Randy Lerner "State of Aston Villa" Statement

[TheSandman]

I wonder how much more it will cost us to get shot of the scapegoat at the end of the season.

[GJH]

No lose situation for Mcleish! never heard such a low beat press conference before the start of the season.

Even the promoted sides who know they are going to struggle are more positive than us!

Trading players? WTF is that?

[ian c.]

It is no different to the ambitions under Doug.

I am sorry but Randy needs to focus on finding us a new owner with the requisite funds to make us competitive

Thanks Randy. We thought you were great when you were spending loads, but now you aren't fuck off.

Did anyone really think the spending would continue indefinitely if we failed to make the Champions League? 

I would prefer it if he could spend, spend, spend, but I can live with a couple of years of retrenchment if it means we can be competitive again in a few years time.  I just hope he has enough spare cash to get us out of the shite if we land in it.

[Toronto Villa]

I agree with toronto villa, Mcleish was virtually sowing the seeds of excuses - no money to spend, senior players have left etc etc How depressing is that!!

No money even for loan signings!

Please be patient Villa Fans! Season hasn't even started yet! This could be a long old hard season no 2 ways about it!

I don't think he's making excuses, and I'm sure he is being as truthful as possible about the current state of affairs. I do think this squad has more about it than most people have given it credit for, so I'm not going to tell you that we'll finish in the bottom half because I don't believe that for a second. I just feel that we need another solid signing or two to really ensure we stay strong throughout the season.

What concerned me the most about today was how definitively McLeish came over regarding the finances of the club, and the use of the word "trading" is bothering me too. I agree with the club looking to get things back on an even keel wage wise, but you don't want to cut so deep so as to potentially incur other penalties (performance - attendance - merchandising) when you could invested something and didn't. It's a very fine balancing act. You can go for it as we did with MON and not have it come off and find ourselves where we are. Or you can not go for it and have other equally significant difficult consequences to deal with. The answer likely lies in the middle, but it's a bloody hard place to get to.

[robbyfvillain]

It is no different to the ambitions under Doug.

I am sorry but Randy needs to focus on finding us a new owner with the requisite funds to make us competitive

Thanks Randy. We thought you were great when you were spending loads, but now you aren't fuck off.

The real question here though dave is was he spending his money or future revenues from the Villa. If he writes off the loans then fair play to the guy. If on the other hand he charges the club interest, management charges and loan repayments etc then we will all be agreeing with Fuse I imagine.

[bertlambshank]

If TV is downbeat I am off to jump off a cliff.See ya.

[The Moose]

How have season ticket sales been? Any figures been released?

[dave.woodhall]

It is no different to the ambitions under Doug.

I am sorry but Randy needs to focus on finding us a new owner with the requisite funds to make us competitive

Thanks Randy. We thought you were great when you were spending loads, but now you aren't fuck off.

The real question here though dave is was he spending his money or future revenues from the Villa. If he writes off the loans then fair play to the guy. If on the other hand he charges the club interest, management charges and loan repayments etc then we will all be agreeing with Fuse I imagine.

That's a completely different argument. What Fuse is saying is that as Randy seems to have reached the bottom of his pockets we should want him to sell the club and another owner take his place - debts and all.

[bertlambshank]

It's Randys club he can do what he likes with it.
Just like Doug could.
Nowt we can do about it.

[pauliewalnuts]

So why bother with the letter at all?

We're not shareholders.

Assuming the letter was intending to steady nerves amongst the season ticket holders, did they really think that talking about financial performance and targets was going to do it when, actually, it does quite the opposite?

I took the letter as treating us like grown ups. Fans had been demanding some sort of statement so he's given an outline of what the club want to do to improve the finances in order to improve the team.

Dull and understated it might be but that's Lerner way isn't it?

The concern is that he's detached from reality enough to think that the fans wanted an outline of financial plans. The only mention of footballing issues was a trumpeting of the fact we beat Arsenal and Liverpool.

Out of interest, how far has our non Sky commercial income grown so far?

[pauliewalnuts]

It is no different to the ambitions under Doug.

I am sorry but Randy needs to focus on finding us a new owner with the requisite funds to make us competitive

Thanks Randy. We thought you were great when you were spending loads, but now you aren't fuck off.

The real question here though dave is was he spending his money or future revenues from the Villa. If he writes off the loans then fair play to the guy. If on the other hand he charges the club interest, management charges and loan repayments etc then we will all be agreeing with Fuse I imagine.

That's a completely different argument. What Fuse is saying is that as Randy seems to have reached the bottom of his pockets we should want him to sell the club and another owner take his place - debts and all.

If he's reached the bottom of his pockets then what kind of plan was it that involved giving the lot to MON? And handing out so much in paying off managers?

That's hardly long term planning.

[dave.woodhall]

It is no different to the ambitions under Doug.

I am sorry but Randy needs to focus on finding us a new owner with the requisite funds to make us competitive

Thanks Randy. We thought you were great when you were spending loads, but now you aren't fuck off.

The real question here though dave is was he spending his money or future revenues from the Villa. If he writes off the loans then fair play to the guy. If on the other hand he charges the club interest, management charges and loan repayments etc then we will all be agreeing with Fuse I imagine.

That's a completely different argument. What Fuse is saying is that as Randy seems to have reached the bottom of his pockets we should want him to sell the club and another owner take his place - debts and all.

If he's reached the bottom of his pockets then what kind of plan was it that involved giving the lot to MON? And handing out so much in paying off managers?

That's hardly long term planning.

Shall I throw in that Woody Allen quote about how to make God laugh?

[Villa'Zawg]

So the alternatives are:
1. Become the plaything of some eccentric foreign multibillionaire (probably not a viable option for Villa anyway)
2. Float along in mid-table.
3. Embark on some vague but cunning slow-growth strategy that might or might not yield success in 20 years.

Villa are actually choosing (2) but trying to portray it as (3).

Another alternative is to organise enough investment to build a squad capable of delivering the promised "qualifying for the Champions League and competing for trophies" and to do so with a talented group of experienced and knowledgeable executive directors. That's what four of last season's top six clubs have done.

[robbyfvillain]

It is no different to the ambitions under Doug.

I am sorry but Randy needs to focus on finding us a new owner with the requisite funds to make us competitive

Thanks Randy. We thought you were great when you were spending loads, but now you aren't fuck off.

The real question here though dave is was he spending his money or future revenues from the Villa. If he writes off the loans then fair play to the guy. If on the other hand he charges the club interest, management charges and loan repayments etc then we will all be agreeing with Fuse I imagine.

That's a completely different argument. What Fuse is saying is that as Randy seems to have reached the bottom of his pockets we should want him to sell the club and another owner take his place - debts and all.

It is a variation of the argument.

The reality is that the club is now loaded with debt albeit all owed to Randy. So the point is was he spending his money or the club's future revenues which he now intends to extract.

If it is the latter then quite frankly I would expect most people would prefer him to fuck off now.

The debt issues are all of randy's own making through incompetent financial management. It is not unreasonable that the average supporter would have assumed that the guy knew what he was doing so were quite happy to see him spending.

[ozzjim]

I think Randy has been brilliant, but has had a difficult 12 months. I hope he pulls through and is proved right on the current strategy, as it could backfire. We are ok 11 wise, but 2-3 injuries and we are even more threadbare than we were last season. We had a small squad 2 years ago. The balance is out, and I hope they know what they are doing. I admire them for sticking to their guns on their choice of manager etc, but the current policy will see us lose Bent and if he plays well NZogbia, then whichever of the kids are successful before long.