Randy Lerner’s bid to buy Aston Villa seemed to be slim to none a few days ago. Apparently, Douglas Ellis, the major shareholder in Villa has been dragging his feet and angered Lerner with his indecision. Now, there is renewed interest in Lerner to bid again as thousands of Aston Villa fans have been asking Doug Ellis to step down and let new owners put life into a club that has been middling along in the EPL for a long time.
Lerner has apparently lined up Klinsmann as Aston Villa’s new coach. Klinsmann’s credentials are impeccable but he may not be upto coaching so soon having complained of feeling burned out and a desire to do nothing for the next six months. The EPL is one of the most gruelling leagues, with the season going on for 9 months and no winter break unlike the Bundesliga.
Personally I feel that Michael Neville a longtime Aston Villa fan and one who has tapped Martin O’Neill as his coach for Villa should be the clear favorite to takeover Villa. Neville says”Our focus is on building a football club and making Aston Villa great again with the supporters’ help. I believe I have backers. This is an exciting prospect, the result of a year’s work for me.” The Solihull businessman has been keen to make the point his knowledge of the club and its culture “has a value beyond pounds sterling and dollars”. Point well taken.
There are however two points that make the Randy Learner bid more attractive. He brings his own money to cash strapped Aston Villa unlike Malcolm Glazer’s huge debt incurring buyout of Manchester United. The other is that with Lerner at the helm, there will be no place for Douglas Ellis, Villa’s unpopular chairman. This is favored by most Villa fans who want a clean break. Neville’s bid on the other hand includes Ellis on the board, as lifelong president.
Update: Klinsmann probably saw his name being bandied around in the media as the coach for Aston Villa and shot it down. Now Martin O’Neill is Lerner’s preferred coach.