Who is the best owner?

[Monty]

Your failing to see my argument, which I'm more than willing to ascribe to my failings in putting it across. Where I said 'place' in that quote I really should have said 'state' or 'government', so fair enough, I amend that.

I do not claim to know you by anything other than your posts on here, many of which I have seen attacking injustices perpetrated by the UK government and the US government, which is obviously fine. I was not saying that you couldn't attack them as much as you want, merely that your line of argument against me - that my US citizenship (which, while we're on the subject of claiming to know someone better than you do, is a complicated family matter for me you know nothing about but continued to insist on referring to the US as "your [my] country") somehow automatically undermines anything I have to say relating to that country - would lead to a line of argument whereby you couldn't attack the US because the government of your own country has done bad things. That wasn't my argument, that was yours. As for 'soft-pedaling torture and detention without trial', I was saying that I think it's probably worse if the reason for doing so is joining a political party rather than training suicide bombers. Of course the penalty (if that's the right word) for the crimes of torture and suspension without trial would be equal whatever the motive, but the mindset behind it is different. Just trying not to leave out any arguments.

You're argument is totally valid without your needing to resort to those puerile ad hominem attacks you always do. I tried to debate your points without ever casting aspersions on your psychological reasons for making them. I assume you make your arguments in good faith - please try to do the same without bringing in personal matters of mine you know nothing about.

[dave.woodhall]

Can we please leave it there. You've been at it at great length for most of the day.

[Dave Clark Five]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2010/jan/27/aston-villa-randy-lerner

An old article that is worth a read.

[martin o`who??]

With better advice from someone more in touch with the game here, a certain mister R Lerner wouldnt have been a bad shout.

[the hole in the wall]

it is hard to admit... but Ellis was a better owner than Lerner....we should have won the league twicw when he was chairman..two league cups..f a cup final...finished in the top 6 two years running which hadnt been acheived since before ww2.we played some great football.the club was run well....yes i was one of the anti ellis brigade.but he would never have let the club get in this position.....i appreciate we were poor in the 1986  87 season.. but he bought graham taylor in who did a fantastic job first time around.Ellis had his faults he interfered but he just loved the club....i woder how hes feeling

[rob_bridge]

it is hard to admit... but Ellis was a better owner than Lerner....we should have won the league twicw when he was chairman..two league cups..f a cup final...finished in the top 6 two years running which hadnt been acheived since before ww2.we played some great football.the club was run well....yes i was one of the anti ellis brigade.but he would never have let the club get in this position.....i appreciate we were poor in the 1986  87 season.. but he bought graham taylor in who did a fantastic job first time around.Ellis had his faults he interfered but he just loved the club....i woder how hes feeling

Ellis was a decade behind the curve - a 70's chariman in the 80's, an 80's chariman in the 90's etc...

[Jon Crofts]

Ellis held the purse strings but he surrounded himself with people cleverer than himself and people who knew the game, take away Ansell & Stride and we'd be in big trouble, just like we are today.

[the hole in the wall]

yes i agree and lerner should have let stride stay

[rob_bridge]

yes i agree and lerner should have let stride stay

I do believe that it has been oft said on here that Stride wanted to leave.

[Toronto Villa]

it is hard to admit... but Ellis was a better owner than Lerner....we should have won the league twicw when he was chairman..two league cups..f a cup final...finished in the top 6 two years running which hadnt been acheived since before ww2.we played some great football.the club was run well....yes i was one of the anti ellis brigade.but he would never have let the club get in this position.....i appreciate we were poor in the 1986  87 season.. but he bought graham taylor in who did a fantastic job first time around.Ellis had his faults he interfered but he just loved the club....i woder how hes feeling

I agree he would never let the club come close to relegation, so yes, let's just quickly gloss over 86/87 because of how much Ellis loved the club.

[Richard E]

Yeah, I must have imagined 1988-89 under Doug Ellis listening in trepidation to Liverpool v West Ham at Anfield on the radio knowing that if West Ham won we were down, because Doug would never have let the club get into this position.

[dave.woodhall]

Doug Ellis may have loved/still love the Villa. He also, presumably, loved Small Heath and Wolves. If he'd had the chance he would have loved Derby. But he never loved any of them as much as he loved Doug Ellis.

[levico]

Doug Ellis may have loved/still love the Villa. He also, presumably, loved Small Heath and Wolves. If he'd had the chance he would have loved Derby. But he never loved any of them as much as he loved Doug Ellis.

VG

[Chico Hamilton III]

Ellis knocked the Trinity down. Lerner had a holiday romance with us, changed the badge and then fucked off back to his bat cave to leave us lot in the dark.

I woudn't piss on either of them if they were on fire.

[eastie]

As a combination i preferred doug and Steve stride to randy and faulkner - and yes I know there were many faults during the Ellis era as well as many highs too .