Tony's Tweets

[Hookeysmith]

Neither of you feel any more optimistic than you did at the end of last season then?

I'm satisfied that we have a good squad for the lower league we're in. I was optimistic when Lerner took over from Ellis and look how that ended but at least we knew what they were both worth. Based on not much, I just don't trust Xia.

What is there not to trust so far?  He's given us more to trust than not trust I would say.

As Chico says, the initial months of Lerner's tenure gave no reason not to trust him either.

I certainly don't think that if somebody wants to approach this latest chapter with a degree of scepticism that there is any harm in that.

Actually IIRC we were tipped off by fans of other playthings that Lerner had, we did not believe them as it was new owner bounce and anyone other than Ellis was welcomed. But we were warned that he was a spoilt rich kid who had no business acumen at all

A very nice guy but ultimately it was proven to be a correct summary of him

[Toronto Villa]

I'm going to go on what I had seen and what he has actually done. And the evidence of his authenticity is right in front of us. He has bought the club, he has invested exactly as he said he would, he has been way more transparent than anyone us thought he would be. He brought in a board that appear to understand the game and the nuisances of running a business, he brought in a a manager and staff that are respected and have actually achieved something over their careers.

The easiest thing in the world is to be cynical and I'm denying a Villa fans right to be given what we've been through. But Randy Lerner on paper at the very end was wealthier than Xia yet he barely spent anything and the club crumbled around him. So I don't care what is reported as Xia's fortune. Whether it is sitting in a bank somewhere or hidden under his mattress, he's pulled it out and spent a good chunk of it on us. As we all know, there is a million miles in front of us and there will be lots of tests of his ownership to come but I'm going to on the facts in front of me versus something someone might have assumed about him from very limited information.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I'm still not convinced to his real wealth but what I do like is his astuteness with our money. The fact he's taking a year out to oversee all things at VP comforts me but I do hope he is what we all need; somebody that takes us by the short and curlies, fixes the obvious and has a real financial plan for a club of our stature.

Has he said this in his tweets/elsewhere or is the year out speculation?

He said it almost immediately having taken us over. Planned to buy a place over here and spend 12 months working from Birmingham. I assume that's still his plan.

[usav]

Neither of you feel any more optimistic than you did at the end of last season then?

I'm satisfied that we have a good squad for the lower league we're in. I was optimistic when Lerner took over from Ellis and look how that ended but at least we knew what they were both worth. Based on not much, I just don't trust Xia.

What is there not to trust so far?  He's given us more to trust than not trust I would say.

As Chico says, the initial months of Lerner's tenure gave no reason not to trust him either.

I certainly don't think that if somebody wants to approach this latest chapter with a degree of scepticism that there is any harm in that.

I would say it's par for the course for Villa fans.  Oh well, yeah he's probably writing rubber cheques and got more debt than Donald Trump.

[Chris Jameson]

I'm still not convinced to his real wealth but what I do like is his astuteness with our money. The fact he's taking a year out to oversee all things at VP comforts me but I do hope he is what we all need; somebody that takes us by the short and curlies, fixes the obvious and has a real financial plan for a club of our stature.

Maybe it's all a marketing thing but I'm struggling to see how a quick fix to your electro-domestics company that has an edge by bringing in cheap parts from China can be worth so much. The scale is there but I'm not seeing the profit. The less said about his questionable board members the better.

I'm still far from convinced he's what he says he is. I realise I'm swimming against the tide on here, but that's my feeling.

You're not alone Chico.

Neither of you feel any more optimistic than you did at the end of last season then?

I'm just thinking back to all the flag waving and the way Lerner was greeted as the new saviour (imagine the mocking if he'd been the man to buy Newcastle), the General all over the various forums etc. All seems a bit familiar, I hope he's the real deal but like Chico it's more of a gut feeling. His Twitter account reminds me of David Gold and that isn't a good thing.

[Drummond]

I'm beyond worrying.

So far, this ride feels like fun and I want to stay on it.

[mr underhill]

yep, I'm on until the wheels fall off and burn

[Chris Jameson]

I'm not worrying, just remaining in full on wary/cynical mode.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I'm beyond worrying.

So far, this ride feels like fun and I want to stay on it.

That's exactly it. Nobody knows anything about him, despite what people might post on here, so it's a case of making up your own mind about him based on what we've seen and heard of him in just 3 months. I've no truck with anyone who puts their trust in him, but nobody can say it's anything other than blind faith at the moment. He's spent a few quid, which is nice but it's probably nothing compared to the Sky money we've trousered since he took over, and he's said all the right things, which is exactly what the last owner did.  In fact, chuck in the free travel, the mosaic, the Holte pub and a few cheap scarves and you could argue that Lerner's impact was even more impressive. And enough people on here fell hook, line and sinker for it   

I'd love nothing more than to have this post rammed down my throat in 5 years time when we're the biggest club in the world.

[Drummond]

You're right. Let's face it, how many clubs' fans actually like their owner and trust them to deliver?

[paul_e]

I'm still not convinced to his real wealth but what I do like is his astuteness with our money. The fact he's taking a year out to oversee all things at VP comforts me but I do hope he is what we all need; somebody that takes us by the short and curlies, fixes the obvious and has a real financial plan for a club of our stature.

Maybe it's all a marketing thing but I'm struggling to see how a quick fix to your electro-domestics company that has an edge by bringing in cheap parts from China can be worth so much. The scale is there but I'm not seeing the profit. The less said about his questionable board members the better.

I'm still far from convinced he's what he says he is. I realise I'm swimming against the tide on here, but that's my feeling.

You're not alone Chico.

Neither of you feel any more optimistic than you did at the end of last season then?

I'm just thinking back to all the flag waving and the way Lerner was greeted as the new saviour (imagine the mocking if he'd been the man to buy Newcastle), the General all over the various forums etc. All seems a bit familiar, I hope he's the real deal but like Chico it's more of a gut feeling. His Twitter account reminds me of David Gold and that isn't a good thing.

The thing is I don't see that as being a bad thing.  In those first 3 years where he had a control freak manager overseeing everything for him and he was positive about the club everything was going well.  It was his inability to move on from there which caused the train wreck.  If Xia gets the first bit right in a similar way but then has the business savvy to take a step forward from there then it's all good for me.

[dave shelley]

I like to think of our Dr Tone as the bloke with the shopping bag, and the other bloke as the piss-taking football media. NSFW.

[dave.woodhall]

Xia can't afford to lose anywhere near as much as Lerner did.

[brian green]

Nor will he.  IMHO..

[usav]

Xia can't afford to lose anywhere near as much as Lerner did.

I assume by that you mean Lerner's net worth is great than Xia's?   If so, then that is not necessarily true.  Xia might be prepared to spend more and therefore potentially lose more than Lerner was.