Doug Ellis has spoken to Bill Howell and well, it is worth a post because Doug Ellis is Mr Aston Villa. Well, Mr Aston Villa was the name he got but I'm not sure where from and what he has to say is actually quite interesting.

He has predicted that Gary Gardner, brother of Craig, who is going nowhere this summer, is doing to be a better player than his older brother and he fancies that Marc Albrighton will get a look in this coming season. It is all positive stuff from our former Chairman.

But, rather than me talk about what he has said, I'm going to put it here and let everyone have a read and digest it. The last paragraph, I suspect, might get highlighted by some and maybe it is our previous Chairman saying something but not saying something.

Doug Ellis, June 25th 2009
There are grounds for optimism. I certainly don’t think anyone should be negative about the future of Aston Villa. It is on a stable footing. It has a good manager and good coaching staff and in addition they have some good youngsters coming through. They need to replace Martin Laursen, in particular, and Gareth Barry because they were two of the most important players we have had in the last year or two. I’m sure they will replace them.

I don’t want to appear to be giving any advice to Martin or Randy because they know what they are doing. I’m sure they know the most important players to replace are Laursen and Barry. They may be up against it next season but as I have said so many times, money itself does not guarantee success. I don’t have to tell Martin or Randy what the opposition is, they know it already.

I believe Gary Gardner will be an even better player than his brother Craig. A number of the youngsters are showing they could make it and they will get the opportunity, I’m sure. Martin O’Neill has shown he won’t shy away from putting them in. His usual method is of putting them in for a match or two and then pulling them out. Giving them a smell of the first team.

Can Villa break the top four? There is no specific answer but money and money alone cannot bring success. In 1968 we were broke. We could not afford to buy. We had to breed. I put money aside for what is now the Academy and brought in Frank Upton, who had coached my son at Repton School. It was only £10,000 but it was enough for, although not immediately, the likes of Brian Little, Gordon Cowans and Jimmy Brown to come through. So it’s all about having a structure in place, including youth development. Youths alone will not win you anything but you can get the right mix between experienced players and good youths, with one or two getting a taste for it and progressing.

That’s true but at the same time you have to look at the overall picture. Villa have remained a member of the Premier League right the very beginning. At all times they have been stable with little or no bank debt at all.

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t interfere once I had shaken hands with Randy Lerner, and I haven’t interfered. By and large he has kept his promise and I am delighted I chose him ahead of the other four predators.

Now, he can't help but give himself a bit of praise, but you sort of have to accept that from him and he also says that 'money itself does not guarantee success', although that sort of suggests that it is a factor. In fact, we know it is and I for one believe him and I also don't think we have seen enough from our new owner, but that may change this summer. I hope it does.

But the question of faith comes now. I saw a headline the other day where a website was saying that as Aston Villa fans, we must keep the faith. What is faith when it comes to supporting your football club?

It is a serious question. I know what faith generally means when talking religion but about your football club, I'm not so sure. I have hope but that hope is very much around how much money is going to be spent because like Ellis says, we have reason to be optimistic. We have possibly the best academy in the country and a reserve team winning week in week out.

Our infrastructure is as good as the top four and better than a lot of other club, but faith, where does it come in and how do you define 'keeping faith' when supporting a football club? Answers on a postcard please or better still, comment below.

Comments (152)

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Mowgs said:

... For me keeping faith was renewing my season ticket despite the large number of home 0-0 draws last season! I believe the club is in very steady, if perhaps unspectacular hands. And have also been hearing very promising reports surrounding Gary Gardner.

Comment 1, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.28 pm

Keith said:

... Has there ever been a man so full of his self importance and so desperate for attention as Herbert Douglas f**kwit Ellis?

Comment 2, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.29 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Well blind faith in religion is hoping it all turns out ok. I suspect it's the same in footy. As for the academy, I've yet to be convinced. Where are all the wonderkids?

Comment 3, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.31 pm

Gwatkins said:

... " By and large he has kept his promise".....would be interesting to know the ones he hasn't!!

Comment 4, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.32 pm

ianrobo said:

... Our infrastructure is as good as the top four no it is not, due to the bloke making the quotes our infrastructure at Villa is pathethic. It was only when Randy came in and saw how poor the design for Bodymoor was that we got the surperb facility there. As for the ground look at the revenues we generate when compared to the sky four, it is so weak it is one of the reasons we fell so far behind. For example the lack of planning to the whole ground redevelopment led to a mis match of stands, shoddy workmanship and still with the desperatly poor North Stand. It is only now that Randy is upgrading the staduim to be fit for the 21st centruy, I listen to no words from a man that never put a penny into the club but took it out hand over fist.

Comment 5, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.32 pm

Adey Stuttard said:

... Faith = Being loyal to Villa, no matter what, through thick and thin, from Premiership to Blue Square. That's me, keeping the faith.

Comment 6, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.32 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... a player iw ould have liked abidol has signed for real for £12m. Gutted! Ellis didnt spend but he did put in place some good infrastructure.....just needed to sell about 8-10 years earlier.

Comment 7, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.37 pm

Steve Badger said:

... It is only now that Randy is upgrading the staduim to be fit for the 21st centruy, I listen to no words from a man that never put a penny into the club but took it out hand over fist. Absolutely. It said it all for me when he refused to have anything to do with the European cup winning side. He wouldn't even have a picture of that team at the club

Comment 8, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.40 pm

ianrobo said:

... but he did put in place some good infrastructure proof of that ? as I stated the Trinity has been gutted, the Holte Pub, re done out, the front of the Holte spruced up ... yet another Ellis myth

Comment 9, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.40 pm

RicA said:

... I think Doug speaks a lot of sense - sense of a buisnessman who loved his club. He was never going to jeopardise the clubs existence. He may have been over-cautious (tight) in some eyes, but he was never going to do a Risdale. Lerner seems to be similarly grounded - possibly by MON's again cautious approach to spending millions. I hope we see good youth products get a run in the squad and keep them if they are good enough. Unfortunately, sometimes they are good enough for someone else and VP cannot offer any guarantees for a few seasons (Cahill). Anyway - congratulations to Doug for trying to look at character as well as pounds when selling the club. Think about it we could be a football club with a community spirit and fans that care about players or a heartless play-thing of a multi-billionaire where at the end of the day the players are disposable and of no value (because you can dispose of and buy again).

Comment 10, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.40 pm

Keith said:

... ianrobo CORRECT! Dont forget when AVFC became a PLC, Mr Wonderful Ellis, sold a lot of his shares at full price of 11p and then bought them back at a much lower price, making himself a tidy little profit. By the time most shareholders had received their certificates, the shares were worth only half the amount paid.

Comment 11, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.42 pm

ianrobo said:

... Absolutely. It said it all for me when he refused to have anything to do with the European cup winning side. He wouldn't even have a picture of that team at the club smilies/angry.gif don;t go there mate, the return of Sir Ron and the EC team against Sheff Utd said it all about the differences between Ellis and Randy

Comment 12, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.42 pm

Rovilla said:

... The only good thing deadly doug ever did was take the piss out of roman abramovich when he was storming out of the stadium after gabby scored villa's second against chelsea 2 years ago

Comment 13, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.44 pm

ianrobo said:

... ianrobo CORRECT! Dont forget when AVFC became a PLC, Mr Wonderful Ellis, sold a lot of his shares at full price of 11p and then bought them back at a much lower price, making himself a tidy little profit. By the time most shareholders had received their certificates, the shares were worth only half the amount paid. It was worked out through wages (guess who was football's first paid director), shares, dividends etc that Ellis made approx £45m from Villa and put in f**k all

Comment 14, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.46 pm

Keith said:

... I hate Ellis with a passion, the man is a complete self proting tosser in my opinion. But, he did save the club in 1960s and does deserve credit for that. But then he sacked the manager who won the European Cup and replaced him with the manager of Shrewsbury Town. Twat!

Comment 15, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.47 pm

runtingz said:

... Regardless of what we think of doug the one great thing he done for Villa is sell to Randy ...i think some of our supporters have very short memories as we have not been punching our weight for around 10yrs before randy arrived ..since then we have got a lot closer to what we should be based on size and history ..everyone is banging on about the top four but rome was not built in a day ..as for Lerner not spending wasnt we the biggest spenders in british football last season..also as Martin knows there is no point spending 18mil on a player that we end up offloading for half that fee shortly after like spurs...and if we consistanly move forward as we have been the maybe players of top class will see Villa as a good option to come to....keeping the faith

Comment 16, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.48 pm

Keith said:

... runtingz "as we have not been punching our weight for around 10yrs before randy arrived" and whose fault was that?

Comment 17, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.50 pm

ianrobo said:

... But, he did save the club in 1960s and does deserve credit for that. did he, I suggest you read the history books (especially children of the revolution) to learn the truth .i think some of our supporters have very short memories as we have not been punching our weight for around 10yrs before randy arrived Oh I wonder why ??

Comment 18, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.50 pm

Keith said:

... ianrobo, I have read it mate and I know it wasn't his money but Villa were on the brink of going bust and we are still here.

Comment 19, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.52 pm

toastman said:

... However fustrated we were with him when he was in charge, history will show him out as someone who protected the club from financial ruin, look at the state of some clubs who tried to buy big and got punished big time. Leeds Coventry Newcastle who else will join this list.

Comment 20, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.54 pm

ianrobo said:

... then you know Keef thata Ellis was an equal partner of a consortuim led by Pat Matthews. What he did have of course was the charisma and charm back then to fool people. You will also know that his portfolio was the infrastructure of the club to which he used his own company to build Bodymoor Heath in 1972. The success on the playing field was down not to him but the managers and backroom staff that the BOARD had appointed, remebering of course in 1978 he wanted Sir Ron out

Comment 21, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.55 pm

RicA said:

... It was worked out through wages (guess who was football's first paid director), shares, dividends etc that Ellis made approx £45m from Villa and put in f**k all Over how many years? Did he not work for the club? 45M is a bloody lot of money, but compared to the going rate of MD's and other paid CEO / Directors is Doug really that different? Is he really the anti-christ? Is he a true hate figure? No. He just got paid. Being a director is not a charity post - although many would do it for free (for the love of the club etc etc). However, loving a club does not mean you will not go to Middle-Eastlands for 120K per week. Oh and working the stock market...do you not listen to the advice about the product going up as well as down!

Comment 22, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.56 pm

WOFFER said:

... There are many definitions of faith. This one being the most apt when it is towards a club in my opinion (albeit short): complete confidence in a person or plan Therefore we need to keep confidence in MON, Randy and their plan. My opinion is very simple: I think we would have taken where we are now after the amount of time when Randy/MON took over, Let's not loose sight of the bigger picture/perspective. I understand people's frustration with the Moscow situation, the questionable ways of MON in the transfer windows and they way we "through away" 4th spot, but Mon is the one that took us there and ask this, if our season was the other way around, ie. losses at the start and then an incredible run of games without losing, would we have questioned where we finished? I do also think this summer is a big one, if we get European football 3 seasons in a row I for one will be very happy. As long as we are at that time competing in Europe (as there's no point being in it unless you're in it to win, IMO).

Comment 23, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.58 pm

FatKevs said:

... Randy Paraded the Team for Publicity nothing else. Did he back our manager in the mid window when the team needed freshening up with the loss of ML. Bloody Heskey Season Over. That is how close Randy Got us to Europe. We have lost our top players & he cannont fund quality replacements So What Has Randy Done except update the infrastructure, the only money coming in is Sky no major sponsorship deal. our squad today is weak & we can only judge what we have today That is a fact we can only hope

Comment 24, made on June 25, 2009 at 12.58 pm

FatKevs said:

... Keef we had an opportunity to sell them at the £10 mark i think they reached £10.75. I held on & sold Half at £5.50 some time later. The remaining shares were forcebly sold to Randy at least we had a choice up until then.

Comment 25, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.02 pm

Keith said:

... toastman - what did we win with Ellis in charge? RicA - we were neither a successful business or football club so he made approx £45m too much. ianrobo - with you 100% ASTON VILLA did not start to progress until the day Lerner and Ellis shook hands on the deal. The fact people are defending Ellis shows that if you tell a lie often enough people will believe you.

Comment 26, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.03 pm

rob h said:

... faith is a belief not a fact. faith cannot be altered by another (pessimist) or be proven wrong. faith is what you have in your father when you are 8 years old when you believe every word he tells you. Mis placed faith is potentially the most soul destroying and harmful belief you can have. Misplaced faith in a person can see a judas provail but faith can also keep one going and keep believing. It is what dreams are made of I have faith in AVFC, the team and management. I will continue to do so until I see a fundamental reason not to. I am now a father and I pass on that faith to my kids and now they can dream. the dream now is seeing villa turn out at the nuo camp in the champions league and you know what.... I believe and have faith that one day soon that will happen

Comment 27, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.03 pm

GG said:

... Keeping the faith is supporting your players when your chairman appoints an out-of-his-depth manager who dismantles a trophy-winning side and directs the club firmly towards the (old) Division Two. Or a Czech manager whose ideas were so far ahead of his time he turned a championship challenging side into a nearly-relegated side in the space of 12 months. Ellis' heart was in the right place but his judgment was sorely lacking too much of the time.

Comment 28, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.03 pm

ianrobo said:

... Over how many years? Did he not work for the club? 45M is a bloody lot of money, but compared to the going rate of MD's and other paid CEO / Directors is Doug really that different? Is he really the anti-christ? Is he a true hate figure? No. He just got paid. Randy doesn't pay himself and it is different, because at the end Villa were busted, we had no money left, we had just sold off the last piece of land we owed and running annual losses of £10m and growing. Ellis floated the club for only one person's benefit, HIM. However it gave us an insight on how he ran the club because we could see the reports and understand how failing we were at the time

Comment 29, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.05 pm

Keith said:

... Fatkevs, that was the shares bought in 1960s not ones offered when club became PLC. A lot of people lost a lot of money and the reason was greed by a certain chairman.

Comment 30, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.05 pm

runtingz said:

... KeefVilla i get your point and it was obviously dougs fault i moved from the mids to london about 18yrs ago when i 1st got to london we had an exciting side under big ron with top players we soon became a joke and its not been nice having to defend my club when we where going backwards we ended up losing international stars to borough of all teams so dont think i am defending doug because i wouldnt have a leg to stand on and thank gord his time is over but i just think our current board and manager are doing all the right things to try and help us progress and i am fully behind everything they are doing

Comment 31, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.09 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Being a director is not a charity post It used to be. And as said, guess who was the first to pay himself? Randy Paraded the Team for Publicity nothing else. I really don't believe that. I genuinelly think he saw that the fans wanted to pay tribute to the team that produced our finest hour and was probably amazed at what had gone on previously. Did you know Dennis Mortimer was actually banned from the club during Ellis' reign? Lerner is nothing like Ellis, imo.

Comment 32, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.10 pm

ianrobo said:

... ianrobo - with you 100% ASTON VILLA did not start to progress until the day Lerner and Ellis shook hands on the deal. The fact people are defending Ellis shows that if you tell a lie often enough people will believe you. Keef you are so right, are you my secret twin Ellis peddled a lie for so long that despite history showing the difference people still believed he saved us, people still believed he put money into the club and some people actually believed he never inteferred !!

Comment 33, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.12 pm

Dubai Dave said:

... He just can’t help getting involved can he? When will he stop self perpetuating the ‘I was the saviour of Aston Villa football Club’ views? Lets not forget this man has surrounded himself all his Aston Villa life with sycophants and subservient staff. He could never understand why the majority of fans derided and criticised him – why would he, to himself he could no wrong. I can just see the fat old man sitting in his huge mansion surrounded by the trappings of wealth that he has ‘earned’ from his sole business: AVFC, all the while scratching his head in bewilderment as to why he was so HATED. Ellis took the over the club as his own personal fiefdom, as a sole business interest and single source of income: to run for his own ends only – nothing else. Ellis put no money into Villa, ever, just sponged out and these were the times when clubs were run as clubs and not corporations. And now this? - He has been waiting to criticise the new owner from day one, just to massage his own ego about how he did a better job. Well guess what Ellis, you didn’t. We’re glad you’re out. We don’t care what you think. You put your own ego above the clubs success (cup winning side) Your own wallet about the clubs finances. This pathetic rant and thinly veiled digs at Randys performance won’t wash – what is Ellis trying to do? Get the fans against Lerner so he come and say how the fans are fickle, and convince himself that the problems Villa had are down to the fans and not Himself. Give himself an ego boost?

Comment 34, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.16 pm

kohoutek, home now and name still not working properly said:

... You can just feel the love, can't you?

Comment 35, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.29 pm

adam said:

... ellis was a prat end of. nice to see us linked with frazier cambell

Comment 36, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.31 pm

Mark Johnson said:

... leave the poor old sod alone, he's a wonderful man who has done and given so much to AVFC A man who selflessly took us from the brink of disater to a well run organised team, with a brilliant stadium, perfect facilities and the best managers and players that money could buy. now where did I put my alzheimer pills

Comment 37, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.33 pm

toastman said:

... keefvilla what did we win, the league cup, twice. however when I said he was fustrating, it was because he did not take us up to the next level, like I belive Randy will do, but look at those clubs who tried to run before they could walk. where are they now. remember this: the big test is for the current top four when one of them does not make Champions league, even this year you could sense the desparation in there voices of the thought of missing out, chelsea sack there manager because they thought they will droped out if scolari is still there. this comming season I believe it can happen, with Man City, Villa, and Everton running the chase. Whats going to happen when whoever drops out looses all that money, they all have big debt. when you loose 30-40 million out of your budget it hurts. Doug did keep us afloat. Also Randy and MON are building on the foundation of the youth policy (walking before we can run)so we can last the pace.

Comment 38, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.34 pm

runtingz said:

... Toastmam yeaah you are both sencible and realistic in your view and i for one am glad we have a board and manager that want success but not at any cost like some...its only a matter of time before clubs that gain success on silly spending and unstable fondations go tits up ...i really hate this we want it all right now mentallity that is creeping more and more into the beautiful game

Comment 39, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.40 pm

ianrobo said:

... eave the poor old sod alone, he's a wonderful man who has done and given so much to AVFC A man who selflessly took us from the brink of disater to a well run organised team, with a brilliant stadium, perfect facilities and the best managers and players that money could buy. now where did I put my alzheimer pills you nearly had us !!!

Comment 40, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.41 pm

Carl Main said:

... Has anybody read the Doug Ellis autobiography, Deadly Doug? Its a very good read and it kind of changed my views on him.

Comment 41, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.47 pm

ianrobo said:

... 0 ... Toastmam yeaah you are both sencible and realistic in your view and i for one am glad we have a board and manager that want success but not at any cost like some...its only a matter of time before clubs that gain success on silly spending and unstable fondations go tits up ...i really hate this we want it all right now mentallity that is creeping more and more into the beautiful game I just hate people being involved in football not because they love the game or club but because they want the self publicity or somehow to make money from it. that is the thing with Randy, I have to say he is perfect for me because you can tell he loves the game and now loves us, he is in football for all the right reasons and doing it the right way

Comment 42, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.47 pm

Mark Johnson said:

... Ianrobo: he's a silly old duffer who hasn't been out for a while. at least it shows we have passion, just look at the venom spat out towards him. SOTC

Comment 43, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.52 pm

toastman said:

... Look at Setanta as an example, they purchased the rights for Prem Football, then they decided to compete with Sky head on, what they should have done is teamed up with sky and aloud sky to show the 40+ matches as and extra package for an extra fee of let say £40, they would then have had no setup costs for running the show themselves and created a base to get there name known and out there (learning to walk before you run) They never had the clout to take on sky head on. ESPN who do have the clout are planning to sell there rights to show on sky as an add-on once they have built a base they will go for the big fish when the next renewal comes up. (they are laying the foundations for the next phase. Thats good business) Randy and MON will do the same for the villa, we will have ups and downs but I believe we will get there.

Comment 44, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.52 pm

ianrobo said:

... Ianrobo: he's a silly old duffer who hasn't been out for a while. at least it shows we have passion, just look at the venom spat out towards him. always got plenty for him for the 25 years in was in charge he failed.

Comment 45, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.56 pm

Richie P said:

... maindog - im in the middle of reading it and so far so good

Comment 46, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.58 pm

ak_27 said:

... It is because of Doug Ellis and his lack of vision and mismanagement that this club is sruggling to catch up to clubs who in reality should be no bigger then we are. Aston Villa the biggest club in the 2nd biggest city in the UK and ex Champions of Euriope and we currently have the same turnover as Pompy? Seriously this guy was a cancer in the club and the damage he has done has set us back years. In fact we may never really catch up ever again to the top clubs. And that is mainly down to his management of the club. I would seriously love for the Doug Ellis stand to be renamed before he dies. The only good memory of this man i have is his cheeky hand shake with Roman Abramavic after we beat Chelsea a few years ago. Mr Villa my arse. More like Mr EGO.

Comment 47, made on June 25, 2009 at 1.59 pm

Panos said:

... Credit to DD for the tie he's wearing in the picture...I must admit I like it very much!

Comment 48, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.03 pm

Tim Wood said:

... Who gives a rats arse, he's gone! Stop living in the past and bringing up times of sadness and depression! Look to the future....and then get depressed!

Comment 49, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.10 pm

Jason said:

... The youth squad we have is one thing that probably gets forgotten by alot of villa fans. We clearly have a fantastic youth setup. Even when players don't quite make it in the first team, they may move on for £3-4million like Luke Moore. If we manage to keep doing that, it all funds itself, and the occational player may come through - like an Ashley or a Rooney. I don't remember us producing a superstar recently, but those players are almost completely natural talent. However if young players around the country know Aston Villa is the best place to develope then we are more likely to attract the next big star - this might be why we have recently been able to steel Arsenal's youth captain. It's nice to know we always have those players in reserve as well. When i think about our small squad, it seems a lot less worrying knowing there is quality young players as back up. When we think we've only got one right back etc - MON may know we have a great 17 year old, but we (the fans) just haven't seen them yet.

Comment 50, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.13 pm

RayK said:

... Forget Deadly Doug, it should be Dinosaur Doug. The man is from a completely different era and unfortunately Villa were stuck in that era too until Lerner/MON came along. MON would not have touched Villa with a bargepole if Doug was still owner. Okay you get muppets on here that think MON should go but for me Doug = DOL and Lerner = MON and for me that says everything. Having said that I do think Gary Gardner is a real star of the future, hopefully the not too distant future. ManU were sniffing around him about 12 months ago and he could be our Jack Rodwell. In fact had Dino Doug still been around I reckon Gary Gardner might well have been tempted by ManU.

Comment 51, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.14 pm

Keith said:

... Doesn't Doug's autobiography mention him being in the navy? He wasn't ! Oh and he invented the bicycle kick you know !!!

Comment 52, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.22 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... naming a stand after yourself says it all really !

Comment 53, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.29 pm

ak_27 said:

... Where does Gary Gardner play? I heard that was a talent alright.

Comment 54, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.29 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Doesn't Doug's autobiography mention him being in the navy? He wasn't ! Oh and he invented the bicycle kick you know !!! And didn't he play for Southport and England? Of which the F.A has no record? I partly feel sorry for him, but if he kept his bloody nose out he wouldn't get ridiculed as he does.

Comment 55, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.33 pm

Simon said:

... Although i can't stand Deadly, he did manage to keep us afloat. Didn't wolves by Andy Gray off us for over 1 million and look where they ended up, 4th division and its only this year they got back to the premier (1st). So with respect to Faith , wolves fans should be better equiped to answer

Comment 56, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.46 pm

RayK said:

... ak_27 - Gary Gardner plays CM too (ie like Craig).

Comment 57, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.46 pm

ian said:

... not being funny symbas but wolves were in the premier league few years ago.just thought id correct ou there

Comment 58, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.51 pm

Mike Carter said:

... I invented the ham sandwich.

Comment 59, made on June 25, 2009 at 2.52 pm

Simon said:

... Ian When was that?

Comment 60, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.06 pm

rob h said:

... deadly doug wrote a song that eventually made it to no1 in the charts .lets do the time warp again. put your hands on your hips and bend your knees in time and let world rejoice you really got me insane all together 'lets do the time warp again'

Comment 61, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.08 pm

Simon said:

... I remember going to VP in the league cup when Stevie Bull played for them, but don't recall much else. Although i have been working overseas for the past 12-years, only getting to early season summer games or over Xmas period (Arse game last Xmas, PRICELESS)

Comment 62, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.10 pm

Altan Kargaci said:

... Normally I ignor what is written on rumour sites but when you see the same rumour twice by two different people you start to think. Apparently Ashley Young is off to Man U for Nani+ Money ....!!!! Hopefully rubbish , but hey you never know .

Comment 63, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.10 pm

rob h said:

... i hate the end of the football season you are forced to watch daytime tv instead of football matches. i cant stand watching big fat ugly women talking about what they want to buy and wishing they could have something they can't. trying to drop hints on what they would like someone to buy for them i mean who in their right mind would choose to interview Harry Redknapp on tv in the first place?

Comment 64, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.21 pm

Mowgs said:

... I've met Harry in the flesh and can confirm he is in fact even more repulsive than on the TV. Think myxomatosis.

Comment 65, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.27 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Rumour Schmumour. Apparently we've bid £8.5 mill for Huddlestone along with 2 other clubs and it's been accepted. Shearer has valued Bassong at £15mill and Mr Twitchy is happy to make that amount up with off-casts. We're supposed to be interested. At £15mill??? Yeah right

Comment 66, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.34 pm

keithj said:

... doug ellis was a business man, a very successful business man

Comment 67, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.34 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... according fans fc spurs have accepted 8.5 mil bids by sunderland villa and everton for tom huddlestone

Comment 68, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.35 pm

Steve Badger said:

... off-casts? I meant cast offs. I'm not even going to link the sites, as it's just bollox. I thought you might like a laugh on a really slow day.

Comment 69, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.36 pm

Shakey4 said:

... If you think our owners are/were bad check out Mike Ashleys profile on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ashley_(businessman) Thank your lucky stars he doesnt own us. Funny as f**k

Comment 70, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.38 pm

VillaDude said:

... 8.5m for Huddlestone? lets hope it's a straight swap for Reo Coker!

Comment 71, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.38 pm

keithj said:

... if randy was offered £250 MILLION for avfc by the arabs what should he do?

Comment 72, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.49 pm

rob h said:

... how can it possibly be a straight swap when harry is so bent

Comment 73, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.50 pm

VillaDude said:

... bent or darren bent?

Comment 74, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.51 pm

ak_27 said:

... keithj he would take it. He is a business man. He is not here for the love off Villa or the love of the game. He paid something like £65m for the club so if they were to offer £250m for the club now im sure he would take their hands off. £8.5m for Huddlestone? Thats around twice what he is worth.

Comment 75, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.53 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... weve signed Darren bent??

Comment 76, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.53 pm

Steve Badger said:

... if randy was offered £250 MILLION for avfc by the arabs what should he do? That's got to be double your money and would be a no-brainer I'd have thought? Depends what he thinks the club will be worth in a couple of years, I suppose. Seeing as I see the bubble bursting, I'd take the money, in his shoes.

Comment 77, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.54 pm

VillaDude said:

... If he chooses Sunderland or Everton over us and MON then it will be a very sad day... This is a great test for MON and will show how good he can be in getting the right player in when competing with other clubs...

Comment 78, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.58 pm

keithj said:

... ak & badger so therefor he and ellis are no different

Comment 79, made on June 25, 2009 at 3.59 pm

RayK said:

... DanWilson82 said: ... weve signed Darren bent?? Where have you heard/read that Dan?

Comment 80, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.00 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... NO completely ignore, I was skimming the last few comments and my dislexic(sp?) brain came to that assumption sorry

Comment 81, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.02 pm

VillaDude said:

... Was reading over a few of the Spurs forums, a large majority of them are quite upset with Spurs accepting a bid of 8.5m for Huddlestone. How's everyone rating our chances of beating the other 2?

Comment 82, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.09 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... if hes worth 8.5 mill so is gardener

Comment 83, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.10 pm

Steve Badger said:

... ak & badger so therefor he and ellis are no different How so? RL would probably think the arabs would pile a load in, he'd make a fat profit and wouldn't hold us back for 25 years. Whereas Ellis never wanted to sell because he realised the club gave him a bigger profile than he justified. Don't forget this is the bloke who sat on the scum's board and then somehow came to be known as Mr Aston Villa. RL keeps his nose out, leaves football men to run the club and I like that. He'll also stop Villa being run like a corner shop (remember the report?). Ellis just constantly interfered. I don't see that they're anything like the same myself.

Comment 84, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.11 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Oh, the "Mr Aston Villa", quote that Ellis played up to, BTW. I'm sure that if RL got tagged with that, he'd soon say "no-one's bigger than the club". There's a world of difference, imo.

Comment 85, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.14 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Villadude, I think we could come out on top, but 8.5 million seems very excessive for a spurs substitute. I'd rather hang on to reo-coker.

Comment 86, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.15 pm

ak_27 said:

... keithj the difference is that Learner would now have to spend huge money to make up for Doug's past management and lack of vision. If Ellis had any sort of vision since the inception of the premier league in 1992 ,other then for the club to stay out of debt(mainly because he didn't want to spend his own money) we would in my mind be a top team. With Birmingham's population Villa should be easily selling out a 50k stadium each week. The reason it doesn't is mainly down to the Ellis regime where the product on offer was just not attractive.

Comment 87, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.20 pm

Tim Wood said:

... I Think he would bite there hands off at £150million!!

Comment 88, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.21 pm

antvillan said:

... It's like going back in time!! I almost miss complaining about Doug after reading this! This has made me realise how much the club has moved forward since Doug left and how joyous I am that he is no longer involved in it. We're never going ot move forward at the same pace of Man City with their never ending pit of cash. However slowly but surely Lerner is building and improving the Villa and I believe the future is very bright and this should serve as a reminder how lucky we are now! Up the Villa!

Comment 89, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.22 pm

Tim Wood said:

... Villa Dude Second behind Sunderland who can and will offer silly wages and will be gauranteed a regular place, at Villa and Everton he may not be. But Villa can offer the "youn English side" thingy that Capello seems to admire. Its all bollox anyway as it was on the FansFC web page.

Comment 90, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.25 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... tbh at 8.5 million i hope it is just a rumour.. man city are buying other clubs best players/star players (barry, santa cruz), while were buying no one just being linked with spurs subs.. rather depressing if you ask me

Comment 91, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.27 pm

TheJohnnyVillan said:

... £8.5m is alot of money to pay for Huddlestone. But there are few better than MON at allowing players to reach their potential, for example Ashley Young and Milner were big fees also, and Im sure Im not the only one who thinks they are worth every penny. So if MON sees the potential in Huddlestone I think he'll go for it, and will probably get him if it's a fight between us, Sunderland and Everton. I seem to recall every player that MON signed last summer commenting on how enthusiastic MON is about the future plans and how he made them want to be a part of the team. I'd expect no different this summer. UTV

Comment 92, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.28 pm

VillaDude said:

... Its on a few more websites now as well... I think if he wants a chance of eventually getting into the england team and world cup - then villa is his best bet. Capello mentioned a few weeks ago - 3 villa players and huddlestone are the players we wants to make the break into the 1st team. MON will use this to our advantage - plus I think hes a midlands boy (derby) so Sunderland shouldnt be too attractive to him.

Comment 93, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.29 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... The fact that anyone thinks Sunderland are a more appealing option than us worries me...

Comment 94, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.39 pm

ak_27 said:

... Dan it will come down to wages.

Comment 95, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.42 pm

RayK said:

... £8.5m is a lot but if MON can start to get the best out of him we're looking at a £15m player very quickly. I don't think NRC will be part of the deal - Redknapp will want cash to do his dealings. If NRC is part of the deal then it'll be because he wants to head back to London - I don't want to see him go and would probably prefer to see Sidwell go if anyone was to leave. Clearly Everton will be our main competition and I'm hoping the draw of playing alongside Webcam, Gabby and Milner swings it for him - he'll certainly know more players at VP than at Everton and I think he is from Derby originally so that may also help. Who knows eh?

Comment 96, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.43 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... Just seen on the Official site, triple bid, this is the big one I thought, perhaps David Villa, Miguel, Heinze? - it's going to be big,or maybe it's 3 talented youngsters perhaps Delph, Naughton and Rodwell. I look on the site all excited - it's better than I could have possibly imagined, 3 of our players might be in the U21 team or something, thank goodness our 100% transfer record remains this summer, no rubbish players signed at all. Keep up the good work

Comment 97, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.47 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Ak, I know what your saying but we all know what Capello has said about Huddlestone, so unless he really is just after a pay day and not at all interested in the world cup, we would win that battle everytime.

Comment 98, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.47 pm

ak_27 said:

... Yeah that's true.

Comment 99, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.51 pm

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... and the Blues buy another player...how much have they spent now?

Comment 100, made on June 25, 2009 at 4.53 pm

RayK said:

... deansaundersperm that's perm yeah they've signed a few players but apart from Hart I think they tell you all you need to know about what sort of season they're gonna have £5m for Roger Johnson is a total joke though - it makes £8.5m for Huddlestone look like a steal.

Comment 101, made on June 25, 2009 at 5.05 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... apparently sunderland are leading the chase HOW?????

Comment 102, made on June 25, 2009 at 5.43 pm

daniel wheeler said:

... 8.5 mill for a second rate fat footballer???????? the game has gone mad.

Comment 103, made on June 25, 2009 at 5.51 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... hilarious... caps were funny too

Comment 104, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.06 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... so did I my sides are hurting i was laughing so hard

Comment 105, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.11 pm

steve said:

... he will go though sooner rather than later

Comment 106, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.12 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... we'll see

Comment 107, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.15 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... I dont get it?

Comment 108, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.18 pm

THE AV VILLAN said:

... Keef - i understand your hatred of Doug, never investing enough to take us forward. But you have to be thankfull of the state of the club when he left!! He could have gambled during his time in charge and we might just be sat where Leeds are now!!! To summarise i will always be geatfull to Doug for keeping our Beloved Aston Villa stable!! but also a little dissapointed we were dorment for soo long!!! UTV!!!

Comment 109, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.29 pm

Freelancelot said:

... Faith is belief without proof. So belief in God is an obvious example. It's pretty much the opposite of cynicism, which is believing the worst despite the evidence. In football terms, examples of faith would be: - believing that your owner is doing the right things for the club without needing to see fat transfer fees - believing that your manager is working on the right changes to the squad without needing transfer activity by mid-June I'd say there's not much faith around.

Comment 110, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.31 pm

Damian said:

... There is someone going by the user name of Carl, Ian, Si and Steve all with the same IP. He or she clearly has an issue, so they've had two IP numbers now banned.

Comment 111, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.42 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Is that the same Ian that used to keep us informed about the latest Chelsea scores? I really miss that input...

Comment 112, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.44 pm

VillaDude said:

... What happened to the users with "inside" information? and were friends with people inside the club, agents and actual players? They seem to have disappeared now!

Comment 113, made on June 25, 2009 at 6.50 pm

daniel wheeler said:

... damo, why do i have to log in every time i come on. whats up with the remember me box???

Comment 114, made on June 25, 2009 at 7.07 pm

Damian said:

... av dan 78 try logging in with the login feature at the very top of the page

Comment 115, made on June 25, 2009 at 7.14 pm

Panos said:

... av dan 78 said: why do i have to log in every time i come on Damian, I have the same issue, I tried what you suggested and it still doesn't work.

Comment 116, made on June 25, 2009 at 7.26 pm

Abdul Kashif said:

... People with 'inside info' normally don't know anything more than anyone else! I personally know the chief editor of the Claret and Blue mag and the head Villa press officer, but even they don't know much in terms of transfer dealings.. They just don't comment on speculation or reveal anything..

Comment 117, made on June 25, 2009 at 8.30 pm

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... sunderland are leading the chase now because they also have money to burn, seems the only teams without millions to spend are us, stoke and hull, oh and probably wolves, so i guess it is a 4-way fight to see who gets Owen

Comment 118, made on June 25, 2009 at 8.39 pm

Damian said:

... av dan 78 / Panos I'll look into it

Comment 119, made on June 25, 2009 at 8.42 pm

daniel wheeler said:

... seems to have worked. cheers damo

Comment 120, made on June 25, 2009 at 9.01 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... damo - same issue as mentioned before, have to sign in every time....

Comment 121, made on June 25, 2009 at 9.02 pm

Steve Clayton said:

... I have some inside info........last season's socks in the clubshop are £2, got myself some earlier today. Bird serving me said she was bored, I have that effect on women.

Comment 122, made on June 25, 2009 at 9.52 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... Doug Ellis deliberately drove out our League and European Cup winning players because of his ego. This is direct from the players mouths. Whatever else he did I can not forgive him for that. It was our one chance to become a massive club with lasting success and he didn't lose it, he deliberately gave it away. And bollocks did he save us from bancruptcy, what big club or even mid sized club has ever gone down, even Leeds are just suffering a period of readjustment and they gave it a real good go

Comment 123, made on June 25, 2009 at 9.53 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Damian, Bloody hell mate, 5000+ unique visits? That's impressive. Congrats all round methinks

Comment 124, made on June 25, 2009 at 10.27 pm

Gingervilla said:

... I wish people would calm down, new players will arrive, to get the right players in it takes time MC are buying nothing but big names, this does not guarantee a winning team. Just look at the England team on paper one of the best team in the world, but we can’t win the world cup, USA beat Spain last night no super stars just a good blend of players. We must trust our leader; anybody can just go out and buy players but buying the right player to suit your long term plans take time.

Comment 125, made on June 25, 2009 at 10.49 pm

johncarew said:

... what people do these days http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ashley_(businessman)

Comment 126, made on June 25, 2009 at 10.50 pm

Steve Badger said:

... A total aside, but I'm hearing Michael Jackson has died.

Comment 127, made on June 25, 2009 at 10.57 pm

johncarew said:

... sorry guys its http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ashley_(businessman)

Comment 128, made on June 25, 2009 at 10.59 pm

johncarew said:

... if villa dont sign anyone 2morrow i will put a gun to my head

Comment 129, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.03 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Well maybe I'm talking bollox. I don't know why I posted that on here. Damian, feel free to delete. Otherwise, johnCarew, You need to highlight and hit the globe symbol to paste a link. Took me a while to work it out,fwiw

Comment 130, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.04 pm

Steve Badger said:

... f**k me, it looks like he has pegged it. Johncarew, that's naughty

Comment 131, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.10 pm

sam4villacilla4life said:

... michael jackson has died

Comment 132, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.15 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Fook, I know this isn't a Music Blog but fook, can't believe it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8rdNR5tmE RIP!

Comment 133, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.26 pm

Steve Badger said:

... This would be on a par to Elvis dying for me, I guess. Major

Comment 134, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.30 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... When Kurt Cobain died I was in mourning but away on holiday and no one else cared. The next year (or maybe year before) on holiday when Lady Di died. Not quite so bothered I must admit. Sorry to any royalists or skinny blonde hoor fanciers out there

Comment 135, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.36 pm

Steve Badger said:

... Kurt cobain?? You're having a laugh mate, done nothing for music. He was nothing in comparison. This is history mate, trust me.

Comment 136, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.40 pm

Steve Badger said:

... And no, I'm not a major fan. I liked him 20 years ago,fwiw.

Comment 137, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.54 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... Badger, great dancer. Music, not so sure. Plus he was a self indulgent arse, Javis Cocker had the right idea showing his arsenal to him when he was doing his Jesus act. Still respect to dead I guess

Comment 138, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.56 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... cobaine wasnt a peadophile !

Comment 139, made on June 25, 2009 at 11.56 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... neither was michael jackson

Comment 140, made on June 26, 2009 at 12.03 am

Martin Clabon said:

... I believe Michael Jackson loved children and wanted to be like one because he was a screwed up guy whose childhood was taken away from him. I do not believe he was any more sinisater than that although of course I have no way of knowing for sure. Anyway, respect to an important artist but this is a football site

Comment 141, made on June 26, 2009 at 12.12 am

Steve Badger said:

... Come on Sid, if you can't see this is major, well, I don't know what to say. Regardless of what you think of his music, he's a top player in the game. I bet Damian doesn't delete this, put it that way. Of course, if you have some Villa news, that's more important

Comment 142, made on June 26, 2009 at 12.32 am

Jason said:

... What ever anyone thinks about the guy, he was one of the most influential musicians ever. He was a brilliant singer, performer and song writer. It's a shame what he went through as a kid and i'm guessing thats why he ended up like he did. His w****r of a dad has a lot to answer for. I wish the police made people take lie detector tests about alledged crimes but i guess they're not acurate enough. He will always be remembered as the guy your just not sure if you can like because of what he might have done. For the record - i would prefer to believe he didn't do it but you never know. He has a lot of kids around - and staff, if he really was a pedo you would think he at least had the brains to not publicly parade himself with loads of kids, and you would have thought someone would have just once seen something incriminating. Also, something I haven't seen any of the news stories mention - he has three kids. I don't know if anyone has had a parent die when they were young but it's going to be shit for them. They're going to end up with that villiage idiot of a mother, god help them. They'll end up as wierd as him.

Comment 143, made on June 26, 2009 at 1.26 am

Abdul Kashif said:

... R.I.P Michael Jackson. A true legend...

Comment 144, made on June 26, 2009 at 1.49 am

Damian said:

... I think Badger is right - it isn't going to get deleted only because it is quite big news. On the other hand, I really should be pushing it to the forum, so if there is any on the next post it will be deleted ... But big news it is ..

Comment 145, made on June 26, 2009 at 7.32 am

Rich said:

... Michael Jackson is no Elvis Long live the memory of THE KING for his music and humility.

Comment 146, made on June 26, 2009 at 7.47 am

Panos said:

... Damo, Please remove my comment/guess from previous thread as it looks really stupid. Thanks

Comment 147, made on June 26, 2009 at 7.51 am

ak_27 said:

... Farrah Fawcett must be really annoyed with this where ever she is now. Of all the people to die on the same day as her and totally steal her thunder.

Comment 148, made on June 26, 2009 at 9.54 am

Martin Clabon said:

... Badger, agree he was a major name and this is big news, just not personally impactful to me, his music was ok but didn't move me. There are 10's of millions who disagree and that makes this a major event

Comment 149, made on June 26, 2009 at 3.18 pm

Panos said:

... Badger, Kurt cobain?? You're having a laugh mate, done nothing for music. Sorry mate, I have to disagree with you on this one. I think Cobain's music was great...but that's me. I do agree with you though this is major news to say the least!

Comment 150, made on June 26, 2009 at 5.45 pm

ade said:

... does any one know if villa are haveing a new home shirt for the new 2009/2010 season .theres the new away shirt thats just came out which is very smart may i add . and also last seasons away shirt is going to be the thrid kit ... but what about the home shirt .... anyone know!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment 151, made on July 04, 2009 at 11.20 pm

Bleugh said:

... Damian, when you say you don't think we've seen enough from Randy, what exactly do you mean?

Comment 152, made on July 05, 2009 at 6.36 pm

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