Butterfingers

Who wouldn't you be "nervous and cautious" with? On the (albeit) very little we know, he seems to have a strong infrastructure, is young and driven and comes from a country with a massive, massive market potential to tap into. Even if his plans were to make money out of the club, in order for him to do that, the club would have to be successful. If making money was that simple, we wouldn't have been relegated and Lerner wouldn't have sold at a loss.

If true, then its further evidence of the appalling policy that was in place last summer. Why spend so much in fees & wages, on a player that you cannot afford to play? Makes no sense to me.

Of course there are too many unknowns. Both will probably have new managers next season as well. The money saved by ourselves in January, compared to Newcastles "go for broke" policy may well have significant impact on next season also. It could even be that a side like Brighton will be favourites next season. To suggest we won't get close to Newcastle at this stage is just plain ridiculous. Anyway, I'm just celebrating the end of one of the worst seasons in Villa history-Roll on the next chapter.

I think the 4 results over the Xmas period were defining. Personally, I wasn't really bothered about signing anyone. Nobody worth his salt would have touched us with a barge pole. That striker that Newcastle beat us to has hardly set the world on fire has he? The fact that Garde was unlikely to have been with us next season would also have been a factor Finally, if there was something in the pipeline, that was another reason not to spend.

Brian Little apparently saying the same earlier. Obviously any negotiations would have stalled from about September onwards so its hardly surprising that if there was previous interest, it would have gathered pace over the past few weeks once our immediate future was determined. Possibly another reason why funds weren't made available in Jan?

You are without doubt a very clever individual. Theres no flies on you and you definitely won't be taken in by any rumours. I salute you. Now do the world a favour and p##s off. Theres nothing in this thread that will interest you. Thanks in advance.

He's not too old-He's too overweight. Hutton manages to do it OK. Any chance of a fee for him, we should take it. We need the whole inner circle out and to build from scratch. Richards leaving is a must-A fee would be a bonus.

I didn't realise that there was no financial benefit. Something still needs to be done as this behaviour is unacceptable-Even more so given the season that has just gone. Paul McGrath he is not. How dare he decide that he's too good for the bench.

I don't think that Villa will be slow in docking his money if theres a chance of doing so. I've never been his biggest fan-He lacks height, has awful positional sense and is overweight. As he gets older, his weight will become more and more difficult to control. Another one who thinks he's better than he actually is and it isn't the first time he's complained about not being picked.

The only negative (in my mind) is that the publicity shy Lerner would maybe save this kind of thing until the deal was actually done. But yes, you cannot escape from the "remember the good times" slant. I hope the memory of Youngs goal at Everton was worth £300mil. We won't mention the 4-4 at Tottenham or the 2-2 at home to Stoke eh? In fact I don't think there was a side in the division who didn't score a goal against us on or after 90mins during the MON years.

I'm still trying to work out who he's going to be advising. His role was to advise the football board but we don't have one now. I have to say, I did see a faint glimmer of hope with this new set up. Brian spoke positively about it and claimed that they'd hit it off straight away. Clearly the spoilt brat over in America isn't going to fund any project so there really isn't much point having a football board, let alone an advisor to one. I actually feel lower about the whole mess than I did in January after Wycombe or even after the Liverpool 0-6. I thought then that a line would be drawn in the summer and a battle plan drawn up to return to the prem. The changes at board level seemed to indicate this. Now we've had it all but confirmed that Lerner is a liar-He cares nothing for our club and will do everything possible to protect his wallet. I heard Stan Collymore talk about his concerns for sharks buying us last night. Back in 2006, we were bought by the biggest shark of them all-Anything has to be better than Lerner.

We played Burton a couple of summers back-They coped with the Villa fans but oh how the mighty have fallen eh? 2 years ago we were looking at it as an opportunity to get a new ground ticked off the list and now here we are facing them in the league. Sums it up for me.

I was initially in the Moyes corner. I'm now having second thoughts. He traditionally starts slow, his last 2 jobs have ended in failure and I think he could be slightly out of touch with the division. Dyche would probably be slight favourite for me, followed by Bruce & then Pearson A totally uneducated guess and who really knows how a new manager will do? Ranieri this season being the obvious example.

I think Stan was genuinely talking from the heart on that clip-He was a competitive, professional player himself once and was able to hit quite a few nails on the head in those 3 mins. I would say though, as far as my recollection goes, Stan played in successful sides all the way from Stafford Rangers to Villa, when his problems seemed to implode. As for Lescott, I just think he's so incredibly thick to come out with that statement-He gives his critics the bullets to fire. I would just say that its a pity that he didn't have as much desire to fight for our team out there on the pitch as he does with anyone who dares criticise him.

It was Gazza who battered his wife, Collymore & Urika weren't married. Not that it makes any difference of course. As you rightly say, it was a long time ago-Its not like we've had women selling stories to the papers since, claiming similar incidents. It was wrong and nobody, including Stan has ever tried to defend or justify it but again as you say, he has pulled himself back up from that all time low and is now a highly respected broadcaster. Who'd have thought that at the time?

For someone as highly regarded as McGrath to comment, just adds to the pressure. I really struggle to see a way back for Lescott. Common sense would now be to keep him out of the firing line, keep him out of the squad and give him a free reign to find another club between now & August. He is at the centre of the rot and the last thing our new manager will want is Lescott anywhere near the place.

For an agent to be so specific about where his player will be next season, you would have to think that approaches have already been made. One of the few I'd like to have seen here next season but not overly bothered if he goes.

I struggle to grasp the level of dislike that many of our fans have for Collymore. I understand and appreciate that he didn't set the world on fire when he came here but does this justify such hatred? He was clearly struggling with demons at the time and even missed games because of it. Also, as Brian Little alluded to, it was harder to integrate him into a side with Yorke & Savo than he had anticipated. Gazza had very similar problems but is regarded as a national treasure-Stan on the other hand is public enemy number one.

Whilst minutes into games seem to be a theme, perhaps something to signal the 23 years we've spent in the Premier League?

I was dismissive of this in the week. Partly because I misunderstood the intentions and partly because I thought that the recent changes were steps in the right direction (which they are) I now believe that the decision to carry on was the correct one. The board should not be allowed to rest on their laurels or think they have done enough. The pressure should continue. Well done again guys.

Back in the 70's , after sacking Vic Crowe, Brian Clough was not in a job. The Evening Mail ran an interview with him, in which he said that if Villa approached him, it was 99.99% certain that he'd join us. The buzz and anticipation of getting Clough went into meltdown. Villa were inviting applications for the post. Clough refused to approach Villa, Villa refused to approach Clough. Neither side backed down. We ended up appointing the relatively unheard of Ron Saunders, to the massive disappointment of the fans. The point is, that the fit has to be right. We were right for Saunders, he was probably at the right stage of his career. Whoever comes in could be a breath of fresh air. Just because we don't get our number one choice, doesn't mean we should despair. A manager with experience in both divisions sounds good to me-I'd be happy to go with that.

Fair points mate You've all certainly earned the right to continue, if that is what you wish to do. I'm personally on the fence at present and want to see what happens this summer before making further judgement. That is not to say that I'm against the protest group, because I'm not.

My overwhelming feeling is that the timing is wrong for this. You guys have earned the right to carry this on as long as you wish-Its your shout not mine.I just worry that it may fizzle out over this whereas it would be better with the lid kept on until something negative occurs again. I would only say this-You are struggling for support over this. There are 3 reasons for this. Firstly, you lost support when you called off the Spurs OTDO74. Secondly, things are beginning to change within the club and many are now opting to see what (if anything) these changes bring. Finally, waving banners to antagonise jobsworth stewards could be deemed sinking to their petty level. I am not sure what the remaining 2 demands are on the list but would say that everyone has to concede a little for the overall good of the bigger picture. The Good Friday Agreement (although not football related) is an example of this. Also, we don't know if the other 2 demands will be met at some point in the future. Anyway-I've said enough and don't wish to detract or take the thread into a wider discussion.

Can everyone just ignore the above comment please.

Mark-Yourself, Dave, Mike and others involved have my utmost respect. You got up off your backsides and did something about it, whilst most of us chose to moan on the internet. I think that the nucleus of the group that you have put together is strong but I do question antagonising people with banners. We don't know what the summer holds and my feeling is that we should give them the benefit of the doubt until September 2nd. I personally wasn't overly keen on spending in January, firstly because the type of player who would sign was not the standard required (see the striker Newcastle signed). We have a better chance with the right players in the summer. Secondly, why give Garde money after he'd effectively blown our survival chances over the Xmas period? Even at that point, it was less than 50% that he'd be here next season. Look back at the Hollis statement when he first arrived: "other things need to be fixed" before big money is spent again. when asked whether he felt money had been wasted during the summer transfer window, he told Sky Sports News HQ: "I think the results are the best indicator on answering that question." Hollis insists the new regime at Villa are open to signing new players, but says improving the club's infrastructure remains the priority. "The cheque book has not been put away and if there is a player out there or a couple of players out there who we feel will fit in and really help the side in the Premier League or in the Championship, we are looking," "You have got to look at the facts, this club spent £60m last summer". "Just look at the Premier League, look at the clubs that are doing well at the moment. Most of them haven't spent big money" I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but would you disagree with any of that?