The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[pauliewalnuts]

Incidentally, i had - in real life - an argument with a friend a couple of days ago, regarding whether Stoke was even in the midlands. Mind you, she was also refusing to accept that Nottingham or Leicester are in the midlands.

[Percy McCarthy]

It's in the western half of the midlands. Or the west midlands for short.

[Chris Smith]

Blimey, geography not your strong point. Stoke is in North Staffs, it may be Midlands but it's definitely not West Midlands

Of course it is, the traditional divide is always East and West.

[pauliewalnuts]

Blimey, geography not your strong point. Stoke is in North Staffs, it may be Midlands but it's definitely not West Midlands

Of course it is, the traditional divide is always East and West.

Not too sure about that - Sheffield is virtually as far west as Wakefield is, yet I've never heard Sheffield described as West Yorkshire, whereas Wakefield always is.

[lovejoy]

It's in the western half of the midlands. Or the west midlands for short.

So it's in the west midlands but not the West Midlands.

[pauliewalnuts]

Returning to the subject at hand, I hope this isnt true.

Although it is written by James Nursey who always seems dim enough to believe pretty much anything, so there is hope yet.

Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner puts the club up for sale, blocks new contracts and transfers

Aston Villa were thrown into crisis on Monday when Randy Lerner put the club up for sale and a block on all contracts and major transfers.

Villa’s US owner Lerner confirmed he is no longer willing to bankroll the club after a fourth successive relegation battle.

But Villa do not have a buyer lined up yet and hope potential bidders will now come forward after their announcement which is designed to whip up interest.

Embattled Villa manager Paul Lambert, who has one year left on his contract, is set to continue and held talks with his squad yesterday at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground.

But it is a nightmare for the Scot who recently pleaded for fresh funds to revamp the club’s squad after a second successive 15th place finish under him.

Injury-hit Villa limped to safety with just one win in nine matches amid mounting anger towards Lambert.

He was hoping to bring in proven Premier League players like Joleon Lescott, Lewis Holtby and Javier Hernandez this summer.

But Villa have now ruled out any major purchases until the club changes hands.

Villa are effectively in limbo as they also intend to defer all contract negotiations until a new owner comes in. That could still be months away which will frustrate stars like Fabian Delph and Gabriel Agbonlahor, who have just one year left on their deals and were hoping for fresh terms.

A Villa source told MirrorSport: “The best policy when a club is to be taken over is to do nothing until the new owners come in.”

Villa are now likely to lose former England U21 winger Marc Albrighton,24,  as his contract is up and he is wanted by Premier League rivals.

While loanees Grant Holt and Ryan Bertrand are set to return to Wigan and Chelsea respectively.

A raft of fringe players remain available for transfer such as Alan Hutton, Nicklas Helenius, Aleksandar Tonev and Charles N’Zogbia.

Two exits are guaranteed with Lambert’s suspended former assistants Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa due to leave later this month after allegations of bullying.

 But despite the problems, Villa believe they are an attractive proposition as they have a fine stadium and training ground.

Their wage bill is down to nearly £50million a year after previously spiraling to £83m. They have already sold 6,500 season tickets for next season.

But there is no buyer waiting in the wings and Lerner has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell the club.

He paid £62m for Villa in 2006 from Doug Ellis and has since ploughed in over £200m. His investment helped the club record three successive sixth place finishes under Martin O’Neill and qualify for Europe.

But Villa have been in decline since O’Neill quit abruptly in August 2010 when Lerner decided he wanted to make the club self-financing.

Villa have flirted with the drop every season since and seen disgruntled fans hound Gerard Houllier, Alex McLeish and now Lambert.

During Villa’s woes, Lerner - clobbered with a huge divorce settlement - has been seen noticeably less at the club.

A weary Lerner,51, said: “I feel further that now is the time for me to look for new ownership and thus new leadership.

“I owe it to Villa to move on, and look for fresh, invigorated leadership, if in my heart I feel I can no longer do the job.

 “I can see now that it is time, if possible, to hand these privileges and responsibilities to the next person or group to take the Club forward.

 “I will look on with others- with fingers crossed, for stronger future performance appropriate to our size and heritage.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/aston-villa-sale-lerner-listening-3532350#.U3FDuHC6LqQ.twitter

[Percy McCarthy]

It's in the western half of the midlands. Or the west midlands for short.

So it's in the west midlands but not the West Midlands.

Exactly.

[Monty]

Returning to the subject at hand, I hope this isnt true.

Although it is written by James Nursey who always seems dim enough to believe pretty much anything, so there is hope yet.

Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner puts the club up for sale, blocks new contracts and transfers

Aston Villa were thrown into crisis on Monday when Randy Lerner put the club up for sale and a block on all contracts and major transfers.

Villa’s US owner Lerner confirmed he is no longer willing to bankroll the club after a fourth successive relegation battle.

But Villa do not have a buyer lined up yet and hope potential bidders will now come forward after their announcement which is designed to whip up interest.

Embattled Villa manager Paul Lambert, who has one year left on his contract, is set to continue and held talks with his squad yesterday at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground.

But it is a nightmare for the Scot who recently pleaded for fresh funds to revamp the club’s squad after a second successive 15th place finish under him.

Injury-hit Villa limped to safety with just one win in nine matches amid mounting anger towards Lambert.

He was hoping to bring in proven Premier League players like Joleon Lescott, Lewis Holtby and Javier Hernandez this summer.

But Villa have now ruled out any major purchases until the club changes hands.

Villa are effectively in limbo as they also intend to defer all contract negotiations until a new owner comes in. That could still be months away which will frustrate stars like Fabian Delph and Gabriel Agbonlahor, who have just one year left on their deals and were hoping for fresh terms.

A Villa source told MirrorSport: “The best policy when a club is to be taken over is to do nothing until the new owners come in.”

Villa are now likely to lose former England U21 winger Marc Albrighton,24,  as his contract is up and he is wanted by Premier League rivals.

While loanees Grant Holt and Ryan Bertrand are set to return to Wigan and Chelsea respectively.

A raft of fringe players remain available for transfer such as Alan Hutton, Nicklas Helenius, Aleksandar Tonev and Charles N’Zogbia.

Two exits are guaranteed with Lambert’s suspended former assistants Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa due to leave later this month after allegations of bullying.

 But despite the problems, Villa believe they are an attractive proposition as they have a fine stadium and training ground.

Their wage bill is down to nearly £50million a year after previously spiraling to £83m. They have already sold 6,500 season tickets for next season.

But there is no buyer waiting in the wings and Lerner has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell the club.

He paid £62m for Villa in 2006 from Doug Ellis and has since ploughed in over £200m. His investment helped the club record three successive sixth place finishes under Martin O’Neill and qualify for Europe.

But Villa have been in decline since O’Neill quit abruptly in August 2010 when Lerner decided he wanted to make the club self-financing.

Villa have flirted with the drop every season since and seen disgruntled fans hound Gerard Houllier, Alex McLeish and now Lambert.

During Villa’s woes, Lerner - clobbered with a huge divorce settlement - has been seen noticeably less at the club.

A weary Lerner,51, said: “I feel further that now is the time for me to look for new ownership and thus new leadership.

“I owe it to Villa to move on, and look for fresh, invigorated leadership, if in my heart I feel I can no longer do the job.

 “I can see now that it is time, if possible, to hand these privileges and responsibilities to the next person or group to take the Club forward.

 “I will look on with others- with fingers crossed, for stronger future performance appropriate to our size and heritage.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/aston-villa-sale-lerner-listening-3532350#.U3FDuHC6LqQ.twitter

Seems like guesswork, to me. After the Graun/Torygraph revelations (but before Randy's first statement) Nursey was adamant that the club wasn't for sale so far as he knew, which now turns out to be not very far.

[AvFc4eVeR]

I would say that Stoke is in the greater midlands, along with the likes of Nottingham and Leicester.

The west midlands covers Birmingham and Black Country predominantly, as already said, the west midlands is a political type by product of ever increasing city boundaries overlapping and someone had to 'label' it.

As for the western half of the greater midlands, Stoke would fall into that category IMO.

Now what were we talking about....

[Chris Smith]

Blimey, geography not your strong point. Stoke is in North Staffs, it may be Midlands but it's definitely not West Midlands

Of course it is, the traditional divide is always East and West.

Not too sure about that - Sheffield is virtually as far west as Wakefield is, yet I've never heard Sheffield described as West Yorkshire, whereas Wakefield always is.

The government always classifies the midlands as being East and West. So my department has Staffordshire, Birmingham, Black Country and Coventry as West; Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestersire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire as East.

Of course there are many other ways of dividing the region but from an official point of view Staffordshire has the good fortune to be part of the West Midlands.

Edit: p.s. sorry forgot West Mercia (Worcester, Hereford, Shropshire) is also West.

[pauliewalnuts]

Blimey, geography not your strong point. Stoke is in North Staffs, it may be Midlands but it's definitely not West Midlands

Of course it is, the traditional divide is always East and West.

Not too sure about that - Sheffield is virtually as far west as Wakefield is, yet I've never heard Sheffield described as West Yorkshire, whereas Wakefield always is.

The government always classifies the midlands as being East and West. So my department has Staffordshire, Birmingham, Black Country and Coventry as West; Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestersire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire as East.

Of course there are many other ways of dividing the region but from an official point of view Staffordshire has the good fortune to be part of the West Midlands.

Ah, sorry, that makes sense.

I thought you meant the traditional divide was east and west everywhere rather than just the midlands.

[damon loves JT]

Of course there will be no transfers or new contracts Nursey you bellend.

That would be like selling your house and then deciding to install a new kitchen.

[olaftab]

First item on R5L 11.15 spot Rio retiring should go to Villa to help young defence.

[AvFc4eVeR]

What's DD saying?

My wireless is on the blink.

[olaftab]

On next...
Try holding it above your head.