Ahh, the wonder of relationships. The quick courtship, fantastic runs up the coast, exciting places, the feeling of being loved. When did it all go wrong Randy? Did we disappoint you? Did we lose that sense of wonder between us? Unable to keep up appearances you chucked the Rolls and lavish nights out. The Yugo came out of storage and McDonald’s became that Michelin restaurant. Champagne on a beer budget. Or was it always a beer budget?

Or, was it us? Always demanding, wanting something better with no thought to the money spent. Spoilt by the rush of puppy love, we didn’t want it to stop. Not caring about the amount of money spent on us we turned and spat in the face of that relationship when things became more prudent or perhaps vindictive.

We got picked up in the bar in a fog of booze not seeing the real soul of our benefactor. Were we cheated? Led down the garden path? Or was Randy saddened by our constant demands leaving us with nowt? His every move, good or bad, criticized by us in the latter seasons. And then finally, as soon as he thought he could extricate himself, he did. And it’s over. The Lerner era is done and dusted.

What about us? Are we going to fall for the first one to splash the cash in order to seduce us? Or are we going to look for a pragmatic buyer with an eye for football? Are we going to give them a chance, time to get their feet wet? Or give it to them with both barrels when decisions go wrong? Will there be a honeymoon period before the reality of football business sets in? Who knows?

Half of the managers lost their jobs last season. Did it make any difference in the grand scheme of things? Not really. From 7th to 17th it’s all the same. A couple of teams made a charge and a couple crashed and burned. A few surprises. No one broke into the top six. And then there were the last 3 who were destined to the Championship from day one.

It will be interesting what FFP brings to Manchester City. I’m glad Villa tried and succeeded to some extent to balance the books. Spend a lot of money and take a chance. Norwich this year and QPR last year. Spend the GNP of Belgium and win 2 league titles in 6 years. Try to be astute, try to grow your own, or go youth and hope they can fast track. There isn’t a perfect formula to a winning side. A bad referee, unfortunate injuries, and players in a funk will ruin a season in a blink of an eye.

What’s in store for Aston Villa? Are they going to twist in the wind while Lerner tries to sell? Will Lambert leave? Who would come in? Will all the speculation cause the best players to beat a hasty retreat? Was it a wise move to announce the club for sale? Literally hamstringing everyone and giving any buyer an advantage in negotiations?

And in the end it will be us the fans who will be crying in their beer or hoping for another spin in the Rolls. Even if it’s only for a season or two. We would never go the slow and steady route or would we? Ahh, the wonder of relationships. The quick courtship, fantastic runs up the coast, exciting places, the feeling of being loved. When did it all go wrong Randy? Did we disappoint you? Did we lose that sense of wonder between us? Unable to keep up appearances you chucked the Rolls and lavish nights out. The Yugo came out of storage and McDonald’s became that Michelin restaurant. Champagne on a beer budget. Or was it always a beer budget?

Or, was it us? Always demanding, wanting something better with no thought to the money spent. Spoilt by the rush of puppy love, we didn’t want it to stop. Not caring about the amount of money spent on us we turned and spat in the face of that relationship when things became more prudent or perhaps vindictive.

We got picked up in the bar in a fog of booze not seeing the real soul of our benefactor. Were we cheated? Led down the garden path? Or was Randy saddened by our constant demands leaving us with nowt? His every move, good or bad, criticized by us in the latter seasons. And then finally, as soon as he thought he could extricate himself, he did. And it’s over. The Lerner era is done and dusted.

What about us? Are we going to fall for the first one to splash the cash in order to seduce us? Or are we going to look for a pragmatic buyer with an eye for football? Are we going to give them a chance, time to get their feet wet? Or give it to them with both barrels when decisions go wrong? Will there be a honeymoon period before the reality of football business sets in? Who knows?

Half of the managers lost their jobs last season. Did it make any difference in the grand scheme of things? Not really. From 7th to 17th it’s all the same. A couple of teams made a charge and a couple crashed and burned. A few surprises. No one broke into the top six. And then there were the last 3 who were destined to the Championship from day one.

It will be interesting what FFP brings to Manchester City. I’m glad Villa tried and succeeded to some extent to balance the books. Spend a lot of money and take a chance. Norwich this year and QPR last year. Spend the GNP of Belgium and win 2 league titles in 6 years. Try to be astute, try to grow your own, or go youth and hope they can fast track. There isn’t a perfect formula to a winning side. A bad referee, unfortunate injuries, and players in a funk will ruin a season in a blink of an eye.

What’s in store for Aston Villa? Are they going to twist in the wind while Lerner tries to sell? Will Lambert leave? Who would come in? Will all the speculation cause the best players to beat a hasty retreat? Was it a wise move to announce the club for sale? Literally hamstringing everyone and giving any buyer an advantage in negotiations?

And in the end it will be us the fans who will be crying in their beer or hoping for another spin in the Rolls. Even if it’s only for a season or two. We would never go the slow and steady route or would we?

Comments 42

  1. Hello Matt,
    Firstly the good news, Lamberts gone tomorrow.
    Your very good leader sums Lerners reign up, i’m afraid he was a victim of his own stupidity and ignorance and AVFC is very fortunate that he will soon be gone. IMO, our club has only avoided relegation in the last four seasons by a huge amount of good fortune which, could easily have resulted in the financial collapse of Villa. I certainly won’t be shedding any tears at Lerners departure.

  2. The header says Ian Gibson ponders the relationships but Matt is the provider; so Ian if it’s you – those long hard winters in the Canadian vacation zone must lead you to ponder the essence of life – in this case Aston Villa Life!

    If its Matt the long hard season………etcetera

    Of course we are now at a point of speculation; if Steamer is right and Lambert is a goner, what comes first in the chicken and the egg analogy? New owner or new manager -logic says the owner. So who will it be? Will the Financial Fair Play rules dictate who buys or will the penalty ‘suffered’ by Sheikh Mansoor really make any difference – the restriction of the named squad , reduced by 2, make any difference with world class players unless injuries come into play?

    Oh Boy – we are in for a major speculative comments section now and once the new owner(s) is/are announced. I look forward to something to fill the gap after the Madrid derby next week until mid-June.

    Of course I have Super Rugby and State of Origin to look forward to – Trinity will know what I mean!

    Best wishes to all

  3. Not convinced if Lambert has gone or not. conflicting reports.
    Man City releasing Barry, Milner, Sinclar, Lescott and Rodwell. They will strengthen other clubs whilst we keep pissing around. We could do with all of them.

    Moyes was mentioned last night

    Rafa is top of my list

  4. Aye, it is Ian’s piece – sorry for any confusion but when I upload pieces it defaults to me as the author unless I change it and it was done late last night.

    Remedied now though.

    Anyway, it is nice to be able to find the time to come on here with work keeping me busy. Hope everyone is keeping well 🙂

  5. Randy, is was a boom and bust time under him. He went all out, then had to cut back big time. I just hope we are sold on Monday and we can move n to signing quality players and watching some lovely football

  6. Matt: Remedied now though.

    In duplicate! 😉

    But to the subject matter – the reality to my mind is that Mr. Lerner just wanted to own Aston Villa and pursue various praiseworthy investments in charity and community in doing so. I do believe he has a fine social ethos.

    However, getting to terms with what a football club is about – and the necessary involvement of its supporters – is a ballgame that he couldn’t get to grips with – and doesn’t understand. At least that’s as it seems to me.

    And, let’s face it, we are a weird lot to get to know! 🙂

  7. Hi Ian and crew — yes Ian Randy couldnt hold the relationship down with the club — even though he has feelings for the club he made a bit of a mess of the relationship

    Does anyone think the fact that gardener has been offered a contract and we have signed a younster from abroad that the new people coming in are already calling the shots n that department
    just seems strange that albri and robinson have not had the same treatment

  8. Sorry Ian, scanners on the blink, nice to see you back.

    Runtingz,
    Probably Cowans has recommended Gardners extension but Albri is on better £££, Robinson wants a few bob more, only my thoughts.

    Frem,
    Depending on who the new owners are i’d take Barry, Rodwell, Lescott, Richards and Milner, hopefully won’t commit to other clubs before our takeover.

  9. apparently a new management team will be announced tomorrow, and apparently its Murat Yakin who is leaving FC Basel

    Red Bull being mentioned again

  10. I think that the distinct lack of activity and information on the official site, bodes well for the future, and that announcements will be forthcoming next week.

    Frem

    I certainly would not be surprised if it is Red Bull, as Gerard Houllier is the man in charge of the footballing aspects of their business, and he has intimate knowledge of Villa, and our colours are close enough to theirs.

  11. Well, I guess Red Bull would be better than Dunkin Donuts. It should be an interesting week.

    Clive

    My S15 team, the Blues, have also been pretty disappointing this year.

  12. nice article Ian you have an eye for romance 🙂

    so what your saying is once we succumbed to old randys charms and he had his wicked way with us no matter how charming he was, his ardour has lessened, now randys not so randy? also we found out he’s crap in the sack and had been using viagra to prop the whole thing up while pinching money out of our purse to pay for it? love a bit of romance me 😉

    I believe offering gardener a contract means we can get compo if he doesn’t except and leaves after years on the wage bill we sod all to show

  13. Ian – nice article.

    Two points, Randy ain’t done yet. Let’s see who he sells us to, that will reveal a lot in my view of his tenure.

    Second, all I know about relationships is that they’re like floors.

    Lay them right and you can walk over them for years…..

  14. lets hope randy doesn’t leave us singing ” if you liked it then you should of put a ring on it” whilst selling us to his distant cousin from the swamps with webbed fingers

  15. “Second, all I know about relationships is that they’re like floors.

    Lay them right and you can walk over them for years…”

    🙂

    Can you imagine come August actually watching Villa playing football how it should be played and not running like headless chickens afraid of the ball ?

  16. Hey Fellas,
    Been busy in the yard and getting this place up to snuff. We’ve just about replaced every major item a house would have. Being out in a rural setting city benefits are few and far between. A new water system which draws water from the lake. We put in filters and an ultra violet light purification system. It’s the best tasting water I have had. Updated the septic field, drive way, and new appliances. And a large fenced area for the dogs. So I took a break.

    This was a poor season and I want an increase in performance next year. Here’s to a successful transfer of owners and management. An upgrade on the pitch and free pies.

  17. I think if it Red Bull then Yakin would be the next manager. I should imagine that he’d be given considerable funds being as Basle are owned by a billionairess too.

    Regarding Mumble, a resignation looks better on a CV than a sacking, it makes it look to some people that he has integrity, pity he didn’t actually show any while at VP. I would imagine Lerner would go along with that due to the fact that its unlikely he will be buying another footy club, good riddance to the knobs.

  18. ian

    that I have sir 😉 lets hope randy doesn’t flip us over and takes a stroll down Bournville boulevard before he goes Eh?

    steamer

    do I sense a bit of panic setting in beneath that cool chimplike exterior?

  19. I’ve bought a job lot of straws as I can see there being a shortage of them quite soon with the rate people are grasping at them. shares in straws are already up on the stock market due to speculation in AV’s future

  20. Ian
    There are rumours afoot involving Canadian interest in Villa, and that a Canadian newspaper is running a story tomorrow !!
    Any chance you’ve hears or read something??

  21. B62-I haven’t heard anything yet. When Derby gets into the Prem, there will be a Canadian owner(s) As soon as I hear, I will post the site.

  22. Ian- I think it was David Thompson who was interested in us. 23 Billion worth or something

    yes please

    know one really knows whats happening tomorrow. Some saying Lambert and PF are staying, others saying they are going

  23. Frem
    For what it’s worth, I think Lambert will still be here until a new owner boots him, and unfortunately that doesn’t seem like any time soon. There are so many Bollox rumours flying around, some completely ludicrous, it’s doubtful anyone knows WTF is going on. I may be being overly pessimistic, but I’m sceptical about our future, I fear the dark times are not over, not for a long while yet, RL won’t give two shits who he sells to, as long as he gets his dough eventually.

  24. Frem – There’s no way man city will let Milner leave. He was a key player during the run in.

    Who knew Martinez is soo good, if only….

    I’d take Roy Hodgson as our next mgr. quality coach and manager.

    I do agree with Steamer in that we’ve been lucky to survive the last 4 years. I bought into the original Lambert concept, even if I hated his Norwich football style. I thought yea, German coaching badge, all those contacts, it can be great…but he’s a dumb jock..

  25. FREM FREM !!!!!!!
    BT now , taking on 1600 , there will electrical as the new optical cable needs power to it , there will be new cabs (big green boxes you see on the roadsides) these will be the power boxes, get on the site now ,
    ALSO anyone else know a youth or telecom inclined person looking and they want more female engineers , and it will be nationwide ,

    sorry no villa stuff from me , until its a done deal , lm not going to get my hopes up ,

    Morning my lovely Jenny xxxx

  26. So the Mirror saying what a lot of us were thinking and dreading, there is no takeover in sight, the club is merely up for sale as the club statement stated, and Lambert isn’t going anywhere in the immediate future.
    The whole saga has been a clusterfuck, I am thinking SHA will be sold before we are. RL has made a complete mess of his ownership and now has taken his brilliant business acumen and is making a complete mess of his exit strategy. The longer this drags on, the worse it is for Villa. RL is desperate to sell, and will offload us to the first fly by night merchant, just to get his money, as it seems all the names flying around were little more than wishful thinking on the fans behalf.
    These are truly worrying times

  27. Great to see you back Ian – and hear about life across the pond . It’s a great escape from villa life – and puts things into context when you have 7 feet bears on patio !

    Enjoyed your article very much and the marriage /romance metaphor is an apt one : even more so given the Mirror report that PL is staying . I’m not relying on their statement that “there is no buyer on the horizon” . RL and co have always been proud to claim they do their business in private and something as sensitive as a takeover would be mega private and out of bounds legally anyway. They will feed the press scraps ie the minimum .

    So far as PL staying , they have no alternative really. They need someone to keep us ticking over until new owner can employ his own . If we don’t have new owner then no point appointing new mgr to pay off in mega bucks when we do .

    They can finally use the term “transition ” validly – because that is where we are .

    This is where Ian’s marriage metaphor fits in so well. We are in the first stages of divorce – the aftermath and the messy and painful bit . It’s in the lap of the gods whether our Mr or Mrs Right is waiting back stage or hasn’t entered the theatre yet .

  28. Hello Ian

    Yes, we’ve seen this before, havent we.

    Sounds like you’ve gone and got yourself a nice place there. I’m envious.

  29. Ian

    I tried to insert an envious face, and half the post disappeared.

    Here’s the rest: I like bears and cats.
    I suppose you catch big salmon and eat venison. And you walk into the forest and pick wild berries and tap maple syrup to go with the berries and the cream you collect from the dairy cow you have out the back.

    Good on ya man!

  30. As PL is to carry on , I wonder if that means SG and Sid remain . Who is going to recruit new players ? IC did all that . They can’t reinstate IC and GK unless the alleged bullying employment claims have been dismissed and found unproven . What a mess . What experience has Sid and Given got in this crucial pre season role .

  31. Hello Trinity
    🙂 it is and I am weaning myself off VIlla related news by only checking press twice a day . I have daily mirror sports app on phone so quite easy . I get snippets of TS when on the school run too Didn’t Johnnie Nash sing “there are more questions than answers “. That’s the problem 🙂

  32. Jenny,

    I’m sure Sid and Shay would have more than a fair idea about what’s been happening. I’d be interested to know, if crime has been commited, how long they’ve known about it? I wouldn’t want IC and GK reinstated, anyway. They’d have a case for unfair dismissal if they were sacked then cleared. That said, something has happened.

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