Monday, 8 December 2008

Randy steps in


On 19th September 2006, Randy Lerner officially became the owner and chairman of Aston Villa Club. Many saw this as the day that Villa were awoken from there coma.


In the summer of 2006, there was massive unrest at Villa. The manager at the time David O’Leary was under huge pressure from fans and players alike. After finishing a dismal 16th in the league, the calls for him to leave his job were deafening. However with Doug ‘deadly’ Ellis seemingly unwilling to get rid of the Irishman, and therefore avoid having to pay a massive compensation package, and O’Leary refusing to quit there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel for Villa fans.

However, it later came out in the local media that certain players were desperate for the to manager leave, and if this didn’t happen then they would leave the club. With his position seemingly untenable O’Leary left Aston Villa in July 2006 by mutual consent.

It was not only O’Leary that the fans and players were unhappy with. Over the years fans have become increasingly annoyed over the lack of funds spent by Ellis, and after having seen their club overtaken by ‘lesser’ teams, the majority thought it was time for him to call it a day.


After much speculation, Martin O’Neill was appointed as O’Leary’s successor on 4th August 2006. It was an appointment that was very popular with Villa fans and there was now optimism surrounding the club. However fans were still desperate for Ellis to leave the club and give way for a wealthy owner to come in who could give O’Neill the backing to take the club forward.


As the end of August (and the end of the transfer window) drew nearer, speculation was mounting that American businessman Randy Lerner was getting closer to agreeing a deal to buy the club. On 14th August 2006 it was confirmed that an agreement had been made for Lerner to buy the club for £62.6 million.

Stiliyan Petrov joined the club for £6.5 million at the end of August and was O’Neill’s first signing. Fans hoped that big money signings like this would be a regular occurrence in the future.

On 19th September 2006 Randy Lerner was named as the new owner of Aston Villa. The billionaire businessman spoke about his intention to restore Villa to their former glories. The summer of 2006 is one that Villa fans will never forget and was one that will change the club forever.




Martin O’Neill image –
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m2/jan2007/2/7/256C07F4-C384-3895-18A19F7AC86BEADB.jpg

Randy Lerner image –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/images/2006/07/28/randy_lerner_203_203x152.jpg

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