Boardroom structure

Disclaimer - we would all like Lerner to leave - but what do we do in the Interim ?


Well this weeks appointments aren't a step in the right direction IMO. Its still this idea of pulling in expertise - the same philosophy that lead to the recruitment of Fox, Amstaad , Riley - we need decision makers not advisors. True Hollis isn't a football man - but is it that hard to see that Remi isn't a good manager - and that we would be better served, by a manager with experience in the championship ?

As it is we have a collection of 'visionaries' - all hunting the next managerial great, who may be lurking at chesterfield , moscow, paris, spain - we don't need any more 'punt' managers who 'grow' into the role .

What we need is a good strong manager who has total control (within budgets) of the football side - who reports to a CEO who watches the managers performance, and run the business of the club.

The past 5 years we have more visions, culture changes, ethos, plans, blueprints than anyone - we need people who 'do' - not advise and come up with grand theories.

I hope to god I'm wrong - but the boardroom appointments this week seem more of the same.

To me they are the polar opposite of "more of the same".

Lerner V1.0 had many of the right people on board. People who not only knew the business of sports but who had a lot of contacts. Lerner saw fit to get rid of them for whatever reasons. Maybe it was MoN's insistence, maybe he felt that, as he paid for the club, he wanted to have fun with it.

Whatever happened, everything went to shit from there. Lerner designed the new badge himself, had the General go on about our great plans, let MoN have the complete running of the finances and that resulted in Lerner V2.0....a complete and utter fool who got everything wrong. A clown who decided to try and cover up his fuckups through ridiculous PR exercises under the excuse of "austerity".

Then he tried to sell the club. Old Doug used to say that an apple well bought is an apple half sold. Well, this apple was well bought but somehow it was rotten to the core and anyone who took a close look at it walked away.

Disaster after disaster followed with all the wrong people being hired at all the wrong times and for the wrong reasons.

Now that our fate is all but sealed, it seems to me that he's made all the right moves. Yes, Hollis's first week in charge was a totally PR disaster but since then, he's barely put a foot wrong. He's instigated an inquiry as to what has gone wrong (not just on the pitch but behind the scenes) and it would seem with Fox on his way to the USA and Almstadt in Dubai (which I suspect is gardening leave rather than any kind of footballing reason), Hollis has found the source of our problems.

We needed people with business experience and footballing knowledge and we all wanted someone with a love of Villa in there, too. Well, Mervyn fits the bill for finance and business experience. And he's a Villa fan. Bernstein is like Steve Stride on steroids! And nothing needs to be said about Brian Little.

I don't honestly think you could actually wish for a better start than that. Ian Taylor looks like he might become another advisor, too.

The situation on the pitch hasn't changed. Not one bit. Really, who cares at the moment? We are gone. The season is finished. Before we start shaking up things pitch-side, I'm happy for them to get all their ducks in a row behind the scenes. That way, the next manager will be one who has been properly considered, properly vetted and, hopefully, properly funded!

Of course, there's always the nagging idea that the money-men would brought in to appease the fans and that Sir Brian being an advisor only, means these appointments are more smoke and mirrors. But I think the simplest explanation is probably correct here; Lerner, through shock of relegation, has finally realised that he's fucked it all up and has taken serious steps to correct it.

Had much heavier pressure been out on him prior to this, then we might have found ourselves in this situation WITHOUT the attached relegation disappointment. And certain people will have to reflex on that. Knowing they are, in part, to blame.

But "more of the same"? No. I don't believe so. I think, after many years of misery, that this ship is finally being turned around. And it's being turned around by the right people.

Good post trotters, I hope that you have it right & the ship is turning , we need to get away from the s**t we have been for years and at full speed too!!!!

This is the right approach but at the moment all we are doing are employing MORE people on high wages in a time of cost cutting which makes no sense unless the 'FAR' people are sacked and pretty damned quickly.

Until that happens I will reserve judgement, otherwise we will have yet more people on exorbitant wages doing what exactly?

Who gives a fuck about boardrooms. I want a team that is half able to string a few passes together. Maybe even a win once in a while. But that will never happen as long as Lerner is here. There's a reason why we keep selling our best players. There's a reason why we have £ 6 million net spend each season since he decided to give up. There's a reason why everyone in the league find us boring as nothing else. We're a pointless team. We can't do anything until Lerner sells up. Whatever suits we have in the boardroom means nothing.

I hope his plane falls out of the fucking sky.

Graham Taylor recenty said of Randy Lerner "You can run Aston Villa over a transatlantic Telephone line" - which I think everyone would agree with.

I also don't think you can run Aston villa on a part time basis. Hollis has at least 3 other jobs ! - So IMO we need a full time CEO - Fox still will need to be replaced - I don't see either Little or Bernstein filling those roles. Bernstein is 72 and little has no experience in that area.

So for me we still need a CEO - Assuming fox goes, a new CEO will sit at the top of a tree containing King, Bernestein, Little. I believe Riley and amstaad will all depart shortly.

With very little to go on , I just a hunch that Hollis might just turn this around (in relative terms).

Im kinda waiting for the bloodbath to start - I want everyone from Fox to Garde to be shown the door - anything else will be a fudge.

I'm sure Hollis is just a hatchet man - I doubt there's much intention of him being here once a new group of faces is in place.

So get hatcheting already....!

Dions_Bald_Head wrote:I'm sure Hollis is just a hatchet man - I doubt there's much intention of him being here once a new group of faces is in place.

So get hatcheting already....!

You think we could have what they call in politics 'a night of long knives' - We go to bed one night with Fox, Garde et al in place - wake up the next morning they are gone - with replacements ushered in within hours rather than days and weeks....

Theres a hell of a lot of work to do - If Hollis is the man I hope he is, the new manager will be in place before the end of may. If we are pratting about come July, we have already wrote off another season IMO. The new manager will have to come sell a load of players, see how much cash he has left, find and buy replacements, assess any 'talent' from the youth team - and get a starting 11 on the pitch by August.

I've heard today, friend with a friend of a friend at the club type of thing, so don't shoot me if it's wrong, that Fox will be gone with in a week. As I say, it's a bit of a,"my cousin's, postman's, best friend's sister", sort of thing, but hopefully true.

this bloke has took the piss.

Sure Lerner gets all the flak - but don't underestimate the damage this guy has done. It seems the job was tough for him, but he sat there and pocketed a massive salary, got his mates well paid jobs , but didn't lift a finger to do avert the decline.

2 very lazy managerial appointments, nicked albions sponsor ...

sadly he will leave with a massive cheque in his pocket....probably the biggest fraud ive known in over 40 years of supporting villa.

smetro wrote:this bloke has took the piss.

Sure Lerner gets all the flak - but don't underestimate the damage this guy has  done. It seems the job was tough for him, but he sat there and pocketed a massive salary, got his mates well paid jobs , but didn't lift a finger to do avert the decline.

2 very lazy managerial appointments, nicked albions sponsor ...

sadly he will leave with a massive cheque in his pocket....probably the biggest fraud ive known in over 40 years of supporting villa.

all so very true and that is whats wrong with football. people, not even football people get a massive pay off for failing, then some other prat takes a chance on them and it all happens again and again, with the clueless clowns making fortunes out of failure.

DaveAV1 wrote:I've heard today, friend with a friend of a friend at the club type of thing, so don't shoot me if it's wrong, that Fox will be gone with in a week. As I say, it's a bit of a,"my cousin's, postman's, best friend's sister", sort of thing, but hopefully true.

Being mentioned on VT and twitter now.

I feel like I did when the rumour started that Michael Portillo had lost his seat -!!!!

Come on Hollis - confirm or Deny !!!!

Hope it's true. It would be a good start. Shows that Lerner is alert enough to know that someone earning £1.25m who relegates the club deserves to go pronto.

It may influence Remi's decision about his future. In fact, considering how the everyone with any interest in the PL seems to know that Villa has a rotten system in place, it sends a message to not only Remi but any potential managerial targets. I can't think of too many clubs that have had the guts to stop the managerial scapegoat merry-go-round & actually tackle the people running the club - any manager sick of taking the blame for club failings might see Villa as an attractive place to build something.

But it's still early days yet...

When all three go, FAR away that is progress!

just been confirmed almstad or whatever his name gone

VILLA SPORTING DIRECTOR QUITS

Aston Villa has confirmed sporting director Hendrik Almstadt has left the club by mutual consent with immediate effect.

So it begins

Fack off Almstadt you useless twat

1 Down. Hopefully "mutual consent" means he was dropkicked from a window with Fox et al to follow shortly.

Just need Tom Fox and that smug smile to be kicked into touch, also stick that false narrative up your arse!

Surely they should all be sacked for gross incompetence. NO pay off
Just a dry slap and a warning to never come near villa park ever again.

Replace Almstadt with Remi Garde and appoint David Moyes as manager before he finds a Job, but before all that fuk the other 2 cuunts off double quick along with Guzan Bacuna Gabby Westwood and Richards.

Great to see Almsadt go but pity he has already done severe damage to our club. Hopefully this will be followed by the departure of Fox and Riley.

4BetLite wrote:Replace Almstadt with Remi Garde and appoint David Moyes as manager before he finds a Job, but before all that fuk the other 2 cuunts off double quick along with Guzan Bacuna Gabby Westwood and Richards.

David moyes would want to assemble his own recruitment team - as would any proven manager.
thatswhy the line in the statement 'the club will be conducting a thorough search for a replacement' makes me a little uneasy - get the manager in place - let him assemble a team.

It does seem though that the structure assembled by fox is being dismantled - I would expect him to be gone by the chelsea game)

Tip of the iceberg, turn up the heating!