Lerner and Aston Villa (Cleveland Megathread) [Mobile]

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Coach Dad

24 Jul 2006, 11:20 AM

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=374314&cc=5901

Could this lead to some local MLS interest should Wolstien fall out?

Joe Stoker

24 Jul 2006, 01:35 PM

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=374314&cc=5901

Could this lead to some local MLS interest should Wolstien fall out?

Or something to use for leverage. Or nothing more than what it appears on the surface... just more global dabbling by American billionaires whom we'd rather see spending $$$ on soccer here at home.

But the possibilities... grab the tin hats just in case!

Finally, some news of some sort relating in some degree of pro soccer and Cleveland in the same sentence. Thanks for sharing, Coach.

P1brit

25 Jul 2006, 11:32 AM

Aston Villa used to be glorious. Villa Park is a cathedral of soccer rivaled by few stadiums across the world. This team has fallen from grace and are on their way to relagation to the Championship. I would be in favor of Lerner buying this team if he can run it with the same proffesionalism as the the Browns.

However, I'd rather him spend his money on a new footy team for Cleveland.

fireman451

25 Jul 2006, 05:10 PM

Don't know if anyone has seen this. I'm not too familiar with the Cleveland expansion movement, but is there an interested I/O in cleveland already? If not, too bad the Browns owner isn't interested . . .sort of like a Malcom Galzier deal.

From ESPN:
CLEVELAND -- Browns owner Randy Lerner is exploring investments in the United Kingdom that could include the purchase of English soccer club Aston Villa.

Bill Bonsiewicz, a Browns spokesman, would not comment on British news reports Monday saying Lerner is one of several businessmen bidding for Birmingham-based Aston Villa.

"But he is exploring business options, including in the United Kingdom where he's been involved in the business community since 1993," Bonsiewicz said. "He's always maintained other businesses outside the Browns."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=374347&cc=5901

On another note, I was in Cleveland with the family for 4 days last week and enjoyed most of my time there. The Flats, Ohio City and the Lakeside museums were kinda neat, but the University Circle/Little Italy area would be a nice part of town to put a SSS.

Coach Dad

26 Jul 2006, 08:23 AM

Breaking news!

It's ok, my wife's from Chicago, so I've learned to be patient.

(and thanks for the post anyway, you meant well)

fhsol76

27 Jul 2006, 07:59 PM

Last night Sky Sports News on FCS reported that Randy Lerner has backed out leaving a local businessman most likely to take over the london club

DixieDean

27 Jul 2006, 08:07 PM

fhsol76

27 Jul 2006, 08:35 PM

The Villa fans are seriously PO'd about it too. Apparently not only was Randy Lerner (Go Browns :D) prepared to pay the asking price for the club, but he approached the Villa supporters groups before he even made the offer to gauge how they felt about it.

According to soccer365 the deal may be back on though.

Villa fans are a long suffering bunch. They deserve a little sunshine LOL.

hopefully Lerner gets back into it and takes over. It will give me another epl club I can at least like, though ManUtd is still my club, and the only one I have real connections too ( my family was from Manchester until moving state side in the mid 1800's)

HuntKop

27 Jul 2006, 08:37 PM

Last night Sky Sports News on FCS reported that Randy Lerner has backed out leaving a local businessman most likely to take over the midlands club

Fixed your post.

Joe Stoker

31 Jul 2006, 08:37 AM

And now, according to the ESPN website, Lerner is reportedly still interested in the Villans. The thought occured, that if he wants a soccer team and a real challenge, maybe he should buy Stoke City.;)

seahawkdad

07 Aug 2006, 09:28 PM

And, over on the Yanks Abroad (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9241676&postcount=49) thread is a link to British press saying there's a bid for Aston Villa by Lerner expected by Wednesday...

leviramsey

14 Aug 2006, 12:13 PM

fhsol76

14 Aug 2006, 04:33 PM

Lerner has now bought them. Time to convince these billionare americans to start investing and purchasing mls clubs.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=375853&cc=5901

Joe Stoker

15 Aug 2006, 08:05 AM

Lerner has now bought them. Time to convince these billionare americans to start investing and purchasing mls clubs.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=375853&cc=5901

Agree. But hard to convince these types (Lerner, Glaser). Might be that it's just another toy. Less of an investment risk as opposed to starting from scratch here. Buy a top-flight rather than MLS expansion. Won't make him a hero here, but he figures the bank account won't suffer. Bottom line guy. Lerner figures his family "saved" the Browns (neo-Browns) for Cleveland, which fulfills their civic duty.

Conspiracy theorist that I am, I could read into it some evil plan of NFL owners to concoct some summer proxy league of their Euro teams in their NFL stadiums (Aston Villa St. Angela Cleveland FC :rolleyes: ), but probably just the NFL style of global investing and little else. Time will tell.

FuzzyForeigner

15 Aug 2006, 01:59 PM

Joe Stoker

15 Aug 2006, 03:50 PM

118 mil? what a deal. When compared to NFL, that must seem to him to be pocket change.

Why did this guy not buy a MLS team in Cleveland? Maybe he plans to and to have the Cleveland Force partner up with Aston Villa?

That's the question yet to be asked by our award-winning area sports journalists ("sports" "journalist"... now there's a moden-day oxymoron... with emphasis on the moron... ed. comment:D ). Until then, we're left to freely speculate. Your theories are as welcome as anyone's here. We might as well have some fun with this.

Oh, that's right. The local "sports journalists" have currently given themselves over to another season of swine-skin worship. I doubt they even care to ask Lerner the question. To them, it's as if he adopted one of those African kids... Feed the Children and all that. How nice. Now let's talk Charlie Frye.:rolleyes:

My feeling is that MLS is not, and has not been, on Lerner's mind. Last we heard, Wolstein Jr. and co. still holds a letter-of-intent handshake with MLS, hinging largely on his "Lifestyle" retail/entertainment center up on Route 8. Also, seems to me like the NFL people view the specter of domestic soccer only as something to generate income from their stadiums in their offseason... and to quiet taxpayers who complain about off-season non-use of the facilities for which they largely paid... not as a fulltime endeavor. Just my opinion.

Dynamo73

16 Aug 2006, 06:01 PM

Why did this guy not buy a MLS team in Cleveland? Maybe he plans to and to have the Cleveland Force partenr up with Aston Villa?

The same reason why a French billionaire would be smart to buy the New York Yankees and dumb to buy the expansion Paris Phillies in the nascent, little-known French Baseball League. Some guys want to grow US soccer -- i.e., Lamar Hunt. God bless 'em. Lerner ain't one of them. He's in it for the bucks.

jade1mls

16 Aug 2006, 06:27 PM

That's the question yet to be asked by our award-winning area sports journalists ("sports" "journalist"... now there's a moden-day oxymoron... with emphasis on the moron... ed. comment:D ). Until then, we're left to freely speculate. Your theories are as welcome as anyone's here. We might as well have some fun with this.

Oh, that's right. The local "sports journalists" have currently given themselves over to another season of swine-skin worship. I doubt they even care to ask Lerner the question. To them, it's as if he adopted one of those African kids... Feed the Children and all that. How nice. Now let's talk Charlie Frye.:rolleyes:

It was answered on the BBC. i asked it and it was the first question of the 7-26 BBC World Football Phone In.

Here listen: http://skype-directory.com/media/mp3/BBC-World-Football-Phone-In-07-26-06.mp3

Joe Stoker

17 Aug 2006, 10:36 AM

It was answered on the BBC. i asked it and it was the first question of the 7-26 BBC World Football Phone In.

Here listen: http://skype-directory.com/media/mp3/BBC-World-Football-Phone-In-07-26-06.mp3

Thanks! Still not from the mouth of Randy Lerner himself, but a thoughtful and intelligent opinion nonetheless. Too bad we had to first hear something of this nature from across the pond instead of NEO. Hi marks for putting the question out there to the media, jade1.

Brull, Archer, significant Cleveland board others, your takes on this?

BulaJacket

26 Aug 2006, 04:09 PM

Another Villa story...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060825.wvilla25/BNStory/Sports/OtherSports/
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1156503908511&col=1053692575155&call_page=TSS_MoreSports&call_pageid=969907740050&call_pagepath=Sports/MoreSports
Lerner takeover of Villa gets closer
Aug. 25, 2006. 08:52 AM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner's takeover of English Premier League club Aston Villa moved closer Friday when two key stakeholders sold their shares in the club to give the American billionaire a 59.69 per cent stake.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Lerner's takeover vehicle, Reform Acquisitions Ltd., said it had acquired 6,834,061 shares in Aston Villa.

The men who sold their shares were Villa chairman Doug Ellis, who has run the Premier League club for more than 30 years, and Jack Petchey.

Lerner needs 75 per cent of shares to assume full control. When he reaches 90 per cent, he can legally buy out the remaining 10 per cent.

Lerner put in a 62.6-million-pound ($130.8 million) bid on Aug. 14 to buy Aston Villa, one of the oldest clubs in English soccer. He offered a price of 547 pence ($11.43) per Aston Villa share — a premium of about 47 per cent over the closing price on the last day before the offer period. The club was put up for sale last year.

Then, the board of the Birmingham-based team recommended the transaction to shareholders and said owners of 56.85 percent of the shares were committed to the deal.

Keith Harris, an adviser to Lerner, said he expected other shareholders to sell up in the next week. He said Lerner's takeover of Villa was only similar to Malcolm Glazer's purchase of Manchester United because they were both American and owned NFL clubs. Glazer owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"From the fans' point of view, they have welcomed him (Lerner)," Harris told BBC Radio. "The Villa fans want change. Randy has inherited a club without borrowing huge sums of money which would be needed to service a debt."

(more).....