The Randy way or Citeh's Trillions ?

[garyshawsknee]

Citeh's millions but our way, seeing youngsters come through, i really am becoming disillusioned though with football,  when Chelsea started this i was well Pi$$ed with them and now Citeh. Personally i want all the other teams now to beat Manchester City, i am hating them more than United, now that is something!!!

 I'm the same,i did like City as they always had a good crowd,and they were under achievers like ourselves,but hearing some City fans on the radio recently with their smugness about money and buying the league leaves me with no time for them.

 I'm sure these same fans were moaning like the rest of us when Chelsea became Chelski. Hypocrisy is King.

[Risso]

August 4 2008

General Krulak here:

1. pauliewalnuts: "Tattoo"...Gee, I am very sorry that this "example" does not pass your "real fan" test. I simply forgot that to be a "real fan" one would have to have gone to Villa Park for 20+ years...that no one else qualifies...to include the owner. You asked a question of me...re. Randy's depth of interests and goals for the Club. I answered your question and mentioned the tattoo as an indication that he was in it for the long haul. You come back with a sarcastic answer...well done lad. Really makes me want to rush to the pauliewalnut post to answer his questions.

2. Champions League football and Barry: Sooooo? If you believe he has a point, you should be happy for him if he leaves. I believe, if I am not mistaken, that one of the goals of the 5 year plan was CL football. Let me see if I understand...you don't think we will make it???? OK. Good on you. That means I won't have to hear your moaning because you have already made up your mind.

3. hookeysmith: "gross negligence". OK, thank you for your appraisal of the performance of the Manager. I'd say that your summation of his performance is a wee bit harsh. We did move from lower mid table to 11th to 6th under this grossly negligent Manager. We did pick up Sidwell, Friedl and Guzman todate...and will obviously bring in more....again, a clear indication of MON's "gross negligence." I sincerely appreciate your insights into Martin's performance.

4. Mazrim: Nicely done. I totally understand what you are getting at and I can ASSURE you that SO DOES MON and Randy.

5. If I sound a tad peeved, it is because I am. I spend hours writing comments to your questions...trying to give each of you an insight into the Club, what we are trying to do and why. I attempt to answer each question as honestly as I can and if I can't answer, I say it. Yes, I may miss some but that is due mainly to the volume. So what do I get? People who either a) don't read what I have written...because I spend a great deal of time repeating myself, b) people who don't like my answer so they just ask the question again hoping to get an answer they like or c) make some snide or disparaging remark out of frustration. NONE of these helps anyone. They just add to the fustration. You ask me a question...I try to answer as honestly as I can...what more do you want? Getting mad, ignoring my answers or taking swipes at people is not the way to make headway. For the 1000th time...we hear you!! We know, BETTER THAN YOU, what is needed. We are NOT sitting on our bums!!

[Chris Smith]

Citeh's millions but our way, seeing youngsters come through,

You can't have both.

Man City will go the way of Chelsea and home grown players will find it harder to get a look in.

[TimTheVillain]

Citeh's millions but our way, seeing youngsters come through,

You can't have both.

Man City will go the way of Chelsea and home grown players will find it harder to get a look in.

? and win cups and the league then.

It's so true, and we can moan about our national team as long as we like, but without someone stepping up to the plate and saying 'enough is enough', we're doomed. doomed to mid / slightly upper table, hope we get a decent cup drawland.

5 year plan looking rather optmiistic ( that's easy to defend, optimism), but we are maybe going through a period of adjustment of our status.

We aren't a very big club, but we are still a big club.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Sadly I dont think we will ever get higher under Randy's tenure due to various constraining factors. One being unfashionable Birmingham, two being that its not longer a level playing field and another being as smart/clever manager you are, money now overpowers this.

That's a bit of a cop-out. Manchester is hardly Barcelona.

No its not but Manchester seems to have ambition that Birmingham badly lacks. As a city we seem to do everything else on a smaller less exciting scale. It historically has alot to sell, but name them, theres alot of orginality but instead we focus on putting hollywood stars on Broad street and trying to have yellow cabs. Name something we've been sucessful in bidding for. But much of this is beyond the scope of the topic.

It is hardly surprising it may seem that way when its own residents are so happy to talk it down.

Better shopping than Manchester, better restaurants than Manchester, and - at worst - you're in London in a little over an hour, or less if you live between here and London.

I agree with that totally, Manchester is a fucking shithole

[dave.woodhall]

We aren't a very big club, but we are still a big club.

As Trevor Fisher said in H&V a few years ago - a cruiserweight club in a heavyweight division.

[sfx412]

The best way, the only way, is the one that achieves regular top 4 status and European Cup trophies.

One will achieve that the other 6th if we are lucky, although a better manager might help our cause.

Anyone who thinks different or says different is either delusional or if they believe it lying to themselves, or has no ambition for the club.

[Villa'Zawg]

He purchased an under resourced football club business with the intention of taking it through an investment cycle. He isn't overspending or pouring money down the drain. It's perfectly acceptable and normal to post losses during an investment cycle of this type.

Of what type? How many other billionaires have bought football clubs and earned out of them?

Of the type that businesses make when they're investing to take advantage of a market where the overall industry revenues are increasing exponentially. The first Sky tv deal was worth £60m, the latest one was worth £1.8bn, not including the 100% increased value overseas rights payments which kick in next season.

I don't have an answer to your question regarding billionaires who have cashed in, have any of them sold out on their own terms yet?

The point I was making is that there is nothing to suggest that Randy is losing money on his investment.

[dave.woodhall]

He purchased an under resourced football club business with the intention of taking it through an investment cycle. He isn't overspending or pouring money down the drain. It's perfectly acceptable and normal to post losses during an investment cycle of this type.

Of what type? How many other billionaires have bought football clubs and earned out of them?

Of the type that businesses make when they're investing to take advantage of a market where the overall industry revenues are increasing exponentially. The first Sky tv deal was worth £60m, the latest one was worth £1.8bn, not including the 100% increased value overseas rights payments which kick in next season.

I don't have an answer to your question regarding billionaires who have cashed in, have any of them sold out on their own terms yet?

The point I was making is that there is nothing to suggest that Randy is losing money on his investment.

So you agree it's a business investment then.

[Chris Smith]

We aren't a very big club, but we are still a big club.

As Trevor Fisher said in H&V a few years ago - a cruiserweight club in a heavyweight division.

He's probably right but what would he have said about Man City at the time? Or Chelsea 15 years ago?

I don't like it when Manu nick our best players but grudgingly accept it due to their size but the Viv Nicholson approach of these clubs sticks in the craw because natural justice says they just haven't earned it. I know that's just the way the game is but I don't like it.

I know people will point to our own rich owner but I don't think he's taken us to a level of player beyond that which a club of our size would expect.

[sfx412]

I know people will point to our own rich owner but I don't think he's taken us to a level of player beyond that which a club of our size would expect.

From my reading of the General's oft quoted comments, that has never been their expectation. Has it?

[pauliewalnuts]

I know people will point to our own rich owner but I don't think he's taken us to a level of player beyond that which a club of our size would expect.

I'd agree with that.

My issue is that, thus far, the regime (NB I'm not talking about Randy alone here) hasn't taken us to a level of player we couldn't feasibly have signed in the years pre-Randy.

We've just got more of them.

[Villa'Zawg]

Citeh's millions but our way, seeing youngsters come through,

You can't have both.

Man City will go the way of Chelsea and home grown players will find it harder to get a look in.

I don't want both. I want one or the other and for Villa to have a chance to compete at the highest level. What I don't want is for us to say we are going to be a club that develops young players and then roll over when we get a big offer for the first young player that has seemingly made the breakthrough and is less than halfway through his first contract with us.

If Randy's plan was to develop young talent, he must have considered the possibility that he would receive big offers for those young players as they made the breakthrough.

The really big spending clubs take the risk that their investment in a player might not work out, why are we not willing to take the risk that ultimately we might end up getting less for Milner next season?

[Villa'Zawg]

He purchased an under resourced football club business with the intention of taking it through an investment cycle. He isn't overspending or pouring money down the drain. It's perfectly acceptable and normal to post losses during an investment cycle of this type.

Of what type? How many other billionaires have bought football clubs and earned out of them?

Of the type that businesses make when they're investing to take advantage of a market where the overall industry revenues are increasing exponentially. The first Sky tv deal was worth £60m, the latest one was worth £1.8bn, not including the 100% increased value overseas rights payments which kick in next season.

I don't have an answer to your question regarding billionaires who have cashed in, have any of them sold out on their own terms yet?

The point I was making is that there is nothing to suggest that Randy is losing money on his investment.

So you agree it's a business investment then.

Yes.

[The Situation]

Our way, the proper and honest way. We don't need to copy the models of Chavski and the New York Yankees, doing it our own way would make success sweeter rather than just spending money at anyone available without any real effort or hard work put in. I do wish the Premier League would impose a salary cap then Man City would go back to being a nothing club again.