I should probably preface this post by being entirely honest about my lack of knowledge regarding the American version of football, however it’s fair to say that the Cleveland Browns aren’t a very good team at the moment. Actually, that may be being kind to them, people on this side of the pond would no doubt use much courser language and they haven’t been very good for some time.

Randy Lerner inherited the franchise in 2002 after his father, Al Lerner, passed away. Since then, the Browns have only managed one winning season and the fans have long since reached the end of their tether. The manner of his exit isn’t universally agreed, but it appears that general manager, George Kokinis, has been shown the door by Lerner.

Randy recently met with representatives of concerned fans and made assurances that he would be taking steps to address their complaints. Perhaps this is part of that action, I really don’t follow the sport closely enough to pass judgement.

Frankly, a story about the Browns wouldn’t normally feature on this site, but when it’s suggested that Lerner “doesn’t care” about the franchise because of his ownership of Aston Villa, it naturally piques my interest. The only thing that is known for certain is that Randy is notoriously media shy and that leaves a vacuum that will gladly be filled by conspiracy theorists galore.

It’s an easier task to sell baseless speculation when things are going badly than when things are going well. Fortunately, from my perspective, Aston Villa are doing very well and I, like the overwhelming majority of Villa fans, am very happy to have him in control. That hasn’t stopped some nonsense being written, I can only imagine what I may have read had Villa’s fortunes not improved so dramatically under his stewardship.

Despite my reservations about leaping to conclusions, one thing I can’t help taking away from this story is that Randy is willing to let the axe fall when necessary. Whether it fell soon enough and/or on the right neck, or even whether the cut was deep enough, is for the Browns fans to decide. Time and results will tell I suppose.

One thing is for sure, with unrest among the fans and poor results on the field, this is definitely worth keeping an eye on.