Takeover time

With this dreadful season finally done and dusted, everyone still involved with Aston Villa  Football Club can finally begin to look ahead and try to put this misery of the last ten months behind them. Whilst the off-season is usually quiet for most clubs, for the Villans it promises to be extremely busy and eventful one way or another. 

There are so many things that need sorting out and, due to the nature of the changes, the whole club will likely soon be completely different to how it is now. This is, of course, no bad thing as we need changes aplenty at all levels of the club. Obviously, we are still without a manager and the playing staff could be unrecognisable come August. We can but hope. 

The key to kick-starting everything is the supposedly impending takeover. Until this goes through, we are in limbo: no manager will touch us and that means players won’t come and few will go. 

At such a crucial point in our history, it is imperative that the ongoing negotiations are concluded swiftly to allow us to move forward and begin making the necessary changes. 

Apparently, negotiations are ‘advanced’ and the lucky people who will be our next custodians are rumoured to be a group of Chinese investors. There really are no other details about these prospective buyers other than where they originate from. The latest reports suggest that a formal deal could be in place by the end of May and that the infamous ‘fit and proper persons’ test is to be undertaken this week. Judging by the long list of unscrupulous owners of many other clubs over the years, General Pinochet would probably be able to buy us were he still alive. In short, I have no faith in that process to weasel out any potential wrongdoers.

Whilst the general feeling is that this takeover cannot come soon enough, I personally cannot be completely easy with the prospect of being taken over. We are literally being put into the hands of the unknown. 

I am always aware of the old adage ‘better the devil you know’, in this instance implying that Randy Lerner, despite our current position, is not the worst owner we could have. For example, at least we haven’t been driven to financial ruin like other clubs have been. However, the decline in Aston Villa has been so substantial that we simply have to seek new owners and take the risk of the likes of a Massimo Cellino, a Vincent Tan or Venky’s leading us down a slippery slope. Due to our current slope being sufficiently slippy, unfortunately, we aren’t really in a position to be picky.

There will surely be a short term bounce which, in our desperate times, will be more than welcome if there is an influx of cash, a feel good factor and a promise that the good times are returning. We must remember that we have been here before with Lerner. We must remember this time that this is purely business. The images of American flags waving in the Holte End and chants of ‘USA! USA!’ cannot be repeated (although I can’t see ‘CHINA! CHINA!’ catching on anyway).

Once this initial furore settles, I do fear for the identity of our club. Naming rights for the stadium could see us play in the ‘Auto Windscreens Arena’. We could see long haul pre-season trips to Beijing taking their toll on players before a ball is kicked. We could even have a pagoda installed as a new television gantry.

I’ll admit that the last idea is far-fetched, but my point is that there are likely to be some consequences as there usually are with new owners. My last point was intended to be ridiculous, but is it actually any more ridiculous than changing a team’s colour from blue to red as Cardiff City had to endure or even wanting to rename the whole club as Hull City were only spared from by the Football Association Council intervening, and saving them from being rebranded as Hull Tigers. Perhaps, most ludicrously, we saw Fulham Football Club become a laughing stock for having a statue of an eerie looking Michael Jackson erected outside the ground.

All we can do is hope that Lerner has done his best by us on this one last occasion and has not just taken the money from the highest bidder. We will find out over the coming months and years but the heritage and the history of Aston Villa Football Club cannot be sacrificed for a short term future. 

However, there could be an individual involved in the Chinese consortium who would bring somewhat of a comfort factor to proceedings. Keith Wyness is a man who, frankly, I had never heard of until. Nevertheless, the rumoured involvement of the former Everton CEO goes some way to alleviating my concerns, should the rumours be true and any deal that is being brokered includes him having a place on the board. Wyness spent five years at Goodison Park and, by all accounts, went a long way to transforming the Toffees’ fortunes during a period in which they had little clout in the transfer market. He has also held CEO positions at Aberdeen as well as several other international firms.

Everton supporters seem to hold him in high regard,and his professional reputation appears to be excellent. A man who knows his stuff could be invaluable to Aston Villa Football Club should he take his place on the board.

Due to his past at Everton, the mention of Wyness has also strengthened some people’s belief that it will be David Moyes, a man he worked alongside, who becomes our next manager. This, to me, is a good thing and I still believe he is our best realistic option out there, although that’s the subject of another debate.

There is always a flip side and other rumours (which have died down since last week) also mention the often criticised Damien Comolli. The Frenchman is well known for employing a ‘moneyball’ method in his work and this is most definitely cause for concern. This approach has been prevalent at Aston Villa since Lerner decided to tighten the pursestrings after Martin O’Neill left the club. By and large, in my opinion, it doesn’t work, at least not in football. Comolli will point to successes at both Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool where he was a technical director, and cite Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez as success stories. Yet, as we know, for every success, the method seems to also bring in three or four duds – and Comolli has spent big on duds. Andy Carroll’s move from Newcastle United to Liverpool is the biggest one at a whopping £35 million. He also wasn’t shy in persuading Liverpool’s owners to give us £20 million for Stewart Downing. We may as well keep Paddy Reilly if we’re going to go down this road again.

So, at this point in time, whilst things are reportedly close to being finalised, there is a lot that is still up in the air. There is no real need for panic at present but this deal does need to be signed, sealed and delivered as soon as possible. We are standing still until it goes through and we cannot afford to lose any time as the club is a mess from top to bottom. Aston Villa’s endless problems will not be fixed quickly and so swift and decisive action is needed; our preparations for the 2016-17 season and every single aspect of the future of our club depends on it.