The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[OzVilla]

I wonder when and what it was that tipped Lerner over the edge and made him think I've had enough, b*ll*cks to this...

Whatever it is, it didn't take long, did it?

Remember all that "we're here and we will be here through thick and thin" stuff? It is hard to see that as anything other than bullshit. They started the withdrawal pretty much the minute things started to go south.

Randy spent a lot of money on us, that's true, but he lost interest super fast. Remember all that fan engagement, the proud history stuff? What happened to that?

All of a sudden it turned from "We're going to have a museum, we're having a replica EC made and everything!" to "it needs to be self supporting financially". We don't even have a trophy room, FFS.

When they took over, they were here all the time. I read an article about today's statement just now and the accompanying picture showed Randy with a Rapid Vienna security pass on. That's what he used to be like, over here for lots of matches, wanted to buy a house here, they'd go to away matches, he'd go to European matches, the lot. Then it turned into not showing up for two years.

It's nigh on impossible not to conclude that he lost interest pretty quickly

Seeing the General grinning away at some Southern University under a "Proud History, Bright Future" banner.

That was the moment when the penny dropped that it was all smoke and mirrors.

[not3bad]

I don't think Lerner ever recovered from MON.

Cuts a long story short and agreed.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

I find it a great shame that the man who revived this club and gave us back real pride will be remembered only for bringing us TSM and Paul Lambert.
Personally, and I don't doubt that I will be scoffed at for thinking this, I dearly hope that Lambert turns things round and Randy realises his dream.

I can but hope.

I wonder if he's still got that ankle tattoo.

[pauliewalnuts]

I find it a great shame that the man who revived this club and gave us back real pride will be remembered only for bringing us TSM and Paul Lambert.

Don't forget Houllier!

[E I Adio]

If some of you fancy the Dave Spart route of sticking with what we have now, good luck to you, you can do that when I'm dead.

As a committed ultra-left wing activist sympathiser and representative of the National Amalgamated Union of Sixth-Form Operatives and Allied Trades, based in Neasden, I must register my disgust at the typically bourgeois misrepresentation of our esteemed leaders name in your post.

Power to the people!

[Steve R]

If there is sudden interest I wonder if it is anything to do with the demise of Manu (and maybe Arsenal's almost annual coughing and spluttering to make 4th place). Maybe someone has seen real opportunity to break into the elite with the right club.

If you look at future 4th place candidates right now, Everton probably lack cash to sustain a challenge, Arsenal may well part company with Wenger, Spurs have spent their windfall and so far it has not gone well and ManU may well be making noises about major overhaul, but it's hard to see where the money will come from.

[Toronto Villa]

I always thought that one of the biggest issues in investing in Everton is that they will always be second fiddle to Liverpool. However well they might do, Liverpool is still the big draw and it's hard to be big when you can't even be the biggest in your own city. Even with Man City, despite the immense investment that their owners have put in, will they ever really be bigger than Man U? They can have all the campuses, and try and buy the best players but if Man U ever got their act together they'd immediately reassert themselves as number one in that city. With us, we're already number one in the second city without having to be any good, and have a very loyal fan base despite not being very good. If the right owner and backing came along there's just so much more upside to making us great than Everton. Everton's potential will always be trapped within the walls of the city, and the name of their rivals. Our potential is trapped only because so many people have tried and failed to get it out. It's a huge potential.

[KevinGage]

I actually think it would be harder now to break through, compared to 2006. 

Back then, it was really only the top 4 (and Newcastle, to an extent) who had real money, and of those Arsenal were reluctant to spend following the stadium move and Liverpool had looked unconvincing (CL win apart) for a few years.

So two of the established four looked vulnerable, and a new player on the block could justify spending a decent amount in what would be a calculated gamble.

Now, the current top 4 plus Man U and Tottingham all have the resources to have top 6 sewn up for the foreseeable, never mind the top 4.   Everton somehow manage to remain competitive at the right end of the table too, it wouldn't be easy to eclipse them either.

There also seems to be an assumption that any new owner will automatically want to have the club fighting it out at the top of the league.  But on top of the purchase cost (at the reported £200+ million mark) how much would they need to spend to have a chance of CL football?  If Citeh are any sort of yardstick, you are easily talking another £200 million.

That's a phenomenal amount, even for a billionaire.

Citeh's owners effectively see that deal as very expensive promotion for Abu Dhabi. They don't seem particularly keen to turn a profit (though I'm sure the association helps their other brands too).

So unless any potential new bidder is coming in with similar motivation, I wouldn't see it as a given that they'll throw money at the thing.   If it's another American owner (as the speculation points to) rather than a big player from an emerging Gulf nation, they might be quite happy to keep the club ticking over on the new TV deal for a while and then sell on for a profit a few years down the track.

The TV rights don't seem to be on the decline, so even if we weren't particularly successful over the next 5/10 years, there is still a strong chance the club could be sold on again at a profit.

[Mellin]

It struck me earlier that we're probably the only ever-present PL team not to look like we belong in the league. We haven't had a decent title challenge since '93, haven't troubled fourth since '96, haven't had a sniff of a CL challenge since that Stoke equaliser and haven't won a pot in nearly twenty years.

Lies, something something and statistics.

Not sure I agree with that at all.

Who are these clubs, for example, records since 1992:

Club 1

7 bottom half finishes
6 top six finishes
Best finish 4th

Club 2

6 bottom half finishes
9 top six finishes
Best finish: 2nd

Club 1 is Spurs. Club 2 is us.

[villasjf]

For a man who hardly ever says anything this is his second announcement in a week, it looks like he will be selling if we stay up.


http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~3777796,00.html

[manic-road]

For a man who hardly ever says anything this is his second announcement in a week, it looks like he will be selling if we stay up.


http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~3777796,00.html

The previous 10 pages are about that statement.

[villasjf]

Sorry just realised that after reading them all from bottom message upwards.

[silhillvilla]

All of a sudden Lerner has got verbal diarrhea . He'll be in the sky studio next doing a CL game.

[Holte L2]

To a point yes.
The other extreme is arsenal and their ticket prices , what was it £160 for a standard seat v Bayern ?
What price "success" ??

Who's that you're referring too? Not Citeh? I actually went to that game. My ticket was £40.00

[saunders_heroes]

When he first bought Villa didn't Randy say that if he couldn't make us successful he would get out and let somebody else try?

And hopefully that's what he's about to do now.