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More U.S. investors have been liked to the purchase of Aston Villa Football Club. Today's rumors suggest Josh Harris and David Blitzer are candidates, describing them as buying and then reviving "distressed" sports businesses.
Well, Villa are distressed, that much is clear. But whether Harris and Blitzer are good at this "reviving" business...hmm. Both Harris and Blitzer are part of the investment group that bought the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011. You may remember the 76ers as the team that just went on a 26 game losing streak and tied the NBA league record for most consecutive losses in a single season. But their 19-63 record was only the third worst in franchise history, so, yay, improvement!
As for the New Jersey Devils, which the pair purchased last April, they didn't even manage to make it to the NHL playoffs. Which is impressive, considering about forty teams seem to go to the playoffs. Let's also remember that the Devils made it to the finals in 2012.
Did these guys also buy the Houston Astros?
Seriously, though. Maybe Harris and Blitzer are taking a long-term approach to this whole revival thing, but let's hope they realize that English football has this extra, strange, foreign element known as relegation.