So with the season over, you’d expect it to be quiet. However, with Aston Villa rarely wanting to do anything as expected, it’s quite the opposite.
However, having a lot of things talked about isn’t always synonymous with anything actually happening. Villa, a club who are now officially on sale, have a long way to go if they are going to be competing for mid-table, never mind aiming back for historic heights.
Which isn’t to suggest that changes aren’t possible, rather that there’s a lot of work to be done. From looking to restore the historic crest that adorned our shirts when we won in 1982, to putting in place some longer term foundations for strategy and ethos, a multiude of changes may well reap the benefits we’ve all been hoping for.
Something like changing the crest may not sound like much, but in the eyes of fans the new logo is becoming a synonym for plans gone wrong, for ideas that sounded great in premise but lacked the pace to last the distance.
What Villa do is simple – they need to get back to basics under the new owner.
First, we need to establish a plan. When Randy Lerner rocked into the Midlands, a five year plan was vaunted but never materialised. Perhaps any form of plan disappeared when Martin O’Neill left, assuming Lerner was building around the Ulsterman, but the truth is that indiscriminate spending was never going to be the answer.
Some might say that Manchester City have done OK – and they have done far more than that – but Lerner didn’t have the money to play that game, and probably should have shifted his strategy once Sheikh Mansour arrived at Eastlands.
Instead, we’ve seen Villa stripped down to the bone, barely surviving in the Premier League. Sure, the likes of City and Chelsea may well find themselves in turmoil once their respective sugar daddies walk away, but those legacies may well not be seen for decades.
No, Villa have to have more sense than thinking money alone is going to get the club back to their best. As O’Neill stated when arriving, here’s a club that has been in the wilderness for a while, but that doesn’t stop us aiming back at the top.
It’s going to be a long and hard road. Rich owners may well help us get above the half way mark of the table, but that’ll be where the hard work will start. A club like Villa has the necessary tools to rise quickly – some might even argue it has been the historic support that has kept the club alive in recent years – but we can’t underestimate the challenges we’ll face.
What we must do from here is to find that spirit that runs through our history. Withe, Waring, Hitchens, Morley – they invoke memories of the men who made our club great.
Now, with a new day dawning, we have to instill the memories, the ethos and the people into the club. Liverpool states on the steps to the pitch that “This is Anfield” and that simple sign has become a mark of who they are.
So, at Villa Park, what we need now are the right foundations. They may be small, and they may take time, but there’s a future to be grasped hold of and, by God, we need to grab it with both hands when it arrives.
The Author
Matt Turvey
Matt is the owner of, and chief writer for, Aston Villa Life. He is also a columnist for the Wolverhampton Express & Star, appearing in the Kick Off pullout on Saturdays and the Final Whistle pullout the Monday after Aston Villa play, as well as every Thursday as a blogger on their website. He has previously been featured as a writer on Football365 and Life's A Pitch, and was a regular pundit for Sports Tonight TV on Sky.Comments 39
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Hello Matt,
Totally agree, with the changing face of football we have to get the correct new owners in this time or the club could be the next Blackburn, PNE or Bolton just making the numbers up in whatever division they play in.
Apparently the new owners will be in place in mid-June, ( if they exist ), if not then its adios EPL. Lerner couldn’t have done a worse job even if he had Ron Toss as his advisor.
Matt – I don’t think it will take much to get us to mid table but that should definitely be the aim for next season.
With players that have had serious injuries along with the bomb squad returning, this is possible even if we don’t get sold.
Kozak, Benteke, N’Zogbia, Gardner, Given, Bent and Okore will be like new signings compared to the team that finished the season off for us. Admittedly by the time we finished the season we were a bottom 3 club in terms of quality.
The seven players I have mentioned there will make an enormous difference.
Lambert will of course be looking to offload some of the failures. Perhaps he will be able to make one or two more signings as well.
I think it’s going to be a fascinating summer and I am full of optimism. New owners would transform us but even without them, we should improve on last year’s disappointing 15th place.
That’s a good leader, Matt.
Steamer’s right. We don’t want to be fried like Blackburn, do we?
I agree with what Droyd says if those players can maintain a good level of fitness and they return with a good attitude. That said, a few proven signings still need to come in and the likes of Grealish developed and infused with confidence.
Would AVST (or whoever) commission a feasibility study into an eventual fan takeover? It would answer a lot of questions and pose a few for fans to ponder.
Right! Speaking of Blackbern, I’ve got some chicken in the pan that needs turning over.
I think first and foremost the simple start is to get the fans back onside, whether this be RL or a new owner. A little bit of honesty and transparency goes a long way, ok if its Lerner, just admit you screwed up, listened to the wrong people and made some wrong choices.
For the new owners get the fans interacting with the club again, just make us feel wanted even needed, this simple act will bring them in. As an owner you will want to earn money from the club, guess what, we don’t begrudge you that if it means we have a modicum of progression and investment and ultimately success.
I think because we as fans, are no longer the main income for the clubs, we are overlooked and discounted. But every club needs a beating heart and without us you have a corpse, that rots and decays and eventually ceases to exist.
Like it or not they need us as much as we need them, and great things can happen if they just take some time to understand what we as fans are about.
UTV
I agree with Droyd and Trinity if we make the best use of what we’ve got we should finish lower-mid table comfortably.
Trinity – AVST did a survey about a bunch of things and fan ownership was part of that. Dont know when results are due.
Sam – there is too much of a disconnect between the fans and the club. Thats why we need representation at board level where decisions are made.
First and for most Lambert has to go, who ever is owner, he just has to go. Probably shown him self to be the worst tactician in English football last season
if he gets to buy again, it will only be Holt
I see West Ham are signing two players we could only dream off
An inspired piece Matt.
Rotterdam overlooked and almost forgotten yesterday.
50 years to the day 328 killed in stadium disaster in Peru,like the Bradford disaster not even acknowledged.
Frem you will blow a gasket when you rad this,but I mean it…….there are worse managers than Lambert out there,and worse ownwers than Lerner.That does not mean I want him at AVFC,,but as each day passes he is closer to he exit door.Better the Devil you know,for the time being.
Matt
Interesting Article, and a great point regarding the crest, the current crest, designed by RL, is a beacon of everything that has gone wrong under his stewardship, rather than sticking with tradition ( I didn’t like the design under Ellis at the end), and I don’t understand why we would ditch the symbol of our best period in modern history, and possibly our greatest triumph.
Going forward the has to be more transparency , and information sharing between them and us, whoever is in charge.
Without a takeover, we will struggle to stay up, I hope I’m wrong but the returning bomb squad aren’t going to give their all for an employer that treated them like shit, I think there will be a backlash and an exodus, which would be good, if we were in a position to upgrade and kick on, but with no buyer in sight, the rumours are rife we can only recruit free transfers and loans with a budget of £10m.
I only hope there is a takeover and it’s extremely covert with no leaks, because there’s very little coming out of B6 that’s positive
What i want from the new owners and new manager above all is to have a footballing ethos in place. I want a manager to say this is us, this is how we play regardless. I see Liverpool and everton always passing from the back and somtimes you see the crowd get annoyed by it when opposition pen you in but they wont budge and continue to play.
Id like to see evidence of the manager being on that training pitch and seeing players develop over time. IE Lalana, sterling, henderson.
All this does not need mega ££££ Learner is better off than Liverpools owners but the massive massive difference is Liverpools owners have a plan, vision and some knowledge. We could easily have this with the amount of money Learner has spent/wasted on us…villa are a prime example of mis management at every level.
Ree,
just to finish off the other discussion , I did’nt really mean me , i was just using the 1st person to simplify the point I was trying to make .
Anyway , we do disagree on some things and thats ok…but Mark mentioned a feasability study yesterday which was uncharacteristic of him in that it is a good idea. An actual logical first step.
I think he was overheating in his white hood and robes yesterday which may have led to an outbreak in sense.
I feel so disconnected from the club, it’s unreal, it may be geographical in that I’m from Dublin, but you made a comment Matt ‘First, we need to establish a plan’. I don’t see us as fans getting near to making a plan although absolutely we can discuss a preferred approach in terms of sustained on-pitch investment, the re-dev of the North Stand, the expansion of trading activity into US and Asia to bring in more turnover but will we actually get to influence it.
As a result of the disconnect, I’ve joined the Supporters Trust so I can influence Villa, by a large body representing my views and at the time I fully supported/contributed to the letter that John Lerwill organised.
The limbo status of the club just smacks of a ship without a captain and going in circles through lack of direction. There is no current plan other than keep the ship afloat and after successive relegation avoidance seasons, the very thing this club needs is a plan or direction and for that to be disseminated to the fans to get them on board for the season ahead.
We are now in that period of Limbo that we all spoke about, we will see more players leaving than coming in, the bomb squad will be introduced into the squad purely to give them better sell off value, we will enter the pre-season in a weaker position than last year and this spells big trouble.
Lambert has proven over the last two years that he is out of his depth at this standard but unfortunately circumstances mean we have to keep him, who thought a while back we would be singing the praises of Pullis and the job he has done and no sign of a jeerman coaching badge.
We need to get people in place who can take us forward with a proper plan not one made up as you bumble along, to show the fans a bit of football and passion, get things right on the pitch and all the other things like the old crest will follow.
UTV
Darren,
ST75 is big in Dublin you know perhaps he will tell you the story one day, watch this space.
UTV
Great posts by Sam and Andrew which sum up how the fans feel.
Darren,
i know nothing about the AVST except that someone said it was pro L/F/L, i’m a bit suspicious of tiny minorities that set themselves up as a platform for the fans. Why don’t they throw it open and form an AVFC Independent Supporters Club with subscriptions to cover costs and reach out to a substantial percentage of our support, it would still be toothless but large enough to organize demonstrations or support either for or against our administration.
Strange but true.
I DON’T WANT A NEW OWNER. Randy Lerner has made terrible mistakes, now he has to pay by remaining owner of a club he doesn’t want.
The financial fair play rules, (in theory) means the end of the Oil Barron with hundreds of millions in loose change to burn. Only two types will want to buy 1/ An eccentric opportunist who thinks he knows best I.E Vincent Tam, change the name, change the colours, change the manager, get relegated. 2/ A brand to use Villa to market their brand I.E the Venkys – get relegated.
Randy Lerner has a choice. Invest to protect the investment he’s made, or do nothing. He has brain, I suspect he has advisers. Is he stupid enough to make his biggest mistake and invest nothing. If he does, we get relegated. If we get the kind of new owner you’re going to get in the new market, track record says we get relegated. Actually I forget, we could get a misguided new owner who would splash cash (all be it against the rules now), Fernandez QPR, relegated (and in financial meltdown if they hadn’t got back up in a match they had one shot on target in).
Aston Villa doesn’t need salvation. It needs to be run properly. It needs to compete head to head with teams with smaller stadiums, a less valuable brand, and less successful traditions. It needs a manager who can spot and nurture talent, understands tactics and motivates performances. It appears that isn’t Paul Lambert.
I very much hope there are no buyers out there, as I say the chances are its out of the frying pan into the fire. Mr Lerner will have reevaluate his attitude to the club, not for the blind fan angle we were sold but out of hard commercial reality, and see to it that the squad looks fit for purpose or he should expect to loose almost everything he’s put in. Will he be so keen to dispose of us if were in the championship and worth 50 million? Time to face up to the mistakes Randy, the easy fix for your lighter pocket you seek, may not be out there.
In May 2014, after years of being a keen admirer of the English Premier League, Rich begun negotiating the purchase of English soccer team Aston Villa Football Club, from current owner, Randolph “Randy” Lerner.
Bob Rich on Wiki, due the first week in June, a consortium apparently, worth $3b.
And BCFC are trying to get funds together for a new stadium
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sg9Sl7bn-UY/TxTcQQq_0nI/AAAAAAAAHos/eP3P5wfzjM8/s1600/riders_dome.jpg
prox
glad you have finally recognised my genius, I was beginning to think you only read your own posts 😉
One thought that has occurred to me is ( 2 in a week, smoking ) If we go about this fan takeover idea to aggressively potentially it could scare a buyer off as he thinks the villagers are going to storm the castle. Rich men do not usually get where they are by doing what they are told. on the other hand an intelligent potential buyer could use it to his advantage. in other words how represent ourselves is massively important
steamer
Bob rich? is it april the 1st?
Ian
🙂
Anyone can change Wiki. I hope Rich comes with us other backers becasue 1.8 billion might not be enough to get us back to the big time. Hopefully Cortese will be on board who ever the new owners are
steamer ,
Is Bob Rich the younger brother of Richie Rich?
Prox Im all for a feasibility study, what can and cant be done needs to be evaluated. Who are the best people to do this?
Steamer – the fans need a voice, whether it be AVST or an independent group. We need a strong group/lobby to convey what we want.
“1.8 billion might not be enough to get us back ”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
says 3 billion net worth. it is wiki though
I dunno who the big accountant firms are in brum Ree , but in ireland , it would probably be KPMG.
They are costly items though.
Ian,
You come up with some good ‘uns.
The thing is, if its a consortium then theirs gonna be more £££, the downside is that by the look of it he’s gonna give Lambert another chance to bugger us up hence the “they understand” slip during his interview.
Prox I dont think we’re at that stage of actually employing bona fida accountants for the consultancy, I meant a study between the fans. Im sure there are plenty of accountants in the ranks! Both my brother and cousin worked at PWC in Birmingham but neither are Villa fans! PWC are a huge firm worldwide and their charge out rates are ridiculous.
Blues have announced there in advanced talks with a British consortium with North American backing, FFS they better not turn it around whilst we slip the other way.
Steamer,
Any new owners who have any ideas of keeping Lambert can stay well away from VP, it just means they are as clueless as Lerner.
UTV
The rumour is Bob Rich is part of the blues deal, along with the likes of Gianni Paladini.
I honestly don’t think there’s any deal in the pipeline for us, and I can see stumbling into next season in turmoil with an even poorer squad than we finished the last campaign, Tekkers is still injured as is Kozak( who is still poor), I fear Delph will be off, as will Vlaar , Gabby , Nzogbia, maybe even Bent, but we won’t be investing this summer, it’s a case of just hanging in there for a sale, which could happen in a matter of weeks, months or even years , Reading also in talks for a big sale, although there no match for us historically, there facilities and close proximity to London, make them a decent bet, because of Lerners incompetence, were just too expensive , when you can buy blues, Reading etc for a fraction of the price, invest 30-40 million, get promoted and get the same sort of TV money we earnt this season. Those sort of clubs are happy just being in the premiership, compared to us where it’s £200m before we kick a ball, then we also need £30 + just to aim for avoiding a relegation battle.
You’re right B62, 30 mill does look better than 200 plus. To be able to buy BCFC for the cost of 1 1/2 decent footballers is to be considered. And they have a nice set of plans for a stadium.
B62: Reading also in talks for a big sale, although there no match for us historically
Yes, except they’re older than us (1871)! And knocked Villa out of the Cup when Villa were in their heyday.
Villa Sell-off
I think Lerner and his family trust should just wipe off their losses and sell the club for what they bought for plus the cost of the infrastructure improvements. £62m + £20?
Agreed John, bad business deal, too bad.
John, I’m starting to think you helped Jesus divide up the loaves and fishes. 🙂
Ian,
Just seen a film of Ted Drake scoring some of his 7 goals vs Villa in 1935.
Terrible defending!!
No, I wasn’t there! My dad was though.
Agree the price tag is far too high. 90 million sounds about right. A lot of the funds RL is trying to recoup were lost through some bad calls from management. Ces’t la vie. A new owner shouldn’t have to pay for the previous management’s errors.
The price has been based on Fulham’s sale for £190m. As the summer goes on hopefully Lerner will lower his price.
SWW
your big in bristol you fat git !!!
Torquay
years ago we found a pub which was up an allyway called the Hole in the wall , had bloody big surprise when we saw the manager , he was south african and he got the shock of his life when he saw me as he had banned me once when a load of noses jumped me (yes he banned me ) , well we had free drinks that day because the bastard had done a runner with the takings and he was bricking it ,
that day they kicked off l had one of them in a hold round his neck and he was biting into my arm ,still got the scar and everytime one of his brave mates kicked me l squeezed harder till he passed out , then the gaffer stopped it and l stood up and said “dont worry l know who kicked me ” 2 weeks later all the steamers went up to the broadway and it was funny watching them trying to run out the fire exit ,only the lads were there waiting, l even had them saying to me “we didnt mean it ” (you know them all sww) l remember them kicking me when l was on the floor , so l just watched them all get a kicking , very brave the noses when its about 10 onto one ,
hope you all had a good bank hols ,
hi jennykins xxxxxxxxxxx