Questions for Mr. Lerner Sir

[pauliewalnuts]

The fact is that even if he came back, he'd just get shouted at, and the things being shouted - no matter how relevant or valid they may be - would be the same as the things getting shouted on the villa talk thread. I think (my view, not that of H&V) that there's not much value for anyone in that.

[robbyfvillain]

If we're losing £20m this year then things are clearly worse than we have been led to believe.

What happened to the list of players houlier was going to buy and the general talking about backing Mcleish which quite clearly was never going to happen. You have to admit this is misleading at best.

As far as blame who would you say is responsible for the finances of the club. Surely somebody would have been making forward projections of costs and how that looks against current revenues before making any purchases. At the end of the day surely the buck stops with Randy.

 

I agree to a degree; mistakes were made and the buck does stop with Randy, but that is also a gross simplification of a rather complex issue. Still, you are right on the whole (in my opinion, of course).

As for the general's comments, they were made under the assumption that certain obligations were going to be met that have not yet been met. He should have been more circumspect in this instance. That said, at the time given what he knew, there was reason to state them. I know this is cryptic, but I really have nothing more to say about it.

I appreciate how difficult it is in your position and I am grateful for your response.

[Risso]

Is there a reason you are posting this and not the General?  Has he retired from the fans' forums for good?

Am I not allowed to speak, Risso, and add a perspective? I do not know that he has retired for good, but he is far busier these days given his new position. People can chastise him for this, but the facts are the facts.

Of course you are allowed an opinion.  I only ask as the General was in touch asking us to reopen his thread, and then never posted again.

Interesting cryptic comments about "certain obligations".  I wonder what they are that they are so important that within the space of a month, we have gone from "imagine what McLeish could do with an owner like Randy's backing" to having to move players on before even a very average loan like Hitzlsperger could be sanctioned.   Given that you said earlier that spending has ceased as losses were still running at £20m, it must have been a substantial obligation indeed.

[Merv]

I agree, Paulie. There's not really an awful lot for the General to say; the penny has dropped (certainly with me) and I can't expect him to post on here, taking the frustration of the fans and trying to deliver answers that satisfy our questions, while still painting a positive picture. It's certainly not fair to expect that. I think we've all grasped the situation now, desperately disappointing though it is.

[CJ]

Is there a reason you are posting this and not the General?  Has he retired from the fans' forums for good?

Am I not allowed to speak, Risso, and add a perspective? I do not know that he has retired for good, but he is far busier these days given his new position. People can chastise him for this, but the facts are the facts.

Unfair to pick on you here Pelty, and understand the General has other priorities, but are you able to provide us with any insight as to why he chose to avoid posting on here when he was posting on other sites ?

[Irreverent ad]

Pelty, any such chance that these obligations may still be met?

[Concrete John]

Is there a reason you are posting this and not the General?  Has he retired from the fans' forums for good?

Am I not allowed to speak, Risso, and add a perspective? I do not know that he has retired for good, but he is far busier these days given his new position. People can chastise him for this, but the facts are the facts.

Of course you are allowed an opinion.  I only ask as the General was in touch asking us to reopen his thread, and then never posted again.

Interesting cryptic comments about "certain obligations".  I wonder what they are that they are so important that within the space of a month, we have gone from "imagine what McLeish could do with an owner like Randy's backing" to having to move players on before even a very average loan like Hitzlsperger could be sanctioned.   Given that you said earlier that spending has ceased as losses were still running at £20m, it must have been a substantial obligation indeed.

I'm as intrigued as you by these 'oblingations', but lets not forget that bits in bold were our speculation and a paper rumour, as opposed to anything from the club!

[Risso]

Is there a reason you are posting this and not the General?  Has he retired from the fans' forums for good?

Am I not allowed to speak, Risso, and add a perspective? I do not know that he has retired for good, but he is far busier these days given his new position. People can chastise him for this, but the facts are the facts.

Of course you are allowed an opinion.  I only ask as the General was in touch asking us to reopen his thread, and then never posted again.

Interesting cryptic comments about "certain obligations".  I wonder what they are that they are so important that within the space of a month, we have gone from "imagine what McLeish could do with an owner like Randy's backing" to having to move players on before even a very average loan like Hitzlsperger could be sanctioned.   Given that you said earlier that spending has ceased as losses were still running at £20m, it must have been a substantial obligation indeed.

I'm as intrigued as you by these 'oblingations', but lets not forget that bits in bold were our speculation and a paper rumour, as opposed to anything from the club!

The first bit in bold was a paraphrased quote from The General, the second was more or less what McLeish himself said last week. Not just tabloid speculation at all.

[pauliewalnuts]

Can't speak for Pelty but reading that, I'd take the certain obligations to mean the shifting of the likes oh Heskey and Beye.

This two are costing us approx 5.5m a year between them. That's a big chunk of wage bill.

[Merv]

Don't think they were speculation, John - first bolded statement was a direct quote from GK, posting and explaining the recruitment of AM; second was a direct quote from AM from a press conference, naming Hitz as a player he had talked about and then referred to the need to trim the wage bill further before being able to bring in the new midfield player he had identified we needed.

Speaking of which, I wish we hadn't cancelled Bradley's deal now.

[Irreverent ad]

Don't think they were speculation, John - first bolded statement was a direct quote from GK, posting and explaining the recruitment of AM; second was a direct quote from AM from a press conference, naming Hitz as a player he had talked about and then referred to the need to trim the wage bill further before being able to bring in the new midfield player he had identified we needed.

Speaking of which, I wish we hadn't cancelled Bradley's deal now.

Thats a point. The wages and money was supposedly already set aside for Bradley. (which was speculation)

[Merv]

I know. I've thought about that all summer, but kept quiet before chucking that one in. That was £2.5m supposedly 'saved' to pursue other targets. Which may have gone towards Given or The Zog, of course.

[Risso]

Can't speak for Pelty but reading that, I'd take the certain obligations to mean the shifting of the likes oh Heskey and Beye.

This two are costing us approx 5.5m a year between them. That's a big chunk of wage bill.

At least Heskey started the match, and would therefore appear to be firmly in McLeish's plans.

Why would Beye take a pay cut to move elsewhere?   If ever there was a point when Lerner should have booted O'Neill out of his office, it was the day he suggested signing that pair.  If I was Lerner I'd cry myself to sleep every night at the amount wasted on that pair, and that's after setting fire to a similar amount after the Marlon Harewood purchase.   Maybe Randy is a KLF fan and just wanted to outdo Bill Drummond setting fire to a million quid on a remore Scottish hill!

[Rigadon]

Can't speak for Pelty but reading that, I'd take the certain obligations to mean the shifting of the likes oh Heskey and Beye.

This two are costing us approx 5.5m a year between them. That's a big chunk of wage bill.

That's what I read too.  Maybe we were close to flogging Heskey to Leicester but it fell through at the last minute.  This kind of stuff must happen all the time behind the scenes.  Maybe some extra finance was in the offing but feel through? 

[pelty]

Is there a reason you are posting this and not the General?  Has he retired from the fans' forums for good?

Am I not allowed to speak, Risso, and add a perspective? I do not know that he has retired for good, but he is far busier these days given his new position. People can chastise him for this, but the facts are the facts.

Unfair to pick on you here Pelty, and understand the General has other priorities, but are you able to provide us with any insight as to why he chose to avoid posting on here when he was posting on other sites ?

CJ, I think he has tried to communicate with the mods about the thread structure and once that is straightened out, he will post there. I do not know the specifics, honestly. It has nothing at all to do with this site, the mods, or the people on it. Maybe the mods are unclear on his wishes and if that is the case, I hope they will ask for clarification. Again, it is nothing about this site in particular. We are dealing with an "old dog" here, so "new tricks" do not come easily, I guess!