Randy Lerner

[andyh]

Calling Pelty to the thread

[pauliewalnuts]

He has actually started to do some things properly relatively recently.

Tom Fox is an experienced football business operator, and despite the "but but he isn't a football man" or the even more ridiculous "but he's not 'Villa'" (as if that means a single thing these days), he has clearly learned the football industry at a pretty decent place in Arsenal.

For ages we went on about how there wasn't anyone in the football side of the club above the manager, well now there is, Henrik Almstadt as Sporting Director. There is also Paddy Reilly as director of recruitment.

Recruiting these people and remaining shit a few months after does not mean we shouldn't have recruited them. Far from it. These are exactly the people he should have recruited in 2006 when he first rocked up, rather than enthusiastically throwing cash at Martin O'Neill.

At last we have a situation where if the manager fucks off, we're not left with nobody with a clue about the game at the club.

These are good things he has done.

We all know what the bad things are. He gave Paul Lambert far, far too much time and we just about scraped survival. Again. Now the people working for him have clearly made a bad choice of manager, and they are going to have to do something about it. Sherwood has four fixtures approaching which are very very difficult.

If we come out of them where we are now - and I suspect we will - that means Lerner's appointees are going to have a fair amount of work to do.

I wish we weren't in this situation yet again, but I am much happier to be so with these people in place than I was when it was Paul Faulkner and an expensive phone bill from calls to the States.

[TopDeck113]

Some sensible comments, Paulie.   

However, sometimes an organisation has a stench about it that tinkering with the management structure will only go so far towards curing.  Sometimes you need to lop the head off and start afresh. 

[cheltenhamlion]

Agreed Paulie. Looks like shit break will get his cards tomorrow.

[saunders_heroes]

Agreed Paulie. Looks like shit break will get his cards tomorrow.

The sooner the better.

[Legion]

Very well put, PW.

[claret and blue blood]

Agreed Paulie. Looks like shit break will get his cards tomorrow.

Any evidence to back this up or are you just raising our hopes?

[cheltenhamlion]

My former ITK stuff was impeccable. I got Bent and McLeish early. The current one talks a great game, and is convincing, but too new for me to tell you to lump on at the bookies.

The thing that has kicked it off is Sherwood and his media cronies leaking the "not my signings" bit.

[Legion]

I've heard similar about Sherwood getting the Spanish Archer early next week, but nothing as to his replacement.

[SoccerHQ]

Lerner is the root of our problems, he hopes to sell the club without the investment needed to make us a an attractive option for a potential buyer.
Poor managerial appointments and after the last five years of selling our best players and not providing the funds to replace those players with players of at least the equivalent standard we have declined so badly that this season will end up with the inevitable relegation. Yes Dim Sherwood is out of his depth but his remit for Randy is to finish 17th.......
My goodwill to Randy ended five years ago and if it was Doug still running the club and we were in this predicament we would be demonstrating outside Villa Park calling for him to go, unfortunately as Randy can't even be arsed to attend a game unless he's sat next to Prince William at Wembley then protests will be probably a waste of time.

It shows how muted and deflated everyone is at VP these days after yet another dismal defeat that there's barely a mutter at the ownership or we want our club back chants at the final whistle.

Different times I suppose but in the Ellis days whenever we looked in danger of just slipping into the bottom half there were Ellis out protests brewing.

I completely agree him unable to sell the club (not that it's easy I accept that) is the real issue and why we can't move up the league.

[pauliewalnuts]

Some sensible comments, Paulie.   

However, sometimes an organisation has a stench about it that tinkering with the management structure will only go so far towards curing.  Sometimes you need to lop the head off and start afresh. 

Oh, I agree, but the problem with the Lerner must go thing (which I'd like to see happen) is that it's not some sort of act of wanting to go that will make him go, it's not like he's a politician clinging to office.

He owns the club, he can no more magic up a new owner than we can. Look at the other clubs currently on the market - how long has it been since someone bought a PL club?

I'm sure he wants out as much as we want him out.

[PaulWinch again]

The owner out.

How does that work then unless somebody on here has gazillions of pounds?

Well exactly.

[claret and blue blood]

Cheers!

[cheltenhamlion]

What seems to have been sounded out is not what I want. That said, what is potentially coming in is not what I am really being told. One is foreign and interesting but I take it with a pinch of salt at the minute.

[SoccerHQ]

My former ITK stuff was impeccable. I got Bent and McLeish early. The current one talks a great game, and is convincing, but too new for me to tell you to lump on at the bookies.

The thing that has kicked it off is Sherwood and his media cronies leaking the "not my signings" bit.

As I suspected.

If you look back there was hardly any Sherwood's job in danger stories the week after the Stoke defeat. Then that off the record story of him distancing himself from half of the new signings popped up and suddenly Sherwood out stories start popping up straight after so yes appears there was offence taken there and Krulak's comments supported it.