VillaTiger

Yank here to add my thoughts - have never had the fortune of attending a game at Villa Park (although I've promised my 4 year-old we will some day), so I completely defer to "the locals" on this one, but what about shakers? For those not in the know, they're similar to pom-poms - strips of colored paper or plastic on the end of a stick. They're a staple in college (American) football here in the US and can be quite impressive on a Saturday afternoon. I'm sure the General has watched an SEC game or two and knows what I mean. Again, it's not necessarily my place to suggest ways to support the squad at Villa Park but in the interest of adding new ideas, I thought I'd throw mine in.

General: What can be done to more directly market the club here in the States? Any chance of an official U.S. supporter's club, perhaps with organized trips to matches at Villa Park once or twice a year?

Wow! Folks, we've got a world-class bunch running this club now. Not that posting messages on an internet message board is, in and of itself, anything extraordinary but to recognize the impact it can have and take the time to do it in such a personal way shows a true understanding of what it takes to keep a fan base motivated. I'm truly impressed. General, I suppose you're not reading this now but I hope any upcoming Villa tour of the US will bring the lads close to their sister city - Birmingham, Alabama! Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for all you and Randy have done and are doing for this club. Your efforts, as you can see, have not been ignored.

I'm the same way. The fact that Lerner is American has nothing to do with my support of his bid, other than to the extent it suggests he doesn't know much about football. It's the perfect scenario: an extremely rich owner who doesn't know much about the sport and knows he doesn't, thus requiring him to turn management of the club over to those who do while providing them the resources they need. Based on what I've seen and heard from him, I tend to think Neville would be an even bigger disaster than Ellis .

There IS a certain logic to the idea that we may be better off in the long run as a result of the old bastard's earlier refusals to move on. If Villa end up with the right ownership now, the ultimate future of the club may be much brighter than it would have been if the club were sold a few years ago. Everyone will surely agree, however, that what may turn out to be our good fortune is not the byproduct of some great insight from Ellis. The time for the old codger to hang it up is NOW. When he does, we should all appreciate the prosperity we hope to enjoy, smile nicely and thank the bastard for his faithful dedication to Aston Villa F.C. - who cares if it's shite - and pray he never again has an opportunity to make any decision with any impact whatsoever at Villa Park.