Birmingham, UK- Stiliyan Petrov today issued a release discussing finances for the club. He stated," Our balance is 13 million over and I want to keep it that way. We already have great facilities and a great stadium, so for the time being they will remain the same. However, the big change is that the transfer budget will be changed to 0. Now, this does not mean that Paul will have nothing to spend. Both of us have agreed that not allocating a transfer budget would be beneficial due to the fact that we have a very close working relationship and any incoming transfers will be reviewed by the pair of us. So, in essence, Villa will be able to spend what we deem necessary to improve the squad, but we will both have to do it together. The reason for this decision is that both Paul and I have a good knowledge of the game, finances, and think the same way about many things football-related. He has agreed to this decision and looks forward to working directly with me to ensure that all incoming and outgoing transfers are negotiated and completed properly." This change in budget can only show Villa fans the strength of the relationship between manager and owner seeing as they tackle all decisions regarding transfers together. Polls on the club's website showed a 87% positive rating voted by the fans in support of this decision. One fan even commented outside local pub the
Faithful Chippy that "Support for Villa and Steven is at a high. Hopefully some good transfers and decisions by Paul and Steve can lead this club to short-term success and long-term dominance of English football."
This decision to involve Steven and Paul together directly in transfer decisions shows how close the working relationship between the two individuals is. When asked by BBC about how Petrov viewed Paul Lambert, Petrov replied "Paul is a great manager who will help Villa for many years to come. I have complete faith in him to succeed at this club and his work ethic, charisma, and coaching abilities will help guide the players, fans, and club as a whole to success. Paul is the man for this job." One British tabloid even went so far as to describe them as a "football couple" dubbing them "Stiliaul Lambtrov". Not the prettiest celebrity name, but these two men both know the club inside out and will work hard together to help the club prosper.
Jeremy Landis, BBC Sport.