Aston Villa

Bucky

Penya Member
Aston-Villa@3.-old-logo.png

Aston Villa F.C.
Founded 1874
Among the oldest and most successful clubs in English football.
One of the founding clubs as well as being home to a Director that founded the Football League.

Club Honours:

Domestic
League titles

First Division 7:
1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1909–10, 1980–81

Second Division 2:
1937–38, 1959–60

Third Division 1:
1971–72

Cups
FA Cup 7:
1886–87, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1919–20, 1956–57

League Cup 5:
1960–61, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1993–94, 1995–96

FA Charity Shield 1:
1981

Football League War Cup 1:
1944 (shared)

European
European Cup 1:
1981–82

European Super Cup 1:
1982

Intertoto Cup 2:
2001,[91] 2008

Worldwide competitions
Intercontinental Cup
Runners-up (1): 1982

Home: Villa Park - 42,682​


Since Aston Villa "is my English club" (love how I was asked that, obliged by family, Barça by personal choice since 4-7yrs old) I thought I'd dedicate a thread to them since no one else has and we have lower ranked teams with their own threads (no offence, but it's a matter of fact - even by today's standards the test of time rates Villa top 8, no comment or debate with the recent buy outs of "new" clubs), only fair.

Having recently viewed a thread discussing the potential take over in the summer by a group who choose to have their identities hidden & kept a close guarded secret as well as how the club has gone from glory to stagnate, to then win the ultimate club prize and finally wither slowly and underachieve for over 3 decades to the point of recent embarrassment in the last 5 years.

There's a few fingers to be pointed for who is responsible but in short, it comes down to ownership with no motivation, vision or winning mentality. Villa have been blessed with owners who simply do not care for far too long.

It is late and I have a feeling this will be a wasted effort anyway as I highly doubt many members were born outside of the 90's who view this section of the forums.

Anyway, a forum I was reading had some interesting things to say, especially those who have lived through interesting times and seen the high's & low's of the English game. Allow me to quote some posts that may be of interest to the neutral fan;

Here is my take on it

Is Aston Villa a big club?

Aston Villa up to lets say when the 2 World wars kicked in was the super club of World football, like a Barcelona or Man Utd of the modern era World football. That was a period from 1874 to about 1930, a period of about 50 or 60 years when Villa was HUGE!

That is a very long period and indeed longer than almost any clubs period of dominance even to this day.

Then the club kind of went off the boil somewhat between 1930 and about the mid 1970's when we won a few League cups and then of course reached the ultimate height of the European cup & League title in 1980/81.

Now this for me is where & why it gets confusing as to the size of this club... You have the very deep roots from the original decades of football of probably the greatest club in World football, those original Villa boys have now in the main departed this World in body of course but the memories and passion has been passed down the generations to us by our fathers and forefathers, We therefore have that history in our genes to a point and i know that this club has been great once and could do it again....It may be decades away of course but with the right owner/leader who can see the hidden potential it just could happen.

Now imagine this.

You are a fan, you have watched your team win cup after cup peaking with a huge European cup win but then your owner decides he's had enough, falls out with your manager and sells up to a man called Dougy Rellis... the fans are expectant as you have recently won the Prem title and European cup with your manager Don Saundersbury.. But the new owner, as it soon becomes clear, is merely happy to watch the team stay loosely competitive so long as he doesn't have to break the bank... He is also a little bitter that he missed the European cup winning years likely because he knows expectations are higher than he'd like as he has no intention of funding such success in his tenure so as a result within a few years the buzz of winning the cups has waned and the team are to everybody's surprise relegated.

They come quickly back up but this frustrating second rate football is a real let down to fans who a few years previously had watched the amazing side lift Europe's ultimate prize playing quality, exciting and exhilarating football

The team now flatter to deceive going from flitting with the top boys briefly one year then going down again as the owner just won't match the proven potential of the club with his own.

This goes on for 30 years!! with just the odd League cup win to appease the now massively disillusioned fan base

Then finally due to old age the owner sells up to some big talking American and his sidekick... Again after things pick up a little and a few 6th place finishes are achieved the owner decides he can't cope and laden with a divorce back home in the USA he loses interest and yet again the poor fans have their hopes lifted only to yet again be massively let down for the 34th & 35th year in a succession!

To rub salt in the latest manager breaks every embarrassing record going almost single handedly in one season and yet the passionate fans still turn up week after week in their droves and despite all this torture for three & a half decades the true size of the club is recognised in a newspaper article which despite everything still shows the club to be amongst the top 8 in the country!!.. Wow!! this must be some big club right???

THAT my friends is to me proof of the potential size of this club

Tell me how many clubs would go through 35 years of underachievement, lack of ambition, poor football and let down after let down and STILL attract gates of 35,000 to 40,000 and STILL be regarded as one of the top 8 clubs in the Premier League?!!

That is surely testament to the size of this great club... It is a big club, it's a massive club, most of us know it...it's in our genes but we need an owner, a great leader of a man who can lead this club back to where it should be!

Ask yourself this too.... How many fans would Chelsea or Man City have if their club went through what this club has been through since 1982? Something tells me they would be somewhat lower than the 8th biggest rated team!

No, the fact we are still being shown as the 8th biggest club despite 35 years of under performing is all the proof i need to know how big this club can be.

Put it this way, how big would this club be if it was run right for 10 years? The team became competitive and won a few cups maybe getting a top 4 and Champs League! What would the attendances be then i ask? Especially if as it appears the new TV money is going to lower admission prices!

I think a ground expansion would be on the cards, the area could be redeveloped Man City style even and some huge sponsorship packages would surely follow?....So where would we be then? ..It just needs someone to have the vision, financial clout and Leadership to do it.....Anyone!....Please? :smiley_scared:

We're big but we're living on our past reputation. Problem is we live in a "I want it now" society, and we don't have it at the moment .... So historically big .... currently small time due to small minded ownership.

This is what is so so so so so SO fucking frustrating. All it takes is new owners with big time ambition, who will treat us as such, and we can be right up there. RIGHT up there.

I read an article from a Baggies fan recently about them closing the gap on us, and how we're equals now.

Well guess what? Over the past 3/4 years West Bromwich Albion have been - by some considerable way - the best version of West Bromwich Albion that there has been in my lifetime as a football fan.

By the same token, in the same period, Aston Villa have been by far the worst version of Aston Villa.

THAT is how far they have to climb and how far we have to fall just for them to be anywhere near us.

Yet Albion can't do much better than their current existence without doing something exceptional, and Southampton are currently occupying a spot of punching far and above beyond their weight (admittedly made slightly easier by us and Everton currently underachieving) and some would say Swansea are too.

They also have Pullis as manager. He never finished in the top half in his entire time at Stoke. Hughes managed it in one season.

We on the other hand, just need to get our fucking act together and we'll be flying back up there. Maybe Sherwood is the man, maybe he isn't, but with a takeover his face might not fit anyway, so who knows. But we need taking over and we need someone who truly, genuinely, 'gets' the potential of Aston Villa; EVERYTHING is in place, and while it will take some hard work and plenty of know-how, we're primed for bigger and better things. Getting rid of Paul Faulkner was massively important, as was getting rid of Paul Lambert. But until Randy Lerner goes, it feels like we'll continue to be our own worst enemy.

Randy Lerner is a clueless football club owner who also happens to be a decent guy. It makes it just a bit harder to hate his single handed demolition of AVFC because we know that he had no idea what the outcome of his woeful mismanagement would be. He should have listened to the thousands of life long Villa fans who tried to tell him on numerous occasions, rather than listening to non football people like Faulkner, Russell, Krulak et al.

Tom Fox initially refused to listen to thousands of fans and held onto Lambert for much to long, while rather arrogantly (misguidedly?) calling us misguided. Fortunately he was bright enough to do a complete 180 degree turn on that and sack PL. Whether it was just in time remains to be seen.

Lerner may have good intentions, but he will never have the mindset that we need in a Villa owner. Hopefully he will pull off a redeeming sale to a really astute new owner this summer, who can put the "BIG" straight back into Aston Villa.

If we survive I look forward to an interesting and possibly exciting summer. I do not want to even contemplate the alternative scenario.

The thing is we haven't won anything. Even under MoN. Best crowd I remember was Ajax.

Fans love clubs winning trophies. You only get big crowds for underperforming teams in 1 club cities - Newcastle

We are still a big club in the Midlands, a fairly big club in England and Britain but after that, European and World stage, we are shrinking.
The way to rectify this is by continued success by wining leagues, cups european honours, buying and developing the worlds best talent and retaining them.
But how would it be if every time you watched the Villa you expected them to win and you were priced out of your season ticket by glory hunting, prawn sandwich eating Tarquin's, clogging up the Express Way with their Range Rovers, clapping politely when we score?

The first thing that struck me was the crowd figure.
Liverpool and Villa lower (FAR lower) than Chelsea. Clearly this table is based on all-time rather than post-1982, so quite how the fuck Chelsea ranked 3rd when StamfordBridge was barely half full before the shifty Russian moved in, I don't know.

I wonder if the same applies to Man City. How are they getting a 2 for crowds?

Newcastle above West Ham for global franchise? Bullshit!

But, as has been stated, we're living on past glories. in my lifetime we had won more FA Cups than any other team. Not any more. How long until our proud status of providing more players to the England squad than any other team gets brushed aside?

Until we get some real business brains combined with football brains on the board and have the ambition that once made us pioneers (and as good as Tom Fox may be, there will always be a bottle-neck I the shape of Randy Lerner), we will continue to see down that list.

Thanks for reading Villa fan or not, remember to keep things civil as I'm aware not many regard Villa as a "team" around here, maybe if it applies to you then keep your uneducated & naive opinion to yourself, cheers :alveshat:
 

Bucky

Penya Member
Yup, indeed it is, even if our neighbours don't like to think so :lol:

A lot of clubs in Laaaandan who share the lime light, because it's London, it's the capital. Then the success up in Manchester, what "little" success is in the West Midlands is in Villa.

Going to the game on Tuesday vs QPR, first time in years, last game we went to was v Walsall when the embarrassment started with McLeish. Been voting with our wallets & feet making noise away from the ground, unfortunately it's taken far too long but the owner is packing his bags.

*Derbies, vs Small Heath? Nope. I loathe those disgusting low life's, they do not deserve to be in the Prem - honestly the people who follow them are rough as and/or missing a fair few brain cells. They should remember their place, the longer they stay down the less we hear their utter bollocks preaching.

vs Wolves, nope, not really on the radar, sure in the West Mids but never been a threat or as big as;

vs Baggies, Tesco bags, the real enemy, West Brom; we unfortunately have them in the Prem and things do get ugly. It's taken a lot for Villa to fall from grace, a lot of damage done for Villa to sink to the level of West Brom - but equally as stated in one of those quotes, they are having some of their best football in our life time. Not back to where they once were according to my Dad but still better than I've ever seen.

Having moved in with the Mrs, and even before that when we were dating, I used to have car stickers or air fresheners of the Villa badge which basically makes it a target down this neck of the woods as there's a mix of scummy blue noses as well as baggie c****. I had my VW Golf for not even a week, parked it outside my now Mrs mom's house and came out to it having been egged. Fk'ers had chipped the paint work too! Was fuming. Quite pathetic at the same time though how "English fans" react to other "English fans", especially those who are in close proximity.

Although a lot of Villa fans are more relaxed about it, it seems our neighbours are basically jealous of Villa's success so hate us more than we hate them, if that makes sense.
 
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Bucky

Penya Member
Villa have got one hell of an important game tomorrow/later today and hope Tim can lift the team. So much suffering for far too long. Nice to see some other teams struggling at least :lol: funny how when they go into free fall people seem to notice & care, though I suppose those neutrals gave up just as much as a lot of Villa fans did when crap got embarrassing.

Will try and get some pics as I'm going up to this game.

Was excited but have a bad feeling after the weekend Villa are going to lose. Seems about right tbh, when teams need a win Villa often supply it, such is the way. Heard there's some plans to raise the noise & show support though so hopefully that will actually wake up the squad. Ah, who knows.
 

Bucky

Penya Member
Well... wow... it has to be said first and fore most, as always, supporting Villa is an emotional roller coaster. Any Villa fan can tell you that and it always, always comes true.

Perhaps the most strangest moment of the night was when a random fan was walking past on the steps of the Holte End, touched my shoulder and said "Harry Kane! You alright Harry Kane!"... which had me wondering wtf then I realised (as I was recording at the time and had my back to him) turned around and just laughed with him as yeah, my hair style for years before it got "famous" has been like this, not as short with a zero mind, but my brothers then proceeded and half time to take the piss as apparently I look like Hary Kane :lol:

Secondly, this was the first "proper" Villa game I've been too since the Martin O'Neil era (for various reasons such as Uni, work & also the boycott after the shambles with appointing McLeish etc etc).

The quality & standard that was on display last night I would imagine is why Villa have fallen so far. It was appalling. The stupid, absolutely stupid mistakes and sloppy play was unbelievable, I've never buried my face in my hands so many times and shook my head so much. Shocking. Back when MON was in charge it was a different calibre and rightly so, Villa were competing for the 5th & 6th spot with Everton. Lerner tightened the purse strings and that was it. His former NFL team, the Cleveland Browns, suffered the same and their fans warned us he would do the same thing to us in that he would kill off any hope of climbing the league and cut spending, with a glum feeling atmosphere about the place.

Well that is a very real observation as was seen last night. There is definitely a dark cloud over Villa with a heavy burden. At least I had some comfort in reading a few articles last night after the game which made it out to be not as bad as perhaps should be believed with talk of a take over in the summer.

So...

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The famous & historic Holte End. Was trying to get a good panoramic shot but the angle was playing havoc on the result, it was quite funny but annoying at the same time.

One thing you cannot take away however, even with only 33k on a night as well as the awful performance that is keeping fans away, the ground was very much alive, bouncing & noisy. When the 2nd goal of Benteke's went in, the noise was deafening.

The spirit is still there.

Anyone who says otherwise is a deluded wanker tbh that can kiss my hairy arse to put it politely. There are problems with the club, a dark cloud, but don't confuse that with Villa being a small club or the fans not caring. It's a sad state for sure but the potential is there.

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The empty seats (blue section in the top right) are the allocated away section that legally can't be given back to home supporters if not sold so not Villa's fault there but QPR just about filled the half they were given. Yes, midweek, evening game and QPR aren't exactly big.

The game itself:

.......

Where to start.

The opening few minutes would have you believe Villa were taking the game to them, and to be honest, they were. The first half was very much Villa. QPR looked to defend and break on the counter. The first goal was pathetic and leads onto a point I cannot stress enough, Villa's defence. It should have been cleared but the build up was as if it was being played in slow motion, ping pong'ing around the box before an unmarked QPR player headed it into the net. Sloppy. So very sloppy.

One thing I forgot to say, compared to the games I used to watch on a regular basis back in the MON era (because I had the time), watching this game was really disheartening, seriously back then it was exciting, it was intense, there was optimism that Villa could win and had some pride about them. Now however, it's very different. Like I say it's disheartening to see this club with a squad not pulling the weight of the club, not putting on a performance that is worthy of the name & colours. It's perhaps the weakest squad I've seen in my life time putting on the shirt. Making silly mistakes, stupid passes, it was genuinely crap football. Half the time the ball was pinged around the field, lobbed up in the air or headed this way, that way...

Then you get kids with a naive and uneducated perspective who merely follow "who ever is top of the league"; clearly with no footballing respect or knowledge of Premier League history, that is evident.

Thankfully Villa had the answer only minutes later as Benteke was fed down the wing, to cut into the box and a shot that fooled Green after taking a little deflection from a QPR player and into the back of the net. Game on.

More pressing by Villa through out the half but every time QPR had a break, they looked like they may score and grab something because the weakest component of the Villa squad... the defence. It's simply awful. The weak link in the team and I'll come to it later with a break down of the players.

Villa should and could have capitalized on the chances they had. Grealish is a very exciting young prospect, ha his hair style too is getting copied by the looks of things in the youth I saw yesterday, not just at the barbers I go to but around the ground :lol: Green had Grealish's FK covered as that looked to sneak in the bottom corner and another chance when Grealish was fed a ball from I believe Benteke as he went clear to go 1v1 unmarked, but Green smothered the chance.

QPR looked weak as they were opened up countless times especially on the right where Bacuna was free to roam in open space and caught them off numerous times.

As Villa pushed & pushed Gabby was taken down on the half way line and the ref muted it play on as the ball successfully went through to Benteke to only have 1 defender in the way, and what a goal it was, fooling both the defender, Green and the fans as you'd think he was going to cut across and shoot to his right but instead neatly buried it to the left, such a great, clinical finish.

Villa Park exploded. Everyone was bouncing and it was deafening. It was rocking, you couldn't quieten the fans for the majority of the game.

Villa should have finished the game off in the first half.

My thoughts were if we keep creating chances like that and pressing them in the second we'll win it, but QPR looked dangerous on those breaks. My bro had to say it though, QPR will come back into it. Call it a jinx and it was.

10 mins into the 2nd half and QPR got their 2nd goal they needed to level the score and what appeared like an unmarked free header from a corner. Hearts sank.

Villa just could not muster anything dangerous and the passing... idiotic mistakes, Sanchez, omg I wanted to nut the guy.

Then the unthinkable happened. They fed a ball in to an unmarked Austin who slotted it into the net. Without a doubt all 3 of their goals were so weak, a better organised defence would have cleared them and defended it. Who's to blame for 2 of the goals at least for letting unmarked players get away with murder? Clark. A continuous fk up who gives away needless fouls and not doing the job of a defender.

N'Zogbia came on and there was a cry around the stadium of hope. It changed it up and Villa again looked dangerous with fresh legs, so too with Joe Cole who was met with question marks above heads around where I was sitting in the upper Holte but to our surprise he was lethal.

A chance came and it looked like Villa were going through on goal but N'Zogbia I believe it was was brought down.

What ensued was bs as the wall was not back far enough and tbh the ref had a horrible game, so many calls not given, yellow cards not awarded to QPR when they should have been, they were left off so many times. Even the linesman especially on the left side got throw in calls wrong. The one on the right wrongly called Gabby offside in the 1st half when he was in front of a QPR player when the ball was coming down and he chested it... how that is even possible I don't know.

We knew this was the last chance, or at least the best chance to grab something and thank goodness Benteke answered the call. What a beautiful fk that hit the post and went in. The celebrations were mental and the place was literally bouncing. At least a point was rescued but that didn't stop the surge from the fans shouting & urging the players to come forward. Chances were created and they didn't sit back like in the MON days, they kept pushing but unfortunately it wasn't to be.

3-3


So the break down:

Guzan... he needs to be far more dominant at the back, shaping & ordering the defence. He needs to be the eyes in the back of their heads. Villa need someone who isn't afraid to come out as well to both clear the ball before it approaches but in the area as well as he often stands idle in between the posts. Looks nervous too. I remember when he had thoughts of leaving because he wanted to be #1 but we all knew he wasn't good enough, ever. Friedal was our #1 and we haven't replaced him. He's not the keeper Villa need.

The defence... the biggest let down. They looked strong at the start of the season when they were complimented as being a solid wall against the likes of Liverpool but that was with a positive minded Vlaar & Senderos. Now there is Clark, a permanent thorn in the side. Useless as ever, and a jinx. Every time he plays Villa concede. Such a crap defender that both cannot mark up, doesn't know where to be, can't block, can't tackle and commits stupid fouls. Richardson, slow, weak, utter garbage.

Vlaar... well, I think he's fallen out of favour. Makes maybe one or two good blocks & tackles but otherwise has been poor. Bacuna on the other hand is great on the right and takes advantage of his pace as he moves into space, he's good with the ball (most of the time though commits silly errors) and provides plenty of opportunities.

Midfield; Delph is exceptional. When he first arrived he was seen as baggage and people were curious as to why he joined. He's got room to improve for sure and looks like it's happening. Good to see he's grown into a role and there's a reason why he's been called up to the England squad. Cleverley... not sure. Haven't seen enough of this guy, just looked like another cog but didn't look to lose the ball as much.

Sanchez, get rid of this idiot asap. As bad as Clark but in midfield. Cannot pass to his own team and cannot pass long balls. Rubbish central defensive midfielder.

Grealish, what an exciting breathe of fresh air. The kid has skills, has an old school dress code with his socks around his ankles and a promising future. Hope he stays.
Agbonlahor... he's a Villa fan playing for Villa. You could argue he doesn't do a lot as a Villa fan in a Villa shirt and when it matters you can see his brain ticking away and not quick enough to react. Just waiting for another decent striker to come in really but as far as I remember Villa only ever have 1 decent striker that usually gets poached by a so called big club when they score enough which leads me onto Benteke. He is gone in the summer if big changes aren't made. If a buyer isn't found, if that buyer is found but isn't willing to start splashing the cash on improving the squad then Benteke is gone. Someone will snap him up. I got the feeling he isn't happy in what is a big club flirting with relegation.

If a mafia (Abramovich) or Abu Dhabi type are out there please buy Aston Villa. There are so many London clubs, Manchester has seen success too and it was remarkable when Citeh were brought out; why has the Midlands been completely skipped? And who better to buy than Villa in the area with their history, with potential in a sleeping lion, foundations already in place. There's no one bigger in the Midlands than Villa, so why not?

Maybe there's too many oil clubs & big clubs grabbing at every trophy at the moment with the short supply of talent already claimed that there's no point in trying to compete in that regard. So maybe it's not Villa's time to join back into the circle of the elite just yet. Who knows what the future holds.

What is apparent though, Villa have a massive gap at the back that is easily exploitable. They will leak goals like a colander because of their inability to defend. The next 6 games? I cannot see any points being won whether a win or a draw. Maybe Burnley on the last day, may get a draw. May lose. But to guarantee survival before that game? Nah, not happening.

To rely on everyone around Villa losing as well? Fat chance. They are going to pull wins out of no where. It'll happen. Villa are very much looking to go down and that game last night against QPR was a must win. They will look back at it and say, that's the game they should have won.
 
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Leo_Messi

New member
I have always wondered as an neutral observer why clubs such as Nottingham Forest and especially Aston Villa, given that they are based in the second largest city in the UK, have not been bought by billionaires who would be committed to turn a club such as Aston Villa into a powerhouse once again.

There must be reasons for that.

Anyway FFP have probably also ended such kind of purchases. I doubt that we will witness another Chelsea, Man City, PSG etc. in the near future.

So Bucky, who do you think will buy Aston Villa this summer if Lerner decides to sell? Any idea what kind of future type of owner it could be? Any rumors about this?
 

Bucky

Penya Member
Yeah exactly, thanks for the post you bring up some good points that have been discussed amongst the Villa lot previously.

Just a quick one in regards to Nottingham, know what you mean though; they're more East Midlands based and fairly up North, the space between the line of Birmingham & Manchester but towards Sheffield side. Almost the forgotten lot in English football and reside amongst teams like Sheffield United, Wednesday, Derby & Notts County.

My thoughts too though is as that, why hasn't a billionaire taken charge of what is the best product in the 2nd city as it's always promoted as.

Spot on with FFP. We were talking about it for months, still can dream obviously but with a backing of that calibre would be more... comforting. At least we know each transfer window of some certain the squad should be improved.

I'm not hugely knowledgeable about the types that are out there with the money to take over. Lerner granted has invested a ton of money into Villa, well in the early days and it was welcomed as changes were noticeable with better facilities and the surrounding area certainly looks better with renovation in the Holte pub etc being revived instead of seeing wooden boards on the windows.

There is talk that a take over is coming in the summer however, as he dropped the price from 200m to 150m and that should surely be an attractive enough figure given the stature of the club. Should at least get something back because he brought them for around 65m.

From what I read there is a consortium, a group being led by 1 bigger financial backer. They are keeping their identity secret at this stage and I'm assuming it will come to light when the season is over.

It also came about when Lerner's 3m home near Bodymoor Heath was put up for sale which looks like a deal is close to being done. I mean yeah that's obvious, he's been looking to sell since last summer so his house would be up for sale, but the news was it happened recently, unless someone can source that it was up for sale prior to recent news.

Also whether the sale will fall through if Villa get relegated is another matter as the TV deal is probably amongst interest.

A sad sight & sorry state.
 
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Leo_Messi

New member
Yeah exactly, thanks for the post you bring up some good points that have been discussed amongst the Villa lot previously.

Just a quick one in regards to Nottingham, know what you mean though; they're more East Midlands based and fairly up North, the space between the line of Birmingham & Manchester but towards Sheffield side. Almost the forgotten lot in English football and reside amongst teams like Sheffield United, Wednesday, Derby & Notts County.

My thoughts too though is as that, why hasn't a billionaire taken charge of what is the best product in the 2nd city as it's always promoted as.

Spot on with FFP. We were talking about it for months, still can dream obviously but with a backing of that calibre would be more... comforting. At least we know each transfer window of some certain the squad should be improved.

I'm not hugely knowledgeable about the types that are out there with the money to take over. Lerner granted has invested a ton of money into Villa, well in the early days and it was welcomed as changes were noticeable with better facilities and the surrounding area certainly looks better with renovation in the Holte pub etc being revived instead of seeing wooden boards on the windows.

There is talk that a take over is coming in the summer however, as he dropped the price from 200m to 150m and that should surely be an attractive enough figure given the stature of the club. Should at least get something back because he brought them for around 65m.

From what I read there is a consortium, a group being led by 1 bigger financial backer. They are keeping their identity secret at this stage and I'm assuming it will come to light when the season is over.

It also came about when Lerner's 3m home near Bodymoor Heath was put up for sale which looks like a deal is close to being done. I mean yeah that's obvious, he's been looking to sell since last summer so his house would be up for sale, but the news was it happened recently, unless someone can source that it was up for sale prior to recent news.

Also whether the sale will fall through if Villa get relegated is another matter as the TV deal is probably amongst interest.

A sad sight & sorry state.

Thank you for your reply. I just read the entire thread and enjoyed reading your posts. i don't really follow a club in England so I guess that you can call me an neutral observer on this front although I have to admit that I dislike certain English clubs while I respect certain others.

How is the club's debt situation and general financial strength? I guess that this must be a crucial point for any investor. I mean how big and realistic is the potential in terms of growth? Sometimes I wonder if the competition is not too great in England currently. So many clubs to compete with. I find it hard to believe that Aston Villa, regardless of a new owner, would be able to compete with the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and even Tottenham when it comes to the finances, attracting top players etc. UNLESS Aston Villa will be bought by a billionaire/consortium owned by such people who would be willing to pump the same kind of sums into the club like Abramovich and the likes of Abu Dhabi did.

Maybe looking towards Chinese billionaires would be a good pick? They are yet to arrive on the European football seen and objectively speaking Aston Villa remains the most interesting product out there in the PL that is yet to be bought by a "serious" investor. Or towards KSA/Kuwait. I wonder if you guys could find a rich sheikh that is interested in English football somewhere in the Gulf. Preferably not from the UAE or Qatar but a rivaling nation, hence me mentioning KSA and Kuwait.

Anyway I will try to follow Aston Villa and their attempt of staying up and I hope that you guys will make it as it would be a shame if a club of Villa's stature were to be relegated.
 

Bucky

Penya Member
Thanks it's always nice to have some appreciation and not feel that it's a complete waste of time :)

Indeed there are some shameful English teams that have a poor following that go around Europe and well, it has it's reputations. As well as the way certain teams conduct themselves on the pitch too is another thing.

To be honest I really don't know any more. There's so much conflicting information. One would have you believe the debt isn't bad, another will say we're down, then you have because of the way Lerner has gone about business and strangled funds going on players as well as reducing the wage bill (thanks to Martin O'Neil putting silly wages on players undeserving), Villa have somehow managed to stay up whilst reducing the debt and you would believe Lerner is in a good place to sell or cut his loses and run - depends on how you look at it and who you believe. Though my knowledge on the financial subject isn't great so I'm not the best to ask unfortunately sorry.

Yeah that is my worry that the competition isn't great, but also with the likes fighting it out for top spots whether a potential buyer is put off by it. However at the same time it is that which has me thinking, those aren't our goals. The immediate priority is to get back into the top 10 fighting for 5th and 6th - when Villa are there, that's the time to focus on how to break the top 4. Unfortunately in modern day football money has a tendency to talk and I think way back when, that is when Lerner decided to start cutting funds to which Martin O'Neil didn't appreciate. MON at that time was perhaps portrayed as a kid throwing his toys out of his pram instead of explaining the situation that there was about to be a big coin flip and that teams like we see today are spending money to battle it out for the spots Villa were taking for granted under MON.

There's more teams I think fighting for the top 4 positions and those 5 - 8 spots. MON should have maybe put more caution into that, maybe he did but it was all behind closed doors so who knows what happened, but the fact is he wasn't allowed to spend and they sold a lot of their key players - Ashley Young, Milner, Downing, Barry. Heck that was the entire midfield and none have really been replaced until recently with Delph & Gil. They should try snap up Sinclair in the summer, believe he's only a loan? Well unless the new owners have higher ambitions.

Defenders also went and weren't replaced. Villa lost Petrov unfortunately too to acute leukaemia; thankfully he's pulled through and is now looking at a coaching career so wish him all the best and hope he fully recovers (believe he stepped into a role but had to take a step back as it was too much too soon).

That is perhaps the best observation and great read I've seen in a long time. Indeed there was Chinese tour many years ago to raise the club profile over there, so there may just be something in that and fingers crossed as you're definitely right, they are yet to emerge in EU football scene. There was a Qatari group rumoured a while ago but hope that isn't true.

Off the pitch and regarding a take over is very much exciting but on the pitch currently... not so much.

Personally my loyalties lay with Barça but I do have a family commitment & obligation to have a tie with Villa as "my English club <3", but it's nice to see someone on these forums that "gets it" for a change and recognises Villa are at least worth something :cheers:

Looking around last night you could see on the faces of everyone, in the shirt, the ground, the atmosphere... it speaks of a calibre fit for a team that should be in the Prem, not scrapping it out at the bottom but that is unfortunately where this squad has failed. Perhaps it would have been a different story if Tim was in charge from the beginning instead of Lambert, and lifted the squad, given them reason to fight. He certainly has a much more optimistic & real approach than the sorry sad sack that is Lambert; well I appreciate Lambert had a huge burden and in his own right is a good manager but just not suitable for Villa - the club was too much for someone at his level and wish him the best with his next team. Villa need someone with fire in their belly and determination. Hopefully Sherwood has what it takes and it's lifted the mood of the fans for sure, he just needs to shape his own team and that damn defence has got to go.

In the next lot of games they need to tighten up and cover one another as well as the goal and mark up.
 

Leo_Messi

New member
Thanks it's always nice to have some appreciation and not feel that it's a complete waste of time :)

Indeed there are some shameful English teams that have a poor following that go around Europe and well, it has it's reputations. As well as the way certain teams conduct themselves on the pitch too is another thing.

To be honest I really don't know any more. There's so much conflicting information. One would have you believe the debt isn't bad, another will say we're down, then you have because of the way Lerner has gone about business and strangled funds going on players as well as reducing the wage bill (thanks to Martin O'Neil putting silly wages on players undeserving), Villa have somehow managed to stay up whilst reducing the debt and you would believe Lerner is in a good place to sell or cut his loses and run - depends on how you look at it and who you believe. Though my knowledge on the financial subject isn't great so I'm not the best to ask unfortunately sorry.

Yeah that is my worry that the competition isn't great, but also with the likes fighting it out for top spots whether a potential buyer is put off by it. However at the same time it is that which has me thinking, those aren't our goals. The immediate priority is to get back into the top 10 fighting for 5th and 6th - when Villa are there, that's the time to focus on how to break the top 4. Unfortunately in modern day football money has a tendency to talk and I think way back when, that is when Lerner decided to start cutting funds to which Martin O'Neil didn't appreciate. MON at that time was perhaps portrayed as a kid throwing his toys out of his pram instead of explaining the situation that there was about to be a big coin flip and that teams like we see today are spending money to battle it out for the spots Villa were taking for granted under MON.

There's more teams I think fighting for the top 4 positions and those 5 - 8 spots. MON should have maybe put more caution into that, maybe he did but it was all behind closed doors so who knows what happened, but the fact is he wasn't allowed to spend and they sold a lot of their key players - Ashley Young, Milner, Downing, Barry. Heck that was the entire midfield and none have really been replaced until recently with Delph & Gil. They should try snap up Sinclair in the summer, believe he's only a loan? Well unless the new owners have higher ambitions.

Defenders also went and weren't replaced. Villa lost Petrov unfortunately too to acute leukaemia; thankfully he's pulled through and is now looking at a coaching career so wish him all the best and hope he fully recovers (believe he stepped into a role but had to take a step back as it was too much too soon).

That is perhaps the best observation and great read I've seen in a long time. Indeed there was Chinese tour many years ago to raise the club profile over there, so there may just be something in that and fingers crossed as you're definitely right, they are yet to emerge in EU football scene. There was a Qatari group rumoured a while ago but hope that isn't true.

Off the pitch and regarding a take over is very much exciting but on the pitch currently... not so much.

Personally my loyalties lay with Barça but I do have a family commitment & obligation to have a tie with Villa as "my English club <3", but it's nice to see someone on these forums that "gets it" for a change and recognises Villa are at least worth something :cheers:

Looking around last night you could see on the faces of everyone, in the shirt, the ground, the atmosphere... it speaks of a calibre fit for a team that should be in the Prem, not scrapping it out at the bottom but that is unfortunately where this squad has failed. Perhaps it would have been a different story if Tim was in charge from the beginning instead of Lambert, and lifted the squad, given them reason to fight. He certainly has a much more optimistic & real approach than the sorry sad sack that is Lambert; well I appreciate Lambert had a huge burden and in his own right is a good manager but just not suitable for Villa - the club was too much for someone at his level and wish him the best with his next team. Villa need someone with fire in their belly and determination. Hopefully Sherwood has what it takes and it's lifted the mood of the fans for sure, he just needs to shape his own team and that damn defence has got to go.

In the next lot of games they need to tighten up and cover one another as well as the goal and mark up.

Well, it's not like Spanish and Italian clubs have the greatest reputation either when it comes to being "poster clubs" to put it mildly, so don't worry about that.

I am asking because I simply don't know enough about the financial situation of Aston Villa. Logically finances play a key role nowadays. Especially if you are a investor and looking to buy a club in one of the European top leagues.

I remember Martin O'Neil's Villa teams as being very solid and intensive teams just below the top 4. At one point though everything went wrong and you guys had to sell most of your top players. I recall a few high profile sales (Young, Barry, Milner, Downing etc. as you mentioned) while the transfer money received was not reinvested into the team.

If I recall then you guys only loaned Sinclair for the reminder of the season with an option to buy him.

Well an Chinese investor (s) would be ideal for many reasons. I am not sure if they could provide instant changes that the Gulf Arab investors (Man City, PSG and for a short period Málaga) were able to. It will definitely be interesting to see what will happen this summer. I surely hope for the sake of Aston Villa that the potential new owner (s) will be active owners unlike Lerner lately. Owners with serious money too that could fulfill the big potential of Aston Villa and maybe even help the city of Birmingham?

Well, I always viewed Aston Villa as a "friendly" and mostly forgotten club with big traditions that I respected. I won't call myself a fan though at all as I rarely watch Aston Villa. Mostly only whenever you guys are playing against top teams. I always liked the crest and shirts too. So if anything you might even call me a sympathizer.

I have read that Lambert faced enormous criticism for being a deluded coach who played some really boring and ineffective football. On the other hand I have also read that Tim is kind of a laughing stock in England due to his demeanor but at least he is playing some sort of kamikaze football that seems pleasing to the eyes. Now since he took over at Aston Villa the team has scored almost as many goals as during the entire stint of Lambert this season.:lol:

But in hindsight his defensive approach might prove to be more effective than Sherwood's.

Also since you are English/British unlike me can you then tell me how fans of other English clubs view Aston Villa and their fan base? I read the Wikipedia article about Aston Villa but other literature about the history of the club, legends, fan base, rivalries, famous supporters etc. would be appreciated.

Speaking about famous supporters, then it seems that Aston Villa has got some really famous fans. I wonder why that is? Birmingham does not strike me as a particularly "upper class" city in England let alone the nearby areas but I might be wrong here as I simply don't know England well enough. I do have relatives in London so I have visited occasionally since a young age but not enough to know more about the more "refined details".

Oh, I forgot to mention your academy which seems to be among the very best in the UK. I believe that this is important to maintain and even strengthen further. I guess that this is also something that puts Aston Villa apart from say the likes of Sunderland, Newcastle etc. Other traditional clubs in a similar position.
 

Hamzah

High Definition Member
I'm surprised Birmingham isn't more successful at football. Villa are definitely a bigger club than Newcastle Sunderland and Man City.
 

Bucky

Penya Member
Yeah that's understandable and definitely agree - it helps if the club can appeal and sell itself as an identity too which helps lift the burden of debt. I'd have to ask my brother as he's more into that side of football to be fair; would imagine the TV deal would help go along way in helping lift any debt if there is any too.

I'd say MON's team were defensively up/down or 50/50 for me. Cuellar at RB made me nervous. When he played CB on the odd occasion he would do well but Laursen & Mellberg are legends.

Selling our midfield was a mistake and basically cashing in, selling up. Stupid really as the "replacements" were cheap, bottom of the barrel, bin bargains. The term "you get what you pay for" comes to mind. Trading Milner for cash + Ireland :facepalm: Milner was great in the Villa team, he fit well but on that note so did the rest and as they moved on they seemed to have faded away if you watch them. Young became a diver and I don't think he's ever been what United needed or quality. Downing was a reject at Liverpool and now resides at West Ham, do you ever hear about him? Nope. Barry... you could argue made a name for himself and it was time for him to move on? However was part of the problem for City "under performing" as the new kid in the oil team business. All their careers were also being noticed whilst at Villa and got them into the England squad however all started to fail & fade and in the England team looked shocking as their new clubs, however "big" clearly weren't befitting to "teach" them and take them to that "next level" which separates 1st to 4th - then 5th & 6th etc. Clearly you have to pay to get your way up the league in the Prem if you want to break that top 4 or now in recent days has become top 6.

Also right there, the money from those sales were never returned and went straight into Lerner's pocket. When he realised the danger the club was in when they looked to be relegated he had to use the cash from the Milner sale I believe to get Bent in from Sunderland (to which they've moaned & bitched to this day about, that we poached him, clubs like Sunderland - if they get a decent player they're basically bottom feeders to teams on the level of Everton & Villa, then Villa & Everton are bottom feeders to the likes of Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool - been that way for years and I lose count how many great Villa players have been poached by those lot).


Sounds about right with Sinclair. I've been keeping my head under the pillows with Villa a lot over the years since the McLeish saga, that's when I gave up & went into a state of apathy until Lerner put the club up for sale and now that's picked my curiosity.

Most definitely, Lerner I suppose you mean active in the sense of actually doing what an owner is required to do and not tighten the purse strings which essentially is what Doug Ellis (deadly Doug) did for many years especially after the '82 EU Cup win, as opposed to say hiding in the background/lurking in the shadows and not answering for his crimes :lol: Really hope the new owners can breathe life back into the squad; the fans will return. The hardcore are ever present - a lot of fans are in, to use the word again, apathy and stay away because it's down right depressing. It almost happened to Liverpool, where they were struggling (before Suarez arrived I believe it was) and the fans were going ballistic on the radio & media in general. Yet that is what happened to Villa - the fans dare to show their pain and get spat on by other fans of who support other teams, told that it's all in the past etc, sorry no, Villa are a big club and people seem to forget it. Villa have been there from the beginning as mentioned in my initial post. The director was the father of the football league ffs lol but yes, it would put Birmingham back on the map.

Yeah it's seen as quite the family club. A lot of the atmosphere & hardcore/die hards sit/stand primarily in the Holte End. You get a bunch in the lower North Stand too who like to heckle the away fans :lol: Trinity Rd has your prawn sarnies, casuals & family. Upper North Stand again, family, then Witton Lane is all family too which is basically "good game" *applaud*. There's been a lot of talk over the years about how to get behind the team and show support, such was the birth of the Brigada 1874 who were labelled as "Ultras" but they promise they are not Ultras in the sense of bringing violence etc, their goal is to create an atmosphere. Basically cheer leaders who also let off party poppers from what I understand. Not in a literal way of course but there were some cool things they did and are trying to get a bigger following and turn the entire Holte into a bouncing party of celebrations and cheering - with massive influence & inspiration from Dortmund's "wall". A recent trip even had chief exec Tom Fox & at the time, Lambert when they went to watch I think it was Arsenal, in a EU game to watch their performance before their PL clash. They saw "the wall" and were inspired too as much as the fans and have announced they'd love to see that at Villa. Who knows if it'll ever happen but I'd imagine not because English people, especially brummies, are lazy s.o.b's who cannot be bothered about much and see things in a black & white way. Best I think they can do is give everyone a free flag and they'll wave it pre game & IF Villa score.

The Blackburn Rovers game years ago that lead to the Final at Wembley is one example of when flags were a success, it was quite a sight, a rare one at that too.

They have nothing on Barça's mosaic display but you can't fault Villa's atmosphere to get singing - although I can't stand the very limited songs at that, get's a bit... boring. Villa attempted to get something along the lines of El Cant del Barça in "The Bell's are Ringing" even after a fan vote on it, but that failed massively because, as said above; the attitude is very much "can't be bothered", black & white.

The crest however, as you can see in the OP, I've put the fan favourite & true Villa badge. They should have kept it and not many like the shield design, especially the new one. Great that they took out the sodding stripes in the badge they had previously but they really need to go back to the circle.

When the appointment of Lambert was made there were mixed feelings. Some thought it was great because of what he did at Norwich whilst others thought it was too small time, small thinking and there were those who warned against his style of play.

In all fairness he had the impossible job. Trying to keep Villa, a big club in the Premier League that he was in awe of as it was a huge step up as well as a mammoth task in staying up whilst being limited to a budget that not only see's you unable to bring in big talent but also the task of cutting the wage bill way down.

What we saw tested the patience of the Villa faithful and they grew tired and this last season, whilst starting brightly for a few games started to fall to the usual and we saw them opened up, exposed and Lambert clearly out of ideas. It was truly boring football and not just because of him, but the squad was not capable of it or so we thought. Tim has done a bit of a good job with what resources he has in the team but it is still fairly boring but at least now they're scoring! Think Tim may have a reputation from his last job at Spurs. Not sure about being a laughing stock =S

May have gone under my radar but so far, so goodish. If he makes it to next season in charge that's his real test, granted they're in the PL. If he manages to avoid relegation that's a success. If he manages to win the cup, that's a massive bonus - BUT only if they avoid relegation. Unlike Small Heath those few years ago when that happened to them :rofl1:

In regards to how other fans of clubs view Villa, that's a wild guess. You'd have others who respect Villa, maybe, then you get the young & deluded (no offence to those but are very present here on these forums, not everyone granted feels that way but from what I've read & been on the end of, it's there) that have no respect or knowledge - who follow "who's top of the league" and anyone mid table to lower is "crap" and inferior without any thought to why they maybe there other than "they're s***" kind of mentality.

From what I understand this season, Villa are a joke & laughing stock as they play boring football, make mistakes and rightly so it's embarrassing. When I was there v QPR I was saying to my brother, if that is how they've been playing all season, making stupid errors then there's no wonder why they are in the position they are in. They couldn't score or score many until Lambert arrived and as you've noticed, they've almost scored as much in the last few games than the majority of the season when Lambert was in. It was painful listening to that guy pre & post match, it was depressing and he was delusional. Tim has changed things for sure and rains positivity which has reflected to parts on the pitch just unfortunately the weak links in the team are still letting the side down.

Club legends?

Peter Withe, Tony Morley (or just name the 82 squad), you find more here, but those in my life time that I remember are Tony Daley, David Platt, Paul McGrath, Dwight Yorke, Dalian Atkinson, Ugo Ehiogu, Steve Staunton, Shaun Teale, Dean Saunders, Andy Townsend, Lee Hendrie, Mark Bosnich, Ian Taylor, Savo Milosevic, Barry, Mark Delaney, Hitzlsperger, Angel, Mellberg, Laursen, Agbonlahor, Petrov, Milner, Carew, Friedel...

The history of the club etc we'll be here all day and best to check up articles if really interested on that.

The main rival has always been West Brom. In recent times Small Heath (Birmingham City) have been more promoted as a rival but that's mainly on their side and a portion of Villa's young fans because they may not be aware that they weren't always Birmingham City; they broke that vow along time ago and went through 4 or 5 changes before being BCFC. The rivalry came into light as well because of some embarrassing goal they scored which basically went through the legs of Villa's keeper at the time, not sure who but may have been Sorenson or someone like that. Can't remember the result of the game but it was a turning point, though they haven't got the stature or legacy to be of a main threat. So back when my dad was growing up and through his life time, a lot of fans would put West Brom as Villa's arch nemesis much like how Man U and Liverpool are - different places but more rivalry than Man U to City; although that is on the change obviously because City have money and are able to compete. However as has been said numerous times, Man U fans still do not feel that City are on "that level", and they still look down at City and rightly so, City are small time in comparison to United.

It's like Aston Villa are Man U in that regard and Man City are BCFC (only without the money and recent success, BCFC have won f all). If that makes sense.

Famous fans are either who are from Birmingham or like Tom Hanks, just like the name & colours lol

Since I've lived here I don't rate Birmingham. I don't think it's anything to brag about and I often put it down. There's some things there, but it's missing so much. I honestly don't know how it's the 2nd city because it certainly does not appear big at all. A lot of the outskirts are either run down or factories and industrial estates. Granted there's a lot, a lot of businesses and high profile buildings that would lead over Manchester with facilities that are vastly superior; it's aesthetic appeal however is clearly lacking as well as entertainment I feel you really have to look hard to find anything "good". I prefer Manchester in that regard as it looks nicer in places and has a place called the Printworks which is incredible for night life.

However you do have very nice places in/around Birmingham.

Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, Barnt Green and other surrounding areas near them have or feature the wealthy & more middle to upper class earners. In the City itself you have a number of restaurants and bars around pigeon park where the celebs & rich people hang out, Brindley Place as well, the Mailbox & the Cube also feature higher end luxuries etc few places of renovation (New St station) as well as sporting the super hospital in the Queen Elizabeth that's over towards Harborne way. You also have Bournville which is home to Cadbury's chocolate, though the glamour of that has diminished since American owners took over.

Depends where you look, you do get good & bad no matter where you go, but I'd say Birmingham has the edge over Manchester. It may not have some of the things London has which it definitely misses but it's multi cultural (not always a good thing as violence is dividing communities and the last 10 years... well, it's not great and you can see the plunge in standards in certain areas).

Also forgot, the Bull Ring centre as well as the famous jewellery quarter, top places so in parts I guess it is something to be proud of but I'm more about art & culture, something both Barcelona screams and would love to live there one day.

Maybe in years gone by the Villa academy was good and was highly rated, not sure what's going on these days although it has produced Grealish who is looking very promising. You hit the nail on the head really, it's something that should be beneficial as well as eye candy for potential buyers.

It's something that makes me question why Sheikh Mansoor ever brought Man City; why Man City? They are smaller and had nothing. There was nothing in place that screamed this has potential and has needed so much investment in and around the area to make it something. The only thing I can think of and I think it was brought up back then, was because it has the name Manchester and because he wanted to create the "new Man U", to compete and create a rivalry. Ah, maybe, maybe not, but what's done is done. Question is when will he get bored. If he'll do what was done to Leeds United.

I'm surprised Birmingham isn't more successful at football. Villa are definitely a bigger club than Newcastle Sunderland and Man City.

Yeah, all the local media would love to see Midlands football be more successful, and again who better than Villa to lead the way as everything is in place, they just need backing. It's not so much of a project to start from scratch, it's a sleeping lion ready to be awoken lol

Exactly right :cheers:
 

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