The Randy Lerner thread

[avfc1982]

Randy Lerner has just donated £1M to Acorns Children's Hospice during the 25 year celebration of the hospice at Villa Park

Wonderful.

[Cliffy Biro]

Great stuff randy!

[NurembergVillan]

Randy Lerner has just donated £1M to Acorns Children's Hospice during the 25 year celebration of the hospice at Villa Park

FFS!  He could've spent that on a League One playmaker to sort our midfield out...!!!111!!

[Morpheus]

Very kind gesture and I hope he shows much more kindness when Lambert makes that long distant call to ask what's available in January to buy players.

[samjp26]

Really an outstanding gesture, pretty sure Acorns will be able to do a lot with such an amount, must be the biggest they have had?!

[Big_John_10]

Nice gesture from someone who is probably a very decent man. Just not someone I like owning our club.

[samjp26]

May sound daft, but as much as I love our club and football on a whole, that £1m could and more than likely will save quite a few children's lives which for me that is more important than any game. I am grateful that our club managed to introduce the man to the charity.

Understand your reasoning for not wanting him to run our club BJ10 but what he has just done could end up being the most important part of his stay with us, so for that I'm glad he has had his time with us whether it goes the way we want it to or not with fees and such.

Edited December 14, 2013 by samjp26

[Dodgyknees]

Wonderful from Randy. A great gesture.

[GENTLEMAN]

An unfair argument? If you're not comparing to other clubs then what's the point? The bottom line is we are no better of than when under Doug compared to other teams. Who cares that its improved because more money is coming into the game when its giving us no advantage over other teams. 

You could select any team to compare us with to prove your point that Lerner is the worst owner ever. I am not interested in Randy Lerner, I just care about his relationship with Aston Villa. I want us to become better but I am realistic about the situation. 

 

There is a definite improvement in that area of the club and I was trying to acknowledge that out of fairness. I was demonstrating the improvement made by the club since the take over and I provided examples to support my argument. We are commercially better than we were under Ellis, it is hard to deny, especially when you provide no examples to the contrary. If you wish to research the commercial aspects further to compare with other clubs, feel free. I am sure you be able to find something that supports your belief.

 

I think you are also confusing TV and Broadcasting revenue with commercial income, it is recorded separately. Who cares? Well I do. I want to know the club is trying to boost income so we can become be competitive again without relying largely on Lerner or any other benefactor. It is vital to increase income, especially if we are to become a sustainable club and progress up the league.

 

You're not being reasonable, your ignoring facts to paint a picture of a good owner. I'm not threatened I just think he's been terrible as an owner.

I have tried to assess Lerner's ownership by judging him since 2006 and being balanced about the current situation. I criticised Lerner in my original post that I made, I think he has made some woeful decisions but I do not accept he has given up on the club. I will criticise Lerner's leadership in the future, if I feel there is good reason to do so. But I will not be basing my perspective on bitterness. I have nothing personal against Randy Lerner.

 

You are fully entitled to believe Randy has been "terrible as an owner". But I think you need to come to terms with a few realities about Randy Lerner and Aston Villa. 

 

I'm excited by the team improving and doing well. Not by mediocrity so a billionaire can make sure he's OK.

 

I have never denied the last three years have not been terrible for supporters and that has been the result of Lerner's decision making, I accept that as fact. I am still of the opinion that Lerner is trying to make Aston Villa "ok" rather than himself. Allowing Lambert to overhaul the squad for the long term was a step in the right direction IMO, we have made steady progress.

Edited December 14, 2013 by GENTLEMAN

[PaulC]

Great gesture. Does this also show that he is still committed to Villa? 

[markavfc40]

Cracking gesture. As a percentage of his wealth though it is no different to the kind of money I and many others will have given to charity as a percentage of our wealth.

It also has f all to do with his ability to run a football club.

I am sure Randy may well be a nice guy. That doesn't make him a good owner of a football club though which, in terms of my support of this great club, is all that concerns me.

Edited December 14, 2013 by markavfc40

[Meath_Villan]

Will they have to pay it back in the form of a low interest loan??......all joking aside top bloke great gesture that will be put to good use

Edited December 14, 2013 by Meath_Villan

[Big_John_10]

You could select any team to compare us with to prove your point that Lerner is the worst owner ever.

But I haven't done that. I've compared him to the entire premier league. You've refused to compare him to anyone to justify praise.

We are commercially better than we were under Ellis, it is hard to deny, especially when you provide no examples to the contrary. If you wish to research the commercial aspects further to compare with other clubs, feel free. I am sure you be able to find something that supports your belief.

If you google premier league commercial revenue you'll see that after 11/12 season 8 teams were above us in the revenue table. Be interesting to see if another relegation battle last season improved that. I doubt it. Are you telling me we were lower than that under Doug?

think you are also confusing TV and Broadcasting revenue with commercial income, it is recorded separately. Who cares? Well I do. I want to know the club is trying to boost income so we can become be competitive again without relying largely on Lerner or any other benefactor. It is vital to increase income, especially if we are to become a sustainable club and progress up the league.

Using the same info available that I mentioned above. 5 teams made more money than us purely on commercial income and 3 clubs made the same as us on just commercial income. Is that an improvement than under Doug?

You are fully entitled to believe Randy has been "terrible as an owner". But I think you need to come to terms with a few realities about Randy Lerner and Aston Villa.

And what would they be then?

Cracking gesture. As a percentage of his wealth though it is no different to the kind of money I and many others will have given to charity as a percentage of our wealth.

It also has f all to do with his ability to run a football club.

I am sure Randy may well be a nice guy. That doesn't make him a good owner of a football club though which, in terms of my support of this great club, is all that concerns me.

Was going to post similar but thought it would be jumped on.

[Kwan]

I think you're just bashing your head against a wall complaining about the owner. I don't think he's a good owner but no amount of moaning from the fans are going to get him out. The Glazers still own United. Hull are still being renamed Tigers. And the thing of it is that you don't ever know what you're going to get regarding owners. It's not something like managers where there's records of what they've done.

But this is my last post in here. This thread is about as inane as the PL thread at times with people sniping back and forth at each other. Good points are lost over the dick measuring contest

Edited December 14, 2013 by Kwan

[Rovers13]

With all the money he has, giving 1 million is nice but it's not really a huge amount of his money, he'll hardly notice it's gone. And this is from someone who's more of a Lerner fan than most.

[foreveryoung]

Just because you have more money, does not mean you should give like 5-10 million away. I think 1 million is a amazing gesture to Acorns and will help them no end. Personal opinions are showing to much here yet again.

[GENTLEMAN]

You've refused to compare him to anyone to justify praise.

 

I have compared it with the last owner of Aston Villa, Doug Ellis. I would like to think his predecessor Ellis is a relative benchmark for comparison. I also provided examples and general observations of recent marketing and commercial activities the club has undertaken recently to improve that department. I am only interested in Aston Villa Football Club, I have zero interest in any other club.

 

And I can easily say you are comparing the information to other clubs to unjustly criticise Lerner, it is neither right or wrong. I was defending PF's record rather than Lerner's if you look back on what I wrote originally.

 

If you google premier league commercial revenue you'll see that after 11/12 season 8 teams were above us in the revenue table. Be interesting to see if another relegation battle last season improved that. I doubt it. Are you telling me we were lower than that under Doug?

Why are you asking me questions relating to the information you have decided to select and research? Go and find it out yourself. There are various factors to consider when comparing the information with other clubs. But you have decided to go down that road not me. It is your responsibility to convince me and others of your argument. 

 

Lets get back to my initial argument regarding commercial improvement under Lerner. The club also announced that commercial income had increased yearly in 2012. "The financial statement also showed Villa's commercial income had increased by 15.9% year on year" (BBC). Again this reaffirms my belief that the club has made improvements and growth in that department, it bodes well for the future if we continue to grow our commercial income. I feel Lerner/Faulkner deserve some praise for the increase. If we start to achieve more on the pitch it will only add to our commercial income and will give us the opportunity to progress further. 

 

The club has entered into sponsorship agreements with Macron and Dafabet since that report in 2012, so our commercial income "should" have increased again but none of us know for certain at this present time. We have to wait and see for now.

 

I originally said the club has made improvements commercially since 2006, and the club HAS made significant progress in the commercial department since the takeover from Ellis. That was my original argument. I believe my belief has been vindicated by the evidence I have provided.

 

Using the same info available that I mentioned above. 5 teams made more money than us purely on commercial income and 3 clubs made the same as us on just commercial income. Is that an improvement than under Doug?

 

Once again that is the argument you have decided to pursue, not me. I think you may need to delve deeper into the Ellis era to find the answer.

 

And what would they be then?

Firstly you need to recognise Aston Villa is a business to Randy Lerner. RL wants the club to become self-sustainable and has made decisions so the club operates as such.

 

I think you need to come to terms with these realities and remember it is not a vendetta against Big_John_10 on Villa Talk.

 

Edited December 14, 2013 by GENTLEMAN

[TRO]

unconditionally great gesture...and to a cause that touches us all.

[Big_John_10]

I have compared it with the last owner of Aston Villa, Doug Ellis. I would like to think his predecessor Ellis is a relative benchmark for comparison.

Which is fair enough but surely you have to accept that more money is coming into the game at the moment so theres bound to be an increase.

I am only interested in Aston Villa Football Club, I have zero interest in any other club.

But you've said you're happy with our commercial income because it bodes well for the future. But how can you justify that if you don't compare it to the rest of the league? We could improve massivly on what we earned during dougs time but if 19 other teams are doing better would it still bode well for the future? At the end of 11/12 sunderland had earned more from commercial deals than us and newly promoted norwich had earned the same. Hardly the stuff thats going to make us a force in the future.

Lets get back to my initial argument regarding commercial improvement under Lerner. The club also announced that commercial income had increased yearly in 2012. "The financial statement also showed Villa's commercial income had increased by 15.9% year on year" (BBC). Again this reaffirms my belief that the club has made improvements and growth in that department, it bodes well for the future if we continue to grow our commercial income. I feel Lerner/Faulkner deserve some praise for the increase.

And like i said compared to other teams in the league it really isn't anything special or really worth shouting about.

I originally said the club has made improvements commercially since 2006, and the club HAS made significant progress in the commercial department since the takeover from Ellis. That was my original argument. I believe my belief has been vindicated by the evidence I have provided.

And i'm just saying its not really anything praise worthy imo. Its not putting us ahead of our competition which at the end of the day is what professional sport is all about and its made us no stronger against other teams than when doug was here. The premier league is not an individual event in which we just compete with our past.

Firstly you need to recognise Aston Villa is a business to Randy Lerner. RL wants the club to become self-sustainable and has made decisions so the club operates as such.

So? When heskey was upfront no one said you just need to recognise the manager wants him to play. No one said we just need to recognise the owner wants mcleish as manager.

[smetrov]

Yes - puts it all into perspective - much as we love the villa to win...........in the grand scheme of things.....it really doesn't matter .....