Randy Lerner

[PeterWithesShin]

who's your father?

His dad is General Krulak.

Scum?

What do you mean by that?

[GarTomas]

who's your father?

His dad is General Krulak.

Scum?

What do you mean by that?

It was a very obtuse (and misquoted) Ray Winstone reference.

[Scott Nielsen]

Pelty, aren't you partly engaging in the same behavior you profess taking offence at? Referring to Bernstein and King as "men" along with other insinuations.

I think you underestimate the credibility-deficit Randy, and even your father, faces with the fans. If you are to convince us the blame lies with the departed you are going to have to be more specific.

[Matt C]

Maybe he should communicate with the fans of his football club, just an idea.

[pelty]

Pelty, aren't you partly engaging in the same behavior you profess taking offence at? Referring to Bernstein and King as "men" along with other insinuations.

I think you underestimate the credibility-deficit Randy, and even your father, faces with the fans. If you are to convince us the blame lies with the departed you are going to have to be more specific.

Not what I said, Scott. I just said it is more complex than it has been characterized in the papers and by some here. I would argue there is a slight difference between a discussion on the boards and spouting off to the press...

[andrew08]

Yet another half arsed leak from our owner. Why post that? it's known who Pelty is, why bother posting that riddle?

In no other facet of my life would I accept as a 'customer' being treated with such patronising contempt by the owner of a business that I've given tens of thousands of pounds of my money to.

Here's a half arsed statement of my own. As a season ticket holder for over 45 years I'm not a motivated renewer right now!

[Yossarian]

In the one corner you have the former chairman of the FA and governor of the Bank of England in the other you have Randy Learner. Who you gonna' believe?

[Dante Lavelli]

Pelty,

It's not your job to defend Randy and currently I do not think there is anything you can say that would build the bridges back between Randy and the fans, however the fact that you have posted is appreciated.

That aside, this whole episode seems to be representative of Randy's tenure of the club.  He probably thinks it is dignified staying silent but, as always, there is a void of communication from the upper echelons of the club and therefore any negative comments are left unanswered and become fact.  Is it not unreasonable to assume that this void of communication is symptomatic of how the cub is run?

Anyway, thank you again for posting.  I hope you can understand that the vitriol and personal abuse is not intended to be read directly by family members and you can filter out the more extreme comments.

[sickbeggar]

I'm sorry Pelty but no-one is really going to believe someone like King in particular criticised Lerner  in terms that could be called offensive in these emails. They were both asked to conduct a review of the problems at Aston Villa and implement improvements. If they found the major root cause and continuation of the problems  was the owner and discussed this privately, then it's a)hardly surprising and b) part of their remit.  Lerner may put a high value on loyalty but at their level of operating, its not surprising they weren't prepared to be Lerner yes men

[Risso]

You have to understand that there's not a lot of goodwill for Lerner after he has effectively ruined our club Pelty. You might argue that it's not entirely his fault, but he has made a series of catastrophic appointments in the past 5 years, and the Tom Fox and Riley ones have essentially finished us off. 'Nature abhors a vacuum' and so do football fans, so when there's an information vacuum as there has been from Lerner in the last few years, fans are going to side with the likes of King and Bernstein in the absence of information to the contrary.

As for your father, we all get the college thing and by all accounts he did a very good job, and for no salary in the first year I believe. But the manner of his departure left a very sour taste. Just as things started going badly, we didn't hear from him. A quick one paragraph goodbye email explaining that he had his college opportunity to concentrate on and that his Villa role had outgrown its usefulness would not have taken 5 minutes and would have lessened the annoyance felt when he turned up there recycling the 'Proud History, Bright Future' nonsense.

If you knew the entire story, and the actions of Bernstein and King, you might understand why thing went down the way they did. The offensive emails are the tip of the iceberg. I have long stated that I think RL has made some huge mistakes along the way and think he has more than his share of the blame in this horror story. How can he not? But there are two sides to every story and that is certainly the case in this latest episode; in this particular instance, I think Randy showed a great amount of restraint, believe it or not, prior to the firings resignations, and an equal share in the last day or so after these two showed their class by airing it all to the press. How some here on the boards can not read the tea leaves and see just what sort of men these two are for behaving in this disgraceful manner is beyond me. I suppose there is so much hatred of RL that they cannot see clearly, and I get that even if I think it is only partially fair, but if airing dirty laundry in the press does not say something to you about the egos of these two "men," I am not sure what to say.

This narrative that my father up and left when the going got tough is unfair as well - no surprise I would say that - the timing looked bad, but the reality is that he became the president of a college that was about to be shuttered and was close to $100 million in the hole. His remit was to stop the dam from bursting in a year and then get the college on firmer footing over the next two all while an accreditation group was standing at the executioner's block. He tirelessly traveled and spoke to all who would listen so as to raise money and get the college solvent. To say this took all of his time is not an understatement and this is why he left, plain and simple. It was certainly not because he was cowardly or felt shame in some way, which is a pathetic suggestion. Also, he has never been and will never be involved in football operations, so for those who think his presence on the board is somehow negatively affecting football decisions, this is not a role he fills, and rightly so.

I am not really going to say more about this, but I thought some of the comments towards him were unnecessary and I would simply say that the boardroom issues are more thorny than some have suggested, though others have been fairly close to the truth, but not nearly cynical enough about the actions of the two former board members.

[bertlambshank]

Pelty what the fuck is the point of asking people to do a review and then throw your toys out when you don't like the answer?
I look forward to your narrative on it.

[cheltenhamlion]

Pelty, others have covered plenty I was going to. The lack of good will that Randy has in the bank means you will need to be more specific in your comments about what King and Bernstein have done that is so wrong.

This club has to stop bleeding. We need to hit rock bottom ASAP. Because, if we don't,  no fight back can start and if we are not unified we risk catastrophic consequences next season.

As per the statement from AVST, whether he is particularly comfortable with it or not, Randy needs to talk to the supporters and now.

Anyhow, the club being sold?

[Steve67]

Pelty, we are a laughing stock. I don't care about blame any more as it doesn't matter. All I want to know is: when will it end?

[ROBBO]

Is this the third year in a row that they trot out the extensive negotiations patter, a cynic may think that this is an annual effort to keep season ticket holders. Pelty defends his father, you would expect any son to do the same and lets be honest it is Lerner that has bought us down no-one else.

[London Villan]

Tell us what's happening then. The club is in an absolute mess and facing a very uncertain future. This is Randy's responsibility. He needs to stand up and act like a leader. Is that something he is capable of?