$200 Million Takeover

[shaggy]

Good post, but no doubt if we are bought out by somebody who's "only" worth a couple of billion (or heaven forbid less than that!) there will still be lots of complaining in a manner reminiscent of a spoiled child at Christmas.

 

You don't like people on here, do you?

 

He's right, though.

 

Personally, I don't care much for the individual wealth of a prospective new owner (as I posted elsewhere; I really don't want Villa to be the next Man City/Chelsea) but I DO care about the club being run properly - kingysilvers post is absolutely bang on.

 

People have slagged Lerner off far too much for, essentially, putting his hand in his pocket to the tune of £100m+ - but because that hasn't happened recently and Villa are struggling, it's his fault.  What we need, of course, is for someone to chuck a load of money at the problem (a la Lerner in the early days), get short term success to an extent (a la Lerner in the early days) and then have that person to blame if over-investment costs us in the long run (a la Lerner right now).  The more short termists amongst us will look at the football on the pitch/results and say it's not good enough - time for a change.  I DO think that Lerner has put Aston Villa Football Club in a good position to move forwards after a period of terrible mismanagement.

 

Thus, it's not about the wealth for me; it's about the ability to run a football club well.

I laughed out loud at this post. I'm sorry but I really did.

Let's take the point that we all agree on and that is first and foremost the club must be run well internally by the new owners and whoever the manager is irrespective of the investment available.

Now your comment about short termisim. Do those who have criticised the GH, AL and Lambert periods really deserve being labeled with that criticism. It was a poor decision making by Lerner to employ those managers and it was poor decision making again not to have a more balanced investment policy in place rather than too much at the start of Lerner's ownership and then not nearly enough when it was needed.

Lerner also hasn't put the club on a better financial standing due to his love of the club. He has done that with one thing in mind and that is self preservation of his inherited millions so the club is more financially attractable for a sale. In fact you can go one further than that and actually describe Lerner as selfish in that he cut investment for self preservation and in doing that risked the club being relegated. Have we forgotten how close the club has come to that over the last three seasons yet investment was still cut.

So you'll excuse the short termists complaining about three years of relegation battles while still splashing out hundreds of pounds in a recession to watch a team being stripped of their best players and then having to watch absolute shite on and off the pitch with one member of the coaching staff turning on the fans for displaying that short termisim you speak of.

[PaulC]

The net worth of any potential new owner is largely irrelevent. What is important is how much of that net worth they are prepared to part with on behalf of Aston Villa.

 

Yes but you can't have one without the other though else many of us might be potential owners..

[Dodgyknees]

Hard to tell really at this stage

 

I'm confident. Willing to take a bet on it too.

[useless]

If a new owner came in and brought more of the same that wouldn't be down to their wealth but rather their decisions. There have been plenty of "poor" Premier League owners who have invested fairly and made good decisions just like there have been owners with ridiculous wealth who have made bad decisions.

 

 

I think their wealth would play a big part obviously and so to would their ability to make the right decisions. But if it was just all about making the right decisions then the clubs with the most money wouldn't have such a monopoly on silverware and the top placings in the league.

[Jarpie]

Deadly been yapping again:

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/ellis-hopes-for-ideal-investor-at-aston-villa.1400061850

 

 

Former Aston Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis has no doubt it would be "ideal" for the club if someone similar to Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour could take them over.

Villa's current owner Randy Lerner, the American entrepreneur who bought the midlands outfit from Ellis in 2006, on Monday declared his intention to put them up for sale.

City have just won their second Barclays Premier League title since their Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008.

And Ellis told Sky Sports News: "He (Lerner) has admitted he would like to sell, we are all waiting to see who it is to, and we have to find someone who has the money - someone equivalent to the Sheikh, who I met at Manchester City the other week.

"He is a delightful chap, is passionate beyond measure and has billions of pounds of money.

"He is a young lad who, I must admit, would be the ideal person, if in fact we found the right one for Aston Villa."

Villa finished the 2013/14 Premier League campaign last weekend in 15th position and their final position has been only just above the relegation zone for the past three seasons.

But the club enjoyed relative success in the first few years of Lerner's ownership, securing three successive sixth-placed finishes up to the summer of 2010.

And Ellis said of Lerner: "He hasn't been bad for Aston Villa. In my view, he was the right one to choose at the time."

Villa boss Paul Lambert and chief executive Paul Faulkner are reportedly set to fly out to the United States this week for talks with Lerner.

 

[bose]

 

Hard to tell really at this stage

 

I'm confident. Willing to take a bet on it too.

 

ITK alert

[Dodgyknees]

 

 

Hard to tell really at this stage

 

I'm confident. Willing to take a bet on it too.

 

ITK alert

 

 

I Took Kwan.

 

[useless]

I don't know if this got posted already but Keith Harris who's helping Lerner to find a buyer was on Radio 4 this morning. If you click here, play the broadcast and fast forward to about an hour and twenty eight minutes you can hear what he had to say.

[Folski]

Personally I think people are quoting too much money. I think there are players in this team that would improve with better players around them. I think we should continue with our young and hungry policy, just simply go a few notches up, it's all well and good signing a player who is bossing league one, but that player needs to be bought as a potential option and not play every game of the season, that being said he does need a few games or he might as well just go out on loan to a Championship squad which could have been said for a lot of our players bought last summer. 

 

Don't expect us to charge up the table next year it should be all about solidify the team and if we can break top ten that would be a massive bonus. 

[foreveryoung]

I don't know if this got posted already but Keith Harris who's helping Lerner to find a buyer was on Radio 4 this morning. If you click here, play the broadcast and fast forward to about an hour and twenty eight minutes you can hear what he had to say.

Sorry could you tell me im at work and have no time to listen!

[bobzy]

I think it is a rather telling and very depressing indication of where modern football is at that people turn their nose up to owners worth £2bn.

 

Football is more than a little sickening at times.

 

Haven't read all posts - but it's basically this all over.  People cite that money is needed to win things - and it is.  However, in my time supporting Aston Villa, I've only seen us win the League Cup twice; the last time being 18 years ago.  It's not about "winning", it's about enjoying the experience of being a fan.  Outside the top clubs, most don't win things but Everton fans, for example, will be more than happy right now.

 

I'd much rather see us run well with a competitive enough team over an investment of £500m out of nowhere, purchase the success and get a whole bunch of plastic fans in the process.  It's just not the way I want Aston Villa to be

[foreveryoung]

Personally I think people are quoting too much money. I think there are players in this team that would improve with better players around them. I think we should continue with our young and hungry policy, just simply go a few notches up, it's all well and good signing a player who is bossing league one, but that player needs to be bought as a potential option and not play every game of the season, that being said he does need a few games or he might as well just go out on loan to a Championship squad which could have been said for a lot of our players bought last summer. 

 

Don't expect us to charge up the table next year it should be all about solidify the team and if we can break top ten that would be a massive bonus.

Errrr? Yeah if we kept Lambert an Lerner!!

[bannedfromHandV]

 

 

 

Good post, but no doubt if we are bought out by somebody who's "only" worth a couple of billion (or heaven forbid less than that!) there will still be lots of complaining in a manner reminiscent of a spoiled child at Christmas.

 

You don't like people on here, do you?

 

He's right, though.

 

Personally, I don't care much for the individual wealth of a prospective new owner (as I posted elsewhere; I really don't want Villa to be the next Man City/Chelsea) but I DO care about the club being run properly - kingysilvers post is absolutely bang on.

 

People have slagged Lerner off far too much for, essentially, putting his hand in his pocket to the tune of £100m+ - but because that hasn't happened recently and Villa are struggling, it's his fault.  What we need, of course, is for someone to chuck a load of money at the problem (a la Lerner in the early days), get short term success to an extent (a la Lerner in the early days) and then have that person to blame if over-investment costs us in the long run (a la Lerner right now).  The more short termists amongst us will look at the football on the pitch/results and say it's not good enough - time for a change.  I DO think that Lerner has put Aston Villa Football Club in a good position to move forwards after a period of terrible mismanagement.

 

Thus, it's not about the wealth for me; it's about the ability to run a football club well.

I laughed out loud at this post. I'm sorry but I really did.

Let's take the point that we all agree on and that is first and foremost the club must be run well internally by the new owners and whoever the manager is irrespective of the investment available.

Now your comment about short termisim. Do those who have criticised the GH, AL and Lambert periods really deserve being labeled with that criticism. It was a poor decision making by Lerner to employ those managers and it was poor decision making again not to have a more balanced investment policy in place rather than too much at the start of Lerner's ownership and then not nearly enough when it was needed.

Lerner also hasn't put the club on a better financial standing due to his love of the club. He has done that with one thing in mind and that is self preservation of his inherited millions so the club is more financially attractable for a sale. In fact you can go one further than that and actually describe Lerner as selfish in that he cut investment for self preservation and in doing that risked the club being relegated. Have we forgotten how close the club has come to that over the last three seasons yet investment was still cut.

So you'll excuse the short termists complaining about three years of relegation battles while still splashing out hundreds of pounds in a recession to watch a team being stripped of their best players and then having to watch absolute shite on and off the pitch with one member of the coaching staff turning on the fans for displaying that short termisim you speak of.

 

 

 

When Lerner took over he probably felt that he had the financial clout to convert us into a top four team, which he/we nearly did.

 

Fast forward a couple of years and Man City have raised the amount of investment needed to ridiculous proportions, ones that Lerner cannot match.

 

Hence, he feels he can no longer drive us forward and is doing the honourable thing in selling up.

 

That's my take on it, very fundamental I know but the way I see it

[Cliffy Biro]

 

I don't know if this got posted already but Keith Harris who's helping Lerner to find a buyer was on Radio 4 this morning. If you click here, play the broadcast and fast forward to about an hour and twenty eight minutes you can hear what he had to say.

Sorry could you tell me im at work and have no time to listen!

 

 

Basically says nothing interesting at all tbh, just says one of the biggest investment banks in the world are leading the sale and its very early days to comment. That's literally all that was said on villa.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

£60m on players is not chump change, even these days. But with the right manager and the right infrastructure I've no doubt that would give us a shot at the UEFA cup spots.

I'd expect anyone interested in buying Aston Villa Football Club to want to and expect to have to make that investment over a 12 month period.

[Richard]

Not sure Ellis has said anything wrong there

[foreveryoung]

I don't know if this got posted already but Keith Harris who's helping Lerner to find a buyer was on Radio 4 this morning. If you click here, play the broadcast and fast forward to about an hour and twenty eight minutes you can hear what he had to say.

Sorry could you tell me im at work and have no time to listen!

 

Basically says nothing interesting at all tbh, just says one of the biggest investment banks in the world are leading the sale and its very early days to comment. That's literally all that was said on villa.

Cheers!

[AVFCAM]

I've not read every single page of the last however many hundred of this thread, so I may be repeating something someone already said, but, if were up to me, I'd rather Randy didn't sell.

I'd rather he bought in someone that knows the game, an advisor(s), or even a DoF perhaps in the same ilk as Bobby Charlton (also SAF now) at Man Yoo, or even an exec that knows the game.

The way I see it, Lerner has been a good Chairman of the 'business', he's managed to curb the losses, and make us as close to breaking even as we are now. The 'shareholders' would be happy. He's made community and our moral image incredibly important (although treatment of some players, Alan Hutton in particular, leaves a little to desired), so those on the outside think he is a wonderful owner. In the eyes of the customers however (us) he's not seen as a good owner, as the product we are provided isn't up to scratch. This is because Lerner is in business, not in football.

Imagine if he'd had football minded people advising him throughout his reign...

"Randy, I'm not sure about some of these deals, Nigel and Steve are both good players, but they're not worth that much a week, especially at this point in their careers"

"Randy, I know Martin thinks they'll improve us, but we will not get value for money on (enter any number of player's names here)"

"Randy, £26m is a lot of money, but James is one hell of a player, we'd need to spend a huge portion of that trying to find someone who could fill his shoes, without him, we only have Stan to hold the midfield together on his own. Stephen Ireland is a luxury player, he's good, but at his wages, he's never going to be worth that, he isn't a replacement for Milner"

"Randy, I know Sir Alex is a huge fan of Alex McLeish, but honestly, that isn't going to fly here, he's not only managed our rivals, he's relegated them. Unless he wins us the league, I'm not sure whether he would ever be accepted"

"Randy, balancing the books is a necessity, but we risk alienating the fans by stripping the team back so quickly. These lads may be cheap, but I'm not sure they're up to the job, especially when all blooded together at the same time. We may survive, but you'll lose all the fans who came back when we were winning more. Lose them and the millions the club spent under Martin would then become completely wasted, we don't have the players to show for it, the silverware or even the increased revenues as we would lose it by driving people back out the door"

"Randy, I know we need to bring the wages in line, but this lad really will improve us, his sell on value could be huge as well"

The caution I have about selling is that, while there are some fantastic owners to have, Chelsea, Cit£h, Liverpool and PSG all have them...there are a lot more terrible owners, Portsmouth, Blues, Cit£h (Shinawatra), Cardiff, Blackburn, Malaga, Notts County (little different I know) can all testify to that. Blues were screaming for Gold, Sullivan and Brady to leave the club, they did and look where they are now. Their "owner" has been locked up for tax evasion, leaving them, in the poop with no money and no chance. Malaga's filthy rich owner gave up half way through and decided he didn't want to play football teams anymore, so he pulled the plug, almost bankrupting the club with no way of paying the wages he had sanctioned. If Abramovich or the Sheikhs pulled out, Chelsea and City might be bankrupt in months, they just couldn't afford to pay those players for long periods without their wealthy sugar daddies.

Randy sold the Browns to somebody who he probably felt was a decent person, as I don't feel Randy is the type of owner who would let a club willingly go to somebody unsuitable. That man has just been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of fraud...an offence that would mean serious jail time if found guilty. Imagine if that happened to us. Most people with a lot of money who are interested in football clubs are usually not old money, they're usually newer money from countries with growing economies (or economies that were growing), India, Russian, China to name a few. For these people to amassed such wealth, it's highly likely that they'll have stepped on some toes to get there, with some coming from backgrounds where corruption is far more commonplace than in the US and UK (although, that's not to say that the US or UK are squeaky clean by any means).

QPR were taken over by a nice chap, Tony Fernandes, he had a few quid, not afraid to spend, which he did, changing too much too soon and they got relegated. Yes, they'd not long been promoted, but we're not that far ahead of them teams being promoted this year.

Then there is Red Bull, if that even was a genuine rumour. I support Aston Villa, not Aston Red Bulls or Red Bull Villa. Our badge shows a rampant Lion, not a corporate logo of a Bull. We play our games at Villa Park, not the Red Bull Arena. Red Bull buy a club as a vehicle to showcase their brand, that's how they make money, that's why they're successful. Tradition doesn't mean as much to them as it does to us. If Premier League survival was so important, I'm surprised why so many would welcome this option, as it would probably mean a lot of people would be watching non league football watching a new start up team in the same mould as FC United of Manchester. I can see a lot of the older fans especially not wanting to let go of the traditional side of the club totally, in exchange for this new modern business that football has become.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this is the dawn of a new day for Aston Villa Football Club. Maybe we will become a force to be reckoned with in Europe who can challenge for titles, which of course, would be great, but let's be honest, there are far more stories of woe when it comes to new owners. I'd much rather try and improve with a responsible owner who had the advice needed to help us be a mid table club who can try and make our way up the table than to lose the heart and should of the club and to tumble into oblivion when things all go wrong.

[samjp26]

I think the fact that we're in talks with Tamas is an indicator of how close any potential deal is. Answer: not very.

[lexicon]

£60m on players is not chump change, even these days. But with the right manager and the right infrastructure I've no doubt that would give us a shot at the UEFA cup spots.

I'd expect anyone interested in buying Aston Villa Football Club to want to and expect to have to make that investment over a 12 month period.

 

But what's the point of spending that much money just to get a shot at the Europa League? It'd take us ages to cover that sort of spending and we'd also get nailed for FFP fines. The potential gains just aren't there - we're much better off spending half that per season and going a bit more gradually.