Cash has killed romance

[andy villa]

Aston Villa boss David O'Leary has admitted football's romance has been lost in the cash-driven surge for success.

After watching his team miss out to Newcastle on goal difference for a place in Europe, O'Leary has predicted it would take an investment of around £100million for any club to break into the established top five.

Villa's 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United allowed the Magpies to leapfrog them into fifth spot thanks to their 1-1 draw at Liverpool, meaning the five biggest-spending teams occupied those positions in the final Premiership table.

O'Leary insisted he was only being realistic when he claimed the situation would not change next season. The facts are, he added, the elite clubs are now operating in a different world to the rest of the league.

"The romance of the game is gone," he said.

"Money talks and the money is with the big five. It buys the best players for the best clubs. The days of teams like Nottingham Forest winning a league title are over.

"Can anyone realistically say that any team outside the top five stands a chance of winning the league next season? Even Blackburn bought the title and other than someone coming in with about £100million, the gap just cannot be bridged.

"In fact, it will probably get wider because next year, I don't think you will see Liverpool and Newcastle falling as far behind the top three as they have this season."

It is a mantra O'Leary has become used to repeating as he tried to play down rising expectation among the Villa support.

In the end, they simply did not have the class required to secure victory against a Manchester United side that has under-performed badly in the second half of the season and has spent the last month almost totally distracted by next Saturday's FA Cup final encounter with Millwall.

It is a measure of the way O'Leary believes the game has changed that he is able to celebrate sixth spot and no tangible reward, then claim United could hardly be content with their season even if they do emerge victorious at the Millennium Stadium.

"United will win the FA Cup next week but their whole agenda is much bigger than that," he said.

"When Arsenal won it last year, I don't think they even held a celebration dinner or took the trophy to the town hall.

"The standards of those teams are so high now that even if United beat Millwall, they will end the season disappointed with what they have achieved."

O'Leary believes the suspension of Rio Ferdinand - the man he paid £18million to sign when manager of Leeds - proved the pivotal moment in United's downfall this term but thinks the Old Trafford outfit will give Arsenal a better run for their money next term.

As for his own team, with Ronny Johnsen and Dion Dublin not offered new contracts, the Irishman calculates he needs six new players to ensure his squad is robust enough to get through a tough Premiership campaign.

There appeared to be no hint of regret in his voice when he suggested it was probably too early for his fledgling Villa side to embark on a European campaign.

Instead, he preferred to reflect on the massive advances the midlands club have made in the last 12 months.

"With two games to go last season this club was on the verge getting relegated and we were everybody's tip to go this year," he said.

"To finish sixth is a remarkable achievement. We have also had the best average attendances in 20 years and the football we have played has brought them into the ground.

"There were plenty of people who told me not to take this job but I was intrigued by the challenge.

"Everything has improved greatly. The task now is to build on it but if someone was to tell me we would finish sixth next season as well, I would snatch their hands off."