Jump to content

The Randy Lerner thread


CI

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, Richard said:

Terrible terrible owner,. Terrible terrible person. He does not give one shit for Aston villa or its fan base of that I am totally convinced and in that respect , if nothing else, he is worse than Ellis by a long long distance 

Doesn't give a shit for the fan base. Ellis did? Revisionism again.

I remember the uproar for the sneering contempt Ellis often showed for the "man on the terrace".

Doesn't give a shit? I think he gives a shit. Whether that's for his own personal and financial reasons or for the club itself is open to debate, but he will most certainly give a shit.

I'll say it again: nothing he has done so far is worse than purposely and spitefully trying to forget the greatest night in our history coupled with the dismantling of the squad that achieved it ending in relegation within close to, if not, a record time going from European Champions to the second tier.

 

 

Edited by Morley_crosses_to_Withe
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

Doesn't give a shit for the fan base. Ellis did? Revisionism again.

I remember the uproar for the sneering contempt Ellis often showed for the "man on the terrace".

Doesn't give a shit? I think he gives a shit. Whether that's for his own personal and financial reasons or for the club itself is open to debate, but he will most certainly give a shit.

I'll say it again: nothing he has done so far is worse than purposely and spitefully trying to forget the greatest night in our history coupled with the dismantling of the squad that achieved it ending in relegation within close to, if not, a record time going from European Champions to the second tier.

 

 

Basically we've had the 2 worst owners in our history one after the other.

1984-2016 and counting

thats 32 years of bad ownership and underachieving

finishing second under GT & BFR, and 2 League cup wins to show for diluting the Champions of England & Europe is pretty poor showing especially when we could have not only got on the gravy train, we could have been the gravy train everybody tries to follow.

but we have our saviors now

please step forward mr SH & mr TF

good luck Remi

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

To a fan, corporate structure doesn't really matter so much, what matters are the results on the pitch, how 'well run' and efficient we are as a corporation is absolutely, at best, a secondary consideration.

Obviously, the two are connected, results on the pitch have a massive impact on corporate endeavors, lets see how our income drops when we're in the championship (for instance).

So far, Hollis has given one interview, and came across as a bit of a word removed. The line about 'it's not about the money' is a stick that he has given others to beat him over the head with. 

Good points. It's easy to forget about the actual football when discussing boardroom stuff, but at the end of the day, those 11 players are the reason the boardroom exists. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, Grasshopper said:

finishing second under GT & BFR, and 2 League cup wins to show for diluting the Champions of England & Europe is pretty poor showing especially when we could have not only got on the gravy train, we could have been the gravy train everybody tries to follow.

 

This sums up the Ellis era perfectly. The club we support today could have been massive if it wasn't for that spiteful, bitter word removed.  

Incidentally there was an interesting segment on Soccer Saturday earlier about our decline in the mid to early eighties. It was worth a watch as a lesson of our history/simple reminder what Ellis did was much worse. 

Edited by Morley_crosses_to_Withe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spot on here

Quote

 

Randy Lerner's Aston Villa shambles is nothing short of criminal

WANT to ruin a Premier League football club? Ring Randy Lerner.

By Jeremy Cross, Chief Sports Writer / Published 18th January 2016

His number can't be provided because no-one seems to know what it is. The American tycoon and billionaire doesn't talk too much and is like a silent assassin inflicting a slow and painful death on his current victim - Aston Villa.

He did break his silence for the first time in five years last week - to stand down as chairman, appoint unknown accountant Steven Hollis as his successor and admit he'd left the club in a right mess.

No kidding Randy Lerner graduated from Columbia Law School and is a member of the New York and District of Columbia Bar Associations. He worked as a lawyer in the Big Apple before going into business.

Which makes the fact he has overseen the catastrophic demise of Villa hugely ironic because the club's fall from grace has been nothing short of criminal.

Lerner once studied at Cambridge University and spent time following the fortunes of Fulham, Arsenal and Villa.

Instead, he should have studied clubs like Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth.

Three depressing examples of what serious damage can be done to clubs if not owned and managed in the correct manner.

"Doing a Leeds" has become a synonymous phrase associated with what can happen to clubs that make a mess of things.

Just to make it clear, Leeds were brought to their knees because of serious overspending - one of the few things Lerner cannot be accused of.

Quite the opposite in fact. Lerner, who once set-up his own investment firm in America, is actually charged with serious under-spending.But the moral of the tale is just the same. Treat being in the Premier League with a lack of respect and it will haunt you for years to come.

Villa have become an absolute shambles. He's hired and fired managers. Appointed the wrong people in the wrong roles.

Bottom of the league and hurtling towards the Championship, Villa resemble a rogue plane on autopilot heading for a crash landing - and the damage could be catastrophic.

Lerner only has himself to blame. He is supposed to be at the controls, but no-one knows his destination because he rarely pokes his head out of the cockpit, with the exception of last week, when all he succeeded in doing was shift responsibility to someone else and enhance the belief that he just doesn't care about the club.

Villa will receive a staggering £100m if they finish bottom of the table this season, that's almost £40m more than Lerner paid Doug Ellis in 2006 to buy the club in the first place.

Lerner would have to spend all of this and more on new talent if he wanted to get the club back to where it belongs.

But there is more chance of Chris Gayle being tactful than Lerner putting his hand in his pocket, because the 53-year-old prefers to save money by selling his best assets and sticking the cash in the bank.

James Milner, Stuart Downing, Fabien Delph, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young and Christian Benteke have all been sold under his watch. Internationals one and all.

Those brought in have been mediocre and inadequate, incapable of succeeding at this demanding level. End result? Relegation.

In the meantime, the likes of Bournemouth, Sunderland and Newcastle have invested in new signings that might still not keep them up, but at least they are trying to be pro-active and do something about the perilous position they find themselves in.

When Lerner wasn't satisfied with a sixth place finish in 2011, but refused to given Martin O'Neill major investment, the Northern Irishman promptly quit.

It was the start of a downward spiral that has made Lerner's head spin so much he has gone from being ambitious with high standards to accepting of relegation.

His general silence speaks volumes. Lerner brings shame on those foreign owners who do have the best interests of their English clubs at heart and he doesn't deserve the privilege of controlling Villa.

It will be his birthday next month - and you'll be able to count the number of cards he gets from fans on one finger.

 

Randy Lerner is a joke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Jeremy Cross did absolutely no fact checking before writing that article, which is a shame because I admire the sentiment.

Yes a bit more substance required because all it is is a rant against Lerner.  Something I have no issue with but as a journalist not sure it sits well without the substance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

One of the things that really grates is the "We chose to sell Benteke" and sometimes the "We chose to sell Delph" narrative that i've heard from a few 'journalists' and 'pundits'.

Numerous sticks to beat Lerner with but these aren't them.

The stick to beat him with over Benteke and Delph is that due to his ineptitude in running the club we were not as competitive in the league or as successful which would have enabled us to persuade those players that we were a club about to achieve things so stay with us

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Richard said:

The stick to beat him with over Benteke and Delph is that due to his ineptitude in running the club we were not as competitive in the league or as successful which would have enabled us to persuade those players that we were a club about to achieve things so stay with us

I agree had he he shown ambition to signing better players than the likes of bennett, westwood and luna then he might still be here. So in a way I think journalist has a point

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Richard said:

The stick to beat him with over Benteke and Delph is that due to his ineptitude in running the club we were not as competitive in the league or as successful which would have enabled us to persuade those players that we were a club about to achieve things so stay with us

Not sure I agree. Liverpool and Man City are still better options for players looking to go to the biggest clubs and once their head is turned, there's only so much you can do.

What Lerner did with the money he made on them is probably a better stick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16 January 2016 at 11:46, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

Doesn't give a shit for the fan base. Ellis did? Revisionism again.

I remember the uproar for the sneering contempt Ellis often showed for the "man on the terrace".

Doesn't give a shit? I think he gives a shit. Whether that's for his own personal and financial reasons or for the club itself is open to debate, but he will most certainly give a shit.

I'll say it again: nothing he has done so far is worse than purposely and spitefully trying to forget the greatest night in our history coupled with the dismantling of the squad that achieved it ending in relegation within close to, if not, a record time going from European Champions to the second tier.

 

 

It doesn't feel like Lerner gives a shit. Can you give us a few examples so we can remember what he's done for us, especially over these last 6 wonderful seasons. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16 January 2016 at 14:54, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

This sums up the Ellis era perfectly. The club we support today could have been massive if it wasn't for that spiteful, bitter word removed.  

Incidentally there was an interesting segment on Soccer Saturday earlier about our decline in the mid to early eighties. It was worth a watch as a lesson of our history/simple reminder what Ellis did was much worse. 

That decline lasted, what, 3 years maximum? I don't ever remember the club being in a 6 year humiliating decline where we smashed every crappy record we ever had the misfortune to set and become a national laughing stock under Ellis. Do you?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, avfc1982 said:

become a national laughing stock under Ellis. Do you?

Sadly yes.5 years after winning the European cup, we finished bottom of the (then) first division, under Ellis after years of being absolute pants as a result of his ineptitude and destruction of what he inherited.

 edit - MCTW posted the truth a page or so back, I've just seen. Sorry - basically repeating what's already been posted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, avfc1982 said:

That decline lasted, what, 3 years maximum? I don't ever remember the club being in a 6 year humiliating decline where we smashed every crappy record we ever had the misfortune to set and become a national laughing stock under Ellis. Do you?

Maybe you are too young to have experienced the feeling of being

THE BEST IN THE LAND

&

THE BEST IN EUROPE

then ending up in the 2nd division so soon after.

we had a team of legends & heroes who gave EVERYTHING for the shirt

Rimmer our best goalie ever

Spink his back-up 

Alan Evans

Mortimer

Cowans

Shaw

Morley

Withe

these players were Gods in the world of football not just for Villa fans

 

a team broken up out of jealousy & spite

that is treason of the highest order

Edited by Grasshopper
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...
Â