I suspect the first half of my post will bore the pants off many of you, but it’s something I find interesting and I’d like thoughts on.
If you’re not interested, scroll down halfway and I do talk about the footy side of things, honest!
I’m sure we all know the story by now, but just in case, here’s the link;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36094976
I have to hold my hands up and say I don’t have a clue how things work in the hierarchies of big business (and that’s basically what the Villa is), but I find the suggestion of a mole within Villa Park a bit worrying.
Hence I find myself wondering who the said mole might be.
I might be wrong, but I’d expect that if a board member has something to say to another specific board member, the rest of the board would normally be CC’d in.
That part makes sense, as the board have to come to some sort of consensus and there’s no one board member who can make a sole decision; Randy Lerner apart, I’d suspect. Hence the board have to keep everyone “in the loop”.
At least that’s how it works where I work, at the (lower) level I’m at.
So given that the mails Bernstein and King exchanged were critical of Lerner, it also makes sense that they must have been a private conversation between the two of them.
Which begs the question of who else would have been able to see them?
And I can’t see that anyone would, unless they hacked Bernstein’s or King’s computer.
Of course, I’m working on the assumption here that the mails weren’t sent from within Villa Park (which would rule out any Network administrators) and both directors wouldn’t be so naive as to walk away from their screens leaving them unlocked, for anyone to have a peek at (would they?).
I’m also working on the assumption that Paddy Riley, the main suspect, who isn’t listed as a member of the board, or even strangely enough, an AV official at all wouldn’t have been party to these conversations.
And anyway, he’s known to be close to Lerner, as is General Krulak, another one I’d discount.
Which only leaves Doug Ellis.
Would he have been kept in the loop when it came to critical comments about Lerner?
Possibly, but I doubt Merv would have included him, as he surely knows what he’s like.
So what am I saying?
The truth is, I don’t know.
But then I find myself wondering how it seems the BBC first broke this story.
Since when have they ever been the first to know anything about the Villa, especially when it hasn’t come from Pat Murphy?
I’m guessing the whole story was leaked by a new source.
I think there’s much more to this than first meets the eye, is my conclusion.
So onto the actual footy side of things then and Gabby has been suspended again and we’ve called the PFA in to mediate. The good news is that it seems the PFA might have a lot of sympathy for the club.
But they’re never going to side against the player, because that’s not what they’re about.
Dead simple this one, to me.
Get rid and I don’t care how it happens. Sack him and let him take the club to a tribunal, if we have too.
And it breaks my heart to say it, as someone who defended him for ages after he was played out on the wings.
But there are far too many accounts that suggest he’s the worst influence in the club and he has to go. At any cost.
And then there’s Okore, who’s apparently moaned at Eric Black about not getting a game and has been demoted to the development squad.
Which has caused some outrage amongst the fans, having read on here and other sites.
Maybe rightly so, as I do actually like the player.
He’s young and has room to improve, after all.
But while I don’t rate Black at all, you can’t tell me that he’d see any player moaning about wanting to play as something bad enough to warrant demoting him. Especially when it seems half of the favoured eleven don’t seem to give a toss.
No, again there has to be more to this than meets the eye.
And my guess is that Okore’s another troublemaker, who thinks he’s better than the club and another we need to get rid of.
Black is starting to move up in my estimation, if my thinking is correct and he’s actually laying down the law.
In other news, David Moyes now looks a reasonable bet to be the next Celtic manager.
While I think he was probably genuinely interested in the Villa job, who can blame him for not being interested now?
Which also makes me wonder, which manager of any decent standing would want to come to us at all?
There’s another protest planned for Saturday’s game.
I’m afraid I don’t care about these anymore, as the previous ones have been totally uncoordinated and missing, dare I say, a leader as in “Fear”.
Pretty much like the club really, I suppose.
And finally, we won the Barclays grounds team of the year award.
Congratulations to Paul Mytton and the team and I’m sure we’d all agree that they do a sterling job in making the VP pitch consistently one of the finest footy surfaces in the world.
We do have one thing to be proud of lately, after all!
The more I get to hear, the more I’m inclined to think that the whole club has a culture where noone can trust anyone and it’s a back-biting, terrible place to be.
So sad and has to stem from the very top, imo.
so angry with Adama Traoré signing. only a none football person would sign this player on wages that should be earned by a established star. yet hes rewarded for failure.
we have some ordinary players at villa park and have for many years, only benteke stood out as a class player. the rest are the most ordinary bunch of misfits, but most are on great money for little they offer the club in return.
so angry no wonder football people are walking away. i don’t even rate this adama, i get why some fans may like him but hes too erratic, hes a poor tony daley.has shown anything like enough to justify 60k and in the championship thats more wages and we can afford. nicely done villa
Has Traore really been given a chance though? From what I’ve seen of him he might be a player we would want to hang on to and, let’s face it, I’d sooner he had the money that some of the useless crap we’ve been fielding recently.
Suggestion: Why not play Paul Mytton and his team on Saturday? They certainly couldn’t do any worse 🙂
yes hes not been used much. when he has been used. i see a individual with speed but little else. thats a big no massive gamble. the transfer fee and wages will bring the club too its knees. if they don’t return to premiership swiftly. players like him with little to no real experience are not given 40k to 60k . that is a massive gamble on a player that may not be good enough.
No Pat I ain’t having that, how can you justify a deal that gives some raw kid who played 63 games for Barca B team and netted a grand total of 8 times a contract that could rise to £75k a week with appearances? (John Percy The Telegraph).
It’s indefensible.
To be truthful I don’t care that we have a mole at Villa, what news ever comes out from Villa anyway, Lerner rules, let’s see the kids ffs, I want to know what we have for the future, up till now it’s been them and us, get them on.
i agree, but with SO CALLED experience like hutten and clarke maybe orkore and cissoko as defenders and gana in mids rest use the kids their season is almost finished. they are in the play off so this might not happen
Badger – good question about the emails. My money is on Riley who has the most to gain but how they came into his possession? You are right about the atmosphere within VP – with all that’s going on it has to be a pretty unpleasant place to be right now.
And the source for the BBC. – look no further than King and Bernstein. King’s Bloomberg interview was interesting and it wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t hear more from him over the next week or so. K&B are both powerful people and neither are going to allow any negative press emanating from VP to put a black mark on their cv’s.
Completely agree H60, King and Bernstein didn’t need the Villa as much as the Villa needed them – And at last now, we are getting some truth as to what is happening internally at our club – And it is painful reading – Randy Lerner is power crazed and very paranoid, maybe if he visited his ‘investment’ a little more often he it might cure him a little bit. But he prefers to rely on gossip from the likes of Faulkner and Fox, in the past and now Riley, who have all been promoted above their intelligence and skill set.
The club has been poisoned from within and I really think we have not seen the worst yet.
I would be surprised if that happens Hitchens. Washing the dirty linen in public will do neither of them any favours when other people are considering employing their services. Businesses don’t like disloyalty. If we find out more I suspect it will come from somewhere else.
The whole club stinks, and ultimately Randolph is responsible for that. He needs to stop shooting the messengers and accept responsibility. I hope this sale is real and happens, but at the same time I’m pretty worried about where we will end up.
Fair point DS but don’t expect King or Bernstein to take any flak without responding. It seems to me that Lord King is passionate about Villa and has already said more than one might have expected following his resignation.
New Villa theme tune. Should be played before every match while Lerner is in charge –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZciH3hx-A
Great song anyway!
How could anyone possibly dislike the O’Jays doing Backstabbers?
Must be noses on the prowl.
Pat57, that’s got to be Lerner.
Which one? The one in the middle?
Lerner owns the club. He could easily have instructed the IT support group to give him access to everyones emails. Other than that I wouldn’t rule out Hollis. Given his position he could have been a recipient on the email exchange. Riley I think is unlikely, much as most fans despise him.
Off topic, but which part of the ground generates the most atmosphere…..I would say lower north, especially the fans in the half closest to the away support. They never stop singing and stand all the way through the match, it really is old school stuff, I love it. Now I read that the club are tearing out half of the seats and turning it into a wheelchair only stand, is this a deliberate policy to stop the fans that show passion attending, a bit like the ‘No flags and banners policy’ and banning Brigada 74 from the ground. The club really is having it’s soul ripped out, I know some of the stewards can be over officious pr**ks, but surely they know proper fans when they see them!
Rumours surfacing of Larry Ellison of Oracle as potential buyer. He is a very rich man and doesn’t take prisoners. He would sort the club out. Hope there’s some truth in that one.
Just disliked my own post. I don’t believe a word of it
“Season Tickets get yer season tickets, get them cheap before Ellison buys, season tickets get yer season tickets”…..
more sh1t from the club to generate interest in ticket sales !!
Apparently it’s a British based consortium backed by Ellis. But then there’s a reported 8 different consortium’s interested. Probably be more by the weekend.
Kings interview did hint at villa having a very exciting future and hoping a sale would go through quickly.
I think it is coincidence however that when the club hit yet another low and we have a game at home this weekend that the takeover rumours surface.
Hot off the press from the B’ham Mail. Tom Ross says –
‘Four managers in one season were all charged with trying to mould players so obviously unfit for purpose into a side capable of staying in the top flight. Either of these clichés would fit perfectly – “poisoned chalice” or “impossible job.
Yet no-one has really taken the recruitment department to task. In fact, as managers, CEO, directors all leave and hundreds of staff are facing the prospect of redundancy, the head of recruitment, Paddy Riley, appears to be fireproof.”
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villas-head-recruitment-paddy-11220674
In all of this, Riley’s position looks more and more ‘odd’ [ Daniel Taylor had a go at his record in last Sunday’s Observer, too] – why is this guy apparently bulletproof when everyone else below Lerner seems to be dispensable?
A lot of the player-related issues seem to come back to his ‘recruitment’ practices over the last few years, yet somehow he’s managed to dodge the bullet [so far] – how, why??
one question i asked at the end of last season, who disclosed the buy out fee of delph and benteke to the press, there agents couldn’t with confidentially rules? and when that money for the sales came in who had it to spend?and why with four managers have virtually the same team and tactics been played? and when someone tries to make changes happen their position becomes untenable i think the finger is pointing at you Mr Riley.how long before Little is forced to walk away.also with all these disclosure coming from the club by the day can we really blame some of the professional footballers that have left in recent years.
Little is only an ‘advisor’ to the board, so we are back to square one with no-one with any footballing experience actually sitting on the board, this is how Lerner wants it. Anyone with any footballing nouse would find out what a bad state the club is in and how inept Lerner is and run for the hills… This is what happened and why they had to leave.
Riley and Westwood have juicy gossip, why else are they still around? Both bags of shite!!
Bring back Paul Lambert
😉
For Gods sake someone do something and quick!
Up the Villa anyway
Come on play the kids for a change
Kevin Toner for Player of the Year
Let’s get rid of Riley right now
Exasperated totally with Villa at the moment
Riley, what a waste of space
Nothing will go right while we’ve got this crowd in
Each and every away fan should be applauded
Right, initially this post is spot on 🙂
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11677/10252514/aston-villa-supporting-consortium-in-pole-position-to-buy-club
Villa supporting businessmen from the UK and Europe. And people seem to rate Sky Sports so who knows? Maybe what they said about Hollis getting us sold is true. Could see King back quickly then, as a Villa supporting consortium would love him.
Fingers and toes crossed that it’s true
Buyers, they’re like buses. You wait for ages and then two come along at once?
(Just around season ticket renewal time).
Cannot stop to talk off to get my season tickets, by?…..
I will go on the piss for a week if Lerner is gone in 48 hours. Sounds to good to be true. I hope it is.
That’s not really a sacrifice Dave is it? Bit like saying, if I win the lottery I’ll promise to be good and have a big fat w**k!
The news does seem to have momentum though…
It won’t be done in 48 hours… It’ll take a little time but King seems to think we’ll have a bright future once the new owners in place, so it seems to have a lot of momentum and seems he thinks it could be done soon.
Disagree probably put out there to sell season tickets. King is probably only doing what Lerner told him to so he could resign instead of being sacked
Doesn’t need Lerner gone to be on the piss for week but it would make a good excuse lol
Sky Sports are saying –
‘The consortium, which is based partly in the UK and partly in mainland Europe, is carrying out due diligence having been given access to the club’s accounts.’
Is carrying out due diligence…..sounds pretty definite.
What I like about this they are Villa supporters and will have an interest in the club.
villa supporters have they got a tattoo like randy’s?
Wonder if Nigel Kennedy’s got anything to do with this?
Gabby and lescott are villa supporters to! Means sod all
Alleged conversation between DB and Lord King.
David, sorry to hear that you’ve resigned; and you Mervin. So Mervin any plans? Well David, I’m so upset by that email Lerner sent us I’ve chatted with a few of my friends and we’re going to buy our club back – had enough of the man and his lunacy. Good on you Mervin, let me know if I can help. Will do David, just as soon as I’ve kicked Riley and Flabby into touch’
Oh well, dream on.
Lol Hitch.
Off Topic but well a read
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/the-gabby-agbonlahor-scandal-is-much-bigger-than-one-illicit-photograph-a6993631.html
*worth*
Badger I think you are reading too much into the significance of the leak. Since the original merchant bank is no longer involved in the sale I can tell you that Lerner only wanted the club sold to people in his circle – basically Americans. Larry Ellison was touted last year and he fits the bill – but that is about the only legs that rumour has got.
It is far from impossible that K & B had found other serious buyers, If anyone could King could. However King is likely to have found buyers who do not fit the bill. It is possible then that the split between K & B and Lerner was about Lerner favouring people similar to himself when someone with more interest and goodwill – not to say knowledge – towards Villa was ready to commit.