Randy Lerner "State of Aston Villa" Statement

[eastie]

thanks villadawg- very interesting reading.

[Risso]

We're never going to sell ourselves to any great degree outside of our natural constituency until we win things and play in the Champions League. To be honest, I'm not too bothered about being the latest craze in downtown Kowloon but we should be cleaning up in the Midlands.

We're the only Midlands club that has been in the Premier League for the entirety of its existence, and it's an important period because during that time the money involved has increased at a huge rate.  Despite that, we're now starting to view the likes of West Brom and Stoke as our immediate competitors, and that's sad.  As per Lerner's letter, we're in the top 20 clubs in Europe in terms of income, but I'd argue we've by far the lowest profile of any of those clubs, and without checking, I imagine we're the only one never to have qualified for the Champions League.

[eastie]

We're never going to sell ourselves to any great degree outside of our natural constituency until we win things and play in the Champions League. To be honest, I'm not too bothered about being the latest craze in downtown Kowloon but we should be cleaning up in the Midlands.

The fans will come when there's something worth watching. It's been a very long time since there was.

i agree, fans in the main couldnt care too much about the facilities , posh seating and nice food -the main reason is to see a decent and winning villa team and id happily stand in the rain and get soaked as long as i saw that in the old days -winning football is the name of the game .

[Chris Smith]

We're never going to sell ourselves to any great degree outside of our natural constituency until we win things and play in the Champions League. To be honest, I'm not too bothered about being the latest craze in downtown Kowloon but we should be cleaning up in the Midlands.

The fans will come when there's something worth watching. It's been a very long time since there was.

I agree but I was talking more about the fans who rarely go to games, we still want them buying shirts etc and there are huge swathes of the midlands where we should be working harder. Sell another 100,000 shirts, for example, and that's another bargaining tool with sponsors and kit manufacturers.

[Mister E]

we feel that in Alex McLeish we have found a ... uniquely god fit for our club.  Randy Lerner... Paul Faulkner

Blimey! They must rate him: they've deified him already!!

[Percy McCarthy]

The Lerners got something like $2.5billion in Bank of America shares and $300million in cash, for their share of MBNA.

If that's true and the above figures are correct, then that $2.5bn is now worth about $400m, or about £250m.  Add in his recent dicorce, and I think you can start to see why the investment in Aston Villa isn't looking like such a good idea any more.

Not necessarily. The shares were worth $40.56 at the beginning of 2008, not sure what the price was when Lerner sold MBNA in 2006.

[Nastylee]

The main thing I note is that when we saw Learner and co take control we were told of a 5 year plan. The objective was to be challenging the CL places. There was no mention of this in the letter which tells me they've given up and it's just about balancing the books now.

[Nelly]

Wasn't the 5 year plan just another guff that someone dropped though? They never recognised it whenever anyone brought it up as far as I can recall.

[Mister E]

The main thing I note is that when we saw Learner and co take control we were told of a 5 year plan. The objective was to be challenging the CL places. There was no mention of this in the letter which tells me they've given up ....

I suspect it's less about giving up and more about taking a different approach to deal with the current circumstances. With Beye, Heskey and other high earners in their last year being shown the door anytime from January, I expect a slow return to squad-building from that time.
I'd agree with previous posts that the club appears to have lost the initiative and we've become an also-ran club. That's worrying.

[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.

No not quite. Randy doesn't have the funds to keep ploughing money in to shore up the losses we have been making. Nor does he seem to have the magical idea (not that there necessarily is one anyway) of doubling our revenues to make us compettive and self sufficient.

So if we still want as fans to aspire to winning things the only way possible these days is to have a rich benefactor. I doubt any of us expected to be in this position when we were taken over by a Billionaire but unfortunately Randy isn't a multi-billionaire. I don't doubt he would like to keep spending but he isn't in a position to do so and therefore if he wants to leave us with a lsting legacy he will go and find someone who ahs his same best intentions but with a far bigger bank balance to play with.

A philanthrophic multi-billionaire who wants a football club to play with? I would say that's hardly likely.

[Risso]

I'm not bothered about the philanthropic bit, I'd settle for one who knows how to run a football club, or would at least get people in who do.  Unlike Lerner and his well meaning but ultimately out-of-their-depth chums Faulkner and Krulak.

[Nastylee]

Wasn't the 5 year plan just another guff that someone dropped though? They never recognised it whenever anyone brought it up as far as I can recall.

Perhaps it was but the challenging for CL was definitely on their agenda and that appears to have gone up in smoke.

[Risso]

Wasn't the 5 year plan just another guff that someone dropped though? They never recognised it whenever anyone brought it up as far as I can recall.

Perhaps it was but the challenging for CL was definitely on their agenda and that appears to have gone up in smoke.

I doubt it was ever written down, but Fitzgerald and then Krulak alluded to it a few times.  Whether it existed either as a concrete plan or just a vague hope, the truth is that it's gone either way, to be replaced by nothing more aspirational than improving the wage situation.

[Mister E]

the truth is that it's gone either way, to be replaced by nothing more aspirational than improving the wage situation.

True, but other clubs are in the same place. The difference being that MON brought in a bunch of highly-paid duds so we have had to take the medicine earlier than some of the other clubs.
It's temporary.
I do agree that, after all of this, the Board's credibility is severely dented.

[Chris Smith]

Wasn't the 5 year plan just another guff that someone dropped though? They never recognised it whenever anyone brought it up as far as I can recall.

Perhaps it was but the challenging for CL was definitely on their agenda and that appears to have gone up in smoke.

I doubt it was ever written down, but Fitzgerald and then Krulak alluded to it a few times.  Whether it existed either as a concrete plan or just a vague hope, the truth is that it's gone either way, to be replaced by nothing more aspirational than improving the wage situation.

No, replaced by being in the top 20 by revenue in Europe, which as VZ has told us goes hand in hand with being successful on the pitch.