The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Villafirst]

What will happen to Brian Little? I hope the new owner keeps him on the Board as an advisor. Sir Brian's knowledge and experience is surely invaluable? I'd also like to see Hollis retained in some capacity.

[sickbeggar]

'We did not target only on Villa'

'we signed the deal a long time ago, when I was there watching a game of villa. it was some approval process (this is vague in Chinese but I try to be accurate) involved so we waited till yesterday to announce this'

'we paid 75mil pounds as the first installment. Once the club back to PL, another 40M will be paid. for sure there will other things involved'

'we will decide on the managerial choice in 2 weeks. they have their opinion on manager and players (which mean who to buy)'

'we have 6 managers to choose from, including Di Mateo and Perrson. We know reduce the number to three. the manager has to have experience with Championship, but will need to have european leagues ambition and experience'

'we have clauses in the contract with manager. anytime the club is not within the first 6 positions of the league, we can sack him'

'we will recommend a few talents chinese youth players to the club, but the coach has final decision. We will not just send them to the club '

'my plan is to take Villa back to PL as soon as possible', he then pointed the shirt that the journalist wears (Arsenal), 'like this club, I want to see my club to stay in Champions league every season'.

'in 8-10 years i want Villa back to its best time - to become one of the best clubs in europe'

'I beleive in Villa- they have the best fan base - if we exploit it well - it will form the base of the best club of the world (he didnt use 'one of the best' in this sentence)'

Sounds like another nutter to me. Wouldn't be surprised if Lerner sold to someone as off with the fairies as himself

[aev]

'We did not target only on Villa'

'we signed the deal a long time ago, when I was there watching a game of villa. it was some approval process (this is vague in Chinese but I try to be accurate) involved so we waited till yesterday to announce this'

'we paid 75mil pounds as the first installment. Once the club back to PL, another 40M will be paid. for sure there will other things involved'

'we will decide on the managerial choice in 2 weeks. they have their opinion on manager and players (which mean who to buy)'

'we have 6 managers to choose from, including Di Mateo and Perrson. We know reduce the number to three. the manager has to have experience with Championship, but will need to have european leagues ambition and experience'

'we have clauses in the contract with manager. anytime the club is not within the first 6 positions of the league, we can sack him'

'we will recommend a few talents chinese youth players to the club, but the coach has final decision. We will not just send them to the club '

'my plan is to take Villa back to PL as soon as possible', he then pointed the shirt that the journalist wears (Arsenal), 'like this club, I want to see my club to stay in Champions league every season'.

'in 8-10 years i want Villa back to its best time - to become one of the best clubs in europe'

'I beleive in Villa- they have the best fan base - if we exploit it well - it will form the base of the best club of the world (he didnt use 'one of the best' in this sentence)'

Sounds like another nutter to me. Wouldn't be surprised if Lerner sold to someone as off with the fairies as himself

Are they actual quotes or just someone pissing about?

[sickbeggar]

I presume they're real, though i hope not. Sounds a fucking great plan to go down the leeds route of sacking the manager everytime we lose a game

[Ads]

Could we have the link to the source?

[HK Villan]

One positive is there do not seem to be any obvious red flags, as there were when our neighbours were taken over.  The fact they passed "fit and proper" gives me no comfort about the current process.

But it's concerning how little is known about this guy.  Most of the U.K. press reports are either rehashing quotes from the press release or interviews, but there is almost nothing out there to substantiate.  Even serious / hopefully well informed papers like the FT and South China Morning Post have little insight.

As for sacking managers if we're outside the top 6, well good luck with that! 

Mr Hollis, I hope you have done your DD diligently.

Of course I hope to be proved very wrong, but I'm concerned given the lack of solid information about our new owner. 

[sid1964]

It is at times like this, I wish we had a time machine and could forward 12 months to see if this is all for real or we are being lied too?

I honestly have my doubts, but I hope I am wrong

Have decided to renew my season ticket, " we go again"

[Ian.]

That looks like something some numpty has made up and written. It reads like someone is taking the piss out of our new owner.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I presume they're real, though i hope not. Sounds a fucking great plan to go down the leeds route of sacking the manager everytime we lose a game

I dunno, I rather liked that bit. I wish Randy had sacked our last 3 managers when it was obvious they were not up to our standards rather than let it drag on.

"Drop out of the top six past X date and we can sack you with less compensation" would seem a perfectly reasonable clause for a manager to have with a team who are just assumed to be winning the league, it wouldnt raise an eyebrow if it was applied to say Gardiola at Man City.

I like the notion that our owners starting point is winning things rather than losing things. It seems Lambert had a clause he could be sacked with less compensation if we were in the relegation zone after a certain point. Seems to me its a far better statement of intent to put that bar at the top of the table rather than the bottom.

[mr underhill]

absolutely, only in football does it seem to be the norm to be rewarded beyond most people's wildest dreams for failure. Incentive, incentive, incentive!

[cdbearsfan]

Is the supposed sacking clause for if they fail to be in the top six in the Championship? Or does it include not being in the top six in the Premier League if we get promoted?

[sickbeggar]

I presume they're real, though i hope not. Sounds a fucking great plan to go down the leeds route of sacking the manager everytime we lose a game

I dunno, I rather liked that bit. I wish Randy had sacked our last 3 managers when it was obvious they were not up to our standards rather than let it drag on.

"Drop out of the top six past X date and we can sack you with less compensation" would seem a perfectly reasonable clause for a manager to have with a team who are just assumed to be winning the league, it wouldnt raise an eyebrow if it was applied to say Gardiola at Man City.

I like the notion that our owners starting point is winning things rather than losing things. It seems Lambert had a clause he could be sacked with less compensation if we were in the relegation zone after a certain point. Seems to me its a far better statement of intent to put that bar at the top of the table rather than the bottom.

I think it's batshit mental For a start, can't you sack a manager at anytime anyway? If he means we can get rid with little compensation paid then who's going to want to manage us? Certainly few outside of the "desperate" category once word gets around.

I take your point about Villa manager's staying too long but i put that down to Lerner being totally disconnected with the club and having no idea what was happening behind the scenes. In a ideal world you want  someone in charge of firing who a)hired him in the first place and b) Is aware of the day to day progress or otherwise at the club and doesn't base the decision solely on performances or the fact that the owner had his weekend ruined by the result. If that person is prepared to go against the fans opinion at times then so be it because lets face it, we're wrong a lot of the time

[Lastfootstamper]

Does TBAR have to fold now? Do they all emerge, blinking into the sunrise, having handed back their service revolvers, unsure of what comes next but shaking one another's' hands with the certainty that they have lived through the forging of a new future but that they'll never see each other again?

That must be how this story ends, or else what? They keep going, typing bouncing-tit emoticons at the moon until Dr Tony starts to fail and they can get the operation up and running again?

So in Erdington or Brisbane when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over Walsall and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the Edgbaston reservoir, and all that road going, and all the people dreaming in the immensity of it, and in Dudley I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars'll be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all the rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Admin, I even think of Old Admin the father we never found, I think of Admin.

All my love,

R. Lerner (aged 54 1/4)

Which reminds me; was he in Oswestry? Nobody's said.

[Jimbo]

'We did not target only on Villa'

'we signed the deal a long time ago, when I was there watching a game of villa. it was some approval process (this is vague in Chinese but I try to be accurate) involved so we waited till yesterday to announce this'

'we paid 75mil pounds as the first installment. Once the club back to PL, another 40M will be paid. for sure there will other things involved'

'we will decide on the managerial choice in 2 weeks. they have their opinion on manager and players (which mean who to buy)'

'we have 6 managers to choose from, including Di Mateo and Perrson. We know reduce the number to three. the manager has to have experience with Championship, but will need to have european leagues ambition and experience'

'we have clauses in the contract with manager. anytime the club is not within the first 6 positions of the league, we can sack him'

'we will recommend a few talents chinese youth players to the club, but the coach has final decision. We will not just send them to the club '

'my plan is to take Villa back to PL as soon as possible', he then pointed the shirt that the journalist wears (Arsenal), 'like this club, I want to see my club to stay in Champions league every season'.

'in 8-10 years i want Villa back to its best time - to become one of the best clubs in europe'

'I beleive in Villa- they have the best fan base - if we exploit it well - it will form the base of the best club of the world (he didnt use 'one of the best' in this sentence)'

If you don't include a source, I'm going to have to assume you made this up.

[passport1]

The Bird's Nest comment sounds a bit odd, certainly. I don't think it passes the sniff-test.

I also think Hollis' comments around Xia's companies being instrumental in moving half a billion people from the countryside to the cities is needless hyperbole. First, it's around 250 million over the last 25 years or so and and, secondly, 'instrumental' would do to be defined. Played a small part in a process of gigantic proportions more likely. Overselling just invites further scrutiny.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by China when doing business. I've seen CEOs of massively large corporations get weak at the knees after being given the grand tour. The scale of things makes it hard not to be overwhelmed and it sounds like Hollis has drunk the kool-aid especially with silly cliches like the Chinese not settling for being number two etc. The Chinese are not supermen; they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

None of this reflects on Xia himself as far as I'm concerned. Xia will have proven what he is all about by the end of summer.

I think this is a more realistic view. I remain in the sceptical camp until proven otherwise. I know that the Chinese are notoriously opaque. Anyone such as Hollis making hyperbolic claims should be treated with caution.