New chairman and Lerner ramblings

[CT Villan]

I see Tom Fox's Bodymoor comments as another deflection away from his inadequacies, ie. blaming the managers, coaches and players for the problems, which clearly as CEO he has the power to resolve...and it boils my piss.

[richard moore]

I make a preemptive strike Richard.  I say I have seen over 1000 Villa games live. You wish to say something about them?

That is amazing Brian, I can't boast anything anywhere near that number. We will all stick together, and in a bizarre sort of way I'm already looking forward to trips to places like Brighton and Reading near me next season. We will take huge followings and probably have a ball. Brighton would certainly be a brilliant day out and certainly more fun than what we have had to put up with these past few seasons

[stuart r]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/35312385

"..so that when we go to our board and ask them to spend money on acquiring players or coaches, we have a good sense for how that investment is going to pay off for the owner.."

There it is. No grey areas there.

I really don't see the problem, agian I just don't see the problem that so many of you are keen to jump on.  That statement, that's perfectly fine, pay off doesn't mean make a profit, it means provide value.  If we sign a striker for £10m and he scores for fun and fits the team then that's value, if we spend £10m on a flowerpot that does fuck all and leeches money from the club for 5 years then that's not value, does anyone want us to sign more like charlie?

Yep

Exactly, we will be in complete stasis I think now until someone ponies up some offer that Lerner finds acceptable. He wont be in a rush to sell us as long as we cost him no money and will now be causing him no stress and taking up zero of his time.

Whilst other clubs will be building towards achieving something and dreaming of better things under this regime we will be building towards causing Lerner no trouble at all and just getting by.

What part of the statement(s) suggests we're just going to be in statis, completely remove your own bias from this and read it again, they talk about rebuilding the structure of the club to improve things, that's about the most obvious thing anyone could say in this situation, it's painfully clear that it needs to happen, so why is this a negative?

Indeed

Absolutely agree Mellon. If they are going to trot out aphorisms to tranquilizes us at least they should be conclusive aphorisms. Money does not buy success but it makes failure less likely.

Or money is no guarantee of success but failure has a proven track record of being available on the cheap.

Exactly

And that's the bit I am worried they don't quite get.

I disagree, the 2 biggest failures in the premier league era are Leeds and Portsmouth, both got themselves into that situation by spending money they didn't have and not getting anything to show for it, in real terms they gambled and lost.  Even the more minor failures (like Man U for the last couple of years, or Sunderland since Short arrived or QPR under fernandez) have generally spent enough money, they've just spent it really badly.  Being 'cheap' really shouldn't be seen as so negative, regularly losing money is a far worse situation to be in.

This

I take this development as positive as it means Lerner has finally recognised what a mess the club is in. Putting in place professional people to run a business is fundamental.

This is the right attitude for me, identifying the problem and appointing someone with a track record for fixing that particular problem, even if it was in another industry, is the absolute right thing to do.

Absolutely

The issue I have with it omvf is that it is almost entirely business focussed, hardly a mention of the team or performances on the pitch. It smacks of someone who has had enough of us but can't get rid of a millstone round their neck so is just going to turn away and ignore us while hopefully not losing too much dosh

Why should that matter, we've signed about 50 players and had 5 different managers and numerous coaches since things started to go wrong and none of that has helped.  Everyone talks about the problems being deeper than the players and manager so why aren't we pleased to see someone come in with the remit of finding the cause and having Lerner's full backing to deal with it?  This is what has needed to happen for years, it eventually happens and now people are complaining about it being just a way for Lerner to get further away, isn't that what most people have wanted for the last couple of years?

Again, I understand being angry but lots of the comments on here read like random lashing out rather than any thought out opinions of the appointment.

I concur

Regards
Stuart Russon - Wednesbury 'Quoting on Messageboards Champion' 2009

[simon ward 50]

Top story on the Accountancy Age website!

[paul_e]

Because I think that as long as Lerner is there the primary goal of the club will be to cause Lerner no hassle and just tick along. Can you really see an ambitious Villa under the ownership of a man who doesn't want to be involved at all, a Chairman who is a local money man and a CEO who is a fuck wit who advised hiring Sherwood and talks of improvements the last couple of seasons?

I'm probably wanting us to jump before we can even crawl because as we all know the club is a shambles from top to bottom but the way they talk, it's all very dull and business like, it's all about processes and such. I know we need those in place but there's no talk of Villa being back at the top, entertaining football, winning matches. The football is hardly mentioned by anyone these days. I'm just not enjoying any of this at all, this season I've hated football.

Where is the drive at the club to do anything other than be ok and get Lerner some peace and quiet. The bloke is a prat and unfortunately I don't trust anyone he employs because of his appalling track record.

What quantifies ambitious to you though, does that mean 'spend money we don't have' because if it does then you're right we won't see that and we really shouldn't want to (after the MON fallout we more than most clubs should know the dangers of that approach), if it means willing to make changes (eventually) to turn things round then this may or may not be the start of that.  It's too late and it might be too little but it's better than nothing and has to be seen as such.  As I said, your take on this is biased because "the bloke is a prat" and you therefore see anything he does as negative.  If he sold us cheaply and the new owners turned out like the hairdresser from down the road you'd be angry but by not lowering his price he's making you angry.  I'm not saying you're wrong to be angry, just that it might not be correctly directed at the new chairman who right now has said everything I'd expect from someone taking that job at club/business in our state.

[FrankyH]

A message from our new Chairman


It is a privilege for me to take the Chair of Aston Villa albeit we are witnessing one of the most difficult periods in the Club’s history. It is perhaps this challenge to help turnaround our Club’s fortunes that persuaded me that I could, as Chairman, make a contribution that will help lead the Club to better times.

My background is working in and leading large complex people businesses. I started my career in Birmingham over 30 years ago and then worked in London and extensively overseas. My job has been to drive change and bring out the best in talented individuals.

So when Randy first approached me to see if I would be interested in Chairing the Club my initial reaction was that whilst this is very flattering to be considered for this role I am not a football man and I must politely decline. However, Randy was very clear the Club does not need a football man as its Chairman, it needs someone who is proven at driving change in large complex organisations. The rest is history.

I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that lies ahead and I am also clear that the problems we face now have been in the making for the past five years. I am also clear that the long term solution to the Club’s future rests in building a stable high quality team on and off the field and I look forward to working with Tom Fox and Remi Garde to deliver this.

The Premier League business model has and is changing. The skills gap in the 20 clubs first team squads is narrowing every year. Well run so called small Clubs have no fear from so called big Clubs. This trend will continue and the Clubs that will prosper will be those that have hard work and great attitude at the core of their values. A proud heritage has no respect in a very competitive market ¬ whatever the business. Money no longer buys success, our future lies in a passion for excellence and standards that will not accept anything but the best. A winning culture is addictive and this is one habit I want to see back in this great Club.

For this culture change to be successful you have a key role to play. Frankly given the Club's performance in recent years and months the frustration and emotional outpouring seen over the last few weeks is understandable. You want to see improvement. More than this you rightly demand to see improvement.

As the new Chairman I ask you to please keep supporting the team. You are the 12th man and when confidence is low do not underestimate the critical role you will play. Together we can drive the change we all want to see in our Club’s fortunes. Whatever happens to the Club this season our job is to build a culture that we can all be very proud of and a culture that will deliver sustainable outperformance. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the forthcoming games.

Steve Hollis
Chairman

[dave shelley]

Maybe not afraid, ashamed yes, but not afraid.

For clarity and apologies for quoting myself.

It seems some posters seem to think the above post is alluding to the fact that I feel that they,supporters should be ashamed.  Nowhere does it say that, it was in response to a post from Jimbo who was referring to the club saying that Aston Villa is not afraid of relegation.  I will repeat what I firmly believe, the club should be ashamed of relegation.  Our whole history is the foundation the club was built on and as such should always be plying its trade amongst the top echelon.  The previous five years are indeed, shameful.

Ballsed up the bolding, doh!

[VinnieChase84]

Quite a strong first message from SH.
One concerning factor is that it does seem that everyone thinks we are going down. Wish there was a little bit more fighting talk to stay up (whether or not it's realistic)

[AV82EC]

I read his last paragraph aimed at us in the style of John Gregory.

"Stop bloody moaning, here's two tickets, get your arse down the match and support the team"

[Toronto Villa]

That's a very solid statement from the Chairman. I hope it all plays out as we want. Villa fans have been incredibly patient over the last few years and we still show up in great numbers home and away. The club needs to put in and execute on a plan to repay that show of faith. Good luck Mr Chairman.

[The Edge]

A message from our new Chairman


It is a privilege for me to take the Chair of Aston Villa albeit we are witnessing one of the most difficult periods in the Club’s history. It is perhaps this challenge to help turnaround our Club’s fortunes that persuaded me that I could, as Chairman, make a contribution that will help lead the Club to better times.

My background is working in and leading large complex people businesses. I started my career in Birmingham over 30 years ago and then worked in London and extensively overseas. My job has been to drive change and bring out the best in talented individuals.

So when Randy first approached me to see if I would be interested in Chairing the Club my initial reaction was that whilst this is very flattering to be considered for this role I am not a football man and I must politely decline. However, Randy was very clear the Club does not need a football man as its Chairman, it needs someone who is proven at driving change in large complex organisations. The rest is history.

I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that lies ahead and I am also clear that the problems we face now have been in the making for the past five years. I am also clear that the long term solution to the Club’s future rests in building a stable high quality team on and off the field and I look forward to working with Tom Fox and Remi Garde to deliver this.

The Premier League business model has and is changing. The skills gap in the 20 clubs first team squads is narrowing every year. Well run so called small Clubs have no fear from so called big Clubs. This trend will continue and the Clubs that will prosper will be those that have hard work and great attitude at the core of their values. A proud heritage has no respect in a very competitive market ¬ whatever the business. Money no longer buys success, our future lies in a passion for excellence and standards that will not accept anything but the best. A winning culture is addictive and this is one habit I want to see back in this great Club.

For this culture change to be successful you have a key role to play. Frankly given the Club's performance in recent years and months the frustration and emotional outpouring seen over the last few weeks is understandable. You want to see improvement. More than this you rightly demand to see improvement.

As the new Chairman I ask you to please keep supporting the team. You are the 12th man and when confidence is low do not underestimate the critical role you will play. Together we can drive the change we all want to see in our Club’s fortunes. Whatever happens to the Club this season our job is to build a culture that we can all be very proud of and a culture that will deliver sustainable outperformance. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the forthcoming games.

Steve Hollis
Chairman

Welcome. And with all my heart I wish you every success as our new chairman. This could be a Grade 1 fuck up or a stroke of genius from our owner.  I'm hoping for the latter and will be giving my full support to the claret & blues. Long live Aston Villa football club.
 

[PaulWinch again]

Good statement that.

[ciggiesnbeer]

A message from our new Chairman


It is a privilege for me to take the Chair of Aston Villa albeit we are witnessing one of the most difficult periods in the Club’s history. It is perhaps this challenge to help turnaround our Club’s fortunes that persuaded me that I could, as Chairman, make a contribution that will help lead the Club to better times.

My background is working in and leading large complex people businesses. I started my career in Birmingham over 30 years ago and then worked in London and extensively overseas. My job has been to drive change and bring out the best in talented individuals.

So when Randy first approached me to see if I would be interested in Chairing the Club my initial reaction was that whilst this is very flattering to be considered for this role I am not a football man and I must politely decline. However, Randy was very clear the Club does not need a football man as its Chairman, it needs someone who is proven at driving change in large complex organisations. The rest is history.

I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that lies ahead and I am also clear that the problems we face now have been in the making for the past five years. I am also clear that the long term solution to the Club’s future rests in building a stable high quality team on and off the field and I look forward to working with Tom Fox and Remi Garde to deliver this.

The Premier League business model has and is changing. The skills gap in the 20 clubs first team squads is narrowing every year. Well run so called small Clubs have no fear from so called big Clubs. This trend will continue and the Clubs that will prosper will be those that have hard work and great attitude at the core of their values. A proud heritage has no respect in a very competitive market ¬ whatever the business. Money no longer buys success, our future lies in a passion for excellence and standards that will not accept anything but the best. A winning culture is addictive and this is one habit I want to see back in this great Club.

For this culture change to be successful you have a key role to play. Frankly given the Club's performance in recent years and months the frustration and emotional outpouring seen over the last few weeks is understandable. You want to see improvement. More than this you rightly demand to see improvement.

As the new Chairman I ask you to please keep supporting the team. You are the 12th man and when confidence is low do not underestimate the critical role you will play. Together we can drive the change we all want to see in our Club’s fortunes. Whatever happens to the Club this season our job is to build a culture that we can all be very proud of and a culture that will deliver sustainable outperformance. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the forthcoming games.

Steve Hollis
Chairman

Cheers Steve. Your message will mean a lot more if accompanied by an expensive signing or two. Make sure you do that within the next two weeks.

[frank black]

That statement reads.

Work hard, work harder and there's no cash. Classic venture capitalist stuff, make us lean and mean and sell us on. This guy will have zero impact on the playing side other than to be in charge of the purse strings.

Move on, nothing to see here.

[old man villa fan]

To solve a problem you have to first recognise there is a problem rather than burying your head in the sand.

Hopefully this is the first step in the right direction.