DCJonah Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Pete it all sounds good but i've seen little to have much faith in him. Yes the dirty work has been done, lets not forget he's the reason it had to be done, and I also believe it was done, more to benefit him with trying to sell the club than because he had a longer term plan to make us successful again. What if he doesn't sell the club? What if he thinks **** it, I've gone this far, with the restrictions in place and the right man in Fox at the helm (in Lerner's opinion) and a bright young manager why not have another go. It wouldn't be the first time somebody had a genuine change of heart. Being pragmatic, I am also of the view that what difference does it really make now? It's all about the structure of the club and the revenue it can generate. FFP is an abomination in many ways, but it is here to stay and we need to find a way to work within it. If the age of austerity is over (and I agree we shall see to a degree this summer) then I'm willing to let bygones be bygones I suppose. I'm really not in the mood for more upheaval unless absolutely necessary. I guess this summer will show us certain things. If it's different and we're going to be ambitious within FFP then yeah, i agree, lets get on with it and see where it goes. I just don't have much faith that Sherwood will have much more to play with than Lambert did. .....but sherwood has already said to the contrary Wouldn't be the first time the actions of the club didn't match the messages being sent out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I am far from his biggest fan but even I can accept that he has been a little unlucky with his footballing decisions. O'Neill, Houllier, Lambert. On the surface all three were solid choices and should have worked out much better than they did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I am far from his biggest fan but even I can accept that he has been a little unlucky with his footballing decisions. O'Neill, Houllier, Lambert. On the surface all three were solid choices and should have worked out much better than they did. Disagree, spending without thought for the future was a big issue with MON, he has to take responsibility for that. Houllier had been out the game for years and had serious health issues, a massive gamble and then Mcleish just made things worse. Lambert seemed a smart choice but wage limitations and sticking with him for so long made things worse. He keeps making awful decisions and thats why I have little faith that things will be good under him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I think until we hear something from Randy himself that suggests he may now want to continue as our custodian it is reasonable to conclude that he still wants to sell as soon as he possibly can as long as it is at the right price for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morley_crosses_to_Withe Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) I am far from his biggest fan but even I can accept that he has been a little unlucky with his footballing decisions. O'Neill, Houllier, Lambert. On the surface all three were solid choices and should have worked out much better than they did. I agree. MON was a highly sought after manager and I don't think he'd have worked under an environment of owner heavy handiness or DOF intervention. The big spending hurt us, but I think Randy's naivety, and perhaps a touch of hubris, meant that he genuinely believed we would make the CL and/or our revenue would keep pace with expenditure. Houllier was a solid choice given his record of trophies and was still heavily involved with French football when he came to us. It was a gamble, admittedly, but his appointment did have some logic to it (unlike McLeish which, no doubt, was a horrible mistake). Lambert was the fans' choice. He didn't work out as our manager, and was definitely kept on for a tad too long, but to his credit, he built the squad we see today. Edited May 4, 2015 by Morley_crosses_to_Withe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 The heavy spending hurt us, but I think Randy's naivety, and perhaps a touch of hubris, meant that he genuinely believed we would make the CL and/or our revenue would keep pace with expenditure. That's probably true but that's not being unlucky. That's poor leadership from the top of a multi-million pound business.Houllier was a solid choice given his record of trophies and was still heavily involved with French football when he came to us. It was a gamble, admittedly, but his appointment did have some logic to it I couldn't disagree more. He hadn't managed a team for around 5 years because of serious health problems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 You're wrong about Houllier. It was almost 9 years after his heart trouble and 6 of those were spent as a manager. He didn't leave Lyon in 2007 for health reasons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted May 4, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 4, 2015 I am far from his biggest fan but even I can accept that he has been a little unlucky with his footballing decisions. O'Neill, Houllier, Lambert. On the surface all three were solid choices and should have worked out much better than they did. Disagree, spending without thought for the future was a big issue with MON, he has to take responsibility for that. Houllier had been out the game for years and had serious health issues, a massive gamble and then Mcleish just made things worse. Lambert seemed a smart choice but wage limitations and sticking with him for so long made things worse. He keeps making awful decisions and thats why I have little faith that things will be good under him. Not to disagree with your post really, but it seems like he made one good decision a couple months ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted May 4, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted May 4, 2015 I really hope we have new owners this summer. Lerner selling us to a rich consortium after we won the FA cup would be a very good thing for both him and us. I must say I'm not 100 % sure I want this any more. Our recent success with Tim has got me a bit timid in wanting a new owner. I suppose it means that we have something to lose again, six months ago I would've taken any new owner. I'm not so sure any more, things could actually get worse if we get really poor owners. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I really hope we have new owners this summer. Lerner selling us to a rich consortium after we won the FA cup would be a very good thing for both him and us. I must say I'm not 100 % sure I want this any more. Our recent success with Tim has got me a bit timid in wanting a new owner. I suppose it means that we have something to lose again, six months ago I would've taken any new owner. I'm not so sure any more, things could actually get worse if we get really poor owners. I hear you. I don't mean any new owner, agree with you on that. I mean someone who can run us a little better who is richer so we can compete at a higher level than we can with Lerner. Someone who doesn't mess with club colours or traditions is also a given in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanO Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'm really surprised anyone is happy for Lerner to continue. Our points totals the last five years have been absolutely awful and we've allowed plenty of clubs to catch us and over take us during his time at the club. Why would anyone want that to continue? Because we've had a nice month thanks to Sherwood? I want nothing more to do with him. This has easily been the longest shit period of my time as a villa fan, I hope it will end soon. Not so much "happy" DC more concerned as to what new owners would do. If they turn out to have the clubs best interests at heart (as I believe Lerner has had) then great. For me Lerner tried but it hasn't worked out however I still have trust in him. I'm worried we might end up with owners like Blues, Cardiff, Blackburn etc however I realise unless I become a billionaire overnight there is nothing I can do but sit back, watch and hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I really hope we have new owners this summer. Lerner selling us to a rich consortium after we won the FA cup would be a very good thing for both him and us. I must say I'm not 100 % sure I want this any more. Our recent success with Tim has got me a bit timid in wanting a new owner. I suppose it means that we have something to lose again, six months ago I would've taken any new owner. I'm not so sure any more, things could actually get worse if we get really poor owners. I hear you. I don't mean any new owner, agree with you on that. I mean someone who can run us a little better who is richer so we can compete at a higher level than we can with Lerner. Someone who doesn't mess with club colours or traditions is also a given in that. But the point is, richer doesn't matter any more - FFP has stopped that from mattering, unless you want to take a hit that 99.9% of the world wouldn't be prepared to take in the shape of a fine. Fox seems to be running things well enough and I'm all for leaving him to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I really hope we have new owners this summer. Lerner selling us to a rich consortium after we won the FA cup would be a very good thing for both him and us. I must say I'm not 100 % sure I want this any more. Our recent success with Tim has got me a bit timid in wanting a new owner. I suppose it means that we have something to lose again, six months ago I would've taken any new owner. I'm not so sure any more, things could actually get worse if we get really poor owners. I hear you. I don't mean any new owner, agree with you on that. I mean someone who can run us a little better who is richer so we can compete at a higher level than we can with Lerner. Someone who doesn't mess with club colours or traditions is also a given in that. But the point is, richer doesn't matter any more - FFP has stopped that from mattering, unless you want to take a hit that 99.9% of the world wouldn't be prepared to take in the shape of a fine. Fox seems to be running things well enough and I'm all for leaving him to it. Of course it does. To suggest it doesn't matter is just wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 No, it doesn't. You can only invest a finite amount into the club (unless you go down the fine route but as previously stated, I think almost nobody would because it's akin to burning money) and we're pretty much already doing that, aren't we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Field Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Did not think I would have said this 6 months ago, but I am actually content with Lerner, would like someone better, but the risk of getting a new owner is huuuge. Lerner does care about the club, and has actually in Tom Fox got someone in that understands football. All of the risks he has taken have been to try to better Villa, but sadly he overspent (naivety and bad management from Mon), but because of ffp we have had to sell (no matter who the owner is). The worst decision he has made so far is Mcleish ! but that compared to decisions other owners have done is very small, especially as he was able to see his mistake and fire him again. The money we spend each year is about as much as we are allowed to spend, no matter the owner, even if Bill Gates buys us, we won't spend much more than we currently are, and I am very afraid that the new owners will for example, change the name or colors or just strip our assets (Blackburn style), we all know that for example if we were to sell Benteke, we would then be allowed to spend it, look at newcastle and And Carroll ! the grass is NOT always greener on the other side ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Lerner has made mistakes, he's acknowledged them, and he's fixing them. This second half to the season has made me realise he does love the club and he wants what is best for us. We're better run, both behind the scenes (Fox) and in front of the cameras (Sherwood and coaching). We appear to have solidified our finances to a point where we can go out and spend a bit of money without worrying about our wage bill being unmanageable, and dare I say it, a sense of optimism is floating around the place. If Lerner stays and we carry on moving forward like we are now, I'm happy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Before we praise Lerner for Fox's decision making over the past few months, can we see if we can stay up following the awful decisions made by Lerner - which include a four year contract for an under performing manager, helping put us in this situation. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 No, it doesn't. You can only invest a finite amount into the club (unless you go down the fine route but as previously stated, I think almost nobody would because it's akin to burning money) and we're pretty much already doing that, aren't we? You are just thinking of players in. Example 1: Chelsea make an offer for Benteke for 32M. That is not Tom Fox's decision to make, its Randy Lerners. Lerner might just accept that while someone like, lets say Bill Gates cause he is mentioned up here would tell Chelsea where to stuff that bid and counter with that we want 55M. Gates is rich enough to do that. Either Chelsea come back with a much higher offer or we keep Benteke. If he stays next season he scores 30 goals. I would like that. Example 2: We have a new Daniel Crowley on our books. Arsenal and Arsene Wenger do what they do and throw many after kids. I really would like us to at least match there offer. Now of course Crowley2 can choose Arsenal anyway but if we never match the offers we are not giving him a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 we bot yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) Before we praise Lerner for Fox's decision making over the past few months, can we see if we can stay up following the awful decisions made by Lerner - which include a four year contract for an under performing manager, helping put us in this situation. left to his own devices, lerner is still a total train wreck although bringing in fox may have been the best thing he's done since slapping some paint on the holte hotel Edited May 5, 2015 by maqroll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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