Is silence golden?

[PaulTheVillan]

I thought it was a bad sign when AM had to face his first press conference without RL or Faulkner alongside him.

I thought this was poor. It was such a massive decision, if he had the balls he'd have been there backing his new man from the off.

It meant nothing of the sort. It was perfectly in tune with the way he'd done business before (was he there sat next to MON?!). People will look for anything to prove their argument.

No, because Doug was in charge.

[Mr Diggles]

Ah good point. My argument was that he was always in the background through good or bad times over the last few years. To read anything into his absence from one single press conference is taking it too far. My mistake over MON's initial unveiling doesn't alter the argument.

[cheltenhamlion]

More of an issue is that we are about to enter the fourth month of the season and he hasn't been seen yet. At a time where some, whether rightly or wrongly, are questioning his commitment then this is not helping.

[NeilH]

So if Randy suddenly turns up will it alter things? I suspect not. I think the signals from the club are pretty clear enough without Randy having to spell them out to us.
When he first took over the club and spent all his time over here, he was slated by Browns fans who accused him of abandoning them for his new plaything. Now we are doing the same thing.

[Vanilla]

So if Randy suddenly turns up will it alter things? I suspect not. I think the signals from the club are pretty clear enough without Randy having to spell them out to us.
When he first took over the club and spent all his time over here, he was slated by Browns fans who accused him of abandoning them for his new plaything. Now we are doing the same thing.

Only problem is, the Browns as well as us aren't exactly setting the world alight at the moment. Perhaps he has a new plaything.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Old man Bendall had sod all to say. I dont expect Randy to give us a European Cup anytime soon but usually the most vocal high profile owners are the least successful. Look at the likes of Ken Bates, Peter Risdale, Sullivan & Gold etc.     

[Merv]

Why does he need to say anything? We're not in the bottom three, our bottom line must be showing some signs of improvement with the net transfer dealings over the last few months and the reducing of the wage bill. I'd say the management are quietly satisfied with how things are going, so far.

[Risso]

As others have said, I think it's pretty clear the direction we're heading in without Lerner having to spell it out.  He has no plan, no spare cash and no enthusiasm for the job.  His reluctance to speak is just another symptom of all that.  I'd really not hear from him in any case, as it would probably just be more half truths and sound bites of the sort that General Krulak came out with before he disappeared.

[MarkM]

In times of difficulty and crises [not saying we are in a crises] people want to hear that things are going to be ok and that things are being taken care of.

In the absence of that, rumour and panic can set in.

This is what is happening now, I think we do need to have some stability and some evidence that a calm hand is on the tiller and guiding us through these difficult times.

I think that RL et al. could have spared some time over the last few months to make an appearence and that might have helped to calm some of the rumours and desquite that is going on at the moment.
 

[pauliewalnuts]

It'd be nice to see him at a game sometime soon, at the very least.

It's really hard not to conclude that he's just got bored of it all nowadays.

[Dante Lavelli]

As others have said, I think it's pretty clear the direction we're heading in without Lerner having to spell it out.  He has no plan, no spare cash and no enthusiasm for the job.  His reluctance to speak is just another symptom of all that.  I'd really not hear from him in any case, as it would probably just be more half truths and sound bites of the sort that General Krulak came out with before he disappeared.

You're probably over egging it slightly there Risso, but I'd guess you're not a million miles off.  If this IS the situation then he should delegate "the plan" bit to someone else.  This is probably a bad example due to the odious nature of the individuals but we never hear anything from Abramovich as he'd told Kenyon what he wanted and by-and-large Kenyon went about trying to achieve those goals, using all the experience and contacts he had gained from Man U.

We have a silent owner and an over stretched (or out of his depth) Faulkner try to steer the proverbial ship without any apparent objective.  If Randy/the Club declared that he wanted us to have "the best youth system that would make us competitive on the pitch and through occasional sales off the pitch too" then I think/hope most people would accept it as our expectations had been managed.

The problem for me, is even if that was our goal we are not set up to achieve it.  Does AMc have the time to visit and understand the set up of clubs like Borrussia Dortmund, Udinese, Porto and a few other clubs that have consistently punched above their weight using young players.  I'd hope not.

Is there any point sending Faulkner?

At the moment we seem a bit rudderless, with no apparent objectives.

[cheltenhamlion]

Pretty much what I was getting at Dante I must say. Randy turning up to a game doesn't fix the world but might stop some infighting, as would a clear vision, no matter how unpalatable it may be.

If we are in the dark you get the worst of both worlds.

[KevinGage]

I am sorry but i find some of the Randy bashing a bit pathetic and petulant.

Yes he could be more communicative - he tried that with GK and it decending into moaning all the time

Yes he could have more of a presence - ironically this is something, not being in the limelight, we all loved about the guy when he came here

We have to accept that the football landscape has changed significantly and having a billionairre might not be enough. Are we really alone in this?

I can tell you now that although the pitch is where it matters of course, the changes internally of running the club are a hundred times better than when Ellis was here.


These are tough times and he knows that - but judging from the comments regarding "would we want Citeh's money" i am happy we have him

He got shafted by MON, got a bad dose of luck with GH's health issues and made to look a twat by Whelan

Whether good or bad choice with AMc time will tell but at the time he was at least someone who wanted the job and treated the club with some respect - i am sure due to Randy's love of heritage and history was of paramount importance. The likes of FSW / Hughes / et al i would always imagine came over as their appointments would have been doing the club a favour

Give the guy a break

Tend to agree with this.

He wasn't seen as useless, clueless, inept and all the rest of it when he was dishing out the reddies. 

We can't know for certain how deep the problems at Bank of America have affected his personal finances  but I'd imagine it's pretty severe.   You could argue if that's the case then he's a pretty inept businessman anyway - but plenty of people have been caught out since 2008.

Maybe the reason we haven't heard anything is that RL himself is uncertain about the viability of keeping the Villa connection going.  Would you really want to hear that?

In his defence, he chose us. He didn't mortgage us to the hilt as per Hicks and Gillete and the Glazers. And for the bulk of his time in charge we felt like we were moving forward.   But he's obligated to the Browns -the connection runs much deeper.  So if it comes to the crunch and it's one or t'other (a very real scenario in the current financial climate) I'd imagine it will be us that gets jettisoned.

On the other hand,  soundbites and Ellis-isms  were never his forté even during the good times, so you can at least say he's consistent in that regard.

Would those most vocal in their criticism of the guy really be placated if he came out and said he was as committed as ever anyway?   Pretty certain the response would be along the lines of 'well he would say that, wouldn't he,' or  'it's just a front until he can sell.'

I do wish he hadn't opted for (or allowed himself to be talked into hiring)  McLeish though.  He still had the bulk of the support base with him even after the mess of the GH era.  I think he's eroded a lot of goodwill with the appointment of the ginger one- but that's not exactly news, is it?

[cheltenhamlion]

I remarked to Dave when I got wind of the McLeish appointment that it was all good will finished in one fell swoop.

He will live and die on that decision. Alex will live or die on his performance.

The internal glitterati weren't sure on the call. It was Randy's shout, and his alone.

[Louzie0]

Like H and KG I think Randy's been taking care of his interests, including the Villa, in a very unfriendly world.
AM must be realising how unfriendly!

And in another context, how unfriendly?  Well, Angela Merkel's just been quoted as postulating another war if the European economic mess isn't sorted out beyond a quick fix for the Greeks.
Well, that's how I read it.  Although, for the more hysterical on here I don't think she was threatening to annexe Athens.