Randy Lerner - How will his reign be remembered?

[LeeB]

Bet he's regretting having that shit badge tattooed on his leg

That reminds me of a nose I used to know who had the coloured-in Kumar version of their badge on his leg.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Off the pitch: 10/10

On the pitch (MON era): 7/10

On the pitch (thereafter): 2/10

[Mortimer's Bear]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

[Chris Jameson]

He didn't get a kitten.

[saunders_heroes]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

[Clampy]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic gesture.

[saunders_heroes]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic gesture.

It certainly was, but ultimately we're about the football not a charity.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic gesture.

It certainly was, but ultimately we're about the football not a charity.

Our football has been very charitable.

[Jon Crofts]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic gesture.

It certainly was, but ultimately we're about the football not a charity.

 We've been a charity at home for the past season and especially charitable to clubs in need of a pick me up.

[Clampy]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic gesture.

It certainly was, but ultimately we're about the football not a charity.

Hence why said 'was'. I doubt we'll do it again.

[curiousorange]

It puzzles me how some people are claiming they saw this coming and the rest of us were all just duped by razzmatazz. Whether the Lerner reign lasted eight years or eighty, there's no way you could tell it was going to go the way it has.

I guess for me, Lerner's legacy is not so much what he leaves to Aston Villa but how it's changed expectations. If he'd bought the club on the cusp of the Millennium, it stands a chance we could be in a club like Arsenal's shoes now - possibly a couple of titles, almost certainly Champions League mainstays. But post-Abramovich, the reality is that unless he was prepared to constantly see his money disappear down the plug hole, a man like Lerner couldn't buy success. His decision to cut us off following a decent stab at the big time shows the artifice of success in the game - it needs cash and lots of it. We're not big enough to bankroll our own ambition and the last two seasons show that with clarity.

When Lerner arrived I was overjoyed and prepared to believe that I thought anything was possible for the club. But it's only possible with a constant flow of ludicrous wealth and I don't hold it against Lerner that he realised that. The last few seasons have made me very cynical about the game and sad that barring a miracle, we're one of the also-rans now.

[DeKuip]

It was a fantastic gesture and I'm much happier Acorns benifitted from it than an average footballer and his greedy agent. I think the club benifitted from it more too.
Clubs take enough TV money (£73m this season for finishing 15th ffs) they should be made to ensure local communities, charities and supporters (through ticket pricing) get a cut too.

[KevinGage]

That's pretty much it for me too.

When Lerner took over, there was a fair degree of envy from other clubs because -outside of the Sky lot- not many other clubs had access to consistent, major funding.

The landscape has changed considerably since then.  Forget Citeh being a gamechanger, it would have been naive in the extreme for Lerner to think that no other billionaire would want to get involved in British football.   That said, we are now in a position where the majority of top flight clubs are bankrolled by billionaires. That is the rule, clubs like Everton, Palace and Swansea are the exception.  So any new owner coming in faces far sterner competition than Lerner did in 2006.

[Mortimer's Bear]

Acorns on the shirt, probably my proudest moment as a Villa fan.

No offence mate, but we're a football club not a charity.

None taken SH, I just thought it was a wonderful gesture by the club.

[Dribbler]

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

I saw that quote today, and the first thing i thought of was Randy Lerner.