It’s no big secret that American Randy Lerner, who owns the British soccer team Aston Villa, has been thinking of selling. There has been dissatisfaction with the team’s performance and with Lerner’s ownership. Former Aston Villa boss Graham Taylor had some harsh words for Lerner, according to triablfootball.com
Doug Ellis sold the club to Lerner. Graham Taylor said of Ellis, “I worked for Doug Ellis and whatever one says about him, he cannot be described as a non-football person. You cannot run a football club by phone from the other side of the Atlantic, and that is what Lerner is trying to do. I don’t know who is on Aston Villa’s board, how it’s run. No one does.”
After a terrible losing streak, Aston Villa fired head coach Paul Lambert, and Lerner flew in to meet new coach Tim Sherwood. At a press conference Sherwood said, “It`s a fantastic opportunity and a huge football club. , but When I got the call asking if I would be interested, it was a no-brainer. Yes. I`ll take the job and then we`ll negotiate later, see if they like what I`m about.”
It isn’t certain whether the new head coach will reverse Aston’s record of defeats, but Lerner announced last May that he intended to sell the club, “I owe it to Villa to move on, ” he told the Daily Mail. “In my heart, I no longer feel I can do the job.” There has been speculation of possible buyers, including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
