Randy Lerner

[chrisw1]

Are we going through the Randy Lerner revisionism stage already? It took us at least a couple of years to turn Ellis into cuddly Uncle Doug.

Oh, well. Good old Randy, our Randy, the mosaics, Acorns, The Holte pub, the scarves and that free coach to Chelsea... Sigh. Etc.

There's no revisionism here Jimbo.  What part of "He turned off the tap far too quickly though and the subsequent demise falls squarely on his shoulders...  Obviously his ownership of the club has been an unmitigated disaster." is revisionism?

If you can't agree / accept that he had a proper punt at it at first though, then I would say you could be accused more of revisionism than me.  And for the record, Ellis never turned into cuddly Doug for me.  I feel he let us down hugely by not grasping the opportunity so clearly in fron of him, but that is a different discussion.

[Locko]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

[Clampy]

I liked his statement. But then I am easily duped.

I liked the statement as well - I know its gone horribly wrong - but some of the stuff he did when he came in was great. It seems he must have told Doug he would invest £250 Million and he did - just a shame we wasted huge amounts of it. 

I think we all get nostalgic about moments in the past - and the Everton goal was one of my fave moments, Lescotts face when Young scores is class - should show that moment again on the big screen again. Because lescott never seems that upset when we let a goal in these days. The Sheffield United Game when the European winners came out before Kick off - the whole ground was bouncing - loved it.  I also loved the Chelsea goal, when Lerner and Faulkner were jumping on each other... I think he does genuinely feel for the club and glad he has some memories of his and our team, his arrogance/inexperience has cost the club badly, as well as himself financially, I just hope he sells to the right person - and if we have had to hang on till now to find the next and right custodian to lead us forward then so be it...I know i'm in the minority and this week with the board resignations I was furious, but I struggle to detest the man. Not the right man for the job, but I think he wanted to work.

That's my take on it as well. It goes without saying he's made a mess of things but I don't hate the bloke for it.

[saunders_heroes]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

I don't get where people get the "he's a decent man" routine from. He shafted the club like we've never been shafted before and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. How are these the actions of a decent man?

[aj2k77]

It's easy to take the piss, but he's a man of few words and a bit of an enigma.  I quite like the statement.  He has accepted blame and his passion for the club does come through.  There wasn't much he could say that wouldn't be met with derision - damned if you do and damned if you don't. 

I can't recall ever feeling more positive about the club than when he bought us out and he appointed O'Neil.  Cup finals, top 6 finishes, Acorns on the shirt - halcyon days.  He shot for the stars and fell just short - a number of reasons for this, not least MON's limited transfer acumen.  He turned off the tap far too quickly though and the subsequent demise falls squarely on his shoulders, the only consolation being we haven't quite 'done a Leeds.'  Obviously his ownership of the club has been an unmitigated disaster.  He's aware of this and I'm sure it hurts him emotionally as well as financially.  I know people will say he can't hurt like a 'real fan', but I suspect he would dispute that.

Hopefully his final act will be to hand us over to someone credible, with the right motives and finances to get us back on track.  We need that one last favour from him, let's all hope he comes through.  If he does I will wish him well.  His stewardship has ultimately be hugely disappointing, but there is no doubt in my mind he came into this with the very best of intentions.

Passion for the club? Passion for the club would be living and breathing it, working hard to do right, not absconding and letting us drift along like a turd in a stream.

[itbrvilla]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

I don't get where people get the "he's a decent man" routine from. He shafted the club like we've never been shafted before and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. How are these the actions of a decent man?

Spot. He could see where we were going and did fuck all about it. False narrative.

[Dave]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

I don't get where people get the "he's a decent man" routine from. He shafted the club like we've never been shafted before and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. How are these the actions of a decent man?

Because even if the end result is the same, people are likely to be more forgiving if something happens through incompetence rather than through malice.

[aj2k77]

He's a sham, I'm not daft enough to fall for this ashley young in the 90th bollocks. Where was he when people were treating the club like a retirement home? He's been surrounded by yes men telling him what he wanted to hear, keeping his deluded head in the clouds and memories of the good old days of ash intact whilst in the real world we've watched utter shit getting trounced all the time and everyone taking the piss. He needed someone to set him straight, in fact when people have given him a reality check he's turned in to a baby, like the King and Bernstein fiasco.

Fuck Lerner, let's hope we get someone with some actual passion and decency in who won't turn their backs on us as soon as the wind starts blowing the wrong direction.

[Comrade Blitz]

Apologies if this has already been covered, but you know in the film Foxcatcher, where Randy Lerner shoots Olympic wrestler David Schulz - well, did that take place before or after he bought the Villa?

The similarities are eerie

[chrisw1]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

I don't get where people get the "he's a decent man" routine from. He shafted the club like we've never been shafted before and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. How are these the actions of a decent man?

Spot. He could see where we were going and did fuck all about it. False narrative.

You make it sound like he wanted this to happen.  Making bad decisions and taking bad advice does not mean deliberately shafting the club.  I'm pretty sure he would prefer us to be top 6 and himself £350m better off.  Nobody is defending the decisions over the last few years and the results are self evident.  But denying he started with the best intentions and wanted the best for the club seems petty and pointless.

[saunders_heroes]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

I don't get where people get the "he's a decent man" routine from. He shafted the club like we've never been shafted before and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. How are these the actions of a decent man?

Because even if the end result is the same, people are likely to be more forgiving if something happens through incompetence rather than through malice.

I don't go with that either. Lerner is guilty of irresponsibility and a feckless disregarde of the club when it was desperately in need of his attention. Again, these are not the actions of a decent man.

[Ron Manager]

I can't see why he'd make a statement if a sale was close. He'd presumably make one after a sale goes through anyway so why bother with a pre-statement statement?

CD you are a Cynical Doubter

I doubt if a sale is near. It might be progressing well though. I really hope Im wrong of course.

[peter w]

His statement makes me feel sad. It reads as goodbye. I'm sad for where we are now and the unfulfilled promise if the early days. He's a decent man, what a shame it didn't work out..

I don't get where people get the "he's a decent man" routine from. He shafted the club like we've never been shafted before and it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. How are these the actions of a decent man?

Because even if the end result is the same, people are likely to be more forgiving if something happens through incompetence rather than through malice.

Not a 10 year incompetence they're not.

[brian green]

Villa Park has become a graveyard for decent blokes, Alex McLeish, Remi Garde and Randy Lerner to name but three.  Time to try something different.  Step forward Nigel.

[curiousorange]

It does seem like a strange time to make an off-the-cuff, related to nothing in particular statement. Hollis has basically dealt with the club position with what was a decent and professional missive. This reads like a page from Lerner's diary. He rarely communicates and really, has no specific need to other than the fanbase wishing him to do so, which hasn't forced his hand at any point over the past ten years.

That opening sentence...sheesh, he sounds mental. I genuinely wondered if the website had been hacked.