5% Villa- Oliver Holt Interview

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Given that the Mail and the E & S are both saying that McLeish will not get the Young money it appears that bringing down the wage bill was only part of the issue and that Lerner is also cutting back on what he makes available for transfers.

Why?

Clearly it's his money and he can do what he likes but it flies in the face of their stated ambitions and it seems that we have given up any pretence of trying to compete with the top 6.

Exactly what puzzles me.
What was the point in all the massive in roads we made in the first 4 seasons, just to chuck it away now?

[KevinGage]

Perhaps it's just part of a different strategy.

I don't accept (yet) that he's given up the ghost. But if spending an extra £50-75 million of the Lerner family trust in one season isn't going to have a significant impact on league placings for us (securing top 4, in other words) you can understand to a degree why he might be reticent to chase big losses with even more losses.

He talked about sustainable growth from the outset. It's not as if he promised Abramovich style 'whatever it takes' and then pulled back on that. When it looked like it was attainable in the short-term (2007-2010) he went as big as he could. His manager at the time didn't deliver and now we face different sporting and financial challenges in a league which has at least 10 billionaire owners and only 4 CL spots up for grabs.

[AV82EC]

Perhaps it's just part of a different strategy.

I don't accept (yet) that he's given up the ghost. But if spending an extra £50-75 million of the Lerner family trust in one season isn't going to have a significant impact on league placings for us (securing top 4, in other words) you can understand to a degree why he might be reticent to chase big losses with even more losses.

He talked about sustainable growth from the outset. It's not as if he promised Abramovich style 'whatever it takes' and then pulled back on that. When it looked like it was attainable in the short-term (2007-2010) he went as big as he could. His manager at the time didn't deliver and now we face different sporting and financial challenges in a league which has at least 10 billionaire owners and only 4 CL spots up for grabs.

Yep, spot on.

[Greg N'Ash]

Doesn't sound like it was Bannan just repeating a mirror story, it seems to me to be something that the whole squad were clued in on, and they would be a lot closer to the action than any of us.

Precisely but somehow Villadawg think Dalglish would walk into a courtroom and say "yes i tapped up MON and now who do i write the million pound compensation to? Lerner, or the PL for breaking every rule in the book? Did i mention its coming out of my pocket as well as i was only in a consultancy position with Liverpool and of course they had no idea what i was doing?"

IF ITS TRUE THAT IS.

The fact that MON and Dalglish are the only ones who can prove it one way or another and one of them is likely to make some money if he denies it, while the other one has to deny it seems to have passed Villadawg by. Actually is Dalglish sueing the Mirror? If not why not?

[cdbearsfan]

Given that the Mail and the E & S are both saying that McLeish will not get the Young money it appears that bringing down the wage bill was only part of the issue and that Lerner is also cutting back on what he makes available for transfers.

Why?

Clearly it's his money and he can do what he likes but it flies in the face of their stated ambitions and it seems that we have given up any pretence of trying to compete with the top 6.

Exactly what puzzles me.
What was the point in all the massive in roads we made in the first 4 seasons, just to chuck it away now?

So on the basis that two local rags are saying we're not spending loads we've "given up"? The transfer window will be open for another two months. We'd be pretty stupid to spend the intervening period boasting about how much money we've got to spend, thus ensuring that every team puts their prices up.

[Chris Smith]

Given that the Mail and the E & S are both saying that McLeish will not get the Young money it appears that bringing down the wage bill was only part of the issue and that Lerner is also cutting back on what he makes available for transfers.

Why?

Clearly it's his money and he can do what he likes but it flies in the face of their stated ambitions and it seems that we have given up any pretence of trying to compete with the top 6.

Exactly what puzzles me.
What was the point in all the massive in roads we made in the first 4 seasons, just to chuck it away now?

So on the basis that two local rags are saying we're not spending loads we've "given up"? The transfer window will be open for another two months. We'd be pretty stupid to spend the intervening period boasting about how much money we've got to spend, thus ensuring that every team puts their prices up.

Because every other club are stupid and will be taken in by Villa's Baldryck like cunning plan of pretending they have no money.

[cdbearsfan]

I didn't say that, did I? I just don't assume we're skint because we aren't having diamonds attached to all the stands. We'll see.

I used to get fed up with O'Neill's last minute dithering, in the case of a new manager though it's understandable. McLeish might want to talk to people like Ireland, Warnock and Downing before assessing how best to invest. As these players are likely to be on their holidays or attending multiple grandmothers' funerals we might have to wait until pre-season training starts before we find out whether the club has "given up" or not.

[KevinGage]

When asked about the Young money McLeish said to Dave W and anyone else who attended the supporter's forum that it wouldn't be the smartest bit of business to tell the press how much he had to spend.

Perhaps the folly of Carson Yeung's comments on completion of the B-lose takeover still resonate with him.

If by the end of August all of our business has been bargain basement deals and loans I'll join you in the bunker as we dig in and brace ourselves for a relegation dogfight.

[Ger Regan]

Because every other club are stupid and will be taken in by Villa's Baldryck like cunning plan of pretending they have no money.

You seemingly believe it, so why shouldn't other clubs?

I really don't know what to believe to be honest, it could be a smokescreen, or it could be the truth. We won't know one way or the other for a few months yet.

[Chris Smith]

Because every other club are stupid and will be taken in by Villa's Baldryck like cunning plan of pretending they have no money.

You seemingly believe it, so why shouldn't other clubs?

I really don't know what to believe to be honest, it could be a smokescreen, or it could be the truth. We won't know one way or the other for a few months yet.

You're right we don't know but what isn't in doubt is that the talk of playing in the CL has now stopped and McLeish's press conference was about doing well in the cups. I think we've retrenched, hope I'm wrong.

[cdbearsfan]

I think the fact we've stopped talking about the CL might be as it just makes us look stupid. Maybe if we can finish sixth or seventh next year we can target the top four the season after? That might be a bit more realistic. I quite like the idea of taking the cups seriously anyway.

[Ger Regan]

To be honest, I think that our best chance of CL football was 2 years ago. Can't see it happening without a fairly drastic change in circumstances at other clubs. Whether that means that Randy is pulling the plug financially is a different matter though. And I don't think anyone will mind if we win something next year (barring, obviously, if the season also ended in relegation)

[brian green]

Everything points to retrenchment.   Nothing has been said or happened to make me change my view that the manager selection criteria laid down by Randy Lerner were 1.   Does he work cheap?  2.  Is he healthy?   3.  Does he do as he is told?

The only reason I can see for this abandonment of ambition is that the club will be sold two or three years down the line.   A secure mid table outfit with balanced books would be more attractive to an asian billionaire than a club with unsustainable wage bills and equally unsustainable CL pretensions.

[D.boy]

Maybe Randy has realised that to stand any chance of breaking the top 4/5 we would need the financial bottomless pit similar to the arabs at Man City. I wonder if Randy has realigned his sights on 6-8 place finish and go for it in the domestic cups instead as these will be he better option of silverware.
We had a crack at it a couple of seasons ago but the manager at the time made some crucial errors and the chance passed us by. I think it will be a while until we get another opportunity.