Randy Lerner

[PeterWithesShin]

The first article was moderately interesting even if I think it was about as incisive and accurate as a Villa attack. But this one is just pish.

It really is just an example of how shite our local paper is. Villa in Crisis Part Two = Someone's random thoughts on random Villa things.

[McGraths Dry Cleaning]

If possible can folks copy and paste Mail articles please. 1) It stops them gaining from click bait and 2) For a lot of folks with ad blocker it's a pain to read their site now. I know this is the Mirror but thought it a useful time to mention it.

Aston Villa have launched a full-scale investigation into their catastrophic season.

New chairman Steve Hollis and boardroom recruit Sir Mervyn King are conducting an in-depth probe into the club’s affairs.

Consultants have been brought in to pick through the rubble of Villa’s dreadful campaign and the finances, recruitment processes and day-to-day administration are all coming under scrutiny.

And that could spell bad news for several senior staff with chief executive Tom Fox most likely to be in the firing line.

Arsenal’s former commercial officer has been in situ at Villa Park since August 2014 and has acted as the eyes and ears for absentee owner Randy Lerner.

But the awful state of affairs has prompted a roots and branch review and Fox himself – appointed on a £1m-a-year salary – could be the first casualty.

The American was the target of fans’ anger last week as Villa slumped to their worst home defeat in over 80 years in the six-goal thumping by Liverpool.

However, all decisions on Villa’s senior management will be delayed until the end of the season with the positions of sporting director Hendrik Almstadt and head of recruitment Paddy Riley also coming under the microscope.

With manager Remi Garde likely to consider his position at the end of the season there could be a complete overhaul of Villa’s hierarchy as they begin to re-build the former European Champions.

This is the way we'll get out of this - the club needs to have in place a wider management team that will have a strategy that will get us out of the Championship. Lerner can be aloof whilst he waits for someone to turn up who will give him his money back but until then the club needs to be managed on a day to day basis with a clear vision. By someone who actually understands what management and vision mean rather than being able to merely type it onto a PowerPoint slide.

[Ads]

Let the purge commence.

[Steve67]

Fox is a money man, not a football person. Totally Lerner's fault for sticking him in charge. No wonder we are screwed with him having to make football decisions. It's good that they will carry out an investigation, but ffs, do it with football consultants, not bean counters. Put it right.

[LeeB]

Do we really, honestly need consultants?

[Rigadon]

Do we really, honestly need consultants?

I'd say no.  But it's seemingly the modern way large companies seem to 'assure' things happen (people get sacked) without turkeys not voting for Xmas.  'Consultants' cost a fortune, of course.

[Risso]

Since Lerner said we were for sale aren't Everton the first club of note to be sold, assuming that sale goes through? It's not as though major clubs are changing hands every day.
There's a tad of a difference between buying Bristol Rovers and Aston Villa. Sheff Wed were sold a year or so ago but again there's a big difference between buying them for 30 odd million and buying a club the size of Villa.

Give it a couple of years...!

[Des Little]

Sack.the.board.

[aj2k77]

Spot on. In theory there is nothing wrong with Sporting directors and Head of player recruitment and a CEO but when they are useless that's a problem.

I know the player recruitment was quite popular this summer on here but to me it was terrible. The midfielders signed at a cost of over £15m look bit part players, they lack strength or speed apart from Traore who seems the rawest of raw materials. For the money we paid and the needs we had the players signed are a poor selection. They could be decent soldiers but we needed a couple of generals too. We must have the slowest, weakest team in the division.

[bertlambshank]

What exactly has Randy done the passed 3 years apart from having his head in a bucket of sand?

[aj2k77]

What exactly has Randy done the passed 3 years apart from having his head in a bucket of sand?

Flew his muppets over once a year for a useless chat with him.

[PeterWithesShin]

Spot on. In theory there is nothing wrong with Sporting directors and Head of player recruitment and a CEO but when they are useless that's a problem.

I know the player recruitment was quite popular this summer on here but to me it was terrible. The midfielders signed at a cost of over £15m look bit part players, they lack strength or speed apart from Traore who seems the rawest of raw materials. For the money we paid and the needs we had the players signed are a poor selection. They could be decent soldiers but we needed a couple of generals too. We must have the slowest, weakest team in the division.

A good window. Now we need to get them to gel asap. If one of Ayew or Gestede adapts then we will surprise people.

[pbavfckuwait]

This is what we can expect between now and August, internal investigations, players jumping ship, more Evening Evil stories of staff who love Villa but hate the way it is being run, we are an easy bad news and rip it out of the club story, but it is still beyond belief that the main culprit of this total balls up, has and is still getting a relative easy ride.
McCleish no good, Lambert no good, Sherwood no good, Faulkner no good, Fox no good, Riley no good, Almstadt no good,contracts that make no sense given out and yet the man who rubber stamped all of these positions many feel it is no good having a go at  because he wants to sell but he can't.
The man we think is as thick as can be , has done a marvelous job of brain washing Villa fans with low expectations, lowering them every year until some can not or do not want to see what this person has done to Aston Villa, his name should ring around Villa park with every expletive that is possible. I start it off Randy Lerner is C...t.

[Chris Smith]

Do we really, honestly need consultants?

I think the Mirror article is mostly speculative nonsense. I am sure there will be some sort of review of personnel, structures etc, that would surely be the least we should expect after this car crash of a season, but they are putting the cart before the horse by speculating on the outcome.

By using consultants they are ensuring people with no vested interest conduct it and who will not be potential beneficiaries of any recommendations; they will just deliver their report, take their fee and clear off.

[Des Little]

Do we need to spend money on consultants? I'm sure Elaine could tell us all we need to know. In fact I think she probably has.