You may have seen this floating around twitter today, or even before. But I can't let this asinine Fan Statement from RandyLernerOut.com go without saying anything. Click the link. It'll be a good test of your computer. If it doesn't load: your spam filter is working. I'm going to address this item-by-item, though you won't get the whole statement. It's time to dissect the Fan Statement FJM style. All typos from the statement were there originally. Think of this as a giant [sic].
This is neither an action of panic nor despair. It´s about one thing. Being prepared… to roll up our sleeves and overturn Randy Lerners irresponsible handling of the managerial situation. Fellow Villans, the time has come to move forward.
I just want to get this out of my system now, so I can address substance over style later. If you’re going to make this sort of sweeping manifesto, you need to do so in proper grammatical style. Randy Lerner is the owner of irresponsible handling. That means it’s possessive. Use an apostrophe. Secondly, why are we overturning the handling, and not Randy Lerner? Will these people be content if Randy Lerner stays, but his handling changes?
But in terms of what is actually in here, how was the handling of the managerial situation irresponsible? Lerner and the Aston Villa front office investigated a significant number of names, and were turned down by their number one choice. From that point, they chose to pick a manager with a pedigree of winning, and one who has proven in the past that he can bring stability to clubs. After last year, what Villa need more than anything is stability. I will gladly admit that the choice was unpopular, and perhaps not the right one. But it was hardly irresponsible.
Let's continue after the jump.
Randy Lerners lack of a claret and blue heart has saturated important decisions over the years and thus jeopardized the future of our beloved club. His failure to compell O´Neill to play the first team in the Europa League led to numerous supporters spending thousands and thousands of pounds following the club abroad…Managers have to make decisions about priorities. I’m sure Randy Lerner had some say in what the priorities were in 2008-09. Nevertheless, the decision was apparently made to make the Premier League the competition of most importance. This means that some players had to be rested. It is not as if Villa were competing in the Champions League. They were playing in a second-tier European competition, one in which the benefits of winning were not as great as winning the EPL.
I have a hunch that the author of this call for action is one of those who traveled and did not get to see a win. If the undermanned side had won, do you suppose he/she would praise Lerner’s decision?
With the reckless decision to offer the much wanted job as a Villa manager to Alex McLeish Lerner has taken his irresponsibility to a new level... McLeish. A manager with no trophies in the cabinet. A manager with no experience from a top club.
No trophies in the cabinet, eh? It’s 100% true, if you ignore his seven with Rangers (twice Scottish Premier League winners, twice Scottish cup winners, and three times Scottish League Cup winners), or his recent Carling Cup trophy with Birmingham City. That right there is the pedigree of a manager with no winning experience at the top of the football world.
The decision can not be defended from neither a financial nor a sporting point of view.
This sentence can’t not be called atrocious.
With his decision Lerner has disregarded our heritage and challenged all fans of Aston Villa Football Club all over the world, and claret and blue common sense.
I hope he’s challenged us to a game of bocce! And how, exactly, does this decision disregard our heritage? Does he mean the heritage of the club? The heritage of the fans? I mean, technically, hiring anyone who hadn’t managed Villa before would have been disregarding heritage.
It’s also worth noting that heritage isn’t always a good thing. What if Lerner had decided to honor the late-80s Villa heritage? There’s no point in living in the past. Just because things have been done a certain way doesn’t make them the correct way. It’s that backwards thinking that got Galileo in trouble with the Inquisition.
We, the true supporters of Aston Villa, have three demands that are non- negotiable and irrevocable.
They may be non-negotiable, but that doesn’t mean anyone is obliged to meet them. But let’s see what they are! I’m sure they’re level-headed and wise.
First of all Alex McLeish must leave the club immediately.
Hoo boy. Want to talk about irresponsibility? Even if you don’t like McLeish, can you imagine the legal imbroglio that Aston Villa will be thrown into if they terminate McLeish’s contract before a single game has been played?
Secondly Paul Faulkner must leave the club. As a chief executive he has the utter responsibility for all silly comments made in association with the release of derisive and ignorant club statements.
"Hey, Paul. I’ve got some bad news for you. Turns out you’re responsible for this stupid Fan Statement. Sorry."
Thirdly Randy Lerner must put the club up for sale. As the owner of our beloved club Lerner has in the past years clearly showed that he has neither the money nor the knowledge to get Villa back among the best clubs in Europe.
Randy Lerner has invested millions into the club in order to make them a competitive franchise. But we have to be honest, Villa haven’t been among the best clubs in Europe for quite some time now, since well before Lerner bought the team in 2006. Lerner has shown a commitment to changing that, however, by spending for first-team players while building a youth system that will provide stability for years to come.
You ask, what is our policy?
I didn’t actually, but I imagine you’re going to tell me anyways.
It is to wage opposition with all our claret and blue might and with united strength; to wage opposition against a financial hoax, never surpassed in the vast, glorious history of Aston Villa Football Club.
How do they plan on doing this? You’ll never know because they don't say!
::Thumbs nose at everyone::
::Climbs into treehouse. Alone.::
You ask, what is our aim? We can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all recklessness, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival for Aston Villa Football Club.
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight from the seats in Villa Park until, in God’s good time, Aston Villa survive without Randy Lerner."
At this time we feel entitled to claim the aid of all claret and blue hearts…
Keep your grubby hands off of my heart. You certainly don’t have my support, and I imagine you’re lacking that of much of the rest of the Aston Villa fan base. Though I certainly won’t presume to speak for others.
Don´t ask what the club can do for you. Ask what you can do for the club.
Wait, didn’t you spend this whole thing asking the club to do things for you? Regardless, you don’t speak for me, and I imagine you don’t speak for a number of others. Kindly go away. I hope we never hear from you again.