Silent_Bob

I noticed that myself a bit to late. Perhaps this CNN story is just a rehash of that story...

Birmingham Mail is also reporting it...

Unless this all happened over the past 4 days, it simply isn't true. Randy has been scouring the US market for a buyer for around 12 months, BOA/ML have been brough to look at other markets. The very recent stuff I heard is that there is very little firm interest in buying Aston Villa. And exploration of overseas markets is in the very early stages. Any talk of a price being agreed with a group from Saudi is as far from the truth as you can possibly get. This info is from someone who spoke to Randy towards the end of last week. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I think the assumption that Randy will share details on any negotiations with an outsider is also wrong. As your information has found it's way to the internet, it is in itself proving that your source can not be trusted with sensitive and/or confidential information. It's much more likely that, if we are negotiating, the buyer (whoever that might be) is the one that can't keep information to themselves. I'm sure BOA/ML will keep quiet, and Randy doesn't have to tell anyone anything before it's time to announce an offer has been accepted. He might not even be fully aware of what's going on, as I'm sure BOA/ML have been given enough information to answer any questions a buyer might have. And even hold preliminary talks themselves. I don't know how these things happen, but my guess would be that BOA/ML are the ones discussing with a potential new owner, they can agree a price in principle within what Randy has authorized, verify that the buyer has the cash is claims to have, show the club's finances, and so on. Then, and only then, they go to Randy as say Mr X is willing to pay this amount. Would you accept an offer on these terms? It's also very likely that the buyer has someone handeling this on his/their behalf. That might not have the apperance of a deal that is close to be made, but I guess things could suddenly move very fast once the practical issues have been discussed by intermediates.

Why would they wait for the world cup to finish ? Is our new chairman playing in it ? I can't see how buying\selling shares in Aston villa is on hold because of the world cup - no logic that I can see to it... It's not the world cup, it's Nigel Kennedy's summer tour. Inspired by Louis Tomlinson's takeover at Doncaster, Nigel will be presented as our new chairman after his last concert in Dublin on July 12th.

Of course there will be a takeover. We're for sale. How long that takes is another matter. Everton have been for "sale" for years upon years. different situation, city, infrastructure etc. however just pointing it out. Yeah but you get the feeling that kenwright doesn't really want to sell, they must have had offers. I think he says publicly that they're for sale to keep the fans off his back but actually he's turned down offers, pure opinion. Lerner would bite the dick off any offer remotely close to the asking price, I'd believe That would explain peoples reluctance to make an offer Any billionaire eunuchs out there?

Do they not vote on behalf of the shares they are representing?

I remember when everyone believed in Lerner's five year plan.

I think I would prefer a new owner from Qatar. They don't seem too worried about investing in football.

Not at all. We are waiting for a confirmation that the club is sold. Which is kind of the logical next step. He should not have confirmed the club is for sale unless a takeover was close. Even if it were true. Everything is always for sale anyway. It's just a matter of finding the right price. What? Randy Lerner can't decide what he can and cannot do with something that is his? If he wants to say it's for sale then he can do. He has to accept the conseuqences fo his actions whatever they may be good or bad. there were so many rumours flying around that people were asking for clarification. He gave it and now everyone's unhappy about that. Tough! Of course he can. That's well within his rights. Just as complaining is well within our rights :-) Nobody knows what will happen and when it will happen, but once the club has been sold all this waiting will be forgotten. It's just a bunch of people who cares too much, gets too little information and have too much time available to read and write here. I think all this complaining is healthy. It proves that we care.

Not at all. We are waiting for a confirmation that the club is sold. Which is kind of the logical next step. He should not have confirmed the club is for sale unless a takeover was close. Even if it were true. Everything is always for sale anyway. It's just a matter of finding the right price.

Apparently not. My guess is that we won't hear anything until an offer has been accepted.

I don't understand the negativity. It makes sense for the club to do business as usual, until a buyer turns up. There is no fee, and if a megarich owner pops up during the summer I'm sure he can afford Senderos' wages for a season. With or without a takeover, we are not going to build the team around Senderos. I'm pleased we are actually getting players in, as I feared we would do nothing.

We need more TheTrees spotting news! Or just news...? I can write something on Twitter if you like.

I know. I started writing it before you posted At least we agree.

Why do you think the big clubs voted it in ..it maintains the status quo.Last thing Liverpool etc want is a rich owner turning us or someone else into the next City or Chelsea and stealing revenue and fans from them I agree that FFP is there to make sure nobody interferes with the big clubs. But we could get a £100m interest free loan from a new owner which we will pay back £1 per year over the next 100 million years? Anyway, buying players is not a cost. It's only changing one asset (cash) into another kind kind of asset (players). So buying five £20m players would only cost us the amortization cost each year, which on 4 year contracts would be £25m. each year. Which again will improve the value of our intangible assets, such as goodwill, so it might not even be £25m per year. However, they need to get paid. And if we are paying £80k p/w, it's another £20m which is a real cost per year. So buying five £20m players would mean a yearly cost of £40-45m (amortization+wages). And if they improve our results, we will see our income increase as well. From prize money, gate receipts and sponsorship deals, etc. If we invest in young, up and coming players, there is a chance we will have a profit on them. Playing a £20m players for three years would cost us £15m in amortization. But if he is then sold for €30m, it would mean a £25m profit the year he is sold, because his initial £20m cost has been paid for through amortization.

I think Keane were told he was not the frontrunner for the Celtic job. So this is his most interesting job offer at the moment. I assume he has enough money to not be too concerned about job security. There is a fair chance the club will be taken over, and nobody knows what will happen then. So it's an interesting situation where he can't loose.

You don't need crazy amounts of money, but you do need enough money to keep your best players at the club. We had a strong team a few seasons back, but lost our key players to bigger clubs. Like Barry, like Young, like Milner. That is what happens. The top clubs don't want competition, so they buy the best players from 2nd tier clubs to prevent future competition. I remember Newcastle selling Andy Cole to Man U when they were pushing them for the title. He wasn't very successfull at United, but at least they won the league. So if we get the right manager, who buys up and coming players and we have enough money to keep them happy we can challenge for at least a CL spot in a few years time.

I look forward to finally be able to buy claret and blue mankinis.

The thing is that for Abramovich he only had to outspend Man United. The guys at Man City had to outspend Man United AND Chelsea. While our new owner will have to outspend Man United, Man City and Chelsea. So it would mean investing £3-400m in players straight away. But he would also have to pay their wages, as there is no way our income will increase enough fast enough to cover them. So to be the next Man City, a new owner would have to invest close to £1 billion for the club and everything over a few seasons just to get us up to the level of these clubs. And that is assuming he hires the right manager and get the right players from the start. I think competing against Spurs, Everton, Liverpool etc will also require a lot of investment. So unless we get an owner with really deep pockets who is ready to burn a lot of cash, midtable is what we should aiming at.

If a new owner sold every player this summer, he could expect £40-50m for them. Then he could get a squad of cheap players playing for £1k per week, who would no doubt be relegated. But he would still collect £70m from TV. And on top of that receive parachute payments from Premier League over the next years of £60m. Then he could sell Bodymoor Heath, Villa Park and whatever else the club owns. So for an asset stripper the club would be worth around £200m. I'm not saying we will be sold for £200m, but my guess is that it will be in that region.

Maybe there is more than one "interested" party? I just dont see it. You'd still stay quiet until the sale went thru. I think announcing it is s desperate attempt to drum up interest. I think it's an invitation for others to join a process where there are already a few interested parties. A big part of our value is based on the fact that we are in the Premiership. We have been in a relegation fight three or four times now. To publicly announce the club is for sale and stop investing in the squad is very dangerous. It might cost us £50 millions invested on the squad just to ensure we are not relegated. But it would still be a better option than selling the club as a Championship club. If the club borrowed those £50 millions in the bank and bought a few good players would only mean we have a loan, but more valuable players instead. It doesn't reduce the value of the club in itself. I guess the reason for us not signing players (apparently) is because the process of selling the club is nearly finished. If not, it should be "business as usual" when it comes to how the club is being run.

I think the problem is, if Lambert left, would a new manager want to come, when he would know that the new owners might not like him and he could be sacked within a few months of being here, if a takeover happens? To me, you're not going to get many committed managers in those circumstances, just a journeyman looking for a last payout, playing the 'committed manager to this big club' act. If a new manager were to come, I think that you will find the same situation as we saw with O'Neill, where it is the new owner that rubber stamps the appointment. But if there is no new owner...?

I agree. Premier League clubs are not sold by placing ads. It does more harm than good to announce that we are up for sale, unless we have someone interested and the announcement is more a signal for them to hurry up and close the deal before they get competition. It creates uncertainty at every level. If we were a solid midtable club it would not do that much damage perhaps. But we have been in a relegation fight three years in a row. Uncertainty is not what is needed now. And I'm sure Randy understand this.

Hope it's not a case of aiming for a star and hitting the moon. Welcome.

Could this be his family's business? The address.is quite interresting.