chips'ngravy

SWP for me. Him on one side and Gabby on the other. We'd terrorise defences.

Surely Ellis could have got someone to sponsor Villa Park. Would that have been received so warmly? It seemed that a few days ago everyone was creaming themselves precisely because he was a billionnaire. Again, as I said before i think he will spend money, not Abramovich style but more than we could have dreamed of in recent years. I just can't understand why you'd want to start making excuses for him not spending his money on Villa. If Cleveland continue to be his main priority then maybe he's not the right man. I'm not sure that's true, but it shows how far esteem in Villa has slipped if you are prepared to accept that.

Eh???? So you don't want him to spend any of his own money then?

The way most of you are talking, it's like we will only be able to invest in players if we sell the naming rights of the ground. I was under the impression that Lerner was a billionnaire and that he would be investing in the team, period. Yes, we could be much better marketed and need to take advantage of growing world markets, but no, I don't want to see us whoring off the family silver and being turned into a US style franchise. For what it's worth, I don't get the impression that Lerner is necessarily like that, but there seem to be a lot of people quite eager to sell out before even being asked.

No way. Rather not have the money than completely sell our soul. I'd like to think that some things are still more important than money. There are other avenues which can be explored to raise revenue than selling the naming rights of a stadium.

Do you think he really cares about the fallout when it comes to a situation where he has to reliquish his self-appointed role as "Mr Aston Villa"? Until he has actually gone, it would be naive to think it's a done deal with his track record.

I agree. Having watched the press conference yesterday the last thing in the world Ellis looked like was a man who was leaving. Giving o'Neill a small transfer fund just confirms what I've always feared, that he's managed to deflect the heat yet again by signing a high profile manager. We all know how he's behaved during his tenure at Villa. Does anyone really believe he's gonna wanna walk away now? He's just pulled off the one of the biggest football coups of the decade! Funny how he can wrap up signing a new manager quicker than selling the club, don't you think? He'll fob off the interested consortia for the next couple of weeks, by which time the new season will have started and it will be seen as too disruptive to be in the middle of a takeover. O'Neill will galvanize the squad, we'll pick up a few unexpected results, more funds will be promised for january, they won't arrive, O'Neill will walk.