Keith Wyness

[dave.woodhall]

From what I remember of the time, there was a lot of speculation but Lerner was the only one who put in a firm offer.

[Risso]

From what I remember of the time, there was a lot of speculation but Lerner was the only one who put in a firm offer.

That's correct.  At the end of day it boils down to who can afford the asking price, and then who can get the funds together with the least amount of fuss.

[Drummond]

Come on TV! It was tongue in cheek.

sorry mate. Clearly went over my head

Or I'm not very funny!

Or both 

[eamonn]

President Emeritus...give me strength. And the Alex Ferguson endorsed McLeish appointment... How meek, naive and bone-headed Lerner could be.

And taken to the cleaners by that bullied kid at school who grew up to be the biggest shithouse of all, Martin O' Neill.

[dave.woodhall]

President Emeritus was a harmless gesture towards someone who had helped him. It was good PR at a time when he was a master at it.

The Ferguson letter was a daft thing to say at a time when he was good at that as well.

[KevinGage]

President Emeritus...give me strength. And the Alex Ferguson endorsed McLeish appointment... How meek, naive and bone-headed Lerner could be.

And taken to the cleaners by that bullied kid at school who grew up to be the biggest shithouse of all, Martin O' Neill.

That public jizzfest re the Fergie letter:  The initial McLeish decision was bad enough. But when all that came out I knew we'd grossly overestimated Randolph's critical faculties.

The absolute shame of it.

[rob_bridge]

The Fergie letter. Jeeps I'd try to wipe that from my memory.

Dear Randy please continue to give us 6 points every season. Here's how.

Fergie's managerial accolytes

McGee
Black
Bruce
OGS
McLeish
Hughes
Keane
Robson
Phil Neville, and Gary too
Ince


It's a largely unimpressive list. A few good seasons spread thinly over 100 years+ of management

[SoccerHQ]

From what I remember of the time, there was a lot of speculation but Lerner was the only one who put in a firm offer.

True but there were discussions with others. Was the story about one of the interested parties going into a meeting and seeing a Cleveland Browns helmet had been left on table and knew they were onto a loser.

[kippaxvilla2]

That was Gillette and the other one.  Who ended up nearly bankrupting Liverpool.

[Risso]

I hope nobody has just eaten:


""That was a difficult and uncomfortable period. Paul and I felt that, above all, the club needed stability. We needed a manager who would understand Villa and could bring credibility and experience to the dressing room and had chemistry with us and trust in our approach. We researched and debated and discussed probably two dozen odd managers from all over until we came to feel that, despite Alex's last post, he met the criteria. Not only is he affable and optimistic, well-liked and certainly well-respected among peers and players alike, but he fit our plan. He fit our feeling that a modern manager needs to balance the hysterical urgency to win and win quickly with the equally crucial need to not squander the work of our academy."


Did the reaction of some supporters make him question this decision at any stage? "It certainly raised the stakes but, if we are right in terms of the fundamentals, then over time Alex will do as he's always done and that is make Villa better," he insists. "What Paul and I knew was that he had the right ingredients. With some good luck, and his trademark hard work and commitment, we felt our chances would be good. We felt his strengths simply outweighed any concerns. When you spend time with Alex, a lot of the sensitivities go away very quickly. Time with Alex is not only engaging, it is compelling. He's pure football. That, in the end, is what you want.


"Sir Alex Ferguson wrote to me after the appointment, a proper letter, talking about his feelings about Alex. It was something you don't easily forget and it's now in a safe deposit box. Given what Sir Alex Ferguson means to the game of football, I don't think you could get many things that you would be more proud of, or reflect better on Alex McLeish."

[Sexual Ealing]

I haven't eaten, yet I still vomited something from several weeks ago. Jesus fucking Christ. There are salesman making phone calls about "accidents" that would do a better job. Fucking eejits.

[eamonn]

Are they quotes from Randy? Don't recall him talking publicly at length ever.

[Risso]

The letter thing is pretty bad, but this is brilliant:

"if we are right in terms of the fundamentals, then over time Alex will do as he's always done and that is make Villa better," he insists.

A manager who had just seen his team relegated.

[Mister E]

The letter thing is pretty bad, but this is brilliant:
"if we are right in terms of the fundamentals, then over time Alex will do as he's always done and that is make Villa better," he insists.
A manager who had just seen his team relegated.

Where were the quotes from?

[KevinGage]

I hope nobody has just eaten:


""That was a difficult and uncomfortable period. Paul and I felt that, above all, the club needed stability. We needed a manager who would understand Villa and could bring credibility and experience to the dressing room and had chemistry with us and trust in our approach. We researched and debated and discussed probably two dozen odd managers from all over until we came to feel that, despite Alex's last post, he met the criteria. Not only is he affable and optimistic, well-liked and certainly well-respected among peers and players alike, but he fit our plan. He fit our feeling that a modern manager needs to balance the hysterical urgency to win and win quickly with the equally crucial need to not squander the work of our academy."


Did the reaction of some supporters make him question this decision at any stage? "It certainly raised the stakes but, if we are right in terms of the fundamentals, then over time Alex will do as he's always done and that is make Villa better," he insists. "What Paul and I knew was that he had the right ingredients. With some good luck, and his trademark hard work and commitment, we felt our chances would be good. We felt his strengths simply outweighed any concerns. When you spend time with Alex, a lot of the sensitivities go away very quickly. Time with Alex is not only engaging, it is compelling. He's pure football. That, in the end, is what you want.


"Sir Alex Ferguson wrote to me after the appointment, a proper letter, talking about his feelings about Alex. It was something you don't easily forget and it's now in a safe deposit box. Given what Sir Alex Ferguson means to the game of football, I don't think you could get many things that you would be more proud of, or reflect better on Alex McLeish."

Wasn't so much the Machiavellian tendencies Fergie may have been employing to land us with one of his useful idiots. It was the pure Asian fanboy tone of it all.

Horrendous.

It's like we were giving up any pretence of being a big club.