Pez1974

I starting to feel quite good about the squad. The new spine of the team appears to have real solidity - something we lacked massively last season after we lost Vlaar/Delph/Benteke (I know they had injuries, but it gave the others in the squad something to work around). The leadership qualities of the new group is huge - we all love Tommy, and the apparent signing of Jedinak will help too. I'm almost at the point where losing one of 2 of the first team to injury/suspension doesn't terrify me - as long as it isn't from the same position! To be fair to the good Dr and RDM, this is a lot of change in a short period of time. However, we had a lot of turnover last season, and that didn't work out so well.

Pat Murphy ‏@patmurphybbc 13m13 minutes ago Jedinak to @AVFCOfficial for £4m depending on today's medical & sorting out complex visa issues (an Aussie!). Hopefully all sorted tomorrow. Pat is generally on the mark for me; he doesn't tweet BS. £4m? Seems a lot for a guy of his age with 1 year left on his contract, but could also be a bargain.

Not bothered to be honest. An ex-youth player, which is always a good thing in my opinion. However, he's 27 next month, and although his best days should be now, he's never showed enough to make me think he will reach his potential. 140-ish appearances in 7 years says it all. Having said that, better coaching might just bring out the best in him, but I believe £5m and a big salary off the books is a good thing for this club. We can use some of the youth players as our back-up defenders. IF Richard and Lescott go, I do think we will need one more experience CB for the season ahead.

Delph now Gueye? Hopefully - otherwise could be Grealish? Gardner? Gestede? Green? Gollini? Suspect isn't Guzan as we wanted rid.

Only ever annoyed me once (in the FACup when he was on the bench). Other than that, he looked like he genuinely cared, which is all you can ask. He isn't good enough to be a number 1 keeper in my opinion (which isn't his fault). I think a change will do both parties good. So.....goodbye and good luck.

I believe Nick Powell is a Villa fan? What these players often need is a consistent run in a side, where they can flourish. I think the same for Gary Gardener, but obviously they need to stay fit too. He'd be a good signing in my opinion.

He should be welcomed with open arms into the dressing room as a part of the coaching staff. He seems like a person who would be well suited to a coach role, and perhaps more. With regards being a player - he should only be there on merit. Come back, train, and earn a contract, and I would be delighted. But next season will be hard, and sentiment will not get us promoted.

If he has been allowed to put that out without it going through checks at the club first, then he has more authority than I ever imagined. And would explain exactly why we are in such a mess. Alternatively, if this has been reviewed and approved by the press officer at Villa Park - he needs firing too!

Nah. The last one will be something like "I'm in a perpetual state of fulfilment now that my custodianship of this club has handed on to the next person and as God once said to Mose on Mount Sinai - here you go. I am confident that the new owners Arsenal tattoos will fade over time. As for me, I've got the munchies. Anyone got any pringles?"

Hollis - Randy, it's been a bad week. Relegation, 2 directors have quit, and Gabby's been acting like a fat prick again. I think you need to release a statement. Randy - I don't want to. It's happy hour at Hooters and I've got a pocket full of weed; I was just on my way out. Hollis - I think it's important. No major announcements, everyone thinks your an idiot anyway, just don't mention the takeover and for **** sake don't use words like Shummamite again. Randy - Fine. I bang something out when I get back from Hooters. I can stick it straight on the website; I've got the password - that's how I got those emails between Bernstein and Merv. Hollis - Randy, I think I need to check it first. Hello? Hello? Oh bollocks.....

Well at least he's said something. To be fair, we wanted something, and he's taken the blame. Not sure what else people wanted or expected - perhaps primary evidence of self-flagellation, or the promise to remove body parts. He can't promise to move heaven and earth to achieve promotion, because he doesn't want to be here. I understand and share the vehemence towards him, but I think we need to be realistic. I also think the blandness and weirdness of his press releases explain why he never does interviews - the man is really very odd. The thing for me is that he had this foreboding after game 5, when we weren't looking terrible. This must be a reflection on the squad, and if so, makes it even more unbelievable that Paddy Reilly is still around.

Just thought of something else.... If Bernstein and King had been so unprofessional and derogatory towards Randy in an email exchange that would cast them in the wrong if it became public knowledge, would they really have been so naïve to resign using the language they have, and in King's case discuss it publically in the way he has? The club would have the smoking gun to destroy them with. Sorry, this is Randy being, er, Randy.

That might be overblowing it, but in essence it appears that Randy still has that veto of the big decisions. I'm sure having better management in place to advise will improve decision making, but at the end of the day, having a single shareholder does mean that the whole organisation is effectively at their whim. That person will always be rich, but won't always be smart (it's not about being clever). A smart person takes all advice, isn't insecure and knows their own limitations. Less smart people feel the need to exert control, but often don't know when to let go as they confuse power, control and authority. Guess which one I think Randy is?

Not sure that is relevant as Randy seems to still have a sort of 'veto' over things, which is appears to have happened in this case (see Bernstein resignation letter saying that things can't be compromised, and King placing the un-tenability of their positions firmly in the owners court).

It's the only measure one usually has. Randy (and our club) needed experts to help the club out of it's current position. These experts weren't complimentary to the root cause of the problem so the root cause made them feel their position was untenable. In Randy's position, I would take almost anything to recover the position, repair the club, and my lost millions. He appears to have sided with his own ego over and above the future of the club and his investment. That is a bad businessman IMO. Of course I'm am assuming that the criticisms were professional and not personal, but given all of the facts at my disposal, which of the following scenarios is most likely: Bernstein and King were suggesting that Randy needs to be kept as far away from decision making as possible because he has a terrible track record and doesn't understand the industry. Bernstein and King were photoshopping knobs onto photos of Randy face; calling his children ugly; his girlfriend a gold digger and signing him up to Grinder. Anything in and around the former should be acceptable; anything around the latter not.

Your point is fair, and most people are now anti-Lerner, so pro anyone else. However, the 2 people concerned have been highly successful and are well regarded professionals. Randy has an incredibly poor track record in business (he inherited everything he owns, and has only succeeded in reducing it in value), and has screwed up 2 sporting entities. Yes people are assuming an anti-Lerner position, but he can hardly complain given what we know.

You don't know what was actually in the email. It could be perfectly fine - the problem is the owner wants a say in all decisions which is causing significant delays in making decisions quickly which is causing issues; there needs to be delegated authority and the owner needs to step back as he does not understand football sufficiently. Or it could be out of order - Randy's a clearing in the woods and he has a tiny willy. If it's in the tone of the former, frankly that's what the club needs, and pinpoints Randy as being incredibly thin-skinned and tells us why we have had a succession of yes-men at the club. Professional people should be able to speak freely in private communications; the alternative is where opinions are only hinted at, so everyone else has to guess what they are actually saying. Given that the Football Board hadn't formally met yet, I personally find it encouraging that the members were (in my opinion), laying the groundwork in advance of the meetings - that's how things can get done and agreed quickly. If it's the latter, then it's still OK with me, but I think you comments would be closer to the truth.

No they don't have to be made public. King's letter is the original, so either he made 2 copies to leak one of them (which is a fairly big step in the professional world); or it came from the club. If it came from the club, either a very senior employee has gone rogue (and will probably lose their job as I suspect these things aren't passed around to many people), or Hollis is in on it - in which case Randy is on his own.

That's a fair point, but I can't believe that Bernstein - with a massive knowledge of the game; and Lord King - a huge Villa fan and successful profession; - would have suggested something stupid. And for it to be something that they can't compromise on, it has to be something vital to the club. Lerner is being, and will continue to be crucified over this. He needs to sell or talk, because it will get a lot worse for him - and that will likely be worse for the club.

We've identified the problems at the club, and we present our recommendations which will ensure the club returns to it's former glories in the very near future. So **** off Mr Lerner.

Another thought - this came up on the first working day after relegation, at about 10:00amUS time. Perhaps plans were agreed about what would happen once relegation was confirmed then something would happen - like a new manager. It would suggest that a discussion with Randy this morning has led to this (this is pure speculation, but the timing is amazing) Bevington also tweeted something about supporters on Saturday, after saying he wouldn't comment on AVFC on his personal account.

Thinking about it - anyone else think this could all be a plan to get Lerner to wind his neck in or piss off? The quotes from Moyes; the 2 resignations, but Sir Brian and Hollis staying; the fact that a scan of the letters is out so quickly; the fact that the letters are so carefully worded, they almost seem to be written by a lawyer? Put yourself in Randy's shows for a minute - it must feel like the wagons have circuled.

That's my thoughts

And both letters are written without any sort of dig at Hollis. It doesn't appear that he is the problem - just a guy trying to find a solution. Bernstein and King have fallen on their swords; and with the letters coming out so quickly, it wouldn't surprise me if Hollis knew this would happen.

King has, in the most polite fashion, murdered Lerner with that letter And from a Peer of the Realm