Takeover rumours

[Phil from the upper holte]

Good I hope he's got someone lined up as well.

[Villafirst]

The last 4 years have been dreadful under his ownership, so I hope he sells.

[TheSandman]

Yep I think Randy would sell but there's no-one available to buy. I think we need a new owner or investment but I doubt it's out there.

This is my take on it too.

[Tuscans]

I was always one for old school building the team with cheap, young, hungry players....but seeing Chelsea and Man. City tear up the Premier League the last 10 odd years I now want a piece of that I'm afraid.

The next owner has to have billions of pounds this time, not billions of dollars.

But, if someone came in and was willing to throw £500 million into the club, how would that be possible with the financial fair play rules coming into effect?

[ciggiesnbeer]

But, if someone came in and was willing to throw £500 million into the club, how would that be possible with the financial fair play rules coming into effect?

Easy, the new owner would just bribe and dodge their way around the FFP rules the same way all the other super rich clubs have.

Financial Fair Play was never designed to stop the likes of Man City/PSG or Chelsea from buying their way to success, it was designed to keep middling clubs uncompetitive against them. So far it looks like it will succeed in its aim.

[Fergal]

I can see no other logical reason for the hugely risky cost cutting that we've seen over the last few years other than RL preparing the club for sale

How about because we were spending more than we were earning?

Is that the case now?

[Phil from the upper holte]

I can see no other logical reason for the hugely risky cost cutting that we've seen over the last few years other than RL preparing the club for sale

How about because we were spending more than we were earning?

Is that the case now?

Doubt it, how much do sky put in, then there is sponsor, ticket sales, corporate etc

[Fergal]

I can see no other logical reason for the hugely risky cost cutting that we've seen over the last few years other than RL preparing the club for sale

How about because we were spending more than we were earning?

Is that the case now?

Doubt it, how much do sky put in, then there is sponsor, ticket sales, corporate etc

Obviously I can't prove it but Randy must be making a fair bit of money these days.  Doesn't he also charge a management fee?

[Phil from the upper holte]

Just checked in 2011-2012 villa received over £42m from sky. Must be a lot more now. I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised

[willywombat]

I can see no other logical reason for the hugely risky cost cutting that we've seen over the last few years other than RL preparing the club for sale

How about because we were spending more than we were earning?

Is that the case now?

Doubt it, how much do sky put in, then there is sponsor, ticket sales, corporate etc

Obviously I can't prove it but Randy must be making a fair bit of money these days.  Doesn't he also charge a management fee?

When Doug was running the club like a corner shop, ( ie cant spend more than you earn ), you were one of his harshest critics Dave, what's the difference now?

[Legion]

The American tycoon, who bought the club from Doug Ellis for £63m in 2006, is actively looking for a new owner who can inject more funds into Villa and take them forward.
Lerner, 51, has been hoping for a wealthy United States investor to buy Villa. His inflated asking price takes into account the £250m he has spent on players, plus redeveloping facilities.
Lerner knows he will not recoup all the cash but has been encouraged by the £190m Mohamed Fayed received from Shahid Khan for Fulham.
A source said: “Randy has been open to offers for Villa from some time — but wants quite a lot of money from the club.
“He has seen the £190m sale of Fulham but about £35m of that was a premium for it being a London-based club.”
The value of Prem clubs is soaring because of the new TV deal which pays at least £40m a season.
A deal could take around three months to complete and any buyer would wait to be sure Villa will definitely be a top-flight side next season before finalising a deal.
Former Villa boss Gerard Houllier, global sports director for Red Bull, has already gone public to state his company are not interested in tabling a bid.

[Phil from the upper holte]

I read somewhere that the £63m was for a stake and the actual deal was more like £100m is that correct? I can't understand why he wants so much? Surely it's better to get £100-£150m, get your money back then you don't have to put any more in. Who's got £200m? Then have to invest?

[McGraths Dry Cleaning]

Don Amott, King of Caravans.

The price is right, and the choice is yours

[ozzjim]

It will be between 65 and 70 million from Sky. Top get about 100, made from a base, position amount and TV games.

I very much doubt Lerner is making a penny from the club, and frankly after putting the amount he has done into I think it is fair to criticise his decisions, but very unfair for people to have a pop at him personally.

If he wants out I trust him to sell to someone reputable, and wish him luck. I would sell in his position. It is a thankless task and one people are bloody insane to get involved in. 40k plus opinions on the idea you should be spending millions on over hyped pillocks that kick a ball around all day.

[ozzjim]

I read somewhere that the £63m was for a stake and the actual deal was more like £100m is that correct? I can't understand why he wants so much? Surely it's better to get £100-£150m, get your money back then you don't have to put any more in. Who's got £200m? Then have to invest?

He has put in the initial 60 plus million, then propped the club to the tune of another 150 million plus since. Why would he not want that much. I may be coming across as terribly pro Lerner, I am not at all, I think he is right to sell if he has not got the money or will any more, but if you bought a house and then spent significant money on it, you would want that back in the sale. Even at that he might well make a heavy loss.