Bernstein and King Resign from the Board

[Des Little]

All this talking about Lerners mum and stuff is just pathetic.  Grow up FFS.

Norma salutes your gallantry

Bill Kenwright suits long hair

[Dave]

I think it's just a throw away remark saying he hopes things get better 'cos they're pretty shit right now. If there was a sale imminent I don't think he and Bernstein would have walked - if Randy didn't like their business model, maybe a new owner would, and they'd have stayed on to propose it and see it through.

Au contraire CJ, having listen twice to this interview I am convinced that his words were very measured......Godzvilla!

Hmmm. I've had another listen and, as Jimbo says above, the interesting line was 'I hope the sale will proceed speedily', which sounds promising. If there is a sale imminent it again begs the question of why he & Bernstein walked rather than bide their time & wait for the new owner - unless they wanted to make a point that they'd been asked to produce a business model, they produced it, Lerner wouldn't take it, so in principal their positions were untenable. Whatever the ins and outs - I'd be over the moon if there is a sale in the offing. I also think the appointment or non-appointment of a manager before the end of the season may be an additional indicator of whether something's in the pipeline or not.

To add to this, an imminent sale doesn't really make sense in line with the fractious resignations.

If Lerner were about to sell then MK and DB would be fully aware that their recommdations about restructuring the club couldn't really be implemented. Surely the course of action would be to sit, wait until the sale had gone through and then advise the new owners or leave - as the new owners saw fit.

[john e]

If he thought a takeover was in the offing, why resign in the way he did?
Why not ride out the storm, it might only be for a short while ?


 

I said from the very beginning that the reason they resigned was because of a sale negotiation

I just thought that a new board were given control of all decisions regarding the running of the club including manager and players, and that what they came in to do

they then found out Randy was selling the club over their heads/behind their backs and they had absolutely no authority while that was going on

I don't know if any of that true or not, and people will and have punched holes in it making very good points for the opposite,
 but that's the way I saw it at the time and still do

[Steve R]

Randolphs Mum has probably come to the conclusion that her son is financially incontinent; as we speak young Randy is preparing a protest flag that reads

 "No hope, no future, no more maple syrup & waffles!"


Friends have gathered outside the house proclaiming

"We want her out, Randys Mother out, she really does not understand"

"Randy is in a rut; his pocket moneys been cut"

"We want Randys mother out."

All this talking about Lerners mum and stuff is just pathetic.  Grow up FFS.

Yes, his ownership has turned out to be disastrous, but this sort of stuff is ridiculous

.


Why? his mother is rumoured to be controlling the Lerner family trust purse strings though. It was first mentioned on here last year that she told him that the club needs to be self sufficient and any money to be spent has to be generated by the club and not bankrolled from the family fortune. I think the source of this was a couple of ex players.

If someone on here wants to make fun of that, then why don't you just ignore it and let them carry on

I'd put it [breaking even] down to PL 'FFP' rules and the prospect of the tougher Football League FFP rules. Unless Randy's mother somehow has gained control over the rest of the league.

[paul_e]

If he thought a takeover was in the offing, why resign in the way he did?
Why not ride out the storm, it might only be for a short while ?


 

I said from the very beginning that the reason they resigned was because of a sale negotiation

I just thought that a new board were given control of all decisions regarding the running of the club including manager and players, and that what they came in to do

they then found out Randy was selling the club over their heads/behind their backs and they had absolutely no authority while that was going on

I don't know if any of that true or not, and people will and have punched holes in it making very good points for the opposite,
 but that's the way I saw it at the time and still do

As I said quite early on in the thread, I see this as they had a meeting about a potential takeover but it's far from complete so DB and MK (and probably others) all said that the restructuring needed to carry on just in case, Lerner disagreed and refused to sanction anything they wanted to do so they walked and had a couple of digs as they left. Alternatively it could be that there was an offer they thought was suitable and he was holding back from making a decision so they quit and, certainly in the case of King, make it very clear that the club is fucked until he sells up.

[Trinitymiddle]

If he thought a takeover was in the offing, why resign in the way he did?
Why not ride out the storm, it might only be for a short while ?


 

I said from the very beginning that the reason they resigned was because of a sale negotiation

I just thought that a new board were given control of all decisions regarding the running of the club including manager and players, and that what they came in to do

they then found out Randy was selling the club over their heads/behind their backs and they had absolutely no authority while that was going on

I don't know if any of that true or not, and people will and have punched holes in it making very good points for the opposite,
 but that's the way I saw it at the time and still do

This tweet from well respected Sports journalist, Paul Hayward, yesterday certainly alludes to that:

Paul Hayward ‏@_PaulHayward  Apr 19
Lerner is trying to flog Villa while pretending to rebuild. Hence Bernstein/King walk-outs.

[A Northern Soul]

If he thought a takeover was in the offing, why resign in the way he did?
Why not ride out the storm, it might only be for a short while ?


 

IF a sale is on the horizon it won't happen tomorrow. If you recall the sale to Lerner it was only completed close to the transfer deadline and Doug had to (he claims) fund the Petrov deal. My thoughts being Bernstein/King know this summer is critical, we have a financial free hit without FFP for one season only, and they supposedly had a manager lined up. So may have gone to Lerner to say act now, appoint a manager and give him the whole summer to sort the playing side out rather than wait til a deal is done. He baulked

[Villa in Denmark]

If he thought a takeover was in the offing, why resign in the way he did?
Why not ride out the storm, it might only be for a short while ?


 

I said from the very beginning that the reason they resigned was because of a sale negotiation

I just thought that a new board were given control of all decisions regarding the running of the club including manager and players, and that what they came in to do

they then found out Randy was selling the club over their heads/behind their backs and they had absolutely no authority while that was going on

I don't know if any of that true or not, and people will and have punched holes in it making very good points for the opposite,
 but that's the way I saw it at the time and still do

This tweet from well respected Sports journalist, Paul Hayward, yesterday certainly alludes to that:

Paul Hayward ‏@_PaulHayward  Apr 19
Lerner is trying to flog Villa while pretending to rebuild. Hence Bernstein/King walk-outs.

Or it could mean he's trying to sell it, as he has been for the last 2 years, without a credible buyer in sight, but in his apparently detached from reality existence is acting as though there is.

I can't believe that King and Bernstein  would have walked AND written resignation letters in that tone if it was only a question of a few weeks / up to a couple of months to get a sale sorted.

[kippaxvilla2]

On a separate and on a rather juvenile note I keep wanting to say Stadler and Waldorf instead of Bernstein and King.

[Ads]

I've always thought the Petrov cash came from the sale of the Serpentine?

Maybe there is something in the offing and my natural Brummie cynicism is misplaced. I truly hope we are sold though, as its the shot in the arm the club desperately needs.

[peter w]

You'd have thought King would have been privvy to any sale given his old day time job.

[mattjpa]

We all know that Lerner is trying to sell. paying compo to another club for the desired manager (or that managers coaching team), paying off contracts of shit players, Hiring other individuals the board have highlighted etc and other cost negative actions drawn up in the recovery plan would be akin to putting new alloys on a car after you have advertised it with a sale price - they cost you money that you will in all probability not recoup in the sale.
 I think the fallout has come from Lerner blocking something in this ilk as he believes he is close to a sale for an agreed value and has closed his wallet. This would give the directors very little to do and possibly make their position untenable. 

[Ads]

I think that is a reasonable suggestion. If they've been brought in to do a job, but because as you say, Lerner isn't interested in implementing it financially, logistically etc, then what is the point of them hanging around?

[peter w]

Maybe that is it in a nutshell. The radical thinking Bernstein spoke about was paying up of contracts, committing to a budget for an interested manager, implementing changes behind the scenes, the removal of Riley and going back to a scouting system overseen by the manager and/or football board, and despite reassurances, or noises from Lerner or Krulak, that they were going to listen, but when crunch time came - and that may be with a sale in the offing - Lerner either dithered or said no and so they said their position had become untenable as their remit was changed, that they walked.

[old man villa fan]

If you believe Lerner, he said that he wanted to sell but if he couldn't find a buyer he would appoint a professional board to run the club. Bernstein and King would have known that their recommendations would suit either scenario.

Could it be that there is a buyer but Lerner has backtracked and thought he could run the club as he has been doing or he has upped the price. Seeing no way forward, they have resigned to force the issue with the sale. There is no reason why they couldn't come back in if there is a new Owner.