Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Desi on August 20, 2014, 02:32:09 AM
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RANDY LERNER has done a deal to take Arsenal high flyer Tom Fox from the Emirates and make him Aston Villa's new chief executive.
Lerner flew in from the USA this week and has headed the talks to persuade Fox , Arsenal's chief commercial officer, to leave the Gunners.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501283/EXCLUSIVE-Tom-Fox-deal-is-major-coup-for-Randy-Lerner-s-Aston-Villa (http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501283/EXCLUSIVE-Tom-Fox-deal-is-major-coup-for-Randy-Lerner-s-Aston-Villa)
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Please change the thread title to "Fox News".
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I really hope he is noble, clever and indeed, the Fantastic Mr Fox.
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Sounds good. My only worry is that commercially he obviously has the track record, but how much knowledge of football would he really have to make those decisions that would be necessary?
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If it is more of a commercial appointment it would reflect the theory that Randy sees the manager and the CEO as being on the same level, but one deals with the footballing side and one deals with the commercial side.
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Which is fine in principle, as long as there is someone competent in football matters above the manager.
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Great appointment. I used to love listening to him doing the Sunday Chart Show as a kid.
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Who are the big name signings that they make reference to? Have I missed something?
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Success breeds success. Tom Fox appears to be the right man for the job. Either Randy's decided to stay and give it another go or he has found a buyer who suggested Mr Fox would be a major signing of the highest order and part of the deal.
Things may be on the move at long last.
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Success breeds success. Tom Fox appears to be the right man for the job. Either Randy's decided to stay and give it another go or he has found a buyer who suggested Mr Fox would be a major signing of the highest order and part of the deal.Things may be on the move at long last.
Let's hope so and presumbly by a very wealthy American.
Hard to imagine this guy leaving Arsenal without some assurances about the future at B6.
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I'd suspect managers are more easily disposable by new owners than a good CEO.
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We've been crying out for a Fox in the executive box.
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We've been crying out for a Fox in the executive box.
Basil Brush "Boom boom"
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We've been crying out for a Fox in the executive box.
Basil Brush "Boom boom"
KER RINGE
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He looks like Jim Carrey.
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We've been crying out for a Fox in the executive box.
Basil Brush "Boom boom"
Next on the Operation Yew Tree list I reckon.
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Leicester City won't like this news after missing out Mr Fox :)
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This could be his brush with the big time, I hope he doesn't chicken out.
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It is regarded as such a coupe by Lerner it could lead him to reconsidering his decision to sell-up at Villa.
(http://media.cleveland.com/startingblocks/photo/randy-lerner-mike-holmgren-kuntzjpg-dc6fa70f977b8bf6.jpg)
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Why did Fox decide this change in his career?
Perhaps he had hit a glacier ceiling
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Good luck to him, I hope he helps to bring great riches to the club and success on the field.
Timing is very strange, doesn't make any sense unless Lerner has an imminent takeover lined up or has decided to stay.
Initially I thought his work at Arsenal was impressive, but is it?: the stadium was already sponsored by Emirates, it wouldn't have needed a commercial genius to get them to sponsor the shirts. Securing a big deal for the kit with Puma should be a piece of cake, too.
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No idea if this will work out or not. Good luck to him, and well done Randy for getting this done.
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Has it been confirmed?
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I miss the days when an appointment like this was made and nobody gave a fuck or cared or even pretended to know what a 'commercial officer' was.
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Why did Fox decide this change in his career?
Perhaps he had hit a glacier ceiling
ALita that's very bad. Very very bad.
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Has it been confirmed?
Nothing on the OS
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Talking of CEOs, looks like Faulkner is about to take that spot at Forest.
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Talking of CEOs, looks like Faulkner is about to take that spot at Forest.
Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire!!
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Maybe he'll convince them to take Big 'Eck back once Psycho's honeymoon fades.
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It is regarded as such a coupe by Lerner it could lead him to reconsidering his decision to sell-up at Villa.
(http://media.cleveland.com/startingblocks/photo/randy-lerner-mike-holmgren-kuntzjpg-dc6fa70f977b8bf6.jpg)
you face the other way dick
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Talking of CEOs, looks like Faulkner is about to take that spot at Forest.
That's interesting. I wonder if he will say anything about his time at Villa Park?
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It's official, he's here.
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Where did you hear that? Nothing about it on the OS.
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Where did you hear that? Nothing about it on the OS.
It's been announced in twitter
https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/502394617015590912 (https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/502394617015590912)
Aston Villa FCVerified account @AVFCOfficial
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive. #AVFC
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On the official villa twitter feed...talks about "restoring AVFC to its rightful place" very strange in the current climate
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And Facebook:
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive.
Randy Lerner: I was delighted and even flattered by Tom's interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward.
Tom Fox: Aston Villa has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game. The chance to work with Randy, Paul Lambert and Robin to help restore the Club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I'm really energised by and greatly looking forward to.
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Excellent news, good luck Tom.
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Seems to be quiet a coup. Good luck Tom, welcome to the finest football club in the world. Many try and imitate us but there is only one Aston Villa.
Please continue the good work of your predecessor off the pitch whilst supporting and enabling success on the pitch.
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Now on the OS (http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~4088318,00.html)
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Aston Villa is pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive.
Tom's background in the broader sports industry, as well as his past five years as Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal, makes him an ideal fit to lead Villa in the increasingly competitive environment of the Barclays Premier League.
Chairman Randy Lerner said: "I was delighted and even flattered by Tom's interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward."
Chief Financial Officer Robin Russell said: "I have got to know Tom over five years of Premier League meetings and have come to respect his professionalism and industry knowledge. I am looking forward to working with him."
Tom has built an extensive and hugely impressive résumé in the sports-marketing industry over more than 25 years.
In addition to opening the NBA's first office in Asia as the Managing Director, Tom has also headed up Sports Marketing for Nike in both Asia and the US and held the same role for PepsiCo's Gatorade brand before he joined Arsenal in 2009.
"First of all I would be remiss not to thank everyone at the Arsenal for all their support over the past five years. I consider it a huge privilege to have represented the club and to have helped move it forward," he said.
"Aston Villa has always been an important club in English football and it has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game.
"The chance to work with Randy, Paul Lambert and Robin to help restore the Club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I'm really energised by and greatly looking forward to."
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"Villa has"
Fox out!🐺
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do us proud Tom...
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It's interesting and Randy actually sounds quite surprised by it all!
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They'll have to put supplies of his favourite Rice Wine in the boardroom.
For Fox Sake.
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Great appointment. I used to love listening to him doing the Sunday Chart Show as a kid.
Haha, very good
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It seems like a good appointment, he obviously has a great track record.
He's not a 'football' man though, which is still a worry, and can he be ruthless enough if he needs to be? I guess it's a step up from commercial guru to CEO.
I would think he is a step up from PF though.
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Where did you hear that? Nothing about it on the OS.
It's been announced in twitter
https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/502394617015590912 (https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/502394617015590912)
Aston Villa FCVerified account @AVFCOfficial
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive. #AVFC
Can't be right.. TBAR haven't stated it so.
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"Villa has"
Fox out!🐺
What's wrong with that?
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It seems like a good appointment, he obviously has a great track record.
He's not a 'football' man though, which is still a worry, and can he be ruthless enough if he needs to be? I guess it's a step up from commercial guru to CEO.
I would think he is a step up from PF though.
It depends what you mean by "football man". Whenever I've thought about it with regard to the CEO position, I've seen it as meaning "someone who knows the football business", which he does.
There would be no point appointing a football man of the type of SGT or similar to this position, as they would have totally the wrong skillset.
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Welcome Mr Fox.
Lots of cunning plans please!
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Boo. I wanted a ruddy faced, bemused, camel coat wearing football man who bemoans the commercialization of the game as our new CEO.
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Welcome Mr Fox.
Lots of cunning plans please!
(http://www.blackadderhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/baldrick_small.jpg)
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It seems like a good appointment, he obviously has a great track record.
He's not a 'football' man though, which is still a worry, and can he be ruthless enough if he needs to be? I guess it's a step up from commercial guru to CEO.
I would think he is a step up from PF though.
It depends what you mean by "football man". Whenever I've thought about it with regard to the CEO position, I've seen it as meaning "someone who knows the football business", which he does.
There would be no point appointing a football man of the type of SGT or similar to this position, as they would have totally the wrong skillset.
Oh, I totally agree.
I think what I would like to see is a 'football man' on the board as well as a top CEO. Have a proper, management team running the club,cover all aspects of running a FOOTBALL club rather than just a corporate suit.
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Boo. I wanted a ruddy faced, bemused, camel coat wearing football man who bemoans the commercialization of the game as our new CEO.
Basically, Dave Cooper.
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It seems like a good appointment, he obviously has a great track record.
He's not a 'football' man though, which is still a worry, and can he be ruthless enough if he needs to be? I guess it's a step up from commercial guru to CEO.
I would think he is a step up from PF though.
It depends what you mean by "football man". Whenever I've thought about it with regard to the CEO position, I've seen it as meaning "someone who knows the football business", which he does.
There would be no point appointing a football man of the type of SGT or similar to this position, as they would have totally the wrong skillset.
I think this is correct. For me Fox has a football background. It's different to walking from an entirely new background and having to learn it from scratch. What be useful is to add in board members that have either played the game or have an association with the game that might see things from another viewpoint yet still be able to conduct themselves professionally. I might not be putting that well, but someone like Gareth Southgate who speaks well, comes across as having some progressive views on the development of the game. His Villa background helps but it isn't critical (see Marwood or Viera at Man City as examples).
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It seems like a good appointment, he obviously has a great track record.
He's not a 'football' man though, which is still a worry, and can he be ruthless enough if he needs to be? I guess it's a step up from commercial guru to CEO.
I would think he is a step up from PF though.
It depends what you mean by "football man". Whenever I've thought about it with regard to the CEO position, I've seen it as meaning "someone who knows the football business", which he does.
There would be no point appointing a football man of the type of SGT or similar to this position, as they would have totally the wrong skillset.
Oh, I totally agree.
I think what I would like to see is a 'football man' on the board as well as a top CEO. Have a proper, management team running the club,cover all aspects of running a FOOTBALL club rather than just a corporate suit.
I've said it a few times on here, Lerner treats his manager as that person, it ties in with the american structure so it makes sense.
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It seems like a good appointment, he obviously has a great track record.
He's not a 'football' man though, which is still a worry, and can he be ruthless enough if he needs to be? I guess it's a step up from commercial guru to CEO.
I would think he is a step up from PF though.
It depends what you mean by "football man". Whenever I've thought about it with regard to the CEO position, I've seen it as meaning "someone who knows the football business", which he does.
There would be no point appointing a football man of the type of SGT or similar to this position, as they would have totally the wrong skillset.
Oh, I totally agree.
I think what I would like to see is a 'football man' on the board as well as a top CEO. Have a proper, management team running the club,cover all aspects of running a FOOTBALL club rather than just a corporate suit.
I've said it a few times on here, Lerner treats his manager as that person, it ties in with the american structure so it makes sense.
Which is why everything changes when the manager goes. We need someone above that to be able to oversee that side of the club and ensure continuity.
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Welcome to the Villa Tom and good luck.
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Exactly, I don't need / want a football man running the day-to-day decisions at the club, but I do want one there when major footballing decisions are made, such as managerial appointments, changes to youth structure, etc.
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Exactly, I don't need / want a football man running the day-to-day decisions at the club, but I do want one there when major footballing decisions are made, such as managerial appointments, changes to youth structure, etc.
Agree completely we need to ensure that regardless of who the manager is there is always continuity and a framework for the team to keep developing. The appointment of Tom Fox seems a very good once as he knows how to work commercially within football, but we do need someone who is responsible for the playing side as well.
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I cannot imagine he would have taken the job without some assurance that there will be considerable financial backing. The only question i have is who will be supplying it.
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I cannot imagine he would have taken the job without some assurance that there will be considerable financial backing. The only question i have is who will be supplying it.
He'll understand that there are different working conditions at the club than at Arsenal so he obviously won't have the same finances to work with. That said he'll be tasked with really growing our commercial revenues and his work over many years will serve us well. The kit deal with Macron is up at the end of this year and the recent deal with Puma might be a direction we go for a new supplier. Prior to that they had Nike off course. Most importantly which won't be lost on him, performance on the pitch goes a long way to dictating a clubs ability to attract strong commercial partners. That above all will be the priority this season and a lot of things should fall in place after that.
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The kit deal with Macron is up at the end of this year
It ends in 2016. Four year deal.
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Boo. I wanted a ruddy faced, bemused, camel coat wearing football man who bemoans the commercialization of the game as our new CEO.
Basically, Dave Cooper.
I have never owned a camel coat.
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I cannot imagine he would have taken the job without some assurance that there will be considerable financial backing. The only question i have is who will be supplying it.
Surely his job is to generate financial backing, the only assurances I can see a CEO requiring in this situation is that the growth potential is there, which with Villa it clearly is.
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Welcome Tom - you are in a privileged position. I hope you bring to us what we need.
On the football man front. I agree with Dave W point about when a manager change occurs then the whole philosophy changes. I'd like Brian Little to be given the job of overseeing all football structure. Not saying he gets involved in first team matters but from youth, through to coaching, our football philosophy and scouting. All under SBR.
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I think the only role suitable for Graham Taylor or Brian Little would be as an ambassador. They've been out of the game too long to be able to be a Sporting Director who is responsible for the club's footballing philosophy. You need a younger person who's been involved in the game recently.
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I hope Fox does consider that as one of his duties. Developing yhe football side of the club is the bit that everyone sees first and most people care about. It's a huge task on its own. Getting in the right person to handle a good piece of that with the right guidance will allow him to work on and oversee the commercial aspects of the job.
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There wouldn't be too many that wouldn't relate to SGT. IMO, he would be the ideal face of Aston Villa.
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There wouldn't be too many that wouldn't relate to SGT. IMO, he would be the ideal face of Aston Villa.
As an ambassador yes, although I'm not sure he'd want to do it. But as someone to be responsible for the club's footballing philosophy moving forward, I don't think so. It needs someone more in touch with how the game works now and where it's going.
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I do think, as others have said, it's important that Fox's role incorporates the footballing side as it ties in with any commercial success. It's just he probably needs somebody beneath him to be more centrally focussed on the footballing side.
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Anyway, this is a very positive development for Aston Villa. Whoever was responsible has lifted our spirits no end!
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I cannot imagine he would have taken the job without some assurance that there will be considerable financial backing. The only question i have is who will be supplying it.
I very much doubt it will be Randy Lerner, assuming he still has his shares tied up in Bank of America. They've just been fined 17 billion USD today. When he bought us the share price was 53 dollars, today they're worth just over 15 dollars a share. I doubt is was any co-incidence that when he told MON to get a grip of the costs, the share price was at an all time low of about 4 dollars.
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There wouldn't be too many that wouldn't relate to SGT. IMO, he would be the ideal face of Aston Villa.
As an ambassador yes, although I'm not sure he'd want to do it. But as someone to be responsible for the club's footballing philosophy moving forward, I don't think so. It needs someone more in touch with how the game works now and where it's going.
That, in essence was what I meant Paul, just didn't articulate it properly.
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I wonder if he came knowing someone else was coming in to replace Mr Lerner I.e. Similar situation when MON came in under Doug knowing he was about to sell...?
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Boo. I wanted a ruddy faced, bemused, camel coat wearing football man who bemoans the commercialization of the game as our new CEO.
Basically, Dave Cooper.
I have never owned a camel coat.
No need to get the hump.
/i'll get me (camel) coat.
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If Lerner is still here in two years, I bet this guy isn't.
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I wonder if he came knowing someone else was coming in to replace Mr Lerner I.e. Similar situation when MON came in under Doug knowing he was about to sell...?
I reckon this is a sign there is no takeover imminent.
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I wonder if he came knowing someone else was coming in to replace Mr Lerner I.e. Similar situation when MON came in under Doug knowing he was about to sell...?
I reckon this is a sign there is no takeover imminent.
I'm going to stick my neck out and say either we're about to be sold, or we're not.
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Have no idea how good he'll prove, but he's come from Arsenal so I think he'll probably do quite well. And I'd imagine will probably have more of an idea what he's doing than Faulkner. Will it make a jot of difference to what happens on the pitch? Not sure.
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I wonder if he came knowing someone else was coming in to replace Mr Lerner I.e. Similar situation when MON came in under Doug knowing he was about to sell...?
I reckon this is a sign there is no takeover imminent.
I'm going to stick my neck out and say either we're about to be sold, or we're not.
and I'll go even further, and predict that either of those options will happen sometime soon. Or maybe a bit later on.
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I wonder if he came knowing someone else was coming in to replace Mr Lerner I.e. Similar situation when MON came in under Doug knowing he was about to sell...?
I reckon this is a sign there is no takeover imminent.
I'm going to stick my neck out and say either we're about to be sold, or we're not.
and I'll go even further, and predict that either of those options will happen sometime soon. Or maybe a bit later on.
any of these outcomes could happen in the next 50 years
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It could even have happened in the last few minutes and we just don't know about it yet.
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what is certain is that any sale will have to have the consent, or not, of Randolph Lerner
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The word on the Tweet is Micky Arrison is back on the scene following the arrival of the Fox.
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There wouldn't be too many that wouldn't relate to SGT. IMO, he would be the ideal face of Aston Villa.
As an ambassador yes, although I'm not sure he'd want to do it. But as someone to be responsible for the club's footballing philosophy moving forward, I don't think so. It needs someone more in touch with how the game works now and where it's going.
That, in essence was what I meant Paul, just didn't articulate it properly.
Ah ok.
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The word on the Tweet is Micky Arrison is back on the scene following the arrival of the Fox.
This is on the Aston Villa 1874 Facebook page , I,m sure others on here will tell me how much credence it should be given ( probably not a lot ! ) ...............Godzvilla !
" So massive talk on twitter that Arison will become owner of AVFC and it was his call on Fox and Keane. Apparently Fox and Lerner will meet with Arison in Sardinia for further discussion "
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I know he's only just got the job and has thus proved nothing, and I am also not prepared to accept that everything Faulkner did was as disastrous as some think, but has anyone else found themselves looking at Tom Fox's background today and thinking "If only we'd appointed him in 2006"?
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Wasn't Fitzgerald equally impressive, only to fall foul of a certain former manager?
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Wasn't Fitzgerald equally impressive, only to fall foul of a certain former manager?
it's the fact he's been at Arsenal that sets him apart in my opinion. That he has been at one England's biggest clubs for a while and it is a club that you have to admire from a commercial side. We need that in buckets if we are to be in any way relevant in the conversation for trophies in the next few years.
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I'm sorry I know it's a whole new ball game now (pun intended)
But the day I get excited about the Villa appointing a new CEO is the day I hope I never get to
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Wasn't Fitzgerald equally impressive, only to fall foul of a certain former manager?
Thats what I heard at the time. Problem is that if we'd had Fox in 2006, he'd have probably gone the same way, given the way MON had Lerner wrapped round his finger.
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He wouldn't have had the five years experience at Arsenal if we'd got him in 2006 - it's that pedigree which makes him a coup for us. Not saying he wouldn't have done better than Faulkner etc. but he now has a proven business record in football so we should hopefully benefit from that. His rolodex must be full of footballclunge contacts.
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He wouldn't have had the five years experience at Arsenal if we'd got him in 2006 - it's that pedigree which makes him a coup for us. Not saying he wouldn't have done better than Faulkner etc. but he now has a proven business record in football so we should hopefully benefit from that. His rolodex must be full of footballclunge contacts.
I meant someone with that background, at that point, rather than him in particular.
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The word on the Tweet is Micky Arrison is back on the scene following the arrival of the Fox.
This is on the Aston Villa 1874 Facebook page , I,m sure others on here will tell me how much credence it should be given ( probably not a lot ! ) ...............Godzvilla !
" So massive talk on twitter that Arison will become owner of AVFC and it was his call on Fox and Keane. Apparently Fox and Lerner will meet with Arison in Sardinia for further discussion "
Meeting in Sardinia?
What's wrong with the Holte Tavern. It's only £3 entry.
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The word on the Tweet is Micky Arrison is back on the scene following the arrival of the Fox.
This is on the Aston Villa 1874 Facebook page , I,m sure others on here will tell me how much credence it should be given ( probably not a lot ! ) ...............Godzvilla !
" So massive talk on twitter that Arison will become owner of AVFC and it was his call on Fox and Keane. Apparently Fox and Lerner will meet with Arison in Sardinia for further discussion "
Someone with no interest in football has appointed our assistant manager. It's certainly got me convinced.
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Anyone think that Sardines will be on the menu in Sardinia?
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I think you will find that is a red herring.
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"Villa has"
Fox out!🐺
What's wrong with that?
It's that American way of treating football clubs as singular entities. Aston Villa is the greatest club rather than Aston Villa are the greatest club.
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Birmingham Mail (http://www.canada-tgirl.com/tour/?nats=NS4xMy41MC4xNjEuMjkuMC4wLjAuMA)
Tom Fox can help us land targets, says Paul Lambert
Villa believes new chief executive can help secure more transfer targets this summer after arriving from Arsenal
Aug 21, 2014 22:30
By Bill Howell
Paul Lambert believes the arrival of Tom Fox as Chief Executive can take the strain of his mobile - and help Aston Villa nab his remaining transfer targets.
The Villa boss admits that the loss of Paul Faulkner left him ploughing something of a lone furrow through the summer.
But Fox’s calibre and contacts should give Lambert an overdue helping hand.
“If I can do it and I think it’s right for the club, and everything is good financially and players want to come then it’s something I would look at,” said Lambert.
“Until you get that far then... wait and see. But we are trying.”
Fox has spent the past five years as Chief Commercial Officer at Arsenal having been in the sports-marketing industry for over 25 years.
Chairman Randy Lerner said in a statement: “I was delighted and even flattered by Tom’s interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward.”
Lambert says Lerner will continue to have the final say on budgets with talks set to take place imminently.
“I’ve not actually spoken to him (Fox) but I know Randy has been a massive advocate of him and obviously his record at Arsenal has been huge.
“He’s come from a really good club and I’m pretty sure he will benefit this club.
“We’ve needed somebody since Paul Faulkner left. It has been hard over the past couple of months not having any chief executive here.
“But now Tom is coming in and it will be great for the football club.
“Tom, myself, Randy and Robin Russell (Chief Financial Officer) will probably get together when Tom officially starts.
“Ultimately the decisions will be the Chairman’s as to what happens but Randy has been great. He has always been good with me on that front and I’m pretty sure the four of us will get together at some point and talk about things.
“As I say it has been tough not having anybody but we’ve got through that period and hopefully we can sit together and I’m pretty sure everything will go well.
“I’m looking forward to meeting Tom. His record at another great club is great.
“It’s been hard and I have probably had a go at everything but that’s the way it went. The new Chief Exec will certainly help me and help the club.
“Paul Faulkner was great, the relationship I had with him. Tom hopefully does great for the club and we work well together.
“I’ve just had to get on with it.”
Last weekend’s win over Stoke lifted a cloud which had been hanging over the club all summer.
“In football you try and protect everybody, the players and staff from outside influences,” said Lambert.
“I knew we were a good side. I knew we could cause Stoke trouble. They put everything out of their minds and went and performed.
“Off the pitch probably affects me more than the players.
“After all the negativity towards the end of the season, to turn it around to what it is now, you can certainly feel it.
“Everybody is looking forward to the game. The place in general there’s a major turn in fortunes.
“And the new Chief Executive will be great.
“I’ve basically done things myself. It’ been hard. I’ve probably fell out with more people than I’ve ever fell out with!
“That’s the name of the game.”
Lambert says Villa remain a big draw for players: “No doubt about it, absolutely no doubt. It is a massive club. Huge. Expectancy levels are huge. I’ve no worries about that whatsoever about Aston Villa being a big, big draw for any footballer.
“The more successful you can be then the stronger the hand you’ve got. We have to get to that level. But regarding club size and facilities it is huge.”
Fox said in a statement: “Aston Villa has always been an important club in English football and it has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game.
“The chance to work with Randy, Paul Lambert and Robin to help restore the Club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I’m really energised by and greatly looking forward to.”
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There wouldn't be too many that wouldn't relate to SGT. IMO, he would be the ideal face of Aston Villa.
As an ambassador yes, although I'm not sure he'd want to do it. But as someone to be responsible for the club's footballing philosophy moving forward, I don't think so. It needs someone more in touch with how the game works now and where it's going.
Sir Graham is too decent and honest a man to survive in the Premier League now.
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"Villa has"
Fox out!🐺
What's wrong with that?
It's that American way of treating football clubs as singular entities. Aston Villa is the greatest club rather than Aston Villa are the greatest club.
I think it's grammatically corredt though. Aston Villa is a single entity. 'Are' suggests there is more than one.
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It's definitely grammatically correct. It just sounds weird ain't it?
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Screw grammar. It's definitely "are" not "is".
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His background with arsenal, Nike and the NBA in the far east should be invaluable for commercial stuff including kit deals and sponsorship. I'd hope 5 years working in the arsenal philosophy will work too, it's an extremely well run club.
It's clearly a step up for him which us good, it will definitely keep him interested.
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The Major: Hampshire won again Fawlty!
Basil: Did it? Oh good.
That's what I go by.
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I'm getting confused now.
I thought we supported Warwickshire.
They're great.
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"Villa has"
Fox out!🐺
What's wrong with that?
It's that American way of treating football clubs as singular entities. Aston Villa is the greatest club rather than Aston Villa are the greatest club.
I think it's grammatically corredt though. Aston Villa is a single entity. 'Are' suggests there is more than one.
I think both versions may be grammatically correct, it depends on whether you think of a club/team as a single entity (it) or a collection of people (they). American English tends toward the former, I've always used the latter and most British people I know do too - for example in the famous chant "and its Aston Villa, Aston Villa FC, they're by far the greatest team the world has ever seen....".
And I always thought Basil Fawlty's "did it" comment was a joke, hinting that he wasn't listening and not really interested.
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The word on the Tweet is Micky Arrison is back on the scene following the arrival of the Fox.
This is on the Aston Villa 1874 Facebook page , I,m sure others on here will tell me how much credence it should be given ( probably not a lot ! ) ...............Godzvilla !
" So massive talk on twitter that Arison will become owner of AVFC and it was his call on Fox and Keane. Apparently Fox and Lerner will meet with Arison in Sardinia for further discussion "
Someone with no interest in football has appointed our assistant manager. It's certainly got me convinced.
Didn't someone with no knowledge of football supposedly have a big say in the appointment of O'Neill back in 2006?
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"Villa has"
Fox out!
What's wrong with that?
It's that American way of treating football clubs as singular entities. Aston Villa is the greatest club rather than Aston Villa are the greatest club.
I think it's grammatically corredt though. Aston Villa is a single entity. 'Are' suggests there is more than one.
I think both versions may be grammatically correct, it depends on whether you think of a club/team as a single entity (it) or a collection of people (they). American English tends toward the former, I've always used the latter and most British people I know do too - for example in the famous chant "and its Aston Villa, Aston Villa FC, they're by far the greatest team the world has ever seen....".
And I always thought Basil Fawlty's "did it" comment was a joke, hinting that he wasn't listening and not really interested.
He was referring to the county and not the cricket team therefore ensuing hilarity forthwith.
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Presumably, someone's already done the "Fox in the (executive) box" joke, so I won't bother.
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Back on topic, the fecker's been here nearly twenty-four hours and no signings! Fox out!
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Back on topic, the fecker's been here nearly twenty-four hours and no signings! Fox out!
What the Fox he playing at? Etc.
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Fox off!!
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Give him a chance, for Fox sake.
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Presumably, someone's already done the "Fox in the (executive) box" joke, so I won't bother.
Guilty as charged. Surprised nobody has seen fit to post the following though so I guess I'll have to.
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Back to the 'has' discussion. At least he put a word between has and been. So he doesn't consider us to be has beens.
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Back on topic, the fecker's been here nearly twenty-four hours and no signings! Fox out!
Fox the signings!
He needs to get Vlaar and Delph nailed down to new contracts first.
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The bit in bold is an interesting comment.
Chairman Randy Lerner said in a statement: “I was delighted and even flattered by Tom’s interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward.”
Although the official line has always been that everything was rosy between the top people in the club, perhaps Lerner did not see this in Paul Faulkner. Even to the extent that Randy was thinking of bringing in somebody above PF and that is why he resigned.
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Maybe Faulkner saw the arrival of someone he had to report to as a threat to his cosy relationship with Lerner, so he buggered off.
It does seem strange that we've big a bit more active in the window since he left
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The gushing over Fox's record by Randolph gave me the willies over how he waxed lyrical about Fergie's letter of endorsement of Big 'Eck.
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Nothing will ever come close to that. Nothing
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I honestly think that Randy has just followed up on his last statement which said if he hadn't found a buyer by the time training recommenced he would focus on the club and the season ahead.
Since then, we have spent money on players and appointed a new CEO. I also think he calculated that there was a very real chance of relegation next season so has acted to protect the investment.
Finally, of course, there is a possibility he has had (a temporary at least) change of heart regarding selling up.
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Whilst not an ideal situation re: takeover, I feel there is a lot to be positive about this season. Even just a few weeks ago I would describe myself as completely underwhelmed by our prospects for this season. With the signing of Sanchez and our solid away win at Stoke, I'm now fairly optimistic. I think randy has finally wised up, new assistant manager, new CEO, squad shake-up on a budget, with strengthening in the required areas... I think we'll now be comfortably top half finishers. The fact we haven't spunked loads of cash also gives me confidence that if wearer struggling come Jan, we'll be able to strengthen further if necessary once any weaknesses become apparent.
Now come on Villa smash these Geordie fuckers!
Up the Villa!
Been a while since I thought that :)
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Much more positive feel about the club, including Paul Lambert's management. Hopefully, the next signing is as positive as the last one. Fox just seems a much more forward thinking CEO appointment. I hope!!
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If we get a crap result today it will all be doom and gloom again with some.
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I honestly think that Randy has just followed up on his last statement which said if he hadn't found a buyer by the time training recommenced he would focus on the club and the season ahead.
Since then, we have spent money on players and appointed a new CEO. I also think he calculated that there was a very real chance of relegation next season so has acted to protect the investment.
Finally, of course, there is a possibility he has had (a temporary at least) change of heart regarding selling up.
Spent money on players, yes, but only 4m. It's hardly a huge outlay.
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There may be something in him having a change of heart but I can't see it. The club was in a malaise and no right-minded businessman would sell an on-going concern with so many pieces missing. It'd be like selling your house but with no kitchen. I see it as Randy doing no more than putting his house in order.
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I honestly think that Randy has just followed up on his last statement which said if he hadn't found a buyer by the time training recommenced he would focus on the club and the season ahead.
Since then, we have spent money on players and appointed a new CEO. I also think he calculated that there was a very real chance of relegation next season so has acted to protect the investment.
Finally, of course, there is a possibility he has had (a temporary at least) change of heart regarding selling up.
Spent money on players, yes, but only 4m. It's hardly a huge outlay.
We paid for Richardson and Cissokho as well as £4m for Sanchez didn't we?
Obviously it's STILL not a huge outlay, but it's hasn't all been free transfers.
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I honestly think that Randy has just followed up on his last statement which said if he hadn't found a buyer by the time training recommenced he would focus on the club and the season ahead.
Since then, we have spent money on players and appointed a new CEO. I also think he calculated that there was a very real chance of relegation next season so has acted to protect the investment.
Finally, of course, there is a possibility he has had (a temporary at least) change of heart regarding selling up.
Spent money on players, yes, but only 4m. It's hardly a huge outlay.
We paid for Richardson and Cissokho as well as £4m for Sanchez didn't we?
Obviously it's STILL not a huge outlay, but it's hasn't all been free transfers.
I think our signings have been pretty good for the money. But when you see the overall league spending table (so far) we are right near the bottom - Burnley, Palace behind us.
But to reiterate I think our squad is now , hopefully, better than 6 or 7 teams.
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He must be good as his signing got approval from Lord David Pleat today on the radio ::)
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He must be good as his signing got approval from Lord David Pleat today on the radio ::)
Oooooh!
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I was wondering, has anyone actually spotted him yet?
Has he started his job? Not seen him on the OS, in the press, at the matches, nothing.
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I was wondering, has anyone actually spotted him yet?
Has he started his job? Not seen him on the OS, in the press, at the matches, nothing.
maybe he's a Fox in the box
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Faulkner is the new CEO of Forest. Maybe Randy did give him the push, after all, following the coaches' suspensions and the failure of the plan to sign unproven players.
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BUMP as I think he starts with us today?
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The gushing over Fox's record by Randolph gave me the willies over how he waxed lyrical about Fergie's letter of endorsement of Big 'Eck.
One day a film may be made about that. The Longest Season in History. Even though the number of games was amongst the fewest.
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Faulkner is the new CEO of Forest. Maybe Randy did give him the push, after all, following the coaches' suspensions and the failure of the plan to sign unproven players.
The perfect storm Lerner + Faulkner + Poor Manager appointments = On Field Carnage.
I'm hoping Fox is a step up from Faulkner. Surely he must be. Then again as Randy is doing the recruitment there is no guarantee
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Could be the appointment we need and start to replace some of the things we lost when Steve Stride left. Different job I know, but Fox will be keen to prove himself and will have learned a lot from the last few years at the Arse.
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Welcome, Tom!
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The interview with him is on the website / YouTube channel.
Comes across well in my opinion, says Randy wants to get back to having fun with it again :-)
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So randy, you want to stay now? Nope didn't think so.
More bullshit.
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So randy, you want to stay now? Nope didn't think so.
More bullshit.
Que?
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Instantly warmed to him
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So randy, you want to stay now?
This is why grammar is so important.
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So randy, you want to stay now?
This is why grammar is so important.
oops! I would edit it but its pretty funny
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Tom Fox interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t6xBmwV4xB0)
About 15 minutes long but worth a listen. Comes across really well indeed. Interesting comments about Randy and his dedication but more importantly how he sees the club and what we need to do in the short to long term. There's naturally going to be cynics who say we've heard it all before. This is however the first exec that has come in with an actual football pedigree since Randy's arrival.
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He's kind of in an awkward situation re Randy. There's only one thing he can actually say when asked if the chairman is still interested.
It's not really worth that much attention or picking apart, to be honest. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and we'll start getting indicators of what sort of job he's doing soon enough.
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What occurred to me was that he has already identified a lack of depth in our structure off the pitch to adequately grow the business side of the club. That we need to rethink what we are doing and add talent to different departments. If you wanted one club to model yourself off in terms of commercial revenue growth and scouting then it would be Arsenal. It won't come together overnight but we've all identified a lack of a long term vision or plan in the past. Hopefully, this will be one of the first building blocks towards a more solid and stable future from which to grow.
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I was really impressed with him after listening to that interview , yes very american and polished , but I thought it was a very good interview, positive and realistic goals. Also very good to hear that Randy is sounding like he is getting up for it again and I think we will be off the market officially soon and he will be reinvesting.
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Who is Paddy Reilly?
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He was Head of Scouting at the Dipperdome.
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Cheers, Ads.
Hopefully Lambert won't be telling him he has £100m to waste, assuming Reilly was in the same role under KKK.
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I don't think it'll take much to get us finishing comfortably top half every year. We don't even have to spend that much, we just need to have some good sense and stability behind the scenes and the rest will take care of itself.
This guy seems to get it, and says all the right things, but obviously that doesnt mean a thing if you can't deliver. Lets see how he does........
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I don't think it'll take much to get us finishing comfortably top half every year. We don't even have to spend that much, we just need to have some good sense and stability behind the scenes and the rest will take care of itself.
This guy seems to get it, and says all the right things, but obviously that doesnt mean a thing if you can't deliver. Lets see how he does........
Time will tell but can't argue with that.
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He knows what he wants but he isn't making rash promises.
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I'd like to think finishing top half and challenging for Europe was a condition he insisted on when he joined.
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Comes across well. Definitely there seems to be a feel good factor around the club right now. Randy is an odd fellow, from Fox's comments Randy sounds committed and engaged, wants to "have fun again" well fair play Randy.
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I'd like to think finishing top half and challenging for Europe was a condition he insisted on when he joined.
If he only picked the team. His job however is to provide the revenue for the manager and make sure that money is bringing in the right return. It's certainly encouraging that he seems to embrace the Villa and his aims are more than realistic and achieveable by a well run club of our size and standing.
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Just watched video, encouraging, however look at tickets sold for tomorrow.....early 30k at best....hopefully a late surge!
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Comes across well. Definitely there seems to be a feel good factor around the club right now. Randy is an odd fellow, from Fox's comments Randy sounds committed and engaged, wants to "have fun again" well fair play Randy.
you have to wonder how much the combination of the financial impact of the post MON years plus the deterioration in his personal situation affected him? Maybe he's now through the other side and wants to be a part of things again. It is a weird place to be though. On the one hand wanting to have fun, yet still looking to sell.
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Like the cut of his jib. A bit surprised that he was so open about Randy being enthused "again", when the club would hardly like to admit that he's found owning the club a heavy chore over the past few years.
I wonder if Randy and O'Neill buried the hatchet since. I can't imagine he would let him view training games at Bodymoor otherwise but he always was too nice for his own good, wann'e ?
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Comes across well. Definitely there seems to be a feel good factor around the club right now. Randy is an odd fellow, from Fox's comments Randy sounds committed and engaged, wants to "have fun again" well fair play Randy.
you have to wonder how much the combination of the financial impact of the post MON years plus the deterioration in his personal situation affected him? Maybe he's now through the other side and wants to be a part of things again. It is a weird place to be though. On the one hand wanting to have fun, yet still looking to sell.
It is weird. It is possible something happened this summer to re engage Randy. I have no idea what that could be though.
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Have to say he impressed me more in the space of 15 minutes than Faulkner did in 4 years. We should remember though that this role is far broader than the one he had at Arsenal (a club already established in the Champions League and a lot easier to market and sell), so it will be a far bigger challenge for us. Seems prettu confident though and I think thats a big plus.
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Just watched video, encouraging, however look at tickets sold for tomorrow.....early 30k at best....hopefully a late surge!
Ultimately, that is his job, and the job of everyone at the club.
Football isn't like it was 40 years ago any more. People will not just rock up week after week regardless. It doesn't cost the same as a packet of fags any more, for starters, it costs a lot of money, and in the meantime, money has infused the game so much, it is the dominant factor.
We know - from experience - that when people have hope, when they think it is going to be fun, they will be more likely to buy tickets. They will also be more likely to buy season tickets, which i think (in the sense of lower sales of Sts) is going to cause us trouble this season.
Ultimately, the club have got to get people to want to go to matches. This season has been a decent start, but we've just shipped six and scored none in our last two matches. In our good start, we managed six or so shots on target across four games.
They're asking people to pay 30 or 40 quid and, in many cases, spend a lot of time travelling to turn up at 5.30 on a Saturday to watch us play a team who will almost certainly take us to the cleaners.
That's the challenge. They've lost a lot of support over the last four years, and, frankly, it isn't surprising, because the last four years have been horrific, especially at home.
In years gone by it wasn't like this, but it wasn't the fans who turned it into something resembling a "business to customer" relationship rather than a special "supporter-club" one, it was the clubs. This is the flip side of those huge ticket prices, of that blanket television coverage.
Good luck, Tom, because you're going to need it.
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This guy is no mug working at Arsenal for five years, obviously a very forward thinking club.
I'm interested as to the ways he'll attempt to increase revenue as this is an area where we struggle compared to similar sized clubs which puts more pressure on the wage bill.
Interesting times ahead, I like he hasn't gone for a crowd pleasing soundbite like we want to be in the champions league as we've heard that all before.
Small steps like playing in the europa league two years on the spin and who knows maybe that will impress a wealthy sugardaddy from Qatar/Malaysia that it won't take too much more to make the CL and a takeover can happen.
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I don't think it'll take much to get us finishing comfortably top half every year. We don't even have to spend that much, we just need to have some good sense and stability behind the scenes and the rest will take care of itself.
This guy seems to get it, and says all the right things, but obviously that doesnt mean a thing if you can't deliver. Lets see how he does........
A fit and on form Benteke and Vlaar from here on in would probably see us there this season.
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It'd be nice to have a season without the threat of relegation again.
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He was Head of Scouting at the Dipperdome.
A google does not turn up much information about him. Anyone know anything?
Tom Fox certainly speaks well, he seems to get the balance right between realistic goals and providing hope for the future.
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Comes across well. Definitely there seems to be a feel good factor around the club right now. Randy is an odd fellow, from Fox's comments Randy sounds committed and engaged, wants to "have fun again" well fair play Randy.
agree with this. I thought he came across very well. Obviously what he said was heavily laden with business jargon and the references to sport as a business, I know is likely to grate with some. However, he's been brought in to look after our business affairs first and foremost and to enable lambert to be in a position to deliver relative success on the playing side of things. I was impressed with what he had to say and I think he seems exactly what the club has needed since randy took over the club.
His comments about Lerner were slightly ambiguous though. Taken at face value, you could reasonably conclude that the sale has been shelved for the time being. I think further clarification is required about lerner's plans. Personally I think the sale is still being actively pursued and fox had to spin it to put his new employer in a good light and its a case of whilst he still is the owner he'll commit the necessary finance to protect his investment and make us solid top half again.
In all honesty it was kind of what I wanted to hear. A modicum of ambition and a desire to improve with a hint of how he'll go about it, but no rash promises that can't be delivered.
The club definitely seem to have drawn a line under the last few years and look to have a credible strategy to turn things round. We all want to win the league and have a crack at the champions league, but it's not going to happen any time soon, but in the scheme of things we look to be in a lot better place right through the club than we were at the end of last season- just 5 months ago.
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Some fans will though, we just aren't that well supported. There is a good core of 25-30,000 who will always turn up, no matter what. The floating 10,000 who came out the woodwork under O'Neill need greater encouragement to turn up.
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There really must be an air of optimism around the club at the moment. Not 2 months back this interview would have been greeted with grunts and "proud history, bright future b**s***" style comments. Seems to be your archetypal American CEO to me, a good soundbite and a big white smile.
" .....it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 (?).
Maybe that's my hangover talking, but I want to see some genuine results before I begin to believe that the worst is behind us.
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Who is Paddy Reilly?
Paddy was with us before he went to loverpoo , he was really our statistic man on players etc and then liverpoo offered him more money
But villa have now offered him a better deal again , so he's back and with more responsibility
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I like him. Even if he does look a bit like Ed Winchester from the fast show.
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Even if = especially as. Ed was a champ, except when he caught out by the tide.
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Some fans will though, we just aren't that well supported. There is a good core of 25-30,000 who will always turn up, no matter what. The floating 10,000 who came out the woodwork under O'Neill need greater encouragement to turn up.
When we get a gate much above 30,000 you don't get many more Villa supporters. 30,000 will watch the Villa, the rest come for the game.
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the floating 10k need a compelling reason to keep showing up for more. The other 30k are just beaten housewives convinced that there is nobody else out there for them and that their current bloke will change back to the man they once loved.
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the floating 10k need a compelling reason to keep showing up for more. The other 30k are just beaten housewives convinced that there is nobody else out there for them and that their current bloke will change back to the man they once loved.
Hope springs eternal...
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The other 30k are just beaten housewives convinced that there is nobody else out there for them and that their current bloke will change back to the man they once loved.
Or
Lads who have retreated to dark rooms behind drawn blinds, with computers, tablets, iPads and PSs on the go 24/7, hoping against hope that someday, somehow, they will have a reason to emerge, blinking out of the twilight into a wonderful new dawn for Villa.
Just going for gender equality in desperation imagery, here.
This is an Equal Opportunities website.
Better happen soon, though.
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Do not worry, fellow Villans. Stop worrying all together. Tom Fox says that we cannot see what is going on, but it will all be alright within five years. What a relief...?!? http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tom-fox-feature-aston-villa-8279153
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Lambert made similar comments last year about the the great things going on behind the scenes.
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I think we're building a secret wonder weapon that we intend to fire at Richard Scudamore. Muhahahahahahaha!
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Good article, makes all the right noises, as fans we have to trust they know what they are doing - which I understand is nigh on impossible when you see some of the performances and results. However, I'm prepared to take him at his word, I have no reason not to.
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I think we're building a secret wonder weapon that we intend to fire at Richard Scudamore. Muhahahahahahaha!
Goebbels reckoned Hitler had a load of secret wonder weapons that were going to turn the tide and look how that turned out...
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I've got a secret wonder weapon.
At least I do now, I'd never thought of calling that before.
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Better, more in depth interview with Tom Fox on Free Radio.
One thing we can draw from the interview is that unless we're relegated, Lambert is going no where. Lerner obviously got seriously emotionally burnt with MON and it's Lambert's "honesty" that makes him Randy's man.
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I think we're building a secret wonder weapon that we intend to fire at Richard Scudamore. Muhahahahahahaha!
Goebbels reckoned Hitler had a load of secret wonder weapons that were going to turn the tide and look how that turned out...
They went into administration in May 1945 and then got taken over, enjoyed the Wirtschaftswunder and now they dominate Europe.
Hold onto your seats!
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I think we're building a secret wonder weapon that we intend to fire at Richard Scudamore. Muhahahahahahaha!
Goebbels reckoned Hitler had a load of secret wonder weapons that were going to turn the tide and look how that turned out...
Least expected Godwin's Law transgression ever.
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The plan is simple, to monetise this football club within the global sponsorship market
Oh well, at least he didn't use the word "brand" anywhere in the interview.
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The plan is simple, to monetise this football club within the global sponsorship market
Oh well, at least he didn't use the word "brand" anywhere in the interview.
We're Aston Villa
We'll monetise this club when we want
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The plan is simple, to monetise this football club within the global sponsorship market
Oh well, at least he didn't use the word "brand" anywhere in the interview.
thing is what if he had? Just because it doesn't resonate well with traditional football fans doesn't mean that ultimately that is what he is trying to sell. He isn't selling "brand" Aston Villa in England and specifically in the West Midlands. However once you get beyond these shores, and into Asia and the US, to those he is hoping to convince to part with their cash it needs to be a lot more than just what the club is today. Because if that is all he has then we are screwed. It is about what the club has contributed to the game historically and that in of itself is a tough challenge given we've won nothing for ages and the only thing we seem to compete for nowadays is the Relegation Super Cup. Investors want to know what Aston Villa is going to do for their businesses now and more importantly in the future. How "brand" Aston Villa is going help the various other companies that we receive sponsorship from.
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And ultimately our collective cynicism in all of this is whether or not means any more coming out of the mouth of Fox, as opposed to Fitzgerald or Faulkner? At the end of the day they all reported or report in to Randy and our eventual direction is dictated by his level of involvement, investment and interest.
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What I like is that they have overhauled the scouting system and added a data-analysis guy: Lambert may not 'do stats' but that is part of he modern game.
Let's see how all this plays out ...
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It'll be interesting to see what level of spending we have for January.
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What has Fox ever done for us ?
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It's all fair enough, there is nothing he says that you wouldn't expect him to say, that's his job.
I do hope they're fully aware, though, of how hard it is going to be to monetise a club which clings on to Premier League survival every year, in front of 25k.
He's saying the same things Faulkner said, in that sense, but they need to remain aware that there comes a point where you have to say that on-pitch stuff just isn't working out.
When Faulkner was here, I thought it felt like with some of this stuff, they were under the belief that if you want something enough (success with cheap players) it would just magically happen. Young players from Chesterfield or Middlesbrough would just magically become good enough if you played them enough.
I just hope they're more grounded in reality these days.
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What has Fox ever done for us ?
Gave us The Simpsons.
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I think we're building a secret wonder weapon that we intend to fire at Richard Scudamore. Muhahahahahahaha!
Goebbels reckoned Hitler had a load of secret wonder weapons that were going to turn the tide and look how that turned out...
They went into administration in May 1945 and then got taken over, enjoyed the Wirtschaftswunder and now they dominate Europe.
Hold onto your seats!
'went into Administration' is an interesting way of putting it! I hope we're not going to be split into two separate clubs for 45 years.
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Fox speaks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30281192)
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What do you do when the people with the money say, "and we want a sexy new ground built near BHX/NEC. Aston is too hard to get to."
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"I know one of the things Randy really appreciates is Paul's honesty and his ability to admit mistakes when he makes them. I've seen since that since I came in."
Honesty > results ::)
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I thought this was a rather telling quote:
"I think he’s much more confident in the process around identifying who that player would be and how that player would fit into the long term planning of the squad.”
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What I like is that they have overhauled the scouting system and added a data-analysis guy: Lambert may not 'do stats' but that is part of he modern game.
Let's see how all this plays out ...
That's far and away the most important bit. I've been saying for years that I think the scouting at the club is lazy and ineffective, bringing in a statistician and a team of scouts and getting them to build portfolios backed on empirical evidence is the only way for a club to catch the top sides now, Southampton have done just that.
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What I like is that they have overhauled the scouting system and added a data-analysis guy: Lambert may not 'do stats' but that is part of he modern game.
Let's see how all this plays out ...
That's far and away the most important bit. I've been saying for years that I think the scouting at the club is lazy and ineffective, bringing in a statistician and a team of scouts and getting them to build portfolios backed on empirical evidence is the only way for a club to catch the top sides now, Southampton have done just that.
When I interviewed Paul Faulkner after Houlier got the job he said they'd started it then.
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"I know one of the things Randy really appreciates is Paul's honesty and his ability to admit mistakes when he makes them. I've seen since that since I came in."
When has Lambert ever admitted making mistakes?
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"We should be finishing seventh or eighth consistently," Fox told BBC WM.
"How do we put the club in position to capture it's value? If we can do that, we believe we can put this club back where it deserves to be."
I suppose an ambition of 7th or 8th is directly proportional to the amount of money we can generate.
Proof positive that slowly our expectations are being managed downwards
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It's a start.
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"I know one of the things Randy really appreciates is Paul's honesty and his ability to admit mistakes when he makes them. I've seen since that since I came in."
When has Lambert ever admitted making mistakes?
What he says to them and what he says to us will be two different things. He will no doubt be more candid with them, as his employers. That's normal, really.
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"I know one of the things Randy really appreciates is Paul's honesty and his ability to admit mistakes when he makes them. I've seen since that since I came in."
When has Lambert ever admitted making mistakes?
What he says to them and what he says to us will be two different things. He will no doubt be more candid with them, as his employers. That's normal, really.
I'm guessing that one external appearance of such an admission would be the about-turn from inexperienced lower league players to last Summer's veterans.
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Sorry but I struggle with anything "official " out of the club anymore .
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Sorry but I struggle with anything "official " out of the club anymore .
Aww, do the nasty people not say exactly what you want them to say?
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5 year plans , krulak, bright future ? Compelling football, shunannites ? Come on Dave , what do you think .
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5 year plans , krulak, bright future ? Compelling football, shunannites ? Come on Dave , what do you think .
I think it's pathetic to say "They don't talk to us" then add "I don't believe them" when they do.
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5 year plans , krulak, bright future ? Compelling football, shunannites ? Come on Dave , what do you think .
I think it's pathetic to say "They don't talk to us" then add "I don't believe them" when they do.
I didn't say they don't talk to us ?
I'm a fan I want to believe , I just no longer trust Lerner
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5 year plans , krulak, bright future ? Compelling football, shunannites ? Come on Dave , what do you think .
I think it's pathetic to say "They don't talk to us" then add "I don't believe them" when they do.
I didn't say they don't talk to us ?
I'm a fan I want to believe , I just no longer trust Lerner
I'm sure he's distraught.
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"We should be finishing seventh or eighth consistently," Fox told BBC WM.
"How do we put the club in position to capture it's value? If we can do that, we believe we can put this club back where it deserves to be."
I suppose an ambition of 7th or 8th is directly proportional to the amount of money we can generate.
Proof positive that slowly our expectations are being managed downwards
If he came out and said we should be consistently challenging for the title what would your reaction be?
There's a difference between managing expectations downwards and having realistic ambitions
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5 year plans , krulak, bright future ? Compelling football, shunannites ? Come on Dave , what do you think .
I think it's pathetic to say "They don't talk to us" then add "I don't believe them" when they do.
I didn't say they don't talk to us ?
I'm a fan I want to believe , I just no longer trust Lerner
I'm sure he's distraught.
? Ok
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What I find interesting about Foxes comments in one breath he seems to be saying Paul Lambert has the club's backing, but in the next that his job could be under threat with the "and that should not take four years" remark. Overall I think it is a postitve thing for the CEO to be saying, and it is in line with what us fans want too. Trouble is that with our struggles the last few years I don't know if what he is saying is realistic at least not in the time frame. But like someone else said it is a start.
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What I like is that they have overhauled the scouting system and added a data-analysis guy: Lambert may not 'do stats' but that is part of he modern game.
Let's see how all this plays out ...
That's far and away the most important bit. I've been saying for years that I think the scouting at the club is lazy and ineffective, bringing in a statistician and a team of scouts and getting them to build portfolios backed on empirical evidence is the only way for a club to catch the top sides now, Southampton have done just that.
When I interviewed Paul Faulkner after Houlier got the job he said they'd started it then.
I've assumed it was what Houllier came in to oversee so I don't see that as unlikely or remotely surprising. I do however think we never really went full tilt at it, whereas now we've got a director of scouting and a statistician and we're building a full scouting network.
Reading between the lines though I think Lambert has had his role reduced as part of this. I've said before and I'm sure you've agreed, that I always thought Randy treated Lambert and Faulkner as equals, with the club split into football matters and commercial, with very little crossover. These comments suggest that Fox is the main man with Lambert, Riley, etc reporting to him.
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Exactly the comments I would expect from a CEO so soon into the job, it's not realistic to expect instant changes, part of him coming in will involve reviewing everything thoroughly - sure there maybe some quick wins but his influence will be seen hopefully over years not months.
I agree that 7th / 8th with cup runs is a realistic target & a sustainable model of revenue to expenditure has to be achieved, the challenge in the short term is to earn a bit of faith by improving the fayre on the pitch.
Where he will be tested in our eyes is if we get another stupid run of results, performances & negative football a la October - hard nosed business decisions will have to over ride the blind faith Lambert has received thus far.
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I've assumed it was what Houllier came in to oversee so I don't see that as unlikely or remotely surprising. I do however think we never really went full tilt at it, whereas now we've got a director of scouting and a statistician and we're building a full scouting network.
Reading between the lines though I think Lambert has had his role reduced as part of this. I've said before and I'm sure you've agreed, that I always thought Randy treated Lambert and Faulkner as equals, with the club split into football matters and commercial, with very little crossover. These comments suggest that Fox is the main man with Lambert, Riley, etc reporting to him.
It's reckoned that Lambert went straight to Randy, bypassing Faulkner, which is one of the reasons why he left. I think, with nothing other than guesswork, that Paul F wanted Paul L sacked last May.
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I've assumed it was what Houllier came in to oversee so I don't see that as unlikely or remotely surprising. I do however think we never really went full tilt at it, whereas now we've got a director of scouting and a statistician and we're building a full scouting network.
Reading between the lines though I think Lambert has had his role reduced as part of this. I've said before and I'm sure you've agreed, that I always thought Randy treated Lambert and Faulkner as equals, with the club split into football matters and commercial, with very little crossover. These comments suggest that Fox is the main man with Lambert, Riley, etc reporting to him.
It's reckoned that Lambert went straight to Randy, bypassing Faulkner, which is one of the reasons why he left. I think, with nothing other than guesswork, that Paul F wanted Paul L sacked last May.
I agree, I think it came down to 1 or the other had to go andd Lerner sided with PL
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What I like is that they have overhauled the scouting system and added a data-analysis guy: Lambert may not 'do stats' but that is part of he modern game.
Let's see how all this plays out ...
That's far and away the most important bit. I've been saying for years that I think the scouting at the club is lazy and ineffective, bringing in a statistician and a team of scouts and getting them to build portfolios backed on empirical evidence is the only way for a club to catch the top sides now, Southampton have done just that.
When I interviewed Paul Faulkner after Houlier got the job he said they'd started it then.
I've assumed it was what Houllier came in to oversee so I don't see that as unlikely or remotely surprising. I do however think we never really went full tilt at it, whereas now we've got a director of scouting and a statistician and we're building a full scouting network.
I definitely remember the talk of having a proper scouting network two years ago, and how Lambert had appointed that German chap as chief of scouting. Then there was Crewe's manager saying we'd turned up with a 30 page dossier on Ashley Westwood.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad we're acting more professional, but it's not the first time (in recent years) we've heard this.
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Wasn't it what lambert had a reputation for? his diligence with regards to his scouting?
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There's a few articles come out, presumably from the same interview. It all sounds rather encouraging and it doesn't sound as though any of it is dependent on Lambert. The problem is that it's all things that we don't get to see and may not see signs of for several years. As such, we can only hope that it's as good as it sounds.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
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3 more points and a better goal difference, and we'd be 8th now.
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From where we've been heading one step forward is better than another 2 or 3 back as that's where the trapdoor is.
As Fox correctly points out, even if Randy felt like throwing another £250M at it, it wouldn't actually make a great deal if difference. We'd just end up in the same place a season or 2 earlier. Any further progress is limited by the spending of the top.clubs and their revenue streams to not fall foul of FFP (or in the case of Man City the money to not give a flying f%&k about any fines)
Unless he / we can get revenues up to support increased spending there will be a painfully low glass ceiling, which is why everything he says is exactly what we need to do to stand a chance long term. It just isn't very exciting right now, although the manager getting more out of his existing squad might help in that score.
I refuse to believe that what we've seen through the majority of the last 18 months is the peak of what they're capable of. They've proved on occasions that they are capable of much more.
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Giving Lambert a 4 year deal then telling fans there is a 5 year plan to improve the club is like a judge giving you a 4 year prison sentence then promising your life will be better in 5 years time.
Also if the club had said to me today 'what is the last thing you want to hear from us right now?' I'd have said 'Anything to do with how great a relationship Lerner and Lambert have.' And lo and behold they delivered exactly that.
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Fox impresses me. We're all naturally suspicous of such characters as football supporters, but he gives the right impression. Let's see how he does before berating him.
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I think it made sense. We're hardly going to be knocking Man City and Chelsea off their perch in the next five years are we?
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Does it really matter what Fox says?
The big decisions are not being taken by him.
Organ grinder and monkey.
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I thought it was a pretty good interview. CEO looking up the table and how to grow revenues to put it there. Fine by me.
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
When I try to sum up the Lambert era makes me think about that old saying 'I feel like I've found a fiver and lost a tenner'.
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I think it made sense. We're hardly going to be knocking Man City and Chelsea off their perch in the next five years are we?
So we're currently aiming to knock Newcastle (7th) or Swansea (8th) off their perches by 2020.
Excuse me if I don't get over excited.
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Me neither, but I prefer it to the continual decline we've had in the last five years.
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Look at it another way: what would we be saying if he said 'In the next five years, we need to be in the top four with the occasional win at the Nou Camp' we'd all think he was mad as a box of frogs. One step at a time.
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I think it made sense. We're hardly going to be knocking Man City and Chelsea off their perch in the next five years are we?
So we're currently aiming to knock Newcastle (7th) or Swansea (8th) off their perches by 2020.
Excuse me if I don't get over excited.
Perhaps he's set low targets so he can possibly over deliver (happy days) and can give himself a pat on the bat and a nice bonus.
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I don't see how 8th or 7th is low expectations. It's only a step or two down from what we had under O'Neill, O'Leary or Gregory, only this time Man City and Spurs are actually good sides.
It would be nice if the fact that we have balanced books actually worked in our favour over the next few years. I don't wish financial catastrophe on any club, but it's annoying that so many cheat the system and it's about time their financial chickens came home to roost.
I like that our step towards modernity is independent from the manager and personnel. Henke went pretty quickly, but at least the structures as there now with scouting and recruitment to maintain continuity and he ability to refine and improve over time.
A lot will depend on the summer when we will likely lose four of our biggest earners in Benteke, Bent, Vlaar and Delph, probably close to £150-200,000 in weekly wages and £25-30 million in fees. The trick is to do a Newcastle/Southampton when reinvesting after losing your best players and I do trust Lambert when it comes to the purchasing of mid-shelf £4 million class and above.
Fox sounds like he knows what his doing and if you're finishing 8th or 7th, then you're only talking about turning a couple more loses into draws, a couple of draws into wins to get back into 6th.
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It'll be interesting to see what level of spending we have for January.
I think we will have enough for a few more Joe Cole type players to keep our physios busy. I really dont see spending £7 - £8m on Cleverley is sensible.
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We will probably swap vlaar for cleverly ? To avoid spending the £8m ??
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I wouldn't be surprised if we signed no-one in january - new players that is.
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Do not worry, fellow Villans. Stop worrying all together. Tom Fox says that we cannot see what is going on, but it will all be alright within five years. What a relief...?!? http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tom-fox-feature-aston-villa-8279153
He didn't say it, he roared it. Anyway, at least we've got a plan and something to believe in if we choose to. That's better than the last few years of depressing mediocrity/shit.
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
If he did then wouldn't that be 'just words' as well?
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
If he did then wouldn't that be 'just words' as well?
Word up.
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He seems to be a sensible chap and more importantly can make decisions. He's only been here a few months and he's appointed a stats guy, a head scout and is looking for a commercial director. It implies he has a vision and also appears to have the authority to do as he wants (so more than a mouth piece for Randy).
My hunch is that Randy has effectively delegated the running of the club to Fox - which I am fine with, as Randy's input seemed to be 'chuck money at it, or NOT chuck money at it.
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I'm very sceptical I'm afraid. The fact that they are persevering with Lambert shows that they don't know what they're doing. More misery to come.
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The trick is to do a... Southampton when reinvesting after losing your best players
The Southampton model is built on a junior and youth system designed on delivering young talent to the first team regardless of who is manager. My understanding is they have in place a system of consistency of coaching and play throughout the age groups to assist players move along that conveyor belt. Perhaps - and I accept that this is with hindsight - we missed a trick in those years when we obviously had a group of very talented players coming through. Had we done, then the "young and hungry" approach might have worked, in so much as the players would have been put into a system that they were used to and, perhaps more to the point, if the first team still proved to be a step too far, there would more talent following on behind.
With that in mind - and assuming the austerity years are going to continue - my opinion is that for all Tom Fox's work seeking out new commercial opportunities, what we still desperately need is a football person in the mould of what Brian Marwood in doing at Manchester City, and focussing on the football set-up through out the club.
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"I know one of the things Randy really appreciates is Paul's honesty and his ability to admit mistakes when he makes them. I've seen since that since I came in."
When has Lambert ever admitted making mistakes?
What he says to them and what he says to us will be two different things. He will no doubt be more candid with them, as his employers. That's normal, really.
I'm guessing that one external appearance of such an admission would be the about-turn from inexperienced lower league players to last Summer's veterans.
Perhaps he did indeed admit he's not qualified to coach young talented players but then why would the club plan to invest so heavily in the Academy knowing your manager is the wrong man in charge?
It seems the plan is to finance our development by acquiring, developing and selling the best players we can find. There's nothing wrong with that providing you have somebody in charge with the right football philosophy that can bring it all together.
The only chance Lambert has is if he brings in the right person now to replace Keane. We really need a footballing man at Villa Park not just in the boardroom but at Bodymoor Heath. Randy's blind faith will cost him again.
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I agree with that TopDeck.
I've said it a gazillion times before but Southgate had a similar role at England before the U21 gig. I still think he would be ideal, even continuing as England's U21 coach.
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I think most fans will say we do not mind progress with some intermittent setbacks, even if it is slow and uneven. What is hard to take is to watch a steady unerring decline where all the things you enjoy supporting a team become slowly eroded to the point you no longer care.
I can live with the fact that we will not compete with the major big spenders (though it rankles), what is harder to accept is that we are forced to engage in a Sky-Preeemier/Uefa-Fifa corruption Circus that has only got financial gain at its heart.
In the midst of accepting the reality of this, I will grudgingly and half heartedly settle for a well run club, engaged with the fans and community that has a least some of the traditional values at its core.
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I don't see how 8th or 7th is low expectations. It's only a step or two down from what we had under O'Neill, O'Leary or Gregory, only this time Man City and Spurs are actually good sides.
Huh? You're always saying, quite rightly, that Spudzzz are a load o'shite.
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“They’re not visible and I understand it’s hard for the fans to see that." Genius.
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If we're aiming for top 8 and they have their full intentions of this that's a massive step in the right direction. It's also a lot more reassuring than the last few years.
I hope we aim for cup success too, I'd rather we went for that than maybe one extra place up table.
It all sounds good to me, it's nice to have some good vibes coming out the club instead of squabbles, talks if bullying and that the chairman has lost interest and is trying to flog us.
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I wouldn't be surprised if we signed no-one in january - new players that is.
If (and it's a massive if) we can hold on to everyone and not get any major injury problems for the rest of the season then it's not beyond the realms of imagination to think those in charge would probably feel we currently have enough. Personally I think we still could do with some different attacking options, particularly out wide (would like Townsend from Spurs).
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
If he did then wouldn't that be 'just words' as well?
I often wonder that if he didn't use words what other forms of communication would have sufficed? To satisfy the constantly and obsessively sceptical? Maybe he should have used some sort of sign language, or a change in the colour of smoke from the Villa Park rooftops. Perhaps Fox could employ a pilot to fly over the parish to announce a new commercial venture, dropping leaflets to the masses below.
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
If he did then wouldn't that be 'just words' as well?
I often wonder that if he didn't use words what other forms of communication would have sufficed? To satisfy the constantly and obsessively sceptical? Maybe he should have used some sort of sign language, or a change in the colour of smoke from the Villa Park rooftops. Perhaps Fox could employ a pilot to fly over the parish to announce a new commercial venture, dropping leaflets to the masses below.
I think the point is that we would rather see actions more than words. This goes back to him having had the job a few months though - his actions go largely unseen and being so new there's no track record to point to. So he can't win really. As you can tell from the comments, some will take it on faith and give him a chance and others will naturally be cynical - which is understandable given the past few years.
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
If he did then wouldn't that be 'just words' as well?
I often wonder that if he didn't use words what other forms of communication would have sufficed? To satisfy the constantly and obsessively sceptical? Maybe he should have used some sort of sign language, or a change in the colour of smoke from the Villa Park rooftops. Perhaps Fox could employ a pilot to fly over the parish to announce a new commercial venture, dropping leaflets to the masses below.
I think the point is that we would rather see action more than words. This goes back to him having had the job a few months though - his actions go largely unseen and being so new there's no track record to point to. So he can't win really. As you can tell from the comments, some will take it on faith and give him a chance and others will cynical - which is understandable given the past few years.
He's been in the job for a few weeks is the bigger point. He has two choices. Say something and get battered for it. Not say something and get battered for it. He chose the former. We all know that people want action rather than words, and he is also coming in on the back of other blokes who didn't deliver, so he's in tough. But there is only so much he can do given his time in the job, and the cards he has been dealt. If the performance of the club can improve his hand becomes stronger and the actions will start to emerge. He is now a part of the solution and we all should want to see him succeed in his vision for the club.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
It's the lack of ambition that's uninspiring. 3 to 5 years to reach the dizzy heights of 8th? This is Aston Villa we're talking about here, not West Brom. Imagine the grief Ellis would have got if he'd have come out with that load of old rubbish.
Basically we're to be run on a shoestring till Lerner finds a buyer. That's what I read between the lines.
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I think football has reached a significant point in history. There is so much money involved now that there is a group of clubs that have become immovable from the top six. If the owner of one of these clubs decides to sell, he will find a buyer because they have the financial infrastructure in place. Conversely, buyers cannot be found for clubs outside of this elite group because of the amount of money required to displace one of the elite. Villa are one of those clubs.
So what is the future for Villa, a club that nobody wants to invest in. The only way forward that I can see is to move away from the traditional club model of a manager being the focal point of everything and whereby if he fails, there is turmoil. The club should be put first and the first team is just the leading part of this. Others have mentioned this and I think this is what Fox is alluding to. This would mean moving into the director of football/first team coach strategy. The club decide on how they want to play the game and appoint a coach to do this. Football has become too big for the traditional club manager directing everything. There is so much money riding on clubs now, that you need continuity.
I believe and have done so for some time, that we need to go this way. We are kidding ourselves if we think somebody with money to burn is going to fly in on a private jet at turn up at B6.
European football is also approaching a critical point in time. As with the PL, there are groups of wealthy clubs developing in other countries. With travel becoming easier, how long before the owners of these clubs want something more than the Champions League and we have a European league. Only at that point do I see Villa becoming a top club again in this country by filling the void left by the departing teams and building on that elevated position.
So, where can we get to in the next 5 years? Realistically, 7th or 8th but we need to be consistently there. To do that, we need to develop young talent and accept that we will need to sell them to the top clubs but not let it undermine the club. That is why we need a club and playing ethos.
We have great facilities, great history and great supporters. Now the club has to use these to the full.
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On the plus side it looks like we won't need to buy a replacement for Vlaar, which will increase the amount we can spend on replacing Delph.
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Others have mentioned this and I think this is what Fox is alluding to. This would mean moving into the director of football/first team coach strategy.
I hope you're right. My worry is he will try and replicate the Wenger model at Arsenal, after all that is his only experience in football. In my opinion Wenger's position is very much the traditional british manager (just an exceptionally good one).
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Others have mentioned this and I think this is what Fox is alluding to. This would mean moving into the director of football/first team coach strategy.
I hope you're right. My worry is he will try and replicate the Wenger model at Arsenal, after all that is his only experience in football. In my opinion Wenger's position is very much the traditional british manager (just an exceptionally good one).
Very true but we're betting the bank on a very poor one.
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It's just words. That's all. How? Answer that please mr Fox.
If he did then wouldn't that be 'just words' as well?
I often wonder that if he didn't use words what other forms of communication would have sufficed? To satisfy the constantly and obsessively sceptical? Maybe he should have used some sort of sign language, or a change in the colour of smoke from the Villa Park rooftops. Perhaps Fox could employ a pilot to fly over the parish to announce a new commercial venture, dropping leaflets to the masses below.
How about the bloke sets out his vision with timescales, steps and actions outlined instead of giving us sound bites that mean fuck all. If the Holte End is to be sponsored, tell us. Tell us how they think loyalty to Lambert over the fans will give them a better chance of achieving those aims and objectives.
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timescales? You're joking - right. And what happens if for whatever reason those timescales shift? Are you going to be the first to criticize him if that happens? Even if might be nothing to do with him? And what kind of CEO do you think he'd be if he publicly stated his steps? And how about that he has categorically denied the Holte is to be sponsored. Is that good enough for you? Are you now going to commend his honesty?
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It would be ridiculous to set out a clear vision because things might change? Not sure about that. So let's see what happens. In the meantime, the vision as I see it is: Lambert, poor performer+ underaverage squad + crap tactics and coaching = European football in three years? Hmm, we'll see.
Denied Holte End sponsorship, didn't realise that. My bad. North Stand up for grabs though?
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I'd imagine that internally they will have established such aims but they'd be nuts to tell the wider public.
I'm no expert but I'm struggling to think of any big business that reveals every detail of their plan. Take Apple for example who spend years developing products but rarely disclose anything before it is launched. Tesco and barclays are both having a bad time but their is rarely any announcement other than vague strategies comparable with what Fox has said.
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Did the interviewer asked the most obvious question?
'Is the club still up for sale?'
Lerner was quite clear when he put us on the market, quite clear when he later re-confirmed it.
Since the end if the summer he has been as clear as mud about it.
Has he got his mojo back? has he taken us off the market? are brokers still actively looking for a buyer?
Who the hell knows, because we, sure as shit, don't?
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To paraphrase the article I read it sounds like Randy is enthusiastic again.
I'd guess he has accepted that he will not get the money he wants (or the right quality of buyer) so has started to put an infrastructure in place, starting with Fox, which he believes will make the club more viable i.e. not personally costing him $30m each year and lots of emotional drama.
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All clubs are up for sale.
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All clubs are up for sale.
Very true.
But not all of them have employed an external agency or financial corporation to find a buyer.
Lerner has, so my point is, are they still looking or has Lerner told them to stand down, while he attempts to get his 'excitement' for the club back.
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Absolute guess on my part but I'd imagine he has told them to stand down. They have probably approached and been approached by all the likely candidates by now and for whatever reason no deal has materialised. Therefore Lerner has a choice or either 1. dropping his price, 2. selling to one of the more dubious bidders or 3. running the business in a way that it is less of a burden to him personally yet maintains the value of the asset.
The appointment of Fox and the fact he's been given the authority to build a new scouting team (i.e. something which will pay dividends in the medium to long term) suggests that Randy is moving down option 3 in my opinion. If a bidder comes along then great but I suspect the glossy brochures will be seldom updated from here.
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The renewed activity to me suggests the sale is on hold till our financial situation becomes attractive. If we end up in the three seasons mixing around 8th or 7th with some very strong infrastructure behind the scenes and turning a small profit, then that is the type of club that stands a chance of being sold.
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Time for Tom to get in Randys ear and get Lambert out.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
How do you know what his views were a year ago as you've only been here 8 days?
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
Why are so many of your posts so far having digs at other people (cliques etc)?
Genuinely interested. It's not often we get someone so angry with people right from the moment they start posting.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
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Going back to the subject of the thread, I am gradually getting the impression that Tom Fox is now part of the problem. I've written to him and he responded but with no conviction and betraying no acknowledgement of the state we are in. After today's debacle if nothing happens within the club I, I for one will assume that Fox is not a fans CEO, just another spineless toady.
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What in all honesty did you expect him to say?
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At least some acknowledgement that on the pitch at least, things could be better.
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What in all honesty did you expect him to say?
Lambert is a clueless buffoon and is on his bike. Ideally
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Massive predicament for Tom. Lambert is a trusted resource of Randy, does Tom risk upsetting the applecart? It is going to get more and more difficult for him to polish a turd. Randy will end up taking any offer soon Imo.
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What in all honesty did you expect him to say?
Lambert is a clueless buffoon and is on his bike. Ideally
My kind of letter.
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As I said on the Paul Lambert thread, in Fox we have a CEO who in his time with Arsenal has no experience of either ceasing the employment of a manager or bringing in a replacement. Given that is arguably the most important decision that someone at the helm of a football club will make, it doesn't bode well.
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As I said on the Paul Lambert thread, in Fox we have a CEO who in his time with Arsenal has no experience of either ceasing the employment of a manager or bringing in a replacement. Given that is arguably the most important decision that someone at the helm of a football club will make, it doesn't bode well.
Indeed but at least he starts from a low base.
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What in all honesty did you expect him to say?
Lambert is a clueless buffoon and is on his bike. Ideally
My kind of letter.
I wrote to Martin o Neill once, he didn't reply
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What in all honesty did you expect him to say?
Lambert is a clueless buffoon and is on his bike. Ideally
My kind of letter.
I wrote to Martin o Neill once, he didn't reply
He can't read.
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What in all honesty did you expect him to say?
Lambert is a clueless buffoon and is on his bike. Ideally
My kind of letter.
I wrote to Martin o Neill once, he didn't reply
You forgot to ask for a signed photo.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
I have read your post over and over again and am still struggling with it. From your high horse it appears that you like to talk down to other posters and have a couple of others rushing to your defence. I am not having a go at you, as you suggest, but merely pointing out what an unpleasant person you are.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
I have read your post over and over again and am still struggling with it. From your high horse it appears that you like to talk down to other posters and have a couple of others rushing to your defence. I am not having a go at you, as you suggest, but merely pointing out what an unpleasant person you are.
That's unbelievably over the top.
What is your problem, exactly?
I disagree with TV on lots of things, but you appear to have turned up on here with a bee in your bonnet, to put it lightly.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
I have read your post over and over again and am still struggling with it. From your high horse it appears that you like to talk down to other posters and have a couple of others rushing to your defence. I am not having a go at you, as you suggest, but merely pointing out what an unpleasant person you are.
Since you joined here around half your posts have been criticising other posters. This was your last one.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
I have read your post over and over again and am still struggling with it. From your high horse it appears that you like to talk down to other posters and have a couple of others rushing to your defence. I am not having a go at you, as you suggest, but merely pointing out what an unpleasant person you are.
That's outrageous.
You ( MW) are so high on your own horse it's practically stratospheric.
Talk about the villa, not individuals.
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Someone who has made 13 posts with a bunch of them insulting other posters, calls someone else an unpleasant person. I'm sure there is a word for that.
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I think you'll find it's cuntybollockbastard.
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My fear with Fox is he's not a football man.
My friend has a work mate who was lucky enough to meet him and have a chat in December with him and his overarching remark was he didn't have any real grasp of the actual game . He said he was clever , articulate and smart dressed etc but footballing knowledge was limited .
That is my fear, we need a real DoF at the club now more than ever .
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What sort of power does Fox really have?
Some CEOs properly run the club while the owner takes a backseat e.g. Dein at Arsenal, David Gill at Man. United. Others just make a public statement now and then but don't have the call on big decisions.
Given Fox was only ever a finance officer or whatever it was at Arsenal (Ivan Gazidis was the CEO there toeing the coporate line) but to me sacking the manager is only going to be Lerner's call.
A few people have said Fox's main brief is to improve our revenue streams rather than the playing side. We'll see.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
I have read your post over and over again and am still struggling with it. From your high horse it appears that you like to talk down to other posters and have a couple of others rushing to your defence. I am not having a go at you, as you suggest, but merely pointing out what an unpleasant person you are.
Hawkeye, if you wanted to come back, why didn't you just ask?
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I think you'll find it's cuntybollockbastard.
After a really shit day, this at least made me smile.
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Just listened to Fox on the BRMB link and I have to say it's quite uninspiring to say the least. A five year plan to reach the top 8 and "maybe even a European place"?
Basically we've taken 3 steps backwards then they plan to take 1 step forward and class it as progress.
They must think we're all bloody stupid.
uninspiring based on where we are or realistic? Wouldn't you rather see an aim of stability and less volatility, and sustained improvement. Anything else and the dissection that is occurring right now would be ten fold and the cynicism meter would have seen the pointer snap right off. For a man that has been in his new job for a matter of weeks I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt than the other way around. Ultimately like his predecessors he'll be called out on his time with the club by the results not by the words he used.
You were defensive of Lambert last year. You gave him the benefit of the doubt and have been proven wrong once again. The club are rotten to the core. Why can't you face it?
I don't know what point it is you are trying to make. What difference is there when I chose to give the manager a chance? That my view has changed now doesn't make original view or opinion incorrect. No more so than had things improved someone else with less patience than me would have been wrong to hold that opinion. You need to seriously simmer down because in the little time you've been here you've had a go at others with very little provocation.
Always good to welcome new posters aboard.
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Blimey, what happened here then? Mr West needs some anger management sessions it appears.
No need for insults. We can all have our opinions. I'm just saddened by the fact that wherever people stood on Lambert as things started to go wrong during his tenure, that we all now seem to be in the same spot.
Oh and old hawkeye ended up being quite a nice fella offline. We exchanged one or two emails about family and such before he disappeared :)
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Ah, Hawkeye.
Jolly good chap on financial matters, if memory serves.
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Dear Mr Fox,
Please grow a pair and sack the manager sharpish.
Regards, Singapore Villa.
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Dear Mr. Another Yesman in the interest of Aston Villa Football Club and all those that support this great institution, please find us a Manager that is capable of motivation and has a basic awareness of tactics.
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What does the Fox say? Sorry I'll get my coat
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What's Fox's e-mail address, I don't do twitter but I am e-mailing the guy
.
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I saw someone post it VT. I think it was tom.fox@avfc.co.uk
Although, it may not actually be that.
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http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=10450
Aston Villa FC
Mr Tom Fox Chief Executive
Email tom.fox@avfc.co.uk
Telephone 0121 327 2299
Fax 0121 322 2107
Website http://www.avfc.co.uk
Social Media T
Postal Address B6 6HEM
See also Customer Services
Related lists UK Football Clubs
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Time for this man to earn his corn. Giving Gabby a four year deal last summer probably beats the Lambert extension in terms of in its ineptitude. To quote Martin O'Neill when he joined, we are a disaffected (again).
It's going to take a phenomenal personality to come in and lift us.
The following players need to be marched out of the club by the summer at the latest - Lowton, Bennett, Vlaar, Cleverley, Gabby, Weimann, Gardner, Herd, Nzogbia, Cole, Richardson, Bent, Baker or Senderos (can't have two injury prone reserve centre halves). Most on the way out anyway but if we have to pay a club to take Gabby on loan so be it. He sums up the last 4 or 5 seasons. If Benteke needs to be sold to fund a new side so be it. He is no leader anyway but his goal return isnt good enough to cover the one in five outstanding performance. Kozak isn't mobile enough to be his replacement either.
We need at least one competent attacking full back. A box to box centre midfielder capable of scoring goals. Wide players and a centre forward. More importantly we need strong personalities and characters to give us hope again.
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I saw someone post it VT. I think it was tom.fox@avfc.co.uk
Although, it may not actually be that.
Cheers!
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Off topic - but, I can't see anyone ever taking Gabby off our hands.
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Off topic - but, I can't see anyone ever taking Gabby off our hands.
He won't leave, why would he? He's on £50k a week and that is what's wrong with football
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Off topic - but, I can't see anyone ever taking Gabby off our hands.
He won't leave, why would he? He's on £50k a week and that is what's wrong with football
Pay half his wages and one of the promoted sides would surely be interested.
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I still believe that Gabby would be a much more useful player under a different manager.
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Blimey, what happened here then? Mr West needs some anger management sessions it appears.
No need for insults. We can all have our opinions. I'm just saddened by the fact that wherever people stood on Lambert as things started to go wrong during his tenure, that we all now seem to be in the same spot.
Oh and old hawkeye ended up being quite a nice fella offline. We exchanged one or two emails about family and such before he disappeared :)
Honestly TV I can't believe you have managed to agitate someone as balanced and fair as mark west so much that he has been banned. I am not going to post for the next 60 seconds as a gesture of protest at this unfairness to minorities. I mean what next.... Darren Woolley banned?
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Off topic - but, I can't see anyone ever taking Gabby off our hands.
He won't leave, why would he? He's on £50k a week and that is what's wrong with football
Pay half his wages and one of the promoted sides would surely be interested.
Why would we do that?
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I still believe that Gabby would be a much more useful player under a different manager.
I still believe that a lot of our players would be much more useful under a different manager.
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I still believe that Gabby would be a much more useful player under a different manager.
Same here.
Either play him out wide or get a winger to whip in crosses to him, but don't just leave him up front with his back to goal for crying out loud. It's ridiculous.
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I emailed Tom Fox at that address.. I think we need to do you something as we are more than just sleeping walking into relegation. Its like were in a coma.
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I emailed Tom Fox at that address.. I think we need to do you something as we are more than just sleeping walking into relegation. Its like were in a coma.
Probably go straight into his spam box
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I emailed Tom Fox at that address.. I think we need to do you something as we are more than just sleeping walking into relegation. Its like were in a coma.
You may as well have emailed Lerners cat. Didn't someone say on here that possibly one of the reasons for Faulkner leaving was because he wanted to give Lerner his cards? After our apalling end to last season, Lerner released a statement stating what a brilliant job he was doing under difficult circumstances.
Everybody slags off Mickey Quinn and the like but unfortunately the owner agrees wholeheartedly with them. That's the problem!
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If people are going to email fox, I do hope they have the sense to do it properly and not just send some long tirade peppered with a load of "shit", "mumbling twat" or the like. No easier way for correspondence to be completely ignored is if it's done in the style of the crazy man shouting on a street corner.
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I emailed Tom Fox at that address.. I think we need to do you something as we are more than just sleeping walking into relegation. Its like were in a coma.
You may as well have emailed Lerners cat. Didn't someone say on here that possibly one of the reasons for Faulkner leaving was because he wanted to give Lerner his cards? After our apalling end to last season, Lerner released a statement stating what a brilliant job he was doing under difficult circumstances.
Everybody slags off Mickey Quinn and the like but unfortunately the owner agrees wholeheartedly with them. That's the problem!
He's going to be getting a lot of spam
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I still believe that Gabby would be a much more useful player under a different manager.
I still believe that a lot of our players would be much more useful under a different manager.
...in the Championship.
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Off topic - but, I can't see anyone ever taking Gabby off our hands.
He won't leave, why would he? He's on £50k a week and that is what's wrong with football
Spot on - the Aston Villa gravy train ain't stopping for a good while yet for him .
Captain - Leader - Legend .
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If people are going to email fox, I do hope they have the sense to do it properly and not just send some long tirade peppered with a load of "shit", "mumbling twat" or the like. No easier way for correspondence to be completely ignored is if it's done in the style of the crazy man shouting on a street corner.
I think just remind him of the stats, the awful football and home form , that you and all your friends are now refusing to go to games or buy villa merchandise and remind him of the likely cost of relegation not just in PL prize money but loss of sponsors , corporate boxes etc
He's a money man so he should crap himself .
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I see there's an Open Letter to Mr Fox in the Evening Mail. I hope he finds the time to read it.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-fans-blog-open-8432280?ICID=FB-Birm-avfc
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Time for this man to earn his corn. Giving Gabby a four year deal last summer probably beats the Lambert extension in terms of in its ineptitude. To quote Martin O'Neill when he joined, we are a disaffected (again).
It's going to take a phenomenal personality to come in and lift us.
The following players need to be marched out of the club by the summer at the latest - Lowton, Bennett, Vlaar, Cleverley, Gabby, Weimann, Gardner, Herd, Nzogbia, Cole, Richardson, Bent, Baker or Senderos (can't have two injury prone reserve centre halves). Most on the way out anyway but if we have to pay a club to take Gabby on loan so be it. He sums up the last 4 or 5 seasons. If Benteke needs to be sold to fund a new side so be it. He is no leader anyway but his goal return isnt good enough to cover the one in five outstanding performance. Kozak isn't mobile enough to be his replacement either.
We need at least one competent attacking full back. A box to box centre midfielder capable of scoring goals. Wide players and a centre forward. More importantly we need strong personalities and characters to give us hope again.
blimey, I'd better bring me boots along next year, we're gonna be a bit short on players
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What exactly is Fox's raison d'être ?
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The following players need to be marched out of the club by the summer at the latest - Lowton, Bennett, Vlaar, Cleverley, Gabby, Weimann, Gardner, Herd, Nzogbia, Cole, Richardson, Bent, Baker or Senderos (can't have two injury prone reserve centre halves). Most on the way out anyway but if we have to pay a club to take Gabby on loan so be it. He sums up the last 4 or 5 seasons. If Benteke needs to be sold to fund a new side so be it. He is no leader anyway but his goal return isnt good enough to cover the one in five outstanding performance. Kozak isn't mobile enough to be his replacement either.
We need at least one competent attacking full back. A box to box centre midfielder capable of scoring goals. Wide players and a centre forward. More importantly we need strong personalities and characters to give us hope again.
How can either Tom Fox or ourselves judge whether the players are good enough when we have a manager that doesn't have a clue what to do with them?
I always believed our 'young and hungry' team were far better than they were instructed to be. Imagine, you're a young, talented footballer, having grown up learning the right way to play football and then you're told to start hoofing it. A missed opportunity and a waste of time and talent.
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Time for this man to earn his corn. Giving Gabby a four year deal last summer probably beats the Lambert extension in terms of in its ineptitude. To quote Martin O'Neill when he joined, we are a disaffected (again).
It's going to take a phenomenal personality to come in and lift us.
The following players need to be marched out of the club by the summer at the latest - Lowton, Bennett, Vlaar, Cleverley, Gabby, Weimann, Gardner, Herd, Nzogbia, Cole, Richardson, Bent, Baker or Senderos (can't have two injury prone reserve centre halves). Most on the way out anyway but if we have to pay a club to take Gabby on loan so be it. He sums up the last 4 or 5 seasons. If Benteke needs to be sold to fund a new side so be it. He is no leader anyway but his goal return isnt good enough to cover the one in five outstanding performance. Kozak isn't mobile enough to be his replacement either.
We need at least one competent attacking full back. A box to box centre midfielder capable of scoring goals. Wide players and a centre forward. More importantly we need strong personalities and characters to give us hope again.
blimey, I'd better bring me boots along next year, we're gonna be a bit short on players
To be fair , most of them hardly play and the rest are championship level or injury prone
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Time for this man to earn his corn. Giving Gabby a four year deal last summer probably beats the Lambert extension in terms of in its ineptitude. To quote Martin O'Neill when he joined, we are a disaffected (again).
It's going to take a phenomenal personality to come in and lift us.
The following players need to be marched out of the club by the summer at the latest - Lowton, Bennett, Vlaar, Cleverley, Gabby, Weimann, Gardner, Herd, Nzogbia, Cole, Richardson, Bent, Baker or Senderos (can't have two injury prone reserve centre halves). Most on the way out anyway but if we have to pay a club to take Gabby on loan so be it. He sums up the last 4 or 5 seasons. If Benteke needs to be sold to fund a new side so be it. He is no leader anyway but his goal return isnt good enough to cover the one in five outstanding performance. Kozak isn't mobile enough to be his replacement either.
We need at least one competent attacking full back. A box to box centre midfielder capable of scoring goals. Wide players and a centre forward. More importantly we need strong personalities and characters to give us hope again.
blimey, I'd better bring me boots along next year, we're gonna be a bit short on players
To be fair , most of them hardly play and the rest are championship level or injury prone
I must be worth at least a place on the bench
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I see there's an Open Letter to Mr Fox in the Evening Mail. I hope he finds the time to read it.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-fans-blog-open-8432280?ICID=FB-Birm-avfc
Open letter = "Look at me, look at me, look at me,"
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I see there's an Open Letter to Mr Fox in the Evening Mail. I hope he finds the time to read it.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-fans-blog-open-8432280?ICID=FB-Birm-avfc
Open letter = "Look at me, look at me, look at me,"
I don't know the story behind the letter, Dave, I assumed he blogs for the Mail. Full credit to him for writing it and the Mail for publishing it. As I said, I really hope Tom Fox reads it and reports back to Randy. I don't believe Fox is the type to bury his head in the sand. Randy? That's a different matter. He was ruthless at one point with the Browns, I just hope he has the balls to do it again, this time at Villa Park. My guess is he's hoping to delay until the summer. My hope is that it's not too late.
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Time for this man to earn his corn. Giving Gabby a four year deal last summer probably beats the Lambert extension in terms of in its ineptitude. To quote Martin O'Neill when he joined, we are a disaffected (again).
It's going to take a phenomenal personality to come in and lift us.
The following players need to be marched out of the club by the summer at the latest - Lowton, Bennett, Vlaar, Cleverley, Gabby, Weimann, Gardner, Herd, Nzogbia, Cole, Richardson, Bent, Baker or Senderos (can't have two injury prone reserve centre halves). Most on the way out anyway but if we have to pay a club to take Gabby on loan so be it. He sums up the last 4 or 5 seasons. If Benteke needs to be sold to fund a new side so be it. He is no leader anyway but his goal return isnt good enough to cover the one in five outstanding performance. Kozak isn't mobile enough to be his replacement either.
We need at least one competent attacking full back. A box to box centre midfielder capable of scoring goals. Wide players and a centre forward. More importantly we need strong personalities and characters to give us hope again.
blimey, I'd better bring me boots along next year, we're gonna be a bit short on players
To be fair , most of them hardly play and the rest are championship level or injury prone
I must be worth at least a place on the bench
Expect you at bodymoor tomorrow at ten
Please bring your fifa15 on ps4
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Time this bloke stepped up and shows us he's got the minerals. If Lerner can't be arsed then this bloke needs to lead by example.
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Fox you know what to do first thing Monday morning. In fact don't wait for Monday morning invite him over for Sunday lunch and give him a gift bag with his personal office content in it.
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Just pinched this from facebook...
Well done to AVST (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) for getting Tom Fox to AGM on 19th Feb for Q&A. If you are not a member please consider joining
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Just pinched this from facebook...
Well done to AVST (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) for getting Tom Fox to AGM on 19th Feb for Q&A. If you are not a member please consider joining
19th Feb. I hope the meeting turns out to be a very dull affair.
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Just pinched this from facebook...
Well done to AVST (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) for getting Tom Fox to AGM on 19th Feb for Q&A. If you are not a member please consider joining
This could be quite an interesting Q&A. I might sign up and register for the AGM.
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Everyone who goes should remember that Tom Fox is not the manager, it's not his remit to talk about, let alone criticise, the manager or players and constantly asking when Lambert's going to get sacked will only ensure that he doesn't attend next year.
And also, please, if anything's said that's off the record (which I don't think will be this time) let's have none of that "I DEMAND to know what went on!!!" stuff.
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Everyone who goes should remember that Tom Fox is not the manager, it's not his remit to talk about, let alone criticise, the manager or players and constantly asking when Lambert's going to get sacked will only ensure that he doesn't attend next year.
And also, please, if anything's said that's off the record (which I don't think will be this time) let's have none of that "I DEMAND to know what went on!!!" stuff.
Yes, everyone who goes. Tuck your shirts in and speak when you are spoken to. Tom Fox is not the manager so be nice to him, don't say stuff that he might not like in case he doesn't come back next year to answer nice and easy questions again.
Or, on the other hand, see it as your one chance to effect change. Go along with your heart on your sleeve and vociferously make your concerns clear. Perhaps its more important that he leaves with a flea in his ear than he is given the opportunity to answer questions on the future of the Villa restaurant going forward or to state what a wonderful club Aston Villa is, that he knows there is a mammoth task ahead of him but he is delighted to be here.
He has been involved in football long enough to understand the passion. No need to be protective of the new boy's feelings.
A bit less rational understanding and a bit more
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That's exactly what I mean.
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Just pinched this from facebook...
Well done to AVST (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) for getting Tom Fox to AGM on 19th Feb for Q&A. If you are not a member please consider joining
FFs I'm on holiday
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That's exactly what I mean.
Surely he can be asked his opinion, especially in terms of the management structure, whether a Director of Football would be a model that could be of use, why there is no assistant manager in place months after the last one leaving and whether from the point of view of the board they realise that the standard of football at Villa park is turning people off going.
Also, how long he thinks a situation where the fans are openly not backing the manager would be healthy for the club. And if we stay up whether there will be more of the new TV money available to strengthen the squad to avoid this next season.
I don't think that would be unreasonable to ask considering his role at the club would it?
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Hopefully the questions will be about what inspired him to bring such as brilliant replacement for Lambert and to what extent Randy will be supporting him in the summer.
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Everyone who goes should remember that Tom Fox is not the manager, it's not his remit to talk about, let alone criticise, the manager or players and constantly asking when Lambert's going to get sacked will only ensure that he doesn't attend next year.
Surely, though, with the team doing so abysmally, that is pretty much unavoidable.
Asking why Weimann keeps getting played out of position, or why Cleverley keeps getting picked, I can understand why there wouldn't be answers to that, but surely, questions about how they see the way things are going are both inevitable, and the obvious questions to ask him?
I can't see how Lambert could possibly not get raised as a subject. Otherwise, what is he attending for?
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Everyone who goes should remember that Tom Fox is not the manager, it's not his remit to talk about, let alone criticise, the manager or players and constantly asking when Lambert's going to get sacked will only ensure that he doesn't attend next year.
Surely, though, with the team doing so abysmally, that is pretty much unavoidable.
Asking why Weimann keeps getting played out of position, or why Cleverley keeps getting picked, I can understand why there wouldn't be answers to that, but surely, questions about how they see the way things are going are both inevitable, and the obvious questions to ask him?
I can't see how Lambert could possibly not get raised as a subject. Otherwise, what is he attending for?
I have always assumed that there is a demarcation between the commercial (Fox) and the playing side (Lambert) with both reporting directly to Lerner. I am sure in private he will have an input on wider issues but it is naive and unreasonable to expect him to divulge it at this type of event and have it plastered all over Twitter within minutes.
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The questions can be asked in a round about way so as not to cross the demarcation line.
For instance, Instead of "Sack Lambert" ask: "what systems are in place to appoint a new manager in the event of the existing one departing."
"There's no fucking width in the team it's all too narrow." ask: "It may just be me but don't you think the pitch flanks have a much richer green look than the middle area, why do you think that is?"
"Lambert describes us as excellent after every game which is an insult and embarrassing"
Ask: "Do you think it is important that a manager of the club has a basic understanding of English vocabulary?"
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"Don't you agree that Lambert doesn't know his arse from his elbow?"
Ask: "In the recruitment of senior management relating to the club's core business, is it important the candidate has an understanding of basic human physiology?"
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The questions can be asked in a round about way so as not to cross the demarcation line.
For instance, Instead of "Sack Lambert" ask: "what systems are in place to appoint a new manager in the event of the existing one departing."
"There's no fucking width in the team it's all too narrow." ask: "It may just be me but don't you think the pitch flanks have a much richer green look than the middle area, why do you think that is?"
"Lambert describes us as excellent after every game which is an insult and embarrassing"
Ask: "Do you think it is important that a manager of the club has a basic understanding of English vocabulary?"
Brilliant! Ask away...
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I would ask
As the sponsorship deals with Macron and Dafabet are up for review how are we looking at increasing out income via sponsorship when the product on the pitch is performing so poorly.
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I would ask
As the sponsorship deals with Macron and Dafabet are up for review how are we looking at increasing out income via sponsorship when the product on the pitch is performing so poorly.
that's a good question. Surely Fox's hand is weakened if the team is playing poorly. If the CEO's job is to increase revenue then right now he is going into battle one hand tied behind his back.
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Everyone who goes should remember that Tom Fox is not the manager, it's not his remit to talk about, let alone criticise, the manager or players and constantly asking when Lambert's going to get sacked will only ensure that he doesn't attend next year.
Surely, though, with the team doing so abysmally, that is pretty much unavoidable.
Asking why Weimann keeps getting played out of position, or why Cleverley keeps getting picked, I can understand why there wouldn't be answers to that, but surely, questions about how they see the way things are going are both inevitable, and the obvious questions to ask him?
I can't see how Lambert could possibly not get raised as a subject. Otherwise, what is he attending for?
I have always assumed that there is a demarcation between the commercial (Fox) and the playing side (Lambert) with both reporting directly to Lerner. I am sure in private he will have an input on wider issues but it is naive and unreasonable to expect him to divulge it at this type of event and have it plastered all over Twitter within minutes.
i wouldn't expect him to divulge anything newsworthy at this sort of thing - who would? - but I'd imagine he'd at least need to listen to people talking about the manager and hear them out.
The thing most people on here seem concerned with is the direction the club is heading in - which looks increasingly like the wrong direction. Any discussion of that is bound to touch on playing results, it has to.
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It will be practically impossible to have anything approaching a reasoned debate on the club with the CEO without it crossing into affairs on the pitch. Let's face it, if things were going well many of the things off the pitch would be far healthier anyway in a way largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things to most fans. But most fans are smart enough to realize that things being as poorly as they are on the pitch has a negative impact off it, so people are naturally going to focus in on the middle bit of the Venn diagram
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this tells me more than anything that barring a collapse at the bottom of the table Lambert is as safe as houses. They are changing the entire behind the scenes structure down there and he'll be supported in the market this month to get this thing turned around with an eye to approaching the football side of the business very differently in 2015/2016 onwards. The worrying thing being Lambert being left to the football side and without the right staff things don't promise to get better. At least that's how it might appear on the surface.
Aston Villa are searching for a director of football to help manager Paul Lambert
Jan 20, 2015 17:30 By Gregg Evans
Ideally chief executive Tom Fox is aiming to fill the position by the summer to ensure the new man is settled in for the start of next season
Aston Villa are searching for a director of football operations as they continue to revamp the support networks around boss Paul Lambert.
Chief executive Tom Fox has created the role as part of his on-going plan to improve the major departments that surround the manager at Villa Park.
The club are also closing in on the appointments of a chief commercial officer and a new head of media while a massive overhaul of the academy and the scouting system is already underway.
Ideally Villa are aiming to fill the position by the summer to ensure the new man is settled in for the start of next season.
Can you spot yourself in the Villa Park crowd against Liverpool
Lambert is expected to play a part in the eventual appointment and is likely to help identify some of the roles that he will undertake.
That the club are involving him in such talks suggest that both Fox and owner Randy Lerner are still fully behind him despite Villa’s chronic lack of goals and their slide down the Premier League table.
At Bodymoor Heath business is as usual ahead of the fourth round FA Cup clash with Bournemouth on Sunday but there is a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes.
The decision to create the director of football operations position is part of Fox’s long-term vision to help the club prosper.
He told the Birmingham Mail last month that he predicts success in three-to-five years time and in the five months he has been at the club there has been plenty of change.
His plan to hire slick, experienced, professionals who have a history of getting results is slowly starting to take shape and in time the results should show.
Having enjoyed a productive period at Arsenal, the savvy American has started to implement some of the success stories that he witnessed in north London.
The chief commercial officer role was the post he held at the Emirates Stadium and Villa should have that position filled in a matter of months.
Yoann Copreaux, the new head of business strategy, was brought in late last year and is said to have made an impressive start to his time in the Midlands.
The changes in the academy also bode well for the future.
Unlike at other clubs the director of football role will not be heavily centred around identifying and purchasing players.
Villa feel that with new director of recruitment Paddy Reilly already doing a decent job at Bodymoor Heath there is little need to add another commanding head to that section.
Instead, Fox is thought to want someone who can look critically at areas such as sports medicine, data analysis and athletic performance to ensure the claret and blues are reaching their maximum potential.
While the exact duties are not yet clear, it’s thought that a new arrival would not come in and under-cut any football responsibilities that the manager is in charge of.
That would mean no interfering with the squad, team selection and game-based issues.
Villa may be struggling on the pitch but they are certainly hiring good people to take care of the backroom matters.
At present the need for an assistant manager is not thought to be a serious concern
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A football man in the boardroom may be a big positive, something we've all been crying out for. As for Lambert, he like every manager will be judged on his results. The way I see it, the structure is being built but the people may change, just like in any business. Hopefully we find a visionary rather than a dinosaur. It's bad enough having one in the dug out.
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this tells me more than anything that barring a collapse at the bottom of the table Lambert is as safe as houses. They are changing the entire behind the scenes structure down there and he'll be supported in the market this month to get this thing turned around with an eye to approaching the football side of the business very differently in 2015/2016 onwards. The worrying thing being Lambert being left to the football side and without the right staff things don't promise to get better. At least that's how it might appear on the surface.
Aston Villa are searching for a director of football to help manager Paul Lambert
Jan 20, 2015 17:30 By Gregg Evans
Ideally chief executive Tom Fox is aiming ...
At present the need for an assistant manager is not thought to be a serious concern
The single most crucial aspect is the improvement of coaching for the team ... Fox may be fiddling while Rome burns.
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A Director of Football is fine.
But the whole thing falls apart if the fans (and the players) don't have a manager they can believe in.
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A Director of Football is fine.
But the whole thing falls apart if the fans (and the players) don't have a manager they can believe in.
Totally agree KG.
And interesting that someone told me about the DoF idea at VP and I posted it on here several weeks ago...
...have I discovered an ITK?
!!!???
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Instead, Fox is thought to want someone who can look critically at areas such as sports medicine, data analysis and athletic performance to ensure the claret and blues are reaching their maximum potential.
We can't even score a goal, here's a clue Tom, it's nothing to do with supplements or data, he wears a grey jumper and sits writing poems or something in the dug out every weekend.
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Summer? Summer!? I find the lack of panic at the club very disturbing. We are not safe, we are plummeting. Spend NOW, make changes to coaching or whatever NOW. This is not the time for making plans for next season, its the time for doing something to insure we stay in the league.
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A director of football to help Lambert is pointless.
It means Lambert does the coaching (which is the bit he's rubbish at) and someone else does the recruitment (which is the bit he's good at).
Basically, the worst of both worlds.
Then there's the entire fact that Lambert seems to be steering us yet again to the arse end of the table, and it is all too late.
It really would be like sticking a new roof on a burning house.
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Even worse, its starting to pick out the tile for the roof of the burning house in January, with construction to begin in "summer".
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A director of football to help Lambert is pointless.
It means Lambert does the coaching (which is the bit he's rubbish at) and someone else does the recruitment (which is the bit he's good at).
Basically, the worst of both worlds.
Then there's the entire fact that Lambert seems to be steering us yet again to the arse end of the table, and it is all too late.
It really would be like sticking a new roof on a burning house.
DoF tend to hang around for longer than managers, especially in a role like described, so I'd imagine that it would be pretty painless to get rid of Lambert. Once gone, we'd have a bit more football know-how within the club to find a replacement which must be a positive. It's possibly not the priority but it's a change and that is better than nothing.
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Most of us on the forums have mentioned the words Director of Football and Gerald Houllier in the same sentence. For obvious reasons that will never happen. Americans love job titles and no doubt a few more jobs will materialise in the next year or so.
Basically unless you get the manager..oops..team leader right you are going to fail anyhow.
Mr Lambert is not acceptable.
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If we did hire a DOF it would just be another attempt to excuse Lambert's consistent failure. It really is staggering that the obvious thing hasn't been addressed. Lambert simply isn't capable of doing the job. Now Lerner is putting some pretty dreadful restraints on the manager's role, but even taking that into consideration Lambert is doing appallingly.
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So Fox says that Lambert will be part of the selection process?
What remit will this DOF have...report to Lambert? Since when does a Director report to a Manager??
It seems pretty obvious they have no intentions of sacking Lambert, no matter what happens.
Absolute joke. The lot of them.
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What an unholy shambles. I think a concerned glance at the league table would be be more urgent that flight of fancy type plans in the summer.
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So Fox says that Lambert will be part of the selection process?
What remit will this DOF have...report to Lambert? Since when does a Director report to a Manager??
It seems pretty obvious they have no intentions of sacking Lambert, no matter what happens.
Absolute joke. The lot of them.
Could hardly believe that when I read it.
So the DoF will be dancing to Lambert's tune!
WTF?
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Not impressed by Fox if he thinks a DOF will fix us. He should appoint Lambert as DOF and get in a decent coach.
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Surely it would be a valid question to ask Fox about the decision making process on the position of manager. is it solely down to Lerner, is it board recommended, or does Fox have any input?
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Lambert would be better in the DOF role. Let him sign the players and a proper manager coach them.
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Not impressed by Fox if he thinks a DOF will fix us. He should appoint Lambert as DOF and get in a decent coach.
Lambert would be better in the DOF role. Let him sign the players and a proper manager coach them.
If the DoF has input into HOW we play the game and who plays it, appointing Lambert to such a role would be a disaster based on his performance with us so far.
I just want him gone.
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Anyone done the deckchairs Titanic rearrange analogy yet?
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If the DoF has input into HOW we play the game and who plays it, appointing Lambert to such a role would be a disaster based on his performance with us so far.
I just want him gone.
My thinking was DOF=Glorified Scout just to get him out of the way?
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Anyone done the deckchairs Titanic rearrange analogy yet?
Appointing DOF is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Is that ok?
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If we stay up (big if) then I think this is a pretty good move in the medium to long term. It'll finally put a football man on the board and should hopefully provide a bit of continuity when we change managers.
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Most of us on the forums have mentioned the words Director of Football and Gerald Houllier in the same sentence. For obvious reasons that will never happen.
He's also being paid several dumper-trucks of money by Red Bull to oversee all of their various clubs and academies around the world.
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Most of us on the forums have mentioned the words Director of Football and Gerald Houllier in the same sentence. For obvious reasons that will never happen.
He's also being paid several dumper-trucks of money by Red Bull to oversee all of their various clubs and academies around the world.
Red Bull takeover it is in the Summer, then! Better tell TBAR - if it still exists.
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One thing's for certain - they LOVE Paul Lambert. Unless he goes, he's here for as long as he wants. Let that sink in.
It's almost as if they're not bothered about the primary purpose of a football club.
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E-mailed him last week no reply.I was polite and offered my observations on Lambert.The people in charge of our club remind me of our directors at work who were shocked to find the results of a confidential survey showed them to be out of touch with the workforce and had no respect from us.
We just want to feel they have some connection with the fans and sort out the dire product we are having to swalllow.What on earth can we do to get that across to them?
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Lunatics. Asylum.
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Anyone done the deckchairs Titanic rearrange analogy yet?
Appointing DOF is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Is that ok?
Spot on. The Recluses running AVFC think it needs a new organogram. Fanbase insist decent boss + goal oriented staff more crucial. Just like the day job?!
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This Fox is an absolute joke. He knows nothing about the game. We need to be making sure we're safe from plummeting out of the division, not sitting around waiting for the summer.
At least we've completed the set. Incompetent owner, incompetent manager and incompetent chief executive.
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I'm going to
protest demonstrate against Foxy and the Villa by boycotting the AGM. That will teach 'em.
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E-mailed him last week no reply.I was polite and offered my observations on Lambert.The people in charge of our club remind me of our directors at work who were shocked to find the results of a confidential survey showed them to be out of touch with the workforce and had no respect from us.
We just want to feel they have some connection with the fans and sort out the dire product we are having to swalllow.What on earth can we do to get that across to them?
Go to the AVISA's AGM in February and ask him face to face if he's aware that the support has no faith in the manager, no matter what structure he's part of because he cannot do his primary job properly.
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We will have this superdooper infrastructure. Can't wait. Pity they'll be plying their trade in the championship. Wake up Fox!!!!
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Most of us on the forums have mentioned the words Director of Football and Gerald Houllier in the same sentence. For obvious reasons that will never happen.
He's also being paid several dumper-trucks of money by Red Bull to oversee all of their various clubs and academies around the world.
I hope that never happens. Houllier was terrible in the transfer market.
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A director of football to help Lambert is pointless.
It means Lambert does the coaching (which is the bit he's rubbish at) and someone else does the recruitment (which is the bit he's good at).
Basically, the worst of both worlds.
Then there's the entire fact that Lambert seems to be steering us yet again to the arse end of the table, and it is all too late.
It really would be like sticking a new roof on a burning house.
DoF tend to hang around for longer than managers, especially in a role like described, so I'd imagine that it would be pretty painless to get rid of Lambert. Once gone, we'd have a bit more football know-how within the club to find a replacement which must be a positive. It's possibly not the priority but it's a change and that is better than nothing.
Absolutely. I think too many people are looking short term to what a DoF can bring to the club.
Lambert will have a say? Make no mistake, his say won't be final, it's just a diplomatic way of introducing the new role.
Lambert is great at recruitment? Think about it, do you honestly think he's there traveling the globe every week looking at players. No, he has a team that do it and they'll still be there.
For me, this is the answer to one of the questions that I would like to have put to Fox at the Trust meeting; "Are you aware that our problems started when it was realised we had no contingency plan to replace the manager?"
Everything to date Fox has done and said has been intelligent, diplomatic and strategic. I certainly don't see him as Randy's 'yes' man.
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If the DoF has input into HOW we play the game and who plays it, appointing Lambert to such a role would be a disaster based on his performance with us so far.
I just want him gone.
My thinking was DOF=Glorified Scout just to get him out of the way?
Understand perfectly olaf.
Can't we just promote him to the "person i/c bungee jumping without the bungees just follow what I do" role that I know some of my son's friends are very keen to see?
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The two lines that stand out for me in the Gregg Evans article are the following:
Lambert is expected to play a part in the eventual appointment and is likely to help identify some of the roles that he will undertake.
Instead, Fox is thought to want someone who can look critically at areas such as sports medicine, data analysis and athletic performance to ensure the claret and blues are reaching their maximum potential.
Which, taken together, make me think that Lambert has been asked in which areas he feels he needs a hand as he likely doesn't have the required expertise, and that he has identified sports medicine, data analysis and athletic performance as specialist areas, which he would happily place outside of his remit.
If the person they are looking to appoint will deal with those areas alone, the only correlation with the role of a traditional DoF - 'Director of Football', not 'Degree of Freedom' - will likely be the board-level positioning. It looks more like a Head of Sports Science to me.
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Point of order, Tom Fox will be appearing at the AGM of the Aston Villa Supporters Trust, not AVISA.
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The two lines that stand out for me in the Gregg Evans article are the following:
Lambert is expected to play a part in the eventual appointment and is likely to help identify some of the roles that he will undertake.
Instead, Fox is thought to want someone who can look critically at areas such as sports medicine, data analysis and athletic performance to ensure the claret and blues are reaching their maximum potential.
Which, taken together, make me think that Lambert has been asked in which areas he feels he needs a hand as he likely doesn't have the required expertise, and that he has identified sports medicine, data analysis and athletic performance as specialist areas, which he would happily place outside of his remit.
If the person they are looking to appoint will deal with those areas alone, the only correlation with the role of a traditional DoF - 'Director of Football', not 'Degree of Freedom' - will likely be the board-level positioning. It looks more like a Head of Sports Science to me.
I thought that too but it's always a sensitive issue to bring in a DoF in England. It's obvious Villa won't say he's coming in to advise Lambert on the basics. I guess only when the appointment is made will we know more about what the new man is capable of covering but right now I see it as a positive move.
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I assume this is the 'Tom Fox' thread.
Think this sums it up perfectly:
(http://i64.tinypic.com/hvqmoi.jpg)
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I wish it had resembled Moneyball. With the "gambling on players" being a massive success and us winning the league.
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That's a pretty damning assessment, isn't it?
An ex-commercial director as CEO. I know everyone has to start somewhere but the club is seeming to reek of inexperience from top to bottom.
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Disgrace if this is true.
Take a look at @GaryJDSmith's Tweet: https://twitter.com/GaryJDSmith/status/698903834492592128?s=09
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It should be interesting to see what the new chairman does about this shambles at the end of the season. Nothing isn't an option.
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This seems to be flying under the radar because of Lescott. It'll really shouldn't if true.
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If true how fucking dare Fox do that. I hate him and his fucking imbecile mates. He sums us up, clueless, arrogant, out of touch fucktards.
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
Can we please stop this reference to nationality. It's not big, clever and it is tiresome.
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
yes,yes and yes again,hes here for his own good,nothing else
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
yes,yes and yes again,hes here for his own good,nothing else
Of course he's here for his own good. Why does anyone go to work?
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
yes,yes and yes again,hes here for his own good,nothing else
Of course he's here for his own good. Why does anyone go to work?
Of course its for his own benefit, but conversely if I fucked up on the same scale with the regularity of Mr Fox, security would be booting my sorry arse out the gates...
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
yes,yes and yes again,hes here for his own good,nothing else
Of course he's here for his own good. Why does anyone go to work?
Job satisfaction and pride in what you are achieving. He is doing well, isn't he? Chancer of the highest order.
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Hopefully he'll be a huge part of the blood letting the next 6 months. Fucking pillock doesn't deserve a penny more from this club.
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I can't wait to see tonight's article!
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I bet my bollocks that isn't a true story.
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
yes,yes and yes again,hes here for his own good,nothing else
Of course he's here for his own good. Why does anyone go to work?
Job satisfaction and pride in what you are achieving. He is doing well, isn't he? Chancer of the highest order.
Whether or not he's doing a good job - and the case for the prosecution is overwhelming in that regard - he's still there for his own good, just like you, me and everyone else who works for a living.
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I wouldn't employ him to make a cup of tea the smarmy knob.
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What is he supposed to have done?
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What is he supposed to have done?
Punched a cute kitten.
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What is he supposed to have done?
Run a football club...I don't think he is doing very well.
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If that did happen i'd bet anything that a lot more was said/done than is being claimed in that tweet.
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He's a total utter failure isn't he?
yes,yes and yes again,hes here for his own good,nothing else
Of course he's here for his own good. Why does anyone go to work?
Job satisfaction and pride in what you are achieving. He is doing well, isn't he? Chancer of the highest order.
Whether or not he's doing a good job - and the case for the prosecution is overwhelming in that regard - he's still there for his own good, just like you, me and everyone else who works for a living.
I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
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If that did happen i'd bet anything that a lot more was said/done than is being claimed in that tweet.
We have a winner!
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If that did happen i'd bet anything that a lot more was said/done than is being claimed in that tweet.
We have a winner!
Why?
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I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
When you say up to no good, do you mean he's doing no good, or something more insidious?
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
Can we please stop this reference to nationality. It's not big, clever and it is tiresome.
With all due respect Dave, I work for a global USA firm and heir burying of heads in the sand is a common trait. They need to "man up" as the General would have said and face up to their responsibilities instead of letting the manager take the flak. Where is Reilly or Almstadt explaining wtf they are earning a salary for?
I will be disappointed if at the end of the season Lerner does not issue an apology for the long list of mistakes and bad records his reign has presided over.
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
Can we please stop this reference to nationality. It's not big, clever and it is tiresome.
With all due respect Dave, I work for a global USA firm and heir burying of heads in the sand is a common trait. They need to "man up" as the General would have said and face up to their responsibilities instead of letting the manager take the flak. Where is Reilly or Almstadt explaining wtf they are earning a salary for?
I will be disappointed if at the end of the season Lerner does not issue an apology for the long list of mistakes and bad records his reign has presided over.
That's as maybe, but I would prefer it if casual xenophobia/racism and stereotyping didn't happen on here. There are enough reasons to criticise the board without their nationality being included.
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If that did happen i'd bet anything that a lot more was said/done than is being claimed in that tweet.
We have a winner!
Why?
Correct answer.
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I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
When you say up to no good, do you mean he's doing no good, or something more insidious?
He is not here for me,you,or AVFC, hes here for his own gain and nothing else. I could get insidious but I have seen what happens elsewhere so I better keep my theories to myself. Blackpool and all that!
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The way they've let Garde hang out to dry and take the questions over the January window is the main reason why I now think he'll walk at seasons end......and I wouldn't blame him at all.
They've been cowards since day one, incompetence is one thing but this is another.
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I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
When you say up to no good, do you mean he's doing no good, or something more insidious?
He is not here for me,you,or AVFC, hes here for his own gain and nothing else. I could get insidious but I have seen what happens elsewhere so I better keep my theories to myself. Blackpool and all that!
Of course he's here for his own gain. It's work.
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
Can we please stop this reference to nationality. It's not big, clever and it is tiresome.
With all due respect Dave, I work for a global USA firm and heir burying of heads in the sand is a common trait. They need to "man up" as the General would have said and face up to their responsibilities instead of letting the manager take the flak. Where is Reilly or Almstadt explaining wtf they are earning a salary for?
I will be disappointed if at the end of the season Lerner does not issue an apology for the long list of mistakes and bad records his reign has presided over.
I've worked for Americans and their single worst trait in business is the unending need to save face. Nothing is their fault. Ever.
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I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
When you say up to no good, do you mean he's doing no good, or something more insidious?
He is not here for me,you,or AVFC, hes here for his own gain and nothing else. I could get insidious but I have seen what happens elsewhere so I better keep my theories to myself. Blackpool and all that!
Of course he's here for his own gain. It's work.
But at whos expense? Aston Villa as a whole or just me,you and thousands of others?
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Well done Tom. 18 months into your job and look what you have nearly achieved.
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I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
When you say up to no good, do you mean he's doing no good, or something more insidious?
He is not here for me,you,or AVFC, hes here for his own gain and nothing else. I could get insidious but I have seen what happens elsewhere so I better keep my theories to myself. Blackpool and all that!
Of course he's here for his own gain. It's work.
But at whos expense? Aston Villa as a whole or just me,you and thousands of others?
I don't understand what you're driving at here. He goes to work, he gets paid.
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It is true what happened to the girl today. All she said was football without fans is nothing Tom and pointed at the liverpool banner. When the stewards told her the season ticket was being taken off of her they said the decision was made by "the most senior man at the club". Her 81 year old dad witnessed her being man handled out of the ground as she was absolutely distraught and was crying in the concourse.
There was no swearing, no personal abuse.
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It is true what happened to the girl today. All she said was football without fans is nothing Tom and pointed at the liverpool banner. When the stewards told her the season ticket was being taken off of her they said the decision was made by "the most senior man at the club". Her 81 year old dad witnessed her being man handled out of the ground as she was absolutely distraught and was crying in the concourse.
There was no swearing, no personal abuse.
Did you see it, or is that what you were told?
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
Thanks for that.
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I think he is up to no good in the position he has been afforded,read into that what you will.
When you say up to no good, do you mean he's doing no good, or something more insidious?
He is not here for me,you,or AVFC, hes here for his own gain and nothing else. I could get insidious but I have seen what happens elsewhere so I better keep my theories to myself. Blackpool and all that!
Of course he's here for his own gain. It's work.
But at whos expense? Aston Villa as a whole or just me,you and thousands of others?
I don't understand what you're driving at here. He goes to work, he gets paid.
If you were completely inept at what you were paid to do, would you walk?
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If you were completely inept at what you were paid to do, would you walk?
No. Would you if you were on the sort of money he's on and you thought you were doing a good job?
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That last sentence is scary.
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
Good luck with that next season.
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Well done Tom. 18 months into your job and look what you have nearly achieved.
Something special.
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
Was it Randy Lerner or General BooYaa by any chance?
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
Good luck with that next season.
Targets get reset, limitations are taken into account, I bet he's still here and doing a great job for Team Lerner.
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If you were completely inept at what you were paid to do, would you walk?
No. Would you if you were on the sort of money he's on and you thought you were doing a good job?
I don't know what he is earning, six figures I imagine, but pride is a very powerful emotion(and a sin) and I don't think I could live with being useless at what I do, when it is so important to so many people, duty of care and all that!Aston Villa is a very important part of a lot of our lives
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I'm sorry but what has allegedly happened here??
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If you were completely inept at what you were paid to do, would you walk?
No. Would you if you were on the sort of money he's on and you thought you were doing a good job?
I don't know what he is earning, six figures I imagine, but pride is a very powerful emotion(and a sin) and I don't think I could live with being useless at what I do, when it is so important to so many people, duty of care and all that!Aston Villa is a very important part of a lot of our lives
Close to (if not actually on) seven figures. Would you still resign?
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
Thanks for that.
They are not all like Trump - quite a few are - but most are very nice people.
Sadly too many of them think it is a good idea for everybody to have a gun if they want one. Sadly this lack of civilsation is responsible for a lot of mistakes - and it creates people like Lerner who does not know when he is not wanted any more.
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
Good luck with that next season.
Targets get reset, limitations are taken into account, I bet he's still here and doing a great job for Team Lerner.
I doubt even Lerner would see us exiting the most lucrative league in the world as a success.
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
Thanks for that.
They are not all like Trump - quite a few are - but most are very nice people.
Sadly too many of them think it is a good idea for everybody to have a gun if they want one. Sadly this lack of civilsation is responsible for a lot of mistakes - and it creates people like Lerner who does not know when he is not wanted any more.
Can you imagine if everyone today at VP had a gun. It would've been at least 7.
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
Is that a Partridge quote, or accidental? I can't help reading it in the great man's voice.
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If you were completely inept at what you were paid to do, would you walk?
No. Would you if you were on the sort of money he's on and you thought you were doing a good job?
I don't know what he is earning, six figures I imagine, but pride is a very powerful emotion(and a sin) and I don't think I could live with being useless at what I do, when it is so important to so many people, duty of care and all that!Aston Villa is a very important part of a lot of our lives
Close to (if not actually on) seven figures. Would you still resign?
Never in a million years! And I would hope Randy wont suss me till it was too late!
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
Err apart from the massive drop in income next season.
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I met an American once and had a conversation with him. He was an absolute twat!
Is that a Partridge quote, or accidental? I can't help reading it in the great man's voice.
ha haaaaa
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It was in 1986 that I met the American but I still clearly
remember that he was an absolute twat!
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The anti-American stuff on a few threads is pathetic.
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I just hope he's got the length of next year's away shorts right otherwise that bastard will need two minders and an alsation at home games.
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The anti-American stuff on a few threads is pathetic.
Yeah I could do without it as well.
I know everyone is hurting and Lerner is from the USA but I ask fellow fans to not insult my family's country if you dont mind.
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Unless the woman did something pretty bad (as in dangerous) then Fox should pulled over the coals for this.
I would think in the circumstances even if he was treated to a stream of abuse he should use better judgement and just walk away from it. If the story is true, taking her season ticket away is an absolute disgrace.
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
Can we please stop this reference to nationality. It's not big, clever and it is tiresome.
With all due respect Dave, I work for a global USA firm and heir burying of heads in the sand is a common trait. They need to "man up" as the General would have said and face up to their responsibilities instead of letting the manager take the flak. Where is Reilly or Almstadt explaining wtf they are earning a salary for?
I will be disappointed if at the end of the season Lerner does not issue an apology for the long list of mistakes and bad records his reign has presided over.
I've worked for Americans and their single worst trait in business is the unending need to save face. Nothing is their fault. Ever.
I've worked for 3 American corporations and the biggest serious criticism I can level is the relentless need for positivity, even when serious problems emerge. There seems to be a culture of shooting or shouting down the messenger who brings bad news.
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Apparently he has a minder at games now. I'd double it up for next time if I was you Tom.
Face the fans or are you yet another cowardly Yank?
Can we please stop this reference to nationality. It's not big, clever and it is tiresome.
With all due respect Dave, I work for a global USA firm and heir burying of heads in the sand is a common trait. They need to "man up" as the General would have said and face up to their responsibilities instead of letting the manager take the flak. Where is Reilly or Almstadt explaining wtf they are earning a salary for?
I will be disappointed if at the end of the season Lerner does not issue an apology for the long list of mistakes and bad records his reign has presided over.
I've worked for Americans and their single worst trait in business is the unending need to save face. Nothing is their fault. Ever.
I've worked for 3 American corporations and the biggest serious criticism I can level is the relentless need for positivity, even when serious problems emerge. There seems to be a culture of shooting or shouting down the messenger who brings bad news.
Some interesting comments, I live here and would note.
Not taking responsibility and not admitting mistakes is as much part of the culture in the UK as it is here, I would add that the truth is less important in the US than the UK, Americans do not like conflict so will usually find the path of least resistance, again the truth is often a casualty of this trait. To suggest that Tom Fox is a twat just because he is American is ridiculous. There are some very smart and clever people over here, sadly we do not have them at Villa Park.
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Tom Fox is a twat because Tom Fox is a twat. It's not being American that makes him a smarmy, corporate, cliché riddled goon. He just is. His role should never have enveloped anything to do with the playing side because the man knows as much about it as my missus. In fact she'd do a better job because she wouldn't be another yes man, telling the little boy Lerner what he wanted to hear.
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I've lost track of all the comings and goings behind the scenes and who's who in terms of coaches, scouts, CEO's, performance directors and sporting directors in recent times. I remember when we used to have Ron Saunders, Roy McLaren and Jim Williams. Now we have what seems like an ever changing cast of thousands. If it was a film or a music video even Cecil B DeMille and Freddie Mercury would question if we actually needed all these people.
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I've lost track of all the comings and goings behind the scenes and who's who in terms of coaches, scouts, CEO's, performance directors and sporting directors in recent times. I remember when we used to have Ron Saunders, Roy McLaren and Jim Williams. Now we have what seems like an ever changing cast of thousands. If it was a film or a music video even Cecil B DeMille and Freddie Mercury would question if we actually needed all these people.
Google Aston Villa overhaul scouting network and see how many times it comes up in different years. Every couple of years we overhaul it and still manage to keep scouting Tonev's or Crespo's.
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As to whether Fox is doing a good job, we really do not know as we do not know his Job spec, if you look for this season, (yes I know next season, Championship) he has some how managed to keep gates at a fairly high average, so therefore match day revenue is probably holding up, he has stated shirt sales are up, commercial revenue for boxes and corporate hospitality etc, may still be holding, what I would object to and we do not know, if he is involved in any football matters.
All I want to see is that decisions that effect the football directly are made by football experienced people, i.e. I do not want to see Hollis taking the training sessions, I want to see coaches that are football people, scouts that no what they are looking for and something that does get my goat is this constant harping to getting a football person on the board, we have a football person reporting to the board, regularly he is called the Manager.
I am sure Bobby Charlton a failed football manager had no influence on what Fergie did and if Fergie is influencing the board at Manure now, he sure aint doing a great job with his managerial preferences, mind you we knew that already.
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Tom Fox, like Paul Faulkner before him, would be a good deputy or director of a particular department. He shouldn't be the main man.
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Exactly. If the Lerner years have done anything it is to confirm that the Peter Principle is absolutely true, certainly as far as the Villa are concerned.
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First class people hire first class people.
Lerner is not first class, nor can he ever be as it is most unusual with inherited wealth, so we end up with 2nd or 3rd class people all the time.
Or in McLeish's case several notches below.
Faulkner should never have been CEO at that stage of his career. Never. To think we used to laugh at the noses when the Porn Brigade and Trolly Dolly in tow ran their show.
As for Fox - the day he used the term 'False Narrative' about not sacking a hopelessly out of his depth manager before a few days later doing just that a few months after extending the Fuckwit's contract to cover 4 seasons, the alarm bells rang. And the ringing is getting much louder.
I can't blame Garde in all this. He dropped as many troublemakers as possible, put some shape to the shambles until yesterday, that is, but he is on a hiding to nothing
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Tom Fox is a twat because Tom Fox is a twat. It's not being American that makes him a smarmy, corporate, cliché riddled goon. He just is. His role should never have enveloped anything to do with the playing side because the man knows as much about it as my missus. In fact she'd do a better job because she wouldn't be another yes man, telling the little boy Lerner what he wanted to hear.
Spot on. There are Americans who are brilliant at running things and ones who are terrible, same for British folk, French people etc.
We've got a terrible American. Let's focus on the terrible bit.
All this talk of "I've worked for an American firm and they're all ...." makes this site sound a little too BNP for my liking
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This is a classic case of the blind leading the blind. no one has the first clue what they're doing. You simply cannot play at running a football club of this size, no matter what calibre of marketing spivs you bring in.
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I agree with Dave Woodhall here. Tom Fox would make a great director of a particular department. I hereby announce Tom Fox in his new position as Director of monumental cock ups.
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That girl appears awfully young to have an 81 year old father.
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My bullshit-ometer is going off the scale, these sort of things usually miss out one crucial event, like she pulled a double-barrelled shotgun out and made Fox dance and whistle dixie whilst wearing nothing but leather chaps. Or something.
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My bullshit-ometer is going off the scale, these sort of things usually miss out one crucial event, like she pulled a double-barrelled shotgun out and made Fox dance and whistle dixie whilst wearing nothing but leather chaps. Or something.
I'm keen to hear more from you on this one Lee. Carry on...
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Has he done ANYTHING right ??
I hear a deal is in place to wear Under Armour kits in the Championship, a vast improvement on Macron.
Unless of course, the 'deal' was in place as long as we're in the Prem of course ...
If indeed it is true !!
Anything else ? Possibly ??
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
Good luck with that next season.
Targets get reset, limitations are taken into account, I bet he's still here and doing a great job for Team Lerner.
I doubt even Lerner would see us exiting the most lucrative league in the world as a success.
He's so detached I doubt he'll notice...
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Exactly. If the Lerner years have done anything it is to confirm that the Peter Principle is absolutely true, certainly as far as the Villa are concerned.
Thanks for that, just googled the Peter Principle, v interesting and accurate to Villa (and most organisations).
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As to whether Fox is doing a good job, he has some how managed to keep gates at a fairly high average,
Fox is nothing to do with the loyalty of the fans. 30,000 would turn up to see manure rotting on the pitch, as evident by this season.
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Has he done ANYTHING right ??
I hear a deal is in place to wear Under Armour kits in the Championship, a vast improvement on Macron.
The Armour deal maybe devalued a bit once we are relegated, so not as good as first announced
Unles of course, the 'deal' was in place as long as we're in the Prem of course ...
If indeed it is true !!
Anything else ? Possibly ??
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Has he done ANYTHING right ??
I hear a deal is in place to wear Under Armour kits in the Championship, a vast improvement on Macron.
Unless of course, the 'deal' was in place as long as we're in the Prem of course ...
If indeed it is true !!
Anything else ? Possibly ??
It's not true, he's signed us up to Andiamo.
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As far as Fox is concerned his measure of his success and therefore his bonus and remuneration has little or nothing to do with football results and everything to do with balance sheets, income, turnover and revenue. Therefore he's probably quite right in thinking he's doing OK.
Good luck with that next season.
Targets get reset, limitations are taken into account, I bet he's still here and doing a great job for Team Lerner.
I doubt even Lerner would see us exiting the most lucrative league in the world as a success.
He's so detached I doubt he'll notice...
and that's the problem surely, he hasn't got a fkn clue whats going on, Fox definitely knows whats going on, and that's where my theories are born from !
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I wonder if we will have a new CEO once Mr Hollis has gone through a review of the club?
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Looking at the early comments of this thread there were many people who thought this was a great signing, as was Lambert etc We all have our views as fans and I'm not slating anybody for their views but it really does show that we know very little about the modern game. The only common denominator in our downfall is RL. I guess we just have to hope he manages to get rid of us and we move onto someone who will actually help rather than ruin?
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A commercial officer coming in and doing the job of someone that really needs to have a footballing knowledge. How can a money man hire and fire managers? What relevant experience does he have? You look back on all our mistakes and when you take the excuses and forced reasonings away then they were always going to be mistakes. There's very few that you can say you couldn't see it coming.
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Looking at the early comments of this thread there were many people who thought this was a great signing, as was Lambert etc We all have our views as fans and I'm not slating anybody for their views but it really does show that we know very little about the modern game. The only common denominator in our downfall is RL. I guess we just have to hope he manages to get rid of us and we move onto someone who will actually help rather than ruin?
He came with a track record of doing well in his previous role. We were crying out for somebody with football experience. When he was first appointed it looked like he might work.
After everything that has unravelled in the last twelve months, he's proven to be a disaster.
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And Facebook:
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive.
Randy Lerner: I was delighted and even flattered by Tom's interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward.
Tom Fox: Aston Villa has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game. The chance to work with Randy, Paul Lambert and Robin to help restore the Club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I'm really energised by and greatly looking forward to.
Well that worked out just swell.
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And Facebook:
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Fox as chief executive.
Randy Lerner: I was delighted and even flattered by Tom's interest in the Villa job. His achievements at Arsenal speak for themselves and, above all, his reputation as a leader and team builder makes him, to my mind, a great fit to take our club forward.
Tom Fox: Aston Villa has a long and rich history of success at the top of the game. The chance to work with Randy, Paul Lambert and Robin to help restore the Club to its rightful place in the Premier League is a challenge I'm really energised by and greatly looking forward to.
Well that worked out just swell.
Whenever we appoint someone, it's always how we're "flattered" they're interested - "flattered" someone fancies a £1.3m pa job running one of the biggest clubs in football?
I seem to recall we "persuaded" Sherwood to take the job from "a shortlist of one".
Then there was the famous Ferguson letter locked up in Randy's special box at the bottom of his bed.
It's all a bit small time.
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Just about the first thing he did was announce Lambert's new contract as a reward for not losing in the first 4 games. So his Villa career started badly and went downhill from there.
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Just about the first thing he did was announce Lambert's new contract as a reward for not losing in the first 4 games. So his Villa career started badly and went downhill from there.
Apparently the new kit deal he drew up is so good, the shirts are actually made of money.
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Just about the first thing he did was announce Lambert's new contract as a reward for not losing in the first 4 games. So his Villa career started badly and went downhill from there.
Villa chief executive Tom Fox said: "We have a long-term vision for Villa.
"Paul is completely integrated into our plan to manage the club carefully and ambitiously back to a position in the Premier League appropriate to our history and collective expectations."
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RANDY LERNER has done a deal to take Arsenal high flyer Tom Fox from the Emirates and make him Aston Villa's new chief executive.
Lerner flew in from the USA this week and has headed the talks to persuade Fox , Arsenal's chief commercial officer, to leave the Gunners.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501283/EXCLUSIVE-Tom-Fox-deal-is-major-coup-for-Randy-Lerner-s-Aston-Villa (http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501283/EXCLUSIVE-Tom-Fox-deal-is-major-coup-for-Randy-Lerner-s-Aston-Villa)
Back in the day it was a major coup!
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I wonder if we will have a new CEO once Mr Hollis has gone through a review of the club?
If you won't bump this, allow me.
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Had no idea he'd resigned until a few minutes ago.
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RANDY LERNER has done a deal to take Arsenal high flyer Tom Fox from the Emirates and make him Aston Villa's new chief executive.
Lerner flew in from the USA this week and has headed the talks to persuade Fox , Arsenal's chief commercial officer, to leave the Gunners.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501283/EXCLUSIVE-Tom-Fox-deal-is-major-coup-for-Randy-Lerner-s-Aston-Villa (http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501283/EXCLUSIVE-Tom-Fox-deal-is-major-coup-for-Randy-Lerner-s-Aston-Villa)
Back in the day it was a major coup!
It makes you wonder why Arsenal let him go so easily.
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I'm imagining all this like the post Lufthansa heist segment of Goodfellas. I hope to be reading that they had to defrost Reilly for a couple days shortly.
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Had no idea he'd resigned until a few minutes ago.
Neither did he until he saw it announced on the official site (probably.)
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http://www.quakesfan.com/2017/05/31/quakes-hire-tom-fox-as-new-president/
That's them fcuked.
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I presume President means Chief Exec in Americanisation speak?
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I've only just seen this. Seems he had form for repeating himself. He never really knew the difference between selling merchandise and running a football club.
Premier League
Winning isn't everything, says Arsenal official Fox
ESPN staff
December 6, 2012
Arsene Wenger claimed in October that finishing fourth in the league was the equivalent of winning
An Arsenal official has insisted that the club's seven-year wait for a trophy has not harmed their reputation because the Gunners are "defined by more than winning".
The club's chief commercial officer Tom Fox believes that the recent renewal of Arsenal's sponsorship deal with Emirates - worth £150 million - is proof the club's brand remains strong despite their failure to challenge for top honours in recent years.
Arsenal, who last claimed major silverware in the 2005 FA Cup final, are currently 10th in the Premier League table having lost four and won just five of their 15 games in the competition so far this season. The Gunners were booed off at the weekend after losing 2-0 at home to Swansea City.
Fox, however, claimed that being competitive on the pitch was not the only measure of success. "Arsenal Football Club is not only about winning," he said. "We have a large and engaged fan-base around the world who want to feel as if they belong to the club, and want to feel proud to belong to the club. That's my primary business."
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MAY 31, 2017
The Quakes fan-base is reeling after today’s news that the team hired former Senior Vice President of Gatorade, Chief Commercial Officer of Arsenal, and President of Aston Villa Tom Fox as the club’s new President. Several Villa fans have already given words of caution.
A few Aston Villa reddit fans had these things to say:
“Nothing we did under his regime was beneficial . . . [it] cost us a fair bit of money . . . How he has landed another job at the top of the chain is beyond staggering.” –HyperMegaMuffin
“The fact that he’s got another high-level position at a football club is nothing short of ridiculous.” –Harewoodsforeheads92
“He’s a proper sly c***. I hope he gets sacked before he can do any real damage.” –Pefala
A few Villains that also happen to be Quakes fans were none-too-pleased at the news.
“I’m so sad that I have to deal with Fox again. I credit him as a major supporting reason to our relegation last year from the EPL. Seems like a step backwards” -AmericanVillan
“As a fellow Villa fan, I’m not excited about Fox, either . . . He took the team from the warm up act of the s#!t show to headliner,” -El_Floppo
Not to be outdone, some Villa fans that heard the news gave their condolences on this site.
“Good luck to you and your team – from a Villa fan – you’ll need it!”
“The man knows nothing about football and the fact that he had to have bodyguards by the end of his time at Villa Park tells you everything you need to know about his incompetence. I am still beyond furious at what he and – ultimately – Randy Lerner did to Aston Villa Football Club. Fox and Lerner represent just about the very lowest period of the club’s 143 year history.”
Buckle up, fellow Quakes fans. This could be bumpy ride.
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I want HyperMegaMuffin to post on here.
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about Bake Off?
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I went to the Tutankhamen exhibition in Chelsea last Friday, and upon entering Sloane Square tube station on the way back i said to my friend, there's a tube map on the wall inside i'll just check it to see the best route to Oxford Circus.
So, we're standing in front of this tube map and i say we need to go to Victoria and then up from there.
My friend says 'that's one stop, we could walk there'
A smartly dressed chap standing nearby said 'she's right, you could walk that'
Glancing up i gave the bloke a 'don't say that mate, i'm already knackered' look, which he noticed and quickly added 'but you'd probably be better of getting the tube'
I then gave him the nod and said ... thanks. Then i thought to myself, hang on. I know that blokes face from somewhere which i think he clocked from my expression.
I said 'do i know you?' quickly hoping my brain would fill in the details to which he replied 'you might'
Something Aston Villa related isn't it i said, my friend at this point was looking on very confused
'Yes, i'm Tom Fox, i thought i recognised that accent'
'Fucking hell. So you are'
We then proceeded to have a 5 minute chat there in front of the tube map, me explaining to my friend things hadn't ended well for the club whilst Tom and Randy were there etc. But i have to confess he was a super lovely bloke. No excuses, even asked me if i was one of the ones singing 'Tom Fox is a wanker' with a wry smile but i didn't recall so.
Had nothing but good words to say about the supporters and wished us all the best.
I know my own mates said 'you should've chinned him' when i told them the day after but i'm an adult. He was doing the job he was paid to do by his boss as far as i'm concerned and whilst i didn't like it i can separate the man from the job.
Just posting this as it was about a random meeting as i can ever recall having.
Half hour later in a pub in Carnaby Street (the Shakespeare) i thought Alan Hutton had walked in. It took me about two minutes staring to decide it wasn't actually him such were the similarities.
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Fucking hell did you have to remind us of that banker? You have spoilt my evening now so I am off to bed.
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Lulz. Tom Fox made me storm off to bed.
He was a smooth fcuker, but we paid him an obscene salary so I guess it's not difficult for him to be nice about us.
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Half hour later in a pub in Carnaby Street (the Shakespeare) i thought Alan Hutton had walked in. It took me about two minutes staring to decide it wasn't actually him such were the similarities.
Considering how much you obsessively hated Hutton, I'm surprised you didn't bottle the bloke just for looking like him. Have you finally come to terms he scored a cracker against the Rags. ;)
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Even allowing for the omnishambles of the last 10 years, I'd say Tom Fox is our shittest ever employee, and he's got some exceedingly stiff competition for that title.
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Even allowing for the omnishambles of the last 10 years, I'd say Tom Fox is our shittest ever employee, and he's got some exceedingly stiff competition for that title.
The man he employed for a start.
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One of the red tops ran a story on Fox when he left that had a headline along the lines of 'Tom Fox's reign will be best remembered for his complete lack of football knowledge'
Just about sums him up really.
Is he back in work or still living off his pay off?
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He got a job back in America I think but no idea how it went.
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Even allowing for the omnishambles of the last 10 years, I'd say Tom Fox is our shittest ever employee, and he's got some exceedingly stiff competition for that title.
The man he employed for a start.
Or the bloke that employed him.
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Even allowing for the omnishambles of the last 10 years, I'd say Tom Fox is our shittest ever employee, and he's got some exceedingly stiff competition for that title.
The man he employed for a start.
Or the bloke that employed him.
Either way, Lerner wasn't an employee so Risso's point can still stand.
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Lerner might have been on the payroll in order to use his Personal Tax allowance. Every penny helps :)
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Lerner might have been on the payroll in order to use his Personal Tax allowance. Every penny helps :)
He didn't!