Taylor leaves deal decisions to Board

Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor will let chairman Doug Ellis and the board of directors decide whether they are prepared to “bite the bullet” and allow out-of-favour big money signings – such as Alpay and Bosko Balaban – to leave on free transfers.

Ellis has been renowned for driving a hard bargain but it is a sign of the current financial climate that he today allowed former England midfielder Steve Stone, a £5.5million signing from Nottingham Forest, to leave for nothing.

The warning signs were there when club skipper Paul Merson, bought four years ago from Middlesbrough for £6.75million, was let go by Villa in similar circumstances at the start of the season.

Stone was just one of a number of big wage earners at Villa who are currently playing a bit part in the club’s bid to climb the Barclaycard Premiership and, in the case of Alpay and Balaban, having no input whatsoever.

Taylor is desperate to offload Alpay, who has been frozen out by his team-mates and this week was involved in a training ground spat with club record signing Juan Pablo Angel.

The Turkish international cost £5.8million and has played just four games for Villa in the last 12 months.

But in addition Villa splashed out £6million for Balaban – currently on loan at his former club Dinamo Zagreb – plus £4.5million for Mustapha Hadji.

Full-back Alan Wright and midfielder Hassan Kachloul are also out of the first team picture and it is adding up to a substantial weekly wage bill for Villa which is providing little tangible return.

But Taylor, who accepts he will have no money to buy players next month unless he can generate some by selling, is leaving such decisions to the board as he looks to end his side’s dreadful away Premiership record at Chelsea on Saturday.

Taylor said: “Steve Stone cost £5.5million so it is big money. But, at the end of the day if you are not going to get any money for someone, what are you going to about it? I honestly feel that at the moment the transfer market is next to dead.

“But the whole situation when it comes down to the financial side of things, I am literally leaving to the other side of the club. If they ask my opinion, I will give it.

“If we have got players here who are not really involved, the financial side have to got to decide whether you want to keep paying them or whether you have to bite the bullet and say ’fine, they can go’. In the case of Steve Stone they decided to bite the bullet.”

Taylor confirmed: “It is unlikely, unless we sell someone, that I will be able to bring anyone in next month. But it’s not a case of me moaning or groaning about that. It’s the fact of the matter.

“We have to bring some money in if I am going to do anything it. I’m not uptight about it. It’s the current situation. I’ll just get on with the playing side and try to get a result at Chelsea.”

Villa are still searching for their first away league win of the campaign and the last one came in a 3-1 triumph at Stamford Bridge in the final match of last season.

Taylor said: “We’ve got to improve on our results in the second half of the season – and we’ve certainly got to improve them away from home.

“Our away performances have generally been all right and we should have won at Tottenham and Sunderland but the wins haven’t come and we need to start putting points on the board away from Villa Park so it takes the pressure off when you play at home.”

Skipper Steve Staunton is set to return after missing the midweek Worthington Cup defeat by Liverpool with an ankle injury – but Ronny Johnsen (hamstring) and Ian Taylor (thigh) are still ruled out.