Another Villa takeover rumour dies a predictable death

File this under "Well yeah, that was expected." Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has come out publicly and said that he isn't planning on buying Aston Villa any time soon. Actually, his words seem a bit more harsh than that: "I have not indicated interest nor had any discussions pertaining to the purchase of Aston Villa or any other club." That's almost as bad as Mark Cuban not even knowing who we are.

But, this should surprise no one. The rumour was a scurrilous little piece in the Daily Mail that was just a throw-away sentence or two. There's no reason to think that the world's 55th-richest man would have any interest in Villa when he's already part owner of the Seattle Sounders, who he apparently doesn't pay much attention to. And if it's prestige in sports that drives him, his Seattle Seahawks (about to play for their second consecutive Super Bowl title) give him plenty.

My real question in all of this is how did the Mail ever get the rumour to begin with. It seriously makes me wonder if they literally just made something up. I've always thought that papers might do that with rumours, but this is a pretty bold thing to say. They even had a source from Allen's investment group, or so they claim! If anyone wants to be The Secret Journo and give us an inside look at paper, 7500 to Holte will be happy to publish your column.