many as 20 deals are being examined. "

The Guardian says that 'Villa are currently at the centre of the probe after the club revealed that they had responded to a request from the FA's compliance unit to hand over files.' However Villa and the FA have issued a joint statement saying "The FA wants to make clear today that Aston Villa FC is not under investigation". (Which seems to contradict their quote above, or implies that Villa are not the target of the investigation, just JG). "In fact, the club instigated its own enquiries earlier in the year as a result of continued rumour regarding a number of transactions, some of which involve players at their club." So the FA are saying that the Villa board asked for the transfers to be investigated. Are they trying to make JG a scapegoat, as they were obviously involved in the transfers? Would JG be the only one negotiating these thing? No of-course not.

So where did the rumours start? Apparently issue 1067 of Private Eye (Thanks to Dave Cooper for sorting that information out for me). The issue seems to stem from the fact that out of 36 transfers by JG, 33 were done through one agency, and the agent was a very good friend of his and is also his own personal agent.

So, it looks like Villa will again be splashed all over the papers for the wrong reasons. It is time for the Fear to be chairman. At least the headlines would be interesting. 'Fear takes charge', Welcome to Fear Park.....etc!!!

Mike Field of holteenders.com

More details about the probe into JOHN GREGORY and NOT the Villa.

The official joint Aston Villa/Football Association Statement - from avfc.co.uk

As a result of stories circulating in the media, Aston Villa F.C and The F.A. wish the following to be known:

The Football Association wants to make clear today that Aston Villa FC is not under investigation. In fact, the club instigated its own enquiries earlier in the year as a result of continued rumour regarding a number of transactions, some of which involve players at the club.

The Football Association's Compliance Unit is responsible for investigating all such matters. Aston Villa approached the FA to share information in order to assist both parties in their obligations and to ensure they discharge their responsibilities to the game. These matters are ongoing and complex.

Not only is there no suggestion today that Aston Villa Football Club is under investigation, but the club took extra precautions in respect of transfers highlighted in the press.

These were conducted via the FA and in full consultation with UEFA and FIFA as appropriate.

The FA are grateful that Aston Villa are prepared to champion a campaign to rid the game of any 'bung' culture. ---------------------------------- Balaban is said to be one of the most interesting facets of the case and his agent, Nikki Vuksan, told the Wolverhampton Express & Star: "Everything was fair and correct. The transfer was carried out solely through Doug Ellis and Villa finance director Mark Ansell.

"John Gregory was not involved at all and I cannot understand why the club has not made that clear."

What needs to be ascertained is whether Balaban is represented by the agency that Gregory is linked to? ------------------------------------ The list of players:

1998 IN

Alan Thompson (Bolton, £4.5m) Fabio Ferraresi (Cesena, free) Paul Merson (Middlesbrough, £6.75m) Steve Watson (Newcastle, £4m) Dion Dublin (Coventry, £5.75m) David Unsworth (West Ham United, £3m)

OUT

Sasa Curcic (Crystal Palace, £1m) Savo Milosevic (Real Zaragoza, £3.5m) Steve Staunton (Liverpool, free) Fernando Nelson (Porto, £1.1m) Dwight Yorke (Manchester United, £12.6m) David Unsworth (Everton, £3m) Ben Petty (Stoke, free)

1999 IN

Peter Enckelman (TPS Turku, £200,000) Mark Delaney (Cardiff, £250,000) Steve Stone (Nottingham Forest, £5.5m) Colin Calderwood (Tottenham, £225,000) Neil Tarrant (Ross County, £250,000) David James (Liverpool, £1.7m) George Boateng (Coventry, £4.5m) Najwan Ghrayib (Hapoel Haifa, £1m) Benito Carbone (Sheff Wed, undisclosed)

OUT

Gary Charles (Benfica, £1m) Lee Collins (Stoke, free) Mark Bosnich (Manchester Utd, free) Reuben Hazell (Tranmere, free) Alan Lee (Burnley, £200,000) Fabio Ferraresi (Cesena, free) Riccardo Scimeca (Nottingham Forest, £3m) Simon Grayson (Blackburn, £750,000) David Hughes (Shrewsbury, nominal) Adam Rachel (Blackpool, free) Michael Oakes (Wolves, £500,000)

2000 IN

Luc Nilis (PSV Eindhoven, free) Alpay Ozalan (Fenerbahce, £5.6m) David Ginola (Tottenham, £3m) Thomas Hitzlsperger (Bayern Munich, free) Steve Staunton (Liverpool, free)

OUT

Tommy Jaszczun (Blackpool, £50,000) Stan Collymore (Leicester, free) Colin Calderwood (Nottm Forest, nominal) Michael Blackwood (Wrexham, free,) Steve Watson (Everton, £2.5m) Mark Draper (Southampton, £1.25m) Benito Carbone (Bradford, free) Alan Thompson (Celtic, £2.75m) Aaron Lescott (Sheff Wed, £100,000) Ugo Ehiogu (Middlesbrough, £8m) Matthew Ghent (Lincoln, free)

2001 IN

Juan Pablo Angel (River Plate, £9.5m) Hassan Kachloul (Southampton, free) Mustapha Hadji (Coventry, £2.5m) Peter Schmeichel (Sporting Lisbon, free) Olof Mellberg (Racing Santander, £5m) Bosko Balaban (Dinamo Zagreb, £5.8m)

OUT

Mark de Bolla (Charlton, undisclosed) Najwan Ghrayib (Hapoel Haifa, £150,000) Julian Joachim (Coventry, part exchange) David James (West Ham, £3.5m), Gareth Southgate (Middlesbrough, £6.5m) Neil Cutler (Stoke, free) Richard Walker (Blackpool, £50,000).

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