Buffs Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Please let this fiasco end soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywalker Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I dont think ellis is going to sell. I have a bad feeling about all of this especially after hearing that the only group to actually bid for the club wants to join forces with another group who are weeks away from submiting a bid. Mr neville certainly doesnt seem to be in the position he said he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis_B Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 BIRMINGHAM POST REPORTS Villa quiet on Lerner and O'NeillAug 3 2006 By Brian Dick The maelstrom of publicity raging around Aston Villa appears to be at odds with events inside the walls of Villa Park with the club not expecting to confirm Martin O'Neill as their new manager today, nor anticipating host-ing representatives of billion-aire Randy Lerner. In fact, I understand there was no delegation from the American's consortium at the ground yesterday and one is not expected today as the takeover saga rumbles on without making the sort of strides some have claimed. Furthermore, suggestions that the appointment of a replacement for David O'Leary is intrinsically connected with the success of one of the four bids looking to buy out Doug Ellis also seem wide of the mark as the board concentrate on making sure a new manager is in place before the Premiership season kicks off. While O'Neill remains the only candidate in the picture, the prospect of him not being in place in time for Villa's pre-season tour to Germany and Holland is becoming increasingly likely with Roy Aitken set to lead the party out of the country tomorrow. With their first match against Hanover the following day the Ulsterman might not have much of a role to play in the three-match programme unless something breaks over the weekend. Story continues ADVERTISEMENT That will come as a massive frustration to the legions of supporters who are desperate for the former Celtic manager to lift the gloom of the O'Leary years and for Ellis to end his 24-year-reign. The first part of the equation does at least seem imminent, if not immediately so with next Tuesday or Wednesday rumoured to be a possible coronation date, as one of Lerner's rivals for Villa, Nicholas Padfield QC, has removed his objection to working with O'Neill. Quite the reverse is true now with Padfield's AV06 group dropping their insistence that Michael Laudrup and John Jensen are brought in and agreeing to the installation of the fans' favouite. They have even claimed they would give him £50 million to spend on rebuilding the Villa side. About £30 million of that would be available before the transfer window closes at the end of this month with the balance coming when in reopens in January. That would enable Villa to make their first signing of a hugely frustrating summer and bolster a squad known to be one of the smallest in the Premiership. While Lerner's financial strength is well-known - he is one of the richest men in America - the Padfield group also have significant wealth and are made up of domestic and international investors including one billionaire. The Athole Still bid remains shrouded in mystery in terms of his backers but it is thought the agent of Sven-G?ran Eriksson has made an informal offer to Ellis which he understood to be acceptable. That leaves the consortium headed by Villa fan Michael Neville whose momentum appears to have slowed. The Dorridge-based businessman was the first to go public with his latest attempt at buying the club but has not answered questions about his financial muscle. Those queries may be dismissed if Neville and Padfield join forces as was intimated by the deputy high court judge in a radio interview last night. Padfield said: "The latest state of play is we have been approached by representatives from other consortia who have already put their hats in the ring. One is a representative of Mr Neville. "We are considering opening discussions with them but haven't taken a firm decision. "Nothing is going to happen until I return (from holiday) at the end of the week. "We haven't had serious discussions yet but an approach has been made to me and certainly I'm quite happy to arrange a meeting when I get back." Padfield added: "One of the crucial issues is the extent to which Doug Ellis wants to retain a stake in the club or whether he is prepared to sell his entire shareholding. "The other critical issue is what the position is as regards the team manager - has one been appointed, is one going to be appointed, the nature of his contract etc. "This will impact on the amount of finance available to buy new players." Padfield added: "I have had no discussions with Mr Ellis at all and all of us find it surprising that no one from the club has bothered to tell us what the position is as regards whether any formal offers have been made or indeed the position as regards appointing a manager. "I am having meetings (with Mr Ellis) next Tuesday. They will be one of a number of meetings but I don't anticipate we will be in a great rush to make a bid simply because we don't have all the relevant information on which to base it." Meanwhile, a former Northern Ireland team-mate of O'Neill's, Gerry Armstrong, believes the 54-year-old will be a big success should he decide to take over the job. Now an assistant manager with the province, Armstrong claims he would love to see his old pal back doing what he does best. "It would be great to see Martin return to management," Armstrong said. "He is one of the best around and I know he has had many offers in the last year. "In my opinion Villa are not a top-eight club at the moment and that's where Martin would aim to take them if he becomes manager. "He would need the resources, though, but there is no doubt he has the class and the managerial ability to be a big success." Armstrong, who scored the winning goal for the O'Neillled team that beat Spain in the 1982 World Cup, added: "Moving to Villa would mean he would be in charge of Northern Ireland players Aaron Hughes and Steve Davis. "I know Martin would enjoy working with them because both lads are very professional and excellent footballers. And Steve and Aaron in turn would learn much from Martin. That would benefit Villa and Northern Ireland." The chances of Chris Sutton teaming up with his former Celtic manager are remote, however. The striker's agent confirmed yesterday that if he were to return to the Second City it would be to rejoin Birmingham City despite the fact they are in the Championship. The chances of that happening in the short term are not particularly high given the player is recovering from a groin injury and will not commit himself before he is 100 per cent fit. It ain't looking good imho CLICKY CLICKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsby Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 This is driving me to distraction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizardfromoz Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I feel sorry for Oneill he is caught in the middle. I bekieve he is a man of principle any other would have jumped at the money and worried afterwards. He would know that the Villa job is an albatross without new funding and I believe will refuse the job unless there is a change in leadership. All I can think of is Ellis has tried to get him onside to strengthen his position with the aid of a well known journalist I hope i'm wrong but if it's so it's an utter disgrace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywalker Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I feel sorry for Oneill he is caught in the middle. I bekieve he is a man of principle any other would have jumped at the money and worried afterwards. He would know that the Villa job is an albatross without new funding and I believe will refuse the job unless there is a change in leadership. All I can think of is Ellis has tried to get him onside to strengthen his position with the aid of a well known journalist I hope i'm wrong but if it's so it's an utter disgrace. How do we even know oneil has had any contact with anyone either from the club or anyone else? dont belive a word of it. The papers and the people in the know on here and other sites, so far, have been 99% wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claretman Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I can see ONeill thinking "WTF am I doing thinking about joining this comedy club? F*ck it." And strolling off into the sunset" if this fiasco continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent_Bob Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 In fact, I understand there was no delegation from the American's consortium at the ground yesterday and one is not expected today as the takeover saga rumbles on without making the sort of strides some have claimed. So the three yanks spotted there were either representing someone else. Or Doug has started doing the tours as well these days. While Lerner's financial strength is well-known - he is one of the richest men in America - the Padfield group also have significant wealth and are made up of domestic and international investors including one billionaire But still they think they should merge with Nevilles group? Why is that then? Padfields offer is, for some reason, not an offer Rothchilds seem to take too seriously. And that's why he's talking to the press now, telling us £50M for players, that his group contains a billionaire, and so on. "Nothing is going to happen until I return (from holiday) at the end of the week. ...I don't anticipate we will be in a great rush to make a bid simply because we don't have all the relevant information on which to base it." Perhaps you would have had more information atm if you didn't go on holiday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCresswell Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Agree totally, S_B . He can't be that interested in doing it, as if he was I'd have thought he would cancel his holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish1 Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I think us Villa fans need to make some public noise, all these stories about what "might" happen are stringing us along IMO, we can't keep waiting in HOPE that something will happen, we need to apply pressure where ever we can, i.e. release some press statements through the fans organisations and come saturday try and get as many people as possible at Villa park and try and get some press down there and show Ellis that we'r not happy to sit by and wait for him to stop messing around, we want him to do everything possible to get a deal done ASAP. We can all talk about what might happen but we need to speak in numbers and get attention, no?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connell Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 thsi sinthe same old regurgitated bollocks ive had all my life as a villa fan. i cant wait to be shot of ellis, the sooner; the **** better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 This is going bad and fast, Doug is playing games trying to sort stuff out and **** it up. If Lerner doesnt bid this week we are truely ****! What did i say about Howell pissing O'Neill off, Cheers Baggie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 As many of you I have wasted most of my life over the last 2 weeks following the the internet goings on of the events down at B6 and heres my take on it all. Neville is wasting his and everybody elses time. His bid isn't strong enough else he wouldn't be trying to join the other consortium and he is spouting everything he knows the fans want to hear without any way of following it through. In summary he's a chancer in my opinion. AV06 is a worrying situation. He clearly says they have not tabled a bid as they are waiting for answers. If you was serious you would chase the answers, not go on holiday and wait for a week giving a competitor a time advantage. Remember whilst AVFC should be doing their best to entertain potential buyers the buyers are not doing this as an act of charity it is a potential investment for them, if they are serious they will be as keen to seal this deal before anybody else gets it as much as we are keen to sell it. Also the fact AVFC have not directly spoke to him is not that unusual as they are employing Rothchilds to handle this. The most worrying thing is if he is correct about the meetings starting next week then there will be no takeover bid anytime soon, this could delay the new manager and any possible transfers. What I dont understand is AV06 claim there will be 30m to spend now and 20m in January, why are they claiming this when it is clear they wont be sorted before the window closes? My only hope of all this frustration from AV06 is that the real reason AVFC are not forthcoming with answers is because a deal is almost in place with Randy Learner or Still. I hope this is the situation and something happens soon or we could have a dark start to the season. Mr Learner looks potentially like a fantastic suitor however it is a little worrying that the Browns are so rubbish? I've seen the talk of 60m to spend yet with all my internet trawling I have yet to see a quote about this, please can somebody point me to it if there has been one? (And I dont mean one from a tabloid hack) Mr Still, is an interesting one. I know for a fact he has been at Villa Park more than once over the last week, however what do we know about his bid if there even is one? We know nothing about his backers. Could this be a good sign? Perhaps the fact that we know so little means that this is the real one that is going to win through? After all most big business is done confidentially? What I do know is I am going to try and reclaim my life back as I do feel this is going to run and run for at least another few weeks maybe till christmas and I can take anymore reading of the same rehashed quotes and tabloid hack guesses. I need facts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villab0y Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 BIRMINGHAM POST REPORTS Villa quiet on Lerner and O'NeillAug 3 2006 By Brian Dick The maelstrom of ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Apparently the "relevant people" have "been made fully aware" of goings on at Villa. It seems that "all shareholders in Aston Villa PLC can rest assured that the code of conduct relating to takeovers WILL be enforced" (not my emphasis) *shrug* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilsonrx Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 I think we have all gotten a litte too bit carried away on this. Expect news that Lerner is not pursuing his interest, Neville hasn't got the funds, Padfield decided to go elsewhere and Still was nothing more than a rumour. O'Neil gets fed up with the press hounding him and pulls out of the management race, leaving us with a former Villa hero who has no management experience. Another season of dross. And its drizzling outside. Thats the Villa way though isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsby Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 The truth is nobody, other than those in the 'inner sanctum' know what is going on. I wouldn't place too much emphasis on what competing consoriums have to say, it is highly likely that they know about as much as us. Neville still hasnt been spoken too, I wonder why? - same goes for AV06. The ones that are not talking (to the media), Lerner and Still - both of whom have kept their cards very close to their chests, are most likely to be nearer to the truth, and as they aren't saying anything it impossible to know what is really going on. Lets just hope this is over asap, I can't take much more of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Yesturdays Express and star O'Neill closer to Villa hot seat By Tim Nash Aug 2, 2006 Martin O'Neill's move to Villa has moved a step closer after it was claimed he is ready to work with current chairman Doug Ellis. That crucial breakthrough means he could be appointed on Thursday, Friday or after the weekend. Other sources close to O'Neill claim he has been offered the manager's job through a third party. The 54-year-old has still to meet Ellis, but it is understood face-to-face talks could happen tonight. Those close to O'Neill insist he still wants to see evidence of a takeover going through before committing himself. And that took another twist when it emerged a second American group were shown around the club's new training complex at Bodymoor Heath yesterday. The club have yet to confirm whether a fifth consortium have entered the buy-out race. Villa stress the appointment of a new manager is paramount as any of the interested parties could pull out at any time. But the club are confident they have persuaded the former Leicester boss to return to management after a 14-month absence to care for his sick wife Geraldine, who has cancer. O'Neill was shown around Villa Park on Monday. Officially, Villa are cautious in the knowledge that O'Neill has a reputation for not making decisions without extreme care. Since he left Celtic last year, the European Cup winner has been linked with all three north east clubs, while Tottenham and Leeds also thought they had their man. A club spokesman said: "We are continuing to go through the process to find the right man to take the club forwards." Privately, senior club officials are convinced O'Neill will become David O'Leary's successor in a huge coup for Villa. They would have persuaded one of the brightest managerial talents in the game to revive the club. Clicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetcorn Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 What a comedy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetcorn Posted August 3, 2006 Share Posted August 3, 2006 Yellow card PB for not giving us the link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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