Re: 'The Sale of Aston Villa FC' Countdown Thread: Now Sold!

by **Sandie** Wed Oct 21, 2015 2:05 pm

Ever feel like you've been cheated?

The whole thing is a massive mess. It's like we're watching a playschool project where they attempt to run a football club. The childishness is there for all to see from the infighting through the media to those who say nasty things being sent to Coventry. These are supposed to be professional people yet they are starting to look so incompetent. In Sherwood, Lerner has the manager he deserves, a man as incompetent and idiotic as he is.

The whole thing is just becoming a hopeless mess. When and where will the rot stop?

by **Sandie** Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:50 pm

From Stan RE Almstadt: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1snngfr

Have waited a couple of days as I'm obviously working at games this weekend but wanted to share some rather interesting insight into the new Director of Football at AVFC, Mr Almstadt.

As I was critical of him last week I feel it's important to flesh out why.

A very, very, very ( yes that's very) knowledgeable person who I trust 100%, who's incredibly well liked and has the inside track at Arsenal told me this.

"Arsenal training ground personnel couldn't believe their luck when Almstadt left Colney, as he was very unwelcome and seen as simply not very good st his job"

"the suggestion was that he was only employed at Arsenal due to his friendship with Ivan Gazidis, and Arsenal staff couldn't believe their luck when Villa gave him Director of Football".

"He was responsible for bringing in Mr Jonke? ( Jonker?) to the Arsenal youth set up, which , from being one of the best in the country is in danger due to his methodology"

"Arsene Wenger, who likes Tim Sherwood had a conversation on Mr Almstadt's arrival at AVFC, where the former told the latter to "be careful"

Personally, I don't care if the man on the moon is at our club as long as they are good at their job, are an industry professional and can offer something in what is turning out to be the latest disaster after 5 seasons of disasters, so hearing from someone I trust that Almstadt hardly came with glowing tributes from Arsenal staff is deeply troubling and confirms my worst fears, namely our admin from the top is rotten to the core.

Worrying times.

Bit more here: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stan-collymore-launches-another-scathing-10326481

The club's a shambles. One of the problems is when you have a structure that is so poor. Villa had Paul Faulkner, lovely man, as chief exceutive. Lovely man, met him many times, completely inept when it came to running a football club.

Tom Fox, met him for a drink in the summer. Lovely man, very nice guy lots of American football shirts and basketball shirts in his office. Talked the talk, inept. Came from Arsenal on the marketing side, goes straight into Aston Villa as a chief executive.

Paddy Riley, the chief scout, the guy that helps buy the players, hasn't worked well under any football manager.

So when Tim Sherwood got the job I said 'Is this the right man?'. I wasn't sure because he was a rookie.

But knowing the goings on at Aston Villa...

Hendrik Almstadt, that world renowned football genius as a director of football, that came from the marketing department yet again at Arsenal, is the man recruiting players on the 'Moneyball' philosophy.

You get what you pay for.

At Aston Villa Football Club ever since Martin O'Neill walked out the door the clock has been ticking. Six seasons now it's been near the bottom of the table. I feel for fellow Villans up and down the country and around the world that have to watch that dross week, in week out.

But the manager is the end point. He's not the beginning point, but he's the point where all of us as football supporters, go 'it's him to blame, his decisions, his signings his tactics.

Randy Lerner, Tom Fox, Mr Almstadt, Mr Riley - if Tim Sherwood goes, you go as well.

Also saw this earlier: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-manager-tim-sherwood-10326045

I wonder just how much Lerner is involved in the day-to-day running of the club? I get the feeling that Almstadt and Fox do everything with Lerner only really stepping in if the shit really hits the fan? Does he care? Does he spend his time worrying about the club?

by GadgetMan Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:09 pm

In doubt he has much involvement day to day, however they had a meeting the other week in the US so he's still involved to some degree (why not he owns us) and he should care (I think he does) he's got a lot of cash wrapped up in us. I just don't think any of them know their arse from their elbow. Not one of them seeks any good at his job.

Get David Dein in as Chairman and let him sort out this mess. He will appoint a good manager and sort out the dross on the board and other key areas. It won't happen, but it would be money well spent.

by **villabromsgrove** Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:12 am

Almstadt and Reilly bought some decent prospects in this summer, but they aren't 'Tim Sherwood' type players and it's obvious that he doesn't know how to use them.

Sherwood says that he never speaks to Randy, so it appears that there are two different philosophies working in opposite directions within AVFC. Sherwood doesn't trust the new players to do a job, the fact that he's reverted to using Richardson alongside Lescott demonstrates this.

Westwood, Hutton Gabby and Richardson, play the wrong kind of football to support our new signings, and there is clearly no way forward with a manager who refuses to buy in to the system that the administators are trying to introduce.

I don't know whether Fox and Almstadt have the ability to recruit a manager who can actually put right the mess that both Sherwood and the owner/admin have created, but we're about to find out.

by **Sandie** Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:03 pm

Aston Villa are mismanaging their way into the Championship

Since Lerner stopped bankrolling the club to any serious extent, around the time of Martin O’Neill’s departure in 2010, Villa have been through four managers and have finished in the bottom six for each of the past four seasons, winning just 20 of their last 81 home league games.

Lerner cannot find a buyer and will find it increasingly difficult to do so while the club is mismanaging its way out of the Premier League.

Like another grand old English club, Newcastle United, Villa has been slowly smothered by a lack of ambition from the top, with anger now replaced by terminal apathy.

It was a Villa chairman, William McGregor, who founded the Football League and the club won the European Cup in 1982 – with both feats commemorated at Villa Park, a ground which is more museum than theatre these says.

But history is bunk. Villa cannot aspire to such greatness in the foreseeable future. They must learn to compete with the top flight’s well-run smaller clubs such as Southampton, Swansea, Stoke, Crystal Palace and even Leicester – all of whom are light years ahead in terms of management structure and recruitment policy.

Garde did a decent but unspectacular job as Lyon manager but his likely appointment is regarded as one designed to best safeguard the positions of Fox, Almstadt and Riley – a compliant ‘head coach’ who could be expected to make the most of Villa’s summer foray into the French market.

Good luck with that.

There’ll be few tears shed for Sherwood, and with a £2million pay-off why should there be?

But while Villa are run by self-interested middle managers, who seem incapable of trusting their own instincts, they are heading towards the Championship. And deservedly so.

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:22 pm

It's so easy being a Mirror journalist these days. Just nip onto CABA and copy a couple of posts from earlier in the evening and paste your story.

by **Sandie** Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:32 pm

HA!

It's good to see that the press are finally starting to question Lerner even mentioning him in the same breath as that other doyen of mismanagement, Mike Ashley. Some of us were saying just how bad he was years ago.

You get a shit manager, you can sack him. You get a shit player, you can just not pick him then move him. A shit owner, well...

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:53 pm

An absentee sh*t owner who is hiding from his responsibilities, is about as bad as it gets.

by **Sandie** Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:06 pm

The Mumbler has his say: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p036b1kt

Actually makes a lot of sense here.

by **Sandie** Sat Oct 31, 2015 1:04 pm

I know we have criticised him a lot lately but good on Fox: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/read-touching-letter-aston-villa-10360667

by GadgetMan Sat Oct 31, 2015 5:49 pm

Sandie wrote:I know we have criticised him a lot lately but good on Fox: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/read-touching-letter-aston-villa-10360667

Yes credit where it's due. There's an awful lot our club do badly, so the good things get glossed over, however things like this are fab and I'll never forget the link to Acorns, a truly brilliant charity. Randy is a crap businessman, buy a very decent human being is my take.

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:32 pm

I think Randy Lerner's statement and Remi Garde's comments indicate that Lerner is not planning to sell AVFC any time soon.

Now all we have to do is survive!

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Nov 02, 2015 6:00 pm

It's worth a mention in this thread .... Spelling the new manager's name wrong on the big "reveal" (Remy!) sums up the malaise behind the scenes at AVFC. Shape up or ship out you Villa administrators.

by **Sandie** Mon Nov 02, 2015 6:15 pm

Also note he was mentioned as 'chairman' still no sign of the promised new one of those, then.

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Nov 02, 2015 6:24 pm

Sandie wrote:Also note he was mentioned as 'chairman' still no sign of the promised new one of those, then.

I said on the day that he announced plan B that Fox was the de facto Chairman. I still think that's true.

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