$200 Million Takeover

[AVTuco]

Last time I checked here was 24 hours ago.

Five minutes ago I came back, very excited, expecting confirmation Ellison is our new owner.... and nothing!

What's going on? It's all died down.

Bigger news at hand. Someone on another site is impersonating MysteryMan.

So I notice. Very interesting.

[Mic09]

somebody please pm me when something exciting happens.... booooriiiiing.

[suttonpaul]

Is this the "possible takeover" thread or the "promote some drip in the executive boxes" thread?

Its getting very boring.

This is the lets discuss the bollocks people make up on the net thread a month before we find anything out

[KSV]

seems very quiet.

I guess nothing can move forward till we secure our premier league status. 3 Points this weekend would be nice.

[Butterfingers]

I think little snippets will filter through fairly regularly between now & the end of the season. Doesn't mean we'll be drip fed on a daily basis though.

 

Also, I suspect there will be a few bogus claims as well-At least that should keep the wise old owls & the "told you so's" on here happy for a brief period.

[The Fun Factory]

I think there is a lot more meh about it this time. I mean most of us where almost wetting ourselves with excitement back in the heady days of summer 2006 when Doug finally sold up to a rich bloke (we thought) and brought in a manger most clubs at the time would have been pleased with. Even having a rich benefactor does not mean that Villa will turn it around on the pitch. It needs good leadership and consistent clear policy right from the top down in order to turn his club round. 

[LondonLax]

As far as I can see it is still just an unsubstantiated rumour that has gathered its own steam on the internet over the last couple of weeks.

 

Lerner's statement doesn't shed any light on it and doesn't deny anything either. He may well be happy to not deny outright because it keeps this feel good factor going through our last few fixtures towards survival. There could also be new investment with him staying on as owner or there could be new owners altogether.

 

We don't know anything more than we did a couple of weeks ago so I am not going to get interested until there is actually some credible news one way or the other. 

[KHV]

There is no takeover. It's another year of Lambert, Faulkner, Lerner, bargain basement signings and tactically inept hoofball.

Woo Hoo :-)

[suttonpaul]

I still think if he stays we won't see as many signings but they will be of higher value

[maqroll]

There is no takeover. It's another year of Lambert, Faulkner, Lerner, bargain basement signings and tactically inept hoofball.

Woo Hoo :-)

[villanmike]

Talk of a possible take over just in time for season ticket renewal. Oh my!

[PieFacE]

 

Is this the "possible takeover" thread or the "promote some drip in the executive boxes" thread?

Its getting very boring.

This is the lets discuss the bollocks people make up on the net thread a month before we find anything out

 

I'm guessing you will constantly posting stuff like this in the Summer Transfer Speculation thread too.... 

[lexicon]

I think there is a lot more meh about it this time. I mean most of us where almost wetting ourselves with excitement back in the heady days of summer 2006 when Doug finally sold up to a rich bloke (we thought) and brought in a manger most clubs at the time would have been pleased with. Even having a rich benefactor does not mean that Villa will turn it around on the pitch. It needs good leadership and consistent clear policy right from the top down in order to turn his club round. 

 

Probably because the Ellis situation was a lot worse than the one we're in now.

[sexbelowsound]

 

Is this the "possible takeover" thread or the "promote some drip in the executive boxes" thread?

Its getting very boring.

This is the lets discuss the bollocks people make up on the net thread a month before we find anything out

 

 

Seriously mate, if it bothers you this much why not ignore it and post in another thread? There are plenty of really good ones im sure you could contribute to....

[Butterfingers]

Let him have his hour in the spotlight-I find it quite amusing.

 

I doubt you'll be hearing too much from him when its officially announced that the club has been taken over in the summer or when the story gathers momentum in the press.

[Big_John_10]

I think there is a lot more meh about it this time. I mean most of us where almost wetting ourselves with excitement back in the heady days of summer 2006 when Doug finally sold up to a rich bloke (we thought) and brought in a manger most clubs at the time would have been pleased with. Even having a rich benefactor does not mean that Villa will turn it around on the pitch. It needs good leadership and consistent clear policy right from the top down in order to turn his club round.

Probably because the Ellis situation was a lot worse than the one we're in now.

Were the accounts the year before Ellis went as bad as our last set?

Also last year we got less than the 42 points we achieved in Doug's last year and I doubt we will match that again this year.

And when you look at the squad MON added petrov and was able to see us go on an impressive unbeaten run straight away. I seriously doubt this squad would be able to do that.

This is another one of your comments that you base on zero evidence or facts.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Big_John_10

[omariqy]

You seem to know him well?

 

I hope he is right and I hope he does it give it the 'I told you so'.

Let him have his hour in the spotlight-I find it quite amusing.

 

I doubt you'll be hearing too much from him when its officially announced that the club has been taken over in the summer or when the story gathers momentum in the press.

[StanBalaban]

I think there is a lot more meh about it this time. I mean most of us where almost wetting ourselves with excitement back in the heady days of summer 2006 when Doug finally sold up to a rich bloke (we thought) and brought in a manger most clubs at the time would have been pleased with. Even having a rich benefactor does not mean that Villa will turn it around on the pitch. It needs good leadership and consistent clear policy right from the top down in order to turn his club round. 

I think a lot of it has to do with the finances of the clubs in the PL.  When Lerner took over, his billionaire status had wow factor. As this thread will show, when Davis and Simpson were mooted some bemoaned them 'only' having $4bn.  

 

I'm with you about having the right people in the right places would be better than just a bucket-load of cash (which would also be nice too  ).

[StanBalaban]

There is no takeover. It's another year of Lambert, Faulkner, Lerner, bargain basement signings and tactically inept hoofball.

Woo Hoo :-)

I believe Lerner's tenure run it's course now, and one of the biggest indicators for me is people like Mat Kendrick, who rely on a good relationship with the club (and is oft labelled as a mouthpiece for the board), coming out with articles like this one here.

 

I think Mat gets a lot more information than he actually publishes, so why would he jeopardise his standing with the manager, CEO and owner for next season if he himself didn't believe they wouldn't be here?

 

 

Here is our blunt, bold, no-holds-barred five-point-plan for trying to shake Aston VillaFC out of their malaise and hopefully make these perennial Premier League relegation battles a thing of the past.

1 Get five points

First things first, let’s get five points to reach the Premier League’s standard 40-point safety mark – or, failing that, at least the three more that should be sufficient to keep the claret and blues up this season.

Preserving Premier League status should be the bare minimum, not the height, of this club’s ambitions but the primary aim now is survival (‘stating the obvious’ alert).

It needs to be done sooner rather than later and the best, quickest way is to actually win a game. In the previous two, Crystal Palace away and Southampton at home , Villa have played for draws and picked up one point from a possible six.

It has strains of Alex McLeish when Villa just about stayed up in instalments two years ago with two draws in the last four matches. ‘We always go out and try to win games’ is the current manager’s motto.

Prove it.

Take the game to Swansea on Saturday, win and ensure Villa’s Premier status. If it backfires, go out with all guns blazing against Hull the following weekend.

2 Have an energised owner

Villa need a dynamic, committed, visible owner next season – and, being blunt, one who will spend big, not just in an initial splurge, but consistently and with considered footballing nous to enable Villa to compete consistently.

Be it the current incumbent rediscovering his mojo and finally appointing some savvy advisors – as seems increasingly unlikely – be it a billionaire American compatriot of Lerner to rip it up and start again, or be it a wealthy benefactor from Timbuktu, there must be a fresh approach from whoever is the claret and blue custodian by the time the new campaign kicks off in August.

As Birmingham Mail sports editor Ken Montgomery commented on Saturday , it seems to have reached the stage where the Villa Park faithful would welcome a completely new owner, as Lerner’s reign grows increasingly stale.

Despite his best intentions, neither Lerner nor the fans wanted it to be this way. Many would gladly thank him for his huge investment, express regret it hasn’t worked, wave him on his way and take their chances with a new owner if it means escaping the current annual slog to 40 points.

But selling a football club isn’t a straightforward business. There are no guarantees that even though Lerner apparently wants out, a suitable deal can be struck. It may well be that in putting out the feelers for new buyers Lerner instead finds an investor willing to help him rather than replace him.

Lerner or new owner, Villa need a leader who will consistently invest enough to make Villa a Premier League force again rather than an insignificant also-ran, be seen at Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath regularly and show true leadership qualities.

3 Appoint a board with experience and expertise

Since Steve Stride left seven months into Lerner’s tenure, Villa have employed several people in a CEO-style post, with Richard Fitzgerald and Michael Cunnah having short stints and manager Martin O’Neill essentially performing elements of that role himself during his authoritarian reign.

Paul Faulkner has been the chief executive for four years since May 2010, having spent the previous two as chief operating officer, and Lerner’s lieutenant has been forced to learn on the job after being fast-tracked following a rapid rise at Lerner’s former family credit card empire, MBNA.

The Cambridge graduate now boasts more Premier League experience than Villa’s manager and most of the players but it has been a case of trying to learn from mistakes rather than from an established expert football administrator.

While turnover is up and the commercial arm of the club is functioning nicely thanks to improved sponsorship deals and hospitality, millions upon millions wasted on the footballing side of the business has led to record financial losses.

Problems in the Lerner regime have not been because of a lack of investment, even in leaner recent years, but stem from vast sums being wasted on erroneous managerial appointments and players who have proved nowhere near value for money.

 

Aston Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner watches the action

 

 

 

Faulkner is striving to strengthen his credentials as a football person with increased responsibilities with the Football Association.

But the Villa Park faithful would welcome an Aston Villa man like Stride, Graham Taylor or Birmingham Mail columnist Ian Taylor to open up their vast contacts books and offer their wealth of knowledge of the club and the game.

Failing that a club of Villa’s stature should have the pull to attract a ready-made football administrator from a rival club in Britain or Europe and one that can genuinely influence the chairman – whoever it may be – and avoid the oh-so costly mistakes of the past.

Mat Kendrick's verdict on the Southampton game

 

 

4 Recruit a new manager

Villa need the aforementioned boardroom ‘expert’ to help appoint the right manager after several botched attempts.

Without wishing to lead the beleaguered current boss like a Lambert to the slaughter, his claret and blue charge-sheet is surely too extensive for him to be part of a fresh start.

Be it three embarrassing cup exits to lower league opposition, Villa’s heaviest defeat in their history and worst ever home record of league losses or questionable tactics, sub-standard signings and alleged misdemeanours of his closest allies Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa , it has hardly been vintage Villa under the Scot.

That’s not to mention a playing style which relies too much on counter-attack and long balls with little semblance of a Plan A, let alone a Plan B. There is mitigation, of course, mainly financial “parameters” Lerner has alluded to that have left Lambert shopping mostly in the bargain basement, and serious injuries to key players.

But the ill-conceived ‘Bomb Squad’ philosophy of disregarding and devaluing players Villa still pay handsomely has eroded some of the sympathy those cash constraints originally afforded him.

The Birmingham Mail’s online blameometer , which had thousands of votes, made Lambert most responsible for this season’s sorry showing with 44 per cent of readers who clicked on the poll blaming the manager, compared to Lerner (36 per cent), the players (12 per cent) and Faulkner (eight per cent), while a poll on the Vital Villa fans messageboard revealed 86 per cent of supporters want Lambert to go.

Against that grim backdrop of unwanted records and supporter discontent, it is inconceivable to imagine this manager being part of a ‘bright future’, although, as stated, changes above his head are needed if Lambert does leave and his successor is to stand a better chance of success.

5 Improve the PR

From ‘Ask Bennett’ webchats leaving an out-of-form scapegoat open to abuse to ridiculous statements leaving supporters none the wiser, Villa have somehow made their fanbase feel disenfranchised.

They need to be proactive rather than reactive, focus on the raging infernos rather than fighting piddling little fires and realise that saying nothing is disrespectful when fans are crying out for clues about the direction of the club they love and work hard to support.

Excessive secrecy has alienated people who care and it comes back to a lack of Aston Villa people. Because even when the message is not one they want to hear, the Villa Park faithful would prefer it to come from somebody they trust and respect.

 

 

[Wainy316]

So do you think Lerner will address us (as promised) pre or post world cup?