srsmithusa

with who?

OK, based on the advice I got from TrentVilla, I drove all night on the assumption I could park, despite that numpty on TBAR not getting the code. I’m here hiding in the shrubbery in front of the restaurant. I’m dressed as an attacking midfielder making a delayed run into the box, that way nobody associated with Villa will see me. Oh, Wait. Here comes a car. It’s Randy, he walks into the restaurant smiling and looking very confident. I guess that’s a good sign. Here comes another car. Oh, they can’t get past the parking gate. So, it looks like they’re getting out of the car at the street and walking. It’s Paul Faulkner and his idiot TBAR assistant who didn’t ask for the gate code. But, this is interesting. Paul Faulkner is wearing a climbing harness and helmet. Maybe he’s expecting to do an abseil in this meeting. Or wait, the harness might be a parachute, can’t really tell from here. Here comes another car. Paul Lambert gets out. Damn, he looks pissed. He didn’t look this pissed during any humiliating drubbing we took this year. Stay out of his way, he looks determined to ruin this day. Well, guess this is the meeting then. WAIT ! Here comes another car. It’s a stretch Limo. On my, there are three Sheiks getting out. It’s windy here. So, to repeat, there are 3 Sheiks in the wind. One of them tips the driver with a bar of gold bullion and they walk into the restaurant smiling and joking. Here comes another car. It’s also a Limo. Three guys dressed in black wearing Russian machine guns around their necks. They’re looking around the area. One of them just nodded all clear and the door opens. OMG it’s Putin. No! It just looks like Putin. But he is carrying a bottle of Vodka with him. And ANOTHER car pulls in. It’s a Gold colored Cadillac with steer horns on the front. The guy getting out is wearing a Stetson and gold tipped boots. And there’s a kid with him. Looks to be about 7 years old. He’s carrying a size 4 ball and wearing an MLS t-shirt. Well, I guess that’s it then, we’re about to have a bidding war. WAIT!!! One more car: Damn this car moves slowly, it’s just creeping through the parking lot, like it’s running on a hairdryer motor. Ok. It finally stopped and somebody’s getting out. WTF?!?!? It’s Mendi !!!!!

Nope

If your deep throat source really does have the player as his reliable source, then his information about that player may be good. But I am quite certain the players have no idea about the status of a sale.

I had no idea you would feel that way!

I really do think it's a meeting with the new buyer(s). Partly job interview, whether as a courtesy or serious consideration, and transition planning. I wish that moron on TBAR had gotten the pass code to the gate on the parking lot, it would have made it much easier for me to drive the 1,000 miles to get there. What's the point of driving all that way if I can't even be assured good parking?

trawling the last 30 pages IS all the news

Dinner tomorrow evening is not a simple fairwell. No need to close the restaurant for that. It is either managing the transition to the new owner(s) - meeting them, possibly job interview, but more likely transitioning control in an effective and timely manner. OR, it is planning how to rearrange the deck chairs this summer.

Please embellish... Sorry, I tried to type the same sentence with lots of flourishes and fancy symbols and crap.... but when it comes to this text editor, I suck.

Dodgy, you're too confident unless you know something. Spill it.

Since Lerner's leaving, I don't see the point in beating him any more. When fans believed it was in the best interest of the club, I could disagree with them, but understand that they thought they were doing what was best and right for the club. Now it just sounds petty and spiteful to me. (Just a personal opinion, not ITK )

OOTK. ( out of the know). But if you have no buyer, your announcement says, "I'm going to sell, but in the meantime we need to prepare for a better season. I have every confidence that PF and PL can do an excellent job preparing and strengthening our side. We must be better, we will be better. Now that they have improved the economic status of the club, I will be providing increased support to assure they have the resources to do this." You don't leave the ship rudderless, adrift with no pilot, when you have no clear end point in sight. You keep the ship in the best shape you can, with a safe looking course, with enough investment to keep the value high, but not over invest, while you hope for a buyer.

So, since there's no official or documented facts, we just all sit and look at our screens?

But they also proved it's only 55% of the equation. That's not an extremely strong correlation. And they also note that correlation is not causality, sometimes they spend more because they are successful, not to become successful.

I got that one... "one for the road" is "off to another thread"... get it? My own post gave me a thought. We should make RL read this thread repeatedly until the sale is done. That would speed things up!

I did that one at lunchtime. Yeah, but you kwant copyright a good pun..... or a bad one.

Just think, if Kwan were our new owner, this could go on for YEARS. I told you we could do a lot worse than Lerner. I wonder if some of you Kwan ever Lern. (see what I did there, 2 of em? )

diversity insensitive alert !!! Zhan_Zhuang, are you related to Kwan?

I found kwan !

No kwan do

People will speculate all they want Pete. Patronising posts, asking people to have more brains about them won't change that. Also, I don't know how long you've been on this forum (I can't see join dates on the mobile app), but there have been a LOT of correct ITKs on here in the past, and even more recently. For example, just yesterday we were shown what the new home kit will look like (and we're told the designs a few weeks ago). So people will speculate, guess and believe what they want about supposed ITK info. Not me, I'm kwan to believe only what Pete says I should. Just let me know what I should believe when.

Anschutts owns Houston, hunt owns Dallas Don't know anything, just adding a few facts to place in context of some of the above. Just had a strange thought - wonder if a new owner would want Lambert to manage a team in Texas? I can see part of Lerners conditions being that his people are taken care of... Sheer musing.

Thank a lot for the oversight. I used to like you, too !!! Just because I'm in the wrong continent. Unless my name is in that list and I've just overlooked it. In which case, goodnight, I've always liked you.

Personal ramblings. I have no doubt some will slate me and even more harshly slate current club leadership at the club. But I need to say my piece. I have been a football fan for 35 years, active in US soccer. I chose a Premier League team in the late 90's and chose Aston Villa. I was excited when we were bought by an American. I've never met him, but still thought it was cool. Loved the excitement of the MON investment and successes and all I heard on here about the stadium improvements, Bodymoor Heath, etc. I ended up making an acquaintance with the General, who knew I was diagnosed with Leukemia. Earlier this season, I checked an item off my bucket list to see Villa Play at Villa park. The General contacted Paul Faulkner. My wife and I had the most amazing hosts for our Villa experience. Paul gave us a tour of Bodymoor. Robin Russell was our host at match day. I spent half-time with Stan Petrov who gave me an autographed shirt from the club. I don't know the business of running a football club. But I know people. I'm actually in the business of assessing and developing professional people. And I met some fine ones: From the General, to Paul Faulkner, Paul Lambert, Robin Russell, the secretarial staff, Stan Petrov, to the cooks in VMF. They are class, one and all. I think every one of them would agree they have made mistakes. But they have done more than enough right that I will respect them and their efforts, period. I started to give lots of examples of things I know and heard and saw, like stories about pieces of Villa history salvaged from scheduled destruction under the stands. I started to give examples of some behind the scenes details of a few player contract negotiations we were told about. But I don't feel comfortable doing so. I know that some here would twist and misconstrue my words. So I've left all that out. Let me just say that my wife has resented the sport because of all the time and money I spent on it over the years. But she now follows Aston Villa because of Paul Faulkner, Karen Croft, the General, Paul Lambert, Robin Russell, Stan Petrov, Norma, and others. Not just because they were kind to us, which they were, but because they passionately love Villa, the club, its history, and its future. It was etched on their faces when they talked with us. So I can't help but feel mixed hope for more investment and loss over the coming changes. I won't abandon my passion for Villa. I'll see you in the stands in Texas this summer and with any luck next spring in GB. I am more tempted to abandon Villa because of the abuse these people get from posters here, than I am because of its obvious difficulties on and off the field recently. I have no doubt in my mind that every single person I named was passionate, committed, had integrity, and did much more for this club than any employer has a right to ask. I haven't met Randy Learner, but I will miss him because many of these will likely leave as well. I'll let you all return to your usual passions, but I just needed to say that I am not able to do anything but trust the people that Randy Learner have placed in charge of our club. Therefore I'm not capable of doing anything but trusting him to sell responsibly. Rage if you wish, I will not change my perspective on these fine people. Just had to state my piece.

Here here. People on here pitying him cause he took a 100million pound hit. Lwtf It was a business and he couldnt run it properly. Its his fault he lost that, like any other businesses do. Tough shit I'll bet you're fun at a wake