The Randy Lerner thread

[barry'sboots]

Perhaps instead of bleating like a stuck record on this thread about everything that is wrong you would outline your vision for what the club should do going forward.

Just a thought.........

He has numerous times like many others:

- Decent board with an experienced CEO (£100m t/o niche consumer/sports business) and someone with football knowledge

- Decent managerial appointment i.e. someone who will give the fans some hope

- A cohesive PR strategy

- No sudden U-turn on policies that leaves us short of players

Okay for you?

- please provide a short list of decent candidates for CEO

- please provide examples of 'decent' managers who would 'give the fans some hope'

- what is a 'cohesive PR strategy', and what is uncohesive about the current 'strategy', given that we have had more and much broader information from the club in the past 5 years than we had in the previous 50?

- what 'sudden U-turn'?

Decent candidates for CEO? I am not a headhunter/recruitment consultant but that list wouldn't contain a 32 year old "yes" man who had never been anywhere near a CEO poisition in a business that was anything like the Villa! Having met Fitzgerald, I didn't think he was any great shakes either but he was a significantly better attempt than PF!

Short list of decent managers? As above and again my list would not include McLeish. I just can't see any upside in picking a man that will automatically alienate a large portion of our fan base (irrespective of whether this is right or wrong) who doesn't even have a particularly good track record.

Cohesive PR strategy? If you think what we have had over the last few years given the decision the club has made is good then I really can't see any point in responding - we'll have to agree to disagree on this.

Sudden U turn? Refers to his support for a policy of spending to suddenly be switched off to the point where we go into a new season without a decent experienced DCM.

[Ulver]

In other words. You have no answers.

[barry'sboots]

In other words. You have no answers.

I answered above. If you chose not to address my points then so be it.

I'm sorry I don't have a database of business managers with suitable CVs for a CEO position at VP. I would love to see you construct an argument that PF is suitably qualified for this role and a better candidate could not be sought?

As for the Manager role, I would personally have preferred Hughes but do not know whether he would have come or not. Again my point is that I think there are numerous candidates that would have been at least as good as McLeish and would not have alienated as much of the fan base. Again, be interested to see if you could present a counter argument?

PR, not worth going over as it appears that he is happy with the PR. I am not!

And I have answered the U turn point. Again, happy to see your response if you could be arsed to read my comment. :winkold:

[DiegoD]

As for the Manager role, I would personally have preferred Hughes but do not know whether he would have come or not. Again my point is that I think there are numerous candidates that would have been at least as good as McLeish and would not have alienated as much of the fan base. Again, be interested to see if you could present a counter argument?

The thing is how many managers are going to a club where in your first transfer window involves losing 2 of your best players and not being able to spend all the money your earned to replace them because of wage restrictions?

No up and comer would risk it so that leaves you with out of work managers or managers who are stuck in similar situations are other clubs.

I was extremely disappointed with Mcleish but given that we weren't going to be backing the manager I can understand why they went with him and i'm sure he'll do a decent job.

[maqroll]

Just read the interview on the OS, and I have to say it is somewhat reassuring in tone. It just shouldn't have taken this long for him to speak. Hopefully he is more engaged with supporters going forward. Krulak is not around anymore, so it's got to be him. I still think he got the AM appointment wrong, but it's clear that the near term goal is to solidify upper-mid table status and try to sneak into Europe, most likely the Europa League. If we are to be owned by someone who cannot compete financially with the likes of Chelsea and Man City, then I'm happy we've got Randy Lerner. He's trying to get the club on solid financial footing in turbulent times, and that's to be applauded. The next two months could very well see us slide down the table, injuries could pile up, and everything put to the test. Let's hope his faith in AM pays off.

[Bazdavies79]

Randy is doing ok, the club ain't being run too shabbily. Communication could be improved - not a major issue, and they could make appointments I approve of every time - but if I demanded that I'd never be happy.

[thetrees]

Perhaps instead of bleating like a stuck record on this thread about everything that is wrong you would outline your vision for what the club should do going forward.

Just a thought.........

He has numerous times like many others:

- Decent board with an experienced CEO (£100m t/o niche consumer/sports business) and someone with football knowledge

- Decent managerial appointment i.e. someone who will give the fans some hope

- A cohesive PR strategy

- No sudden U-turn on policies that leaves us short of players

Okay for you?

- please provide a short list of decent candidates for CEO

- please provide examples of 'decent' managers who would 'give the fans some hope'

- what is a 'cohesive PR strategy', and what is uncohesive about the current 'strategy', given that we have had more and much broader information from the club in the past 5 years than we had in the previous 50?

- what 'sudden U-turn'?

Decent candidates for CEO? I am not a headhunter/recruitment consultant but that list wouldn't contain a 32 year old "yes" man who had never been anywhere near a CEO poisition in a business that was anything like the Villa! Having met Fitzgerald, I didn't think he was any great shakes either but he was a significantly better attempt than PF!

Short list of decent managers? As above and again my list would not include McLeish. I just can't see any upside in picking a man that will automatically alienate a large portion of our fan base (irrespective of whether this is right or wrong) who doesn't even have a particularly good track record.

Cohesive PR strategy? If you think what we have had over the last few years given the decision the club has made is good then I really can't see any point in responding - we'll have to agree to disagree on this.

Sudden U turn? Refers to his support for a policy of spending to suddenly be switched off to the point where we go into a new season without a decent experienced DCM.

Thanks for taking the time to pick this up.

My point was that it is not that easy, and I think that you have confirmed that we are both in agreement on that.

[Big_John_10]

1) I was of the impression the club chose the manager not the other way around

It's true but a club can only pick a manager who wants the job. What we know is that mclaren was asked to come and then told don't bother, Martinez didn't even want to talk about it and we ended up with Mcleish.

I actually don't mind Mcleish at the moment but I do think his appointment shows what the future will hold. While I expect Mcleish to get good performances out of our current squad I don't believe he is the man to build a competitive squad for the future.

[Big_John_10]

Thanks for taking the time to pick this up.

My point was that it is not that easy, and I think that you have confirmed that we are both in agreement on that.

A very poor argument.

Just because someone who doesn't work in the football industry can't find answers to those questions easily doesn't mean it's just as difficult for people in the industry.

I couldn't name a reliable plumbing company however that doesn't prove it's difficult to find one for people in the building industry.

[macandally]

To me the word "Paul" is mentioned far too often in that statement and in all the wrong places.

For someone with so little experience in football, it is even more galling to see him putting forward McLeish as the ideal candidate. It smacks of lack of understanding with regards to football, the way a club works and the mindset of a fan base.

As for Randy, I continue to believe that he has the best interests of the club at heart although he has had to cut his cloth according to the global financial status. I would be more comfortable if he had looked for a coach with more of a footballing development philosophy to continue what Houllier started, rather than knee jerk to a coach who is the polar opposite.

The sad thing is, this statement proves what everybody argued when McLeish was appointed. We are now stagnating, with midtable/UEFA Cup aspirations. That is hard to stomach.

[makouns_grin]

That is hard to stomach.

Hard for all other clubs apart from top 4, or only ones who have been spoilt and had expectations raised by a few years of money money money?

[dAVe80]

I'd really love to be behind RL, but feel the statement on the OS just reads like partizan propaganda. I agree that we need stability and I can also see where RL is coming from in terms of not ploughing stupid amounts of money into the club, so as to make us sustainable. However I still do question the decision of the appointment of McLeish, and question the relevance of Sir Alex Ferguson's endorsement of his former Aberdeen Captain, and close friend. I'm sure he'd do the same for Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane etc, and would we want any of those as manager?

[thetrees]

Thanks for taking the time to pick this up.

My point was that it is not that easy, and I think that you have confirmed that we are both in agreement on that.

A very poor argument.

Just because someone who doesn't work in the football industry can't find answers to those questions easily doesn't mean it's just as difficult for people in the industry.

I couldn't name a reliable plumbing company however that doesn't prove it's difficult to find one for people in the building industry.

I think that you will find that it is difficult in most industries. The FA run football in this country, and they struggle to find credible chief executives or even England team managers that can bring the tools at their disposal to anywhere that approaches success.

I guess that the majority of people on ths forum do not work in the football industry, but as a discussion group i don't thnk that it is unreasonable to ask people to back up their statements.

[John_Lerwill]

From outside of the business though, I don't see PF doing more or less than any Premier League CEO, and I for one would not be happy if we had some kind of "Celebrity" CEO.

You're probably right, but as a former long-standing business manager myself I don't have much faith in the 'professional manager' principle.

i.m.o. the football CEO job needs a hands-on approach with some nous - particularly as Villa's chairman is rarely to be found in the Midlands. Telephones and teleconferencing are sometimes poor alternatives.

I'm sorry, but football has changed massively, and anyone investing upwards of £100M has a right to run the club as a business. The days of trading payers for lawn mowers are well gone.

Perhaps I've not made my case very well, Dukes. I am not saying that you don't run the club as a business (where did I intimate that?), but in fact the club has been run as a business for over a 100 years. The way that you run a football club has doubtless changed (and in big style), but please don't suggest that Fred Rinder and his men didn't know how to run a football business.

Are you saying the problem is with the CEO or the chairman ? I would expect the chairmen and CEO are prefectly able to communicate via teleconferencing or Skype, thisis part of modern day business.

The main issue is that RL is divided between too many interests and as he's not here very much (and is not a soccer man in essence) I don't feel that he is sufficiently aware. I also feel (through my own experience at VP) that he's somewhat naiive.

I simply don't have a good feeling about having PF as the CEO. Nothing evil, probably, about PF, but I feel that he also does not work in a very realistic world. I also feel he's inexperienced and too close (personally) to RL.

The impact of RL and PF together (neither of them seem to communicate effectively) - and as essentially being ex-bankers - produces a feeling (to me at least) of ineffectiveness.

As to the tools available for running a business (teleconferencing etc), that's all very well - but we're not talking about trading in stocks and shares or biscuits. There's very much a lack of a reaslistic personal touch as I see it. This is the first time that Villa has been run by people with no background in soccer.

To me the proof is in the eating - the downgrading of investment combined with the appointment of AM (good that he may be in his own sphere) does not auger well for me.

Let's see where we are in January.

[Harry]

Perhaps instead of bleating like a stuck record on this thread about everything that is wrong you would outline your vision for what the club should do going forward.

Just a thought.........

He has numerous times like many others:

- Decent board with an experienced CEO (£100m t/o niche consumer/sports business) and someone with football knowledge

- Decent managerial appointment i.e. someone who will give the fans some hope

- A cohesive PR strategy

- No sudden U-turn on policies that leaves us short of players

Okay for you?

- please provide a short list of decent candidates for CEO

- please provide examples of 'decent' managers who would 'give the fans some hope'

- what is a 'cohesive PR strategy', and what is uncohesive about the current 'strategy', given that we have had more and much broader information from the club in the past 5 years than we had in the previous 50?

- what 'sudden U-turn'?

Decent candidates for CEO? I am not a headhunter/recruitment consultant but that list wouldn't contain a 32 year old "yes" man who had never been anywhere near a CEO poisition in a business that was anything like the Villa! Having met Fitzgerald, I didn't think he was any great shakes either but he was a significantly better attempt than PF!

Short list of decent managers? As above and again my list would not include McLeish. I just can't see any upside in picking a man that will automatically alienate a large portion of our fan base (irrespective of whether this is right or wrong) who doesn't even have a particularly good track record.

Cohesive PR strategy? If you think what we have had over the last few years given the decision the club has made is good then I really can't see any point in responding - we'll have to agree to disagree on this.

Sudden U turn? Refers to his support for a policy of spending to suddenly be switched off to the point where we go into a new season without a decent experienced DCM.

Thanks for taking the time to pick this up.

My point was that it is not that easy, and I think that you have confirmed that we are both in agreement on that.

Which was my point in the first place. My take from the interview is that Lerner's heart in in the right place and I find that reassuring.

I also tend to think that if he was throwing shed loads of money at the club nobody would be complaining.

[John_Lerwill]

I'd really love to be behind RL, but feel the statement on the OS just reads like partizan propaganda. I agree that we need stability and I can also see where RL is coming from in terms of not ploughing stupid amounts of money into the club, so as to make us sustainable. However I still do question the decision of the appointment of McLeish, and question the relevance of Sir Alex Ferguson's endorsement of his former Aberdeen Captain, and close friend. I'm sure he'd do the same for Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane etc, and would we want any of those as manager?

Yes, those are fair comments i.m.o. but at the same time I felt it a more open interview than he gave for the Times. At least he accepted this time (more explicitly) that he had been short on his communications with the fans.

However, I find it hard to see that in PF and AM he has the right fellers to achieve the "Bright Future" that he enunciated in 2006 and which seemed to be well on track in 2008.

The next 6 weeks will be telling as to whether Villa have the ability to ride out the tough fixtures that are immediately in front of them. If Villa can, then that may create iron in the soul of the team and perhaps enable them to go on to better things. If not, then ... ?

[Dodgyknees]

Thanks for taking the time to pick this up.

My point was that it is not that easy, and I think that you have confirmed that we are both in agreement on that.

A very poor argument.

Just because someone who doesn't work in the football industry can't find answers to those questions easily doesn't mean it's just as difficult for people in the industry.

I couldn't name a reliable plumbing company however that doesn't prove it's difficult to find one for people in the building industry.

Seems strange agreeing with you for once but that is absolutely true. In my eyes PF is the problem as well but it is a problem once again created by the chairman through employment.

[barry'sboots]

Thanks for taking the time to pick this up.

My point was that it is not that easy, and I think that you have confirmed that we are both in agreement on that.

A very poor argument.

Just because someone who doesn't work in the football industry can't find answers to those questions easily doesn't mean it's just as difficult for people in the industry.

I couldn't name a reliable plumbing company however that doesn't prove it's difficult to find one for people in the building industry.

I think that you will find that it is difficult in most industries. The FA run football in this country, and they struggle to find credible chief executives or even England team managers that can bring the tools at their disposal to anywhere that approaches success.

I guess that the majority of people on ths forum do not work in the football industry, but as a discussion group i don't thnk that it is unreasonable to ask people to back up their statements.

I am not saying it is easy. I have looked for CEOs a number of times (not in football) and it is normally very hard to find the perfect candidate as everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. However, when I look at PF I see only weaknesses and a general lack of experience. I can see no logical reason for his appointment other than the fact that RL knows him and knows that he will do as he says. I do not consider that to be a suitable reason for his selection. Whilst finding the right candidate would not be easy that does not excuse the route of taking the completely wrong candidate.

I feel the same about the Manager position.

[CI]

Looks like RL will be at WHL on Monday after all

Perhaps he's been staying away just to give Eck a bit of breathing space in his first few months.

That would be a plausible reason for his absence.

[danceoftheshamen]

After reading the report below i have to admit i do feel a little better about all things Villa!

It at least explains the thinking to a point..

1. Stabilise after chaotic 12 months - understandable

2. Bring through youth - Love this though maybe a bit too much too quick?

3. Clear wage bill - Understandable

4. Bring in a few to help the kids & provide balance - Maybe 1 or 2 in Jan?

5. Try to qualify for Europe - Over to you McCleish!

6. Once back in Europe then move things forward once again - Good Plan!

LINK: http://tinyurl.com/7rmpya4

ASTON VILLA OWNER Randy Lerner has spoken in depth for the first time about his reasons for appointing Alex McLeish - and believes this season has shown he has made the right choice.

The decisions to appoint ex-Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish enraged some fans, prompting protests over the summer. But Lerner insists that McLeish was the best candidate to provide the club stability.

McLeish arrived as the third manager in just over a year, with transfers for both Ashley Young and Stewart Downing in the air.

Speaking on the club's website, Lerner said: "Paul [Faulkner, chief executive] and I felt that, above all, the club needed stability.

"We needed a manager who would understand Villa and could bring credibility and experience to the dressing room and had chemistry with us and trust in our approach.

"We researched and debated and discussed probably two dozen odd managers from all over until we came to feel that, despite Alex's last post, he met the criteria.

"Not only is he affable and optimistic, well-liked and certainly well-respected among peers and players alike, but he fit our plan.

"He fit our feeling that a modern manager needs to balance the hysterical urgency to win and win quickly with the equally crucial need to not squander the work of our academy.

"The fans protests raised the stakes but, if we are right in terms of the fundamentals, then over time Alex will do as he's always done and that is make Villa better.

"What Paul and I knew was that he had the right ingredients. With some good luck, and his trademark hard work and commitment, we felt our chances would be good. We felt his strengths simply outweighed any concerns.

"When you spend time with Alex, a lot of the sensitivities go away very quickly. Time with Alex is not only engaging, it is compelling. He's pure football. That, in the end, is what you want."

Lerner also revealed he was further convinced about the appointment when a letter arrived from Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, praising the decision.

He added: "Sir Alex Ferguson wrote to me after the appointment, a proper letter, talking about his feelings about Alex. It was something you don't easily forget and it's now in a safe deposit box. Given what Sir Alex Ferguson means to the game of football, I don't think you could get many things that you would be more proud of, or reflect better on Alex McLeish."

Lerner has also indicated that he's prepared to help strengthen the squad again - but also wants to deal with Villa's North Stand and improve Bodymoor Heath training ground.

Lerner said: "I think Alex feels that we have some promising young players coming through and yet we also know that on this level there is no substitute for experience. Taken together, I'd say that we are focused on running Villa well and fighting to be in position, ultimately, to get back into Europe. If we can get that to happen, I'd expect that more will follow."