Bernstein and King Resign from the Board

[olaftab]

Much as i'd back the pair of them over Randy, it was pretty fucking stupid to criticise your boss on company emails. At least one of them must have been using Villa emails for them to be leaked to Lerner as I seriously doubt the grass would have had access to their personal home emails.

An issue of disloyalty come to fore here. After all Lerner as bad as he is  was their Boss.

That's true. But as directors, they've also got a duty of care to ensure that the business is run in a responsible manor that doesn't jeopardise it's future.

If they've been discussing how to get around him or bang some sense into him I think that's fair game.

Can you really imagine two serious operators like King and Bernstein, particularly with the miles they've got on the clock, indulging in a childish game of let's see who can come up with the most creative way to call him a f##king wanker with c*** on top.

Or alternatively Lerner has taken offence to them having the temerity to disagree with him and insist on the autonomy they believed they'd been recruited with and.been the one calling them a bunch of c***s.

I am sure it was not frivolous or abusive stuff just normal disagreements and malcontent issues being discussed however surprisingly naive to do so in writing  and using club system. Disappointed in their lack of discretion.

[The Edge]

Given the  Man in The USA is so thin-skinned ( everybody tells me ) my guess is that he has vested that task in " The General ". Krulak sifts the inter-waves for critical acclaim of his revered leader and when he finds pooh, he places it steaming in front of his paymaster, I speculate.

That's what I'm saying only you've put it more succinctly.

[BOB MANSFIELD]

I've not been accused of sucking sinks before........
but to keep it short and sweet.....they say Shit Smells........so maybe Krulak has a good nose for such stuff.

[old man villa fan]

Speculation in overdrive here.  I have only seen the BBC written report and there does not seem to be much in that to suggest some of the speculative comments on here.  Is it just the BBC reporter joining the dots after picking up on the correspondence mentioned in King's resignation letter with a bit of media 'licence' thrown in.

[The Edge]

Speculation in overdrive here.  I have only seen the BBC written report and there does not seem to be much in that to suggest some of the speculative comments on here.  Is it just the BBC reporter joining the dots after picking up on the correspondence mentioned in King's resignation letter with a bit of media 'licence' thrown in.

Speculation will always be rife while we have the current ownership. They make the old Kremlin regime seem open and transparent.

[Matt C]

The BBC piece to me read as being briefed by Bernstein

[Toronto Villa]

Oh and ps. this on the back of the comments on the OS when King and Bernstein quitting, that "Chairman, Steve Hollis, is currently engaged in extensive negotiations in relation to the sale of the Club".

Why even put that in there?

"Something really bad has happened"

"But hey, here's something to deflect a bit of the attention from us"

That.

I don't trust these people.

Yes, that's why I thought the club said it. But I see it differently when King says it.

That's my take too. I agree if it was just the Hollis comment I'd be dismissing it out of hand. But why did King say it?

[Villa in Denmark]

Much as i'd back the pair of them over Randy, it was pretty fucking stupid to criticise your boss on company emails. At least one of them must have been using Villa emails for them to be leaked to Lerner as I seriously doubt the grass would have had access to their personal home emails.

An issue of disloyalty come to fore here. After all Lerner as bad as he is  was their Boss.

That's true. But as directors, they've also got a duty of care to ensure that the business is run in a responsible manor that doesn't jeopardise it's future.

If they've been discussing how to get around him or bang some sense into him I think that's fair game.

Can you really imagine two serious operators like King and Bernstein, particularly with the miles they've got on the clock, indulging in a childish game of let's see who can come up with the most creative way to call him a f##king wanker with c*** on top.

Or alternatively Lerner has taken offence to them having the temerity to disagree with him and insist on the autonomy they believed they'd been recruited with and.been the one calling them a bunch of c***s.

I am sure it was not frivolous or abusive stuff just normal disagreements and malcontent issues being discussed however surprisingly naive to do so in writing  and using club system. Disappointed in their lack of discretion.

As you say, for them to have written anything aloe those lines would be amazingly naive, which I just can't see them falling for, which is why I can't see it being anything more than agreeing that they disagree with what Lerner wants and discussing possible ways forward.

The other worrying logical conclusion to draw is that despite saying he would recruit an independent chairman and then recruiting Hollis, he then proceeds to intervene directly with the football ball board which reports to Hollis, whilst he is "just" a director on the main board with no organisational remit to get involved. I.e. Hollis us just a figurehead.

Thinking about it that scenario above would answer the organisation and reporting criticisms in Bernstein's resignation letter.

[tomd2103]

I think it is interesting that since Fox has gone, there seems to be a general relaxation on the prevention of banners criticising Lerner at Villa Park.  Before, stewards actively checked banners to see what was written on them, but they don't seem to be doing that now.  It's as if certain people at the club are fine with the finger being pointed at him.  That it wasn't like that before just highlights how thin skinned Lerner is to any type of criticism.

[Steve67]

Complete speculation but we are so very quick to think the worse because of the way the club has been run.  Maybe their plan was so wildly expensive that Randy said no. Particularly if we are in the midst of a sale. They moan and groan about him not going with their plan and walk. Who knows who the said Manager was that they offered? Could have been Southgate for all we know. In which case, good riddance.  If we are being sold, I hope it's done by the end of May so we can get on with things. It would be very speculative of me to suggest that the sale will fall through on the last day of the transfer window.

[PeterWithe]

We expect the worst because that's what we usually get.

[TonyD]

Cake and arse. 

[sickbeggar]

Don't know what to think really. Obviously the read mails bit has been leaked by King and Bernstein so they didn't think their comments warranted Lerner's reaction to their criticism or the fact he's reading private correspondence. Will the real Lerner stand up =Is he a distant owner tired of football and desperate to be shot of us or a control freak to the extent that any discussion of his failings is reported back to him by his minions in the IT department? Either way i can't think of anyone with such a gift of bollocking up Aston Villa  with every fucking decision he makes. I dread to think who he's talking to about a takeover.

[edgysatsuma89]

Cake and arse.

What's the question?

[edgysatsuma89]

Don't know what to think really. Obviously the read mails bit has been leaked by King and Bernstein so they didn't think their comments warranted Lerner's reaction to their criticism or the fact he's reading private correspondence. Will the real Lerner stand up =Is he a distant owner tired of football and desperate to be shot of us or a control freak to the extent that any discussion of his failings is reported back to him by his minions in the IT department? Either way i can't think of anyone with such a gift of bollocking up Aston Villa  with every fucking decision he makes. I dread to think who he's talking to about a takeover.

Do you know the famous speech from Liam Neeson on the phone in Taken? This is Randy's 'very particular set of skills'... f**king up a sports team.