That’s ‘The People’ as in the “news” paper, not some grandiose reference to the citizenry of any particular country by the way. Just needed to make that clear straight away.

Look, here’s the thing folks; whenever we start challenging for honours, like when we’re riding high in the top four for several weeks or, oh I don’t know, about to take on Man Utd in a Wembley final, the tabloids always start publishing stupid stories about the club. It’s really annoying, but it’s an inescapable factor of success in Britain I’m afraid.

I’ve talked about this before – and I apologise for the repetition – it means we’re doing something right. Remember the golden rule; no sources, no quotes, no chance!

Today we have a story from The People that does have quotes; well, one very brief one, and it does have a source; well, an unnamed one claimed to be within Aston Villa. Here’s the quote from “one Villa source”:-

The club is in cutback mode. It is a squeeze at all levels. The top scouts have been told that their targets have to be cheap and ‘sensible’ – and the word has come from the top.

And?

Last time I looked, we were in the grips of a global recession and that, shock horror, has even permeated the heady world of the English Premier League. No comment is required on the financial problems hanging around the necks of the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd and, arguably worst of all; Portsmouth.

We’ve just witnessed a damp squib of a January transfer window for a good reason, boys and girls. Frankly, I’d be concerned to hear that we weren’t being a little bit more conscious about costs. Not that I’m inclined to believe some person unknown that The People, of all papers, claim are a source worth listening to.

I wouldn’t normally give this the time of day except for a couple of reasons. Firstly, The People go on to write a whole 441 word article based around that 36 word quote, the flavour of which being that this is a potential point of conflict between Martin O’Neill and Randy Lerner which could lead the the former considering his position out of frustration.

Oh please… give me a break!

The second reason is that another Villa blogger, one with a blatant anti-Randy Lerner agenda it has to be said, seized upon this article and added more than 400 words himself explaining in his own unique style why he thinks this is true. Oh dear, someone didn’t graduate Finance 101 by the looks and he still believes that Randy Lerner only owns Aston Villa as an “investment vehicle”.

By the way, I just purchased some Google shares…. who wants to see my Google tattoo?

Interestingly, there have been a few articles recently about Randy Lerner and the investment he has made at Aston Villa, all of them ignored by the anti-RL blog so far as I’m aware, although I don’t look at it that closely. This one talks about MON’s contentment under RL and, incidentally, correctly points out that when MON joined Villa it was still Doug Ellis at the helm and he wasn’t “recruited” by Randy as The People story claims. A small detail perhaps, but if they can’t get something so basic correct, how can I really be expected to attach any credibility to the rest?

This article looks briefly at the amount of money that Lerner has sunk into the club and discusses the loan arrangement, plus the fact that the club accounts have to be filed by the end of February, a couple of topics that have been floating around the Aston Villa blogosphere a fair amount of late, indicating that this article is fairly well read.

Good news doesn’t generate as much traffic I guess.

I’m really surprised that there are still people out there that have reservations about Randy Lerner’s motivations at this stage and I have my suspicions about why that may be. I was looking through some old articles earlier today and here’s some quotes from the man himself in 2007:-

John Carew Is My Return

If someone could tell me how to make a profit from a football club, I’d like to know. But if you had the chance to sit on stage and be the second guitarist with Bob Dylan at the Royal Albert Hall, would you be talking about what you were going to get paid that night?

Then I sit there and watch John Carew bang a goal in against West I Ham. I’m not saying you can’t make any profit. I’m saying that it would not motivate you to go and acquire a club. You can get more out of buying a 30-year bond – I’d be poolside and I cordless! But where’s the fun?

My return from Aston Villa is seeing Carew score. I want a life of good sport, good people and the competition that I goes with it.

What’s my prime motive? It’s certainly not financial. Who’s ever done well buying a club? It baffles me. Let’s just say you pay cash. It sends out a different message from if you put up 10 and borrow 90. People then think their club is being put at risk.

The first question is ‘what are these Americans doing?’. But you have to know something about the financing. I made a decision. I’m a lawyer by training and I worked in the world of finance. I have been exposed to American football – my father was a part owner of the Browns before he took over all of it.

Over the years, I made a decision that this was the life I wanted to lead and the industry I wanted to pursue. My goal is not to persuade anyone that my motive wasn’t financial. I don’t want to be a persuader. It’s an amazing experience – an emotional thing.

The new TV money? It’s not that good. It’s more, but what about the increase in player costs? The money’s only great if you get to keep it! Being in this business costs more each year and I’m not sure it should.

I’m here to try to get something accomplished – that’s what people want to do.

It’s not so much the relationship you build with players and families, as I have done at the Browns. When you get down to your motives, they will come out over time. If they are sinister motives, they will be revealed as such, and if they are motives to try to get something accomplished then that will also bear out in time.

I don’t think sinister motives prosper too well in the long run. Maybe they do -I am not a student of sinister motives.

With Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham now buying more players, the absolute reason for having the edge is a good manager. You take people like Tom Landry and Joe Gibbs in the period of American football that I grew up with. No-one talked about the owners of those clubs.

Here, that’s not who I want people to talk about. They’re going to talk about Martin O’Neill, or Ashley Young, or Gabriel Agbonlahor, or Gareth Barry. When that’s going on, you know you’ve got something happening here. When Villa won the European Cup, nobody mentioned the chairman – but they do mention Ron Saunders, which is interesting. It was hits team after all.

If the owner is getting mentioned, it’s usually for the wrong reasons. Am I on an ego trip? No. Would I sell Villa to a wealthy Arab if he gave me a ‘double your money’ deal? No. No, no, no, no, no! I see this as a lifetime type of thing. Some people just don’t buy it, though. I know they think ‘what’s the catch?’ and I don’t blame them. In the end, actions will allay those fears.

Maybe there are so many American owners here because it’s less regulated than US sports – maybe because it’s a door into a global phenomenon. That’s not why I bought Villa but yes, the global attraction is there. But you have to win the European Cup a couple of times and sign a player who is pure genius.

[Originally published in the Sunday Mercury, Jan 2007]

If you’ve just read all that and you’re sat there with your tinfoil hat on, you’re probably thinking to yourself ‘ah, but he would say that, wouldn’t he’. And if that’s the case, there’s nothing anyone could do to convince you otherwise my friend, you are beyond help.

The ultimate point I want to make with this post is one that I’ve made before in the face of this kind of nonsense. The more successful we are, the more we can expect this kind of negative storyline about our club cropping up in the media. As supporters of the club, we can either give this more credence than it’s really due and by doing so cause others to believe it, or we can circle the wagons and call out bullshit where we see it.

I’m calling bullshit and I hope you’re in the wagon train with me because I see injuns on the horizon.