Lambert to have pauper's budget for summer transfers

Yesterday we heard that Randy Lerner will indeed make some money available to Paul Lambert for summer transfers and contract extensions. That's quite good news, especially considering that we had heard the day before that the club was be under a transfer embargo until a sale was completed. 

But let's not get too excited about the funds yet. Lambert has spoken pretty regularly about the need for significant investment if the club is to get out of its current troubles, and it's a sentiment with which I would assume most fans agree. Well, we won't be getting that significant investment, it seems. The Express is reporting that Lerner "will be considerably less than the £20m-plus made available to Lambert in each of his first two seasons."

Well that's no good. 

I mean, I get it. Randy Lerner doesn't want to pump more money into a business enterprise that he is abandoning. But surely, even as football-dumb as he seems to be, he must realize that the club as they are constructed are destined for another relegation battle. With no buyers currently lined up, it would be wise to do whatever is possible to make the team seem worth buying. A paltry sum like we're now hearing about leaves Aston Villa as a fixer-upper, and any buyers may move on to a better prospect. 

If it's invested wisely, even £10 million could have a big impact on this club. But that amount will buy players with significant upside, but very little in the way of proven talent. That is not how your shore up a club on the brink of relegation. This news only makes more urgent the need to find a buyer. Villa need major investment, and they need it quickly. There's a hole in this ship and we're currently bailing it out with a thimble.