The Lerner years

[dave.woodhall]

I've been a bit busy - whaddya reckon?

https://heroesandvillains.info/2024/06/18/the-lerner-years-part-one/

https://heroesandvillains.info/2024/06/18/__trashed/

[trinityoap]

Not only the right notes but also in the right order.

[PeterWithe]

Some blasts from the past there, whatever became of Michael Martin?

And who was making the threats on message boards?

[VillaTim]

I'd totally forgotten Erik Bakke . And Phil Mepham.

[dave.woodhall]

Some blasts from the past there, whatever became of Michael Martin?

And who was making the threats on message boards?

A clue - he needed a booster seat to reach the keyboard.

[Rory]

Great read, Dave.

I found the most depressings bits were the mentions of Bill Howell.

[cdbearsfan]

Enjoyed remembering that. It's easy to forget how optimistic people were at first. It obviously went horribly wrong in the end, but it wouldn't have taken too many different choices by either Lerner or O'Neill for us to have had some serious success. Even if, in hindsight, the structure never seemed to be in place for success to be long-term.

[Villan For Life]

What a fascinating read. It feels like it was just yesterday that the optimism of the early days of the Lerner era gave us all a renewed hope that the Villa were back. When did that hope disappear, Moscow?

As CD says it was just a case of what might have been with Lerner; a director of football to rein him in could have made all of the difference. He gave MON too much power and paid a huge financial price for that decision.

Trying to look at it dispassionately, under Lerner I thought that we were a rich man’s play thing but with Nas and Wes we have two astute businessmen at the helm and the evidence is clear in the progress that we have made under Unai.

[Nev]

Phil Mepham? Who he?

[PeterWithe]

Some blasts from the past there, whatever became of Michael Martin?

And who was making the threats on message boards?

A clue - he needed a booster seat to reach the keyboard.

Ah yes.

[PeterWithe]

Phil Mepham? Who he?

Wasn’t he a local news reported beforehand?

[PeterWithe]

I read and agreed with something here about Lerner, for years we needed a very rich owner but the moment we got one it wasn’t enough anymore. Other clubs got the wealth of whole countries.

[Exeter 77]

Phil Mepham? Who he?

Wasn’t he a local news reported beforehand?

ITV Central sports editor I think although I may have inadvertently promoted him.

[cdward]

Great read. Interesting that Lerner was only 44 when he became a billionaire from his fathers inheritance.
At the time i remember being full of optimism as Ellis was no longer going to be holding us back.
I wonder what would have been if Randy Lerner hadn't got a divorce.

[Monty]

Dave, that was a rollercoaster. I'd totally forgotten about Padfield, about the Laursen's-5k-story, loads of it, great stuff.

Fun fact, that year, the first of the Lerner years and the first under MON, Unai scored his first major success by getting Almeria promoted to the top division for the first time in their history.