Randys Reaction

[dave.woodhall]

London, Manchester, and Liverpool are awash with successful, competative football clubs.

Unfortunatey we live in Birmingham a city that's managed one League Championship in 100 years.

Clearly it's down to Aston Villa to give the people of Birmingham something to shout about, but I think it's fairly clear now that with Randy Lerner as owner  we'll do no more than tread water.

 

THis precisely. THe appointment of shit like AM confirns to me Lerner has neither the wherewithal or nous to nmake a real go of it; as such he should f*ck off and take his lickspittle lackies with hinm and sell to someoene who can put us in a position to really compete. From day one he's been riding the baloney pony - fed us all shovels full of horseshit which we gullibly swallowed down  after enduring Ellis's tenure. In short we were duped. Most Browns fans as far as my undertanding goes wouldn't piss on Lerner if he was on fire. I'm now beginning to understand why....

Why has it taken five years to say this if you've thought it all along?

[hilts_coolerking]

Re: 'A better manager' this one is really easy to discuss. If you really believe that there was a better manager that was going to step up for Villa just link us the comment where he says he will be happy to take the job. If my grandma is the only one interested and available to fill the position...she IS the best choice at the time.

Do you honestly believe McLeish was the best and only option available?  McClaren was a better option for starters: he was both keen and available.  Quite why Lerner pulled the plug on him but didn't do so with McLeish is baffling.

[myf]

Re: 'A better manager' this one is really easy to discuss. If you really believe that there was a better manager that was going to step up for Villa just link us the comment where he says he will be happy to take the job. If my grandma is the only one interested and available to fill the position...she IS the best choice at the time.

Do you honestly believe McLeish was the best and only option available?  McClaren was a better option for starters: he was both keen and available.  Quite why Lerner pulled the plug on him but didn't do so with McLeish is baffling.

Debatable.  Keen yes, and desperate for a premier league appointment but telling that none have been forthcoming.  I think he would have been a much bigger risk than McLeish, getting major abuse from the media, every away ground and having us lot on his back as well after any hint of a bad run.

[KRS]

I agree with myf...McClaren would have been a bigger gamble and its only since hes signed for Forest that the media have turned the giggles to "ooh Villa missed out on McClaren". His press conference interview was enough to convince me that hes still not right in the head, and no way would I have confidence in him going into the transfer market or to improve our situation. His appointment to Forest makes sense for both McClaren and Forest...he gets to prove himself at a lower level with less resources and less risk.

[CBAV06]

Re: 'A better manager' this one is really easy to discuss. If you really believe that there was a better manager that was going to step up for Villa just link us the comment where he says he will be happy to take the job. If my grandma is the only one interested and available to fill the position...she IS the best choice at the time.

Do you honestly believe McLeish was the best and only option available?  McClaren was a better option for starters: he was both keen and available.  Quite why Lerner pulled the plug on him but didn't do so with McLeish is baffling.

Do you honestly believe that someone looking to hire an employee for their own company is going to look for the worst possible solution and go with it?? Every hypothetical people present can be turned around to prove them wrong as well, it's the beauty of dealing in fantasy...so I'd ask again, who is this top notch coach that was a better choice and wanted to sign with Villa right now and we declined?

[The Gruffalo]

Randy gave us hope and expectation 5 years ago.   After the Ellis years this was a new dawn and how exciting it was.  We've ridden that wave for 4 years, had a blip with Houllier but once he had gone i think everyone expected someone to take us on again.

McLeish is a signal that we are back to cutting our cloth as we were under Ellis.  That's Randys perogative, it's his money thats been financing the signings etc, but he needs to be open about it. 

To an extent the problem here isn't the owner, it's the realisation for us as Villa fans that we may never get back up to where we used to be.  If a thoughtful, considerate and passionate owner such as Randy can't do it, then who can?

[Locko]

London, Manchester, and Liverpool are awash with successful, competative football clubs.

Unfortunatey we live in Birmingham a city that's managed one League Championship in 100 years.

Clearly it's down to Aston Villa to give the people of Birmingham something to shout about, but I think it's fairly clear now that with Randy Lerner as owner  we'll do no more than tread water.

 

This precisely. THe appointment of shit like AM confirns to me Lerner has neither the wherewithal or nous to nmake a real go of it; as such he should f*ck off and take his lickspittle lackies with hinm and sell to someoene who can put us in a position to really compete. From day one he's been riding the baloney pony - fed us all shovels full of horseshit which we gullibly swallowed down  after enduring Ellis's tenure. In short we were duped. Most Browns fans as far as my undertanding goes wouldn't piss on Lerner if he was on fire. I'm now beginning to understand why....

Why has it taken five years to say this if you've thought it all along?

I've had misgivings ever since the petulant fallout with MON;The incomprehesibly muddled selection process over the last two managerial appointments leads me to question the competence of the board and general structure at all levels. Randy was lucky in so much as on take over he replaced a generally loathed ex-chairman, so getting everyone onside was never going to be horrendously difficult.He was also bequeathed a fairly healthy set of finances ( debt free) and a decent manager in situ. Five years on we are arguably worse off than when he arrived, but with a far higher level of expectation from the fan base, a toxic combination. I'm not overly convinced by his stewardship over the last 18 months. It all seemed too good to be true and probably was, we all lapped it up and now the party is over and in the cold light of day much of what we saw in the first instance appears o be little more than smoke and mirrors. What a shame it will end like this...   

[Louzie0]

Leonard Cohen alert...    Leonard Cohen alert...    Leonard cohen alert...  take cover

[martin]

Anyone think Randy could decide to walk after this?
I wouldn't blame him if he did but it would be the worst things that could happen to our club.

I would blame him if he decided to walk because he got the hump because people didn't agree with him. It would be petty and childish and deserving of blame.

Would it be "the worst thing that could happen to the club"? Don't know. He's been generally good for the club but who's to say a successor wouldn't also be.

What he has done is make a pig's ear of replacing Houllier. To be honest, I'm not bothered whether he's got the wedge to chuck at giving us a stab at success or not. What bothers me is his being incapable of selling this club to good managers and ending up having to tout it around to poor ones.

[dave.woodhall]

London, Manchester, and Liverpool are awash with successful, competative football clubs.

Unfortunatey we live in Birmingham a city that's managed one League Championship in 100 years.

Clearly it's down to Aston Villa to give the people of Birmingham something to shout about, but I think it's fairly clear now that with Randy Lerner as owner  we'll do no more than tread water.

 

This precisely. THe appointment of shit like AM confirns to me Lerner has neither the wherewithal or nous to nmake a real go of it; as such he should f*ck off and take his lickspittle lackies with hinm and sell to someoene who can put us in a position to really compete. From day one he's been riding the baloney pony - fed us all shovels full of horseshit which we gullibly swallowed down  after enduring Ellis's tenure. In short we were duped. Most Browns fans as far as my undertanding goes wouldn't piss on Lerner if he was on fire. I'm now beginning to understand why....

Why has it taken five years to say this if you've thought it all along?

I've had misgivings ever since the petulant fallout with MON;The incomprehesibly muddled selection process over the last two managerial appointments leads me to question the competence of the board and general structure at all levels. Randy was lucky in so much as on take over he replaced a generally loathed ex-chairman, so getting everyone onside was never going to be horrendously difficult.He was also bequeathed a fairly healthy set of finances ( debt free) and a decent manager in situ. Five years on we are arguably worse off than when he arrived, but with a far higher level of expectation from the fan base, a toxic combination. I'm not overly convinced by his stewardship over the last 18 months. It all seemed too good to be true and probably was, we all lapped it up and now the party is over and in the cold light of day much of what we saw in the first instance appears o be little more than smoke and mirrors. What a shame it will end like this...   

I repeat. Why has it taken five years to say this if you felt it all along?

[hilts_coolerking]

What he has done is make a pig's ear of replacing Houllier. To be honest, I'm not bothered whether he's got the wedge to chuck at giving us a stab at success or not. What bothers me is his being incapable of selling this club to good managers and ending up having to tout it around to poor ones.

Exactly right.  Given the field of candidates, how the fuck did we end up with McLeish?  What kind of plan was Lerner working to?  In fact, did he have one?  Turning down McLaren is fine if you get someone better.  But we didn't.  Even with no pre-season, three managers, player unrest and a horrendous injury crisis we still finished as high as McLeish has ever got.

[TimTheVillain]

What he has done is make a pig's ear of replacing Houllier. To be honest, I'm not bothered whether he's got the wedge to chuck at giving us a stab at success or not. What bothers me is his being incapable of selling this club to good managers and ending up having to tout it around to poor ones.

Exactly right.  Given the field of candidates, how the fuck did we end up with McLeish?  What kind of plan was Lerner working to?  In fact, did he have one?  Turning down McLaren is fine if you get someone better.  But we didn't.  Even with no pre-season, three managers, player unrest and a horrendous injury crisis we still finished as high as McLeish has ever got.

h-c, I like / agree with many of your posts, but the McLeish stuff is wrong.

The guy will do a great job at VP, you watch ...

[Ian.]

I don't know how you can say McClaren is better? How do you judge how good someone is anyway? If it is on pasts record I'd say McCleish has the better record.
I wonder if McCleish was not in charge of Birmingham before us but Fulham how many people would be chosing McClaren over McCleish?
I didn't want either, I wanted the best out there, they just didn't want us.

[CBAV06]

What he has done is make a pig's ear of replacing Houllier. To be honest, I'm not bothered whether he's got the wedge to chuck at giving us a stab at success or not. What bothers me is his being incapable of selling this club to good managers and ending up having to tout it around to poor ones.

Exactly right.  Given the field of candidates, how the fuck did we end up with McLeish?  What kind of plan was Lerner working to?  In fact, did he have one?  Turning down McLaren is fine if you get someone better.  But we didn't.  Even with no pre-season, three managers, player unrest and a horrendous injury crisis we still finished as high as McLeish has ever got.

Hilts, I keep asking and you keep dodging....what was the field of candidates willing and able to take the Villa job right now?

[Risso]

I don't know how you can say McClaren is better? How do you judge how good someone is anyway? If it is on pasts record I'd say McCleish has the better record.
I wonder if McCleish was not in charge of Birmingham before us but Fulham how many people would be chosing McClaren over McCleish?
I didn't want either, I wanted the best out there, they just didn't want us.

If McLeish had just taken Fulham down, two years after relegating them the first time I think we'd see a similar level of vitriol.