Former Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has joked that the only thing he could have done better while at the club would have been to have scored twice in the playoff final last season.
The Chinese business ceded control of the Villans to new ownership pairing Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens over the summer in the midst of a financial crisis following their failure to secure promotion back to the top flight, with issues over tax bills leaving the club in a precarious position.
Delivering his verdict on his time in charge, Dr Xia insisted he had no regrets about the time spent at Villa Park, and joked that aside from scoring a brace against Fulham, there was no more he could do.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, he said: “I contributed all I could and I never felt regretful except I did feel gutted as some fans misunderstood when they really didn’t the truth. I couldn’t do anything more except if could score two goals in the playoff final.”
Thanks for your fair words. I contributed all I could and I never felt regretful except I did feel gutted as some fans misunderstood when they really didn’t the truth. I couldn’t do anything more except if could score two goals in the playoff final.
— Dr. Tony Xia (@Dr_TonyXia) August 23, 2018
Opinion
Dr Tony Xia was something of an eccentric during his time at the helm of the Villans and while some might miss that personality from the boardroom, his management and leadership at the top did leave the club struggling to make ends meet. You can be certain that fans would have loved to see him strip out of his suit and into full kit, Steve Bruce calling him off the bench and him firing home the goals to send his club back to the promised land of the Premier League. However, to say he could not have done any more is a bit of an overstatement, and he certainly could have ensured that the club were not left fighting for their lives over summer by being much more sensible with the finances. Things have turned out for the better now but his end as owner came thanks to a position which put the entire club at risk, and his eccentricity must not allow the fans to forget how close he came to driving them into the ground.